VT Halter Marine Mourns the Passing of CEO Boyd King

MarEx pays tribute to Brigadier General (RET) Boyd E. ‘Butch’ King, who passed away unexpectedly on Monday, 20 April 2009 at the company’s Corporate Headquarters in Pascagoula, MS.

Pascagoula, MS, April 21, 2009: VT Halter Marine Inc (VT Halter Marine) this week mourned the loss of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brigadier General Boyd E. King, USA (Ret.) who passed away unexpectedly on Monday, 20 April 2009 at the company’s Corporate Headquarters in Pascagoula, MS.

BG (Ret) Boyd King joined VT Halter Marine on December 16, 2002, as Chief Executive Officer. Before his appointment at VTHM, Mr. King was a retired Brigadier General with a 35-year career in the United States Army, culminating in his appointment as Director of Transportation, Energy and Troop Support on the Arm Staff. He was also a graduate of the Army War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

BG (Ret) King served VT Halter Marine as its CEO for over six years since December 2002. Mr. King, known affectionately throughout the company, industry, and to friends as ‘Butch’, led the company from bankruptcy in 2002 to its reemergence as one of the premier second-tier shipbuilding companies within the U.S.

Recognizing the rich history and the eminent reputation held by the ‘Halter’ name, Butch King began rebuilding VT Halter Marine, Inc. one contract at a time. Mr. King took the helm of the new company with a backlog of contracts which were either revitalized or renegotiated to put it on solid footing once again.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Butch along with VTHM’s Senior Management, were responsible for securing commercial and government contracts and currently VTHM has a construction backlog through 2013. A VT Halter press release stated that “Senior and Executive Management will ensure the Company moves forward” in the direction that King had guided the company so well, for so long. King reportedly suffered a heart attack. The company also said yesterday that in the interim, VT Halter Marine will be managed by Mr. William (Bill) E. Skinner, Chief Operating Officer (COO), with the support of the management team.

Memorial services were held on Wednesday, April 22nd, followed immediately by Mass at 6:00 pm at Our Lady of Victories Church in Pascagoula MS.

•VT Halter Executive Team Weighs in on King’s Life, Friendship and Accomplishments

“The entire Company is in mourning with our sudden and unexpected loss. We have lost a great leader and a true friend. We’re closing ranks and moving forward as he would have insisted.” ~William E. Skinner / COO, VT Halter Marine, Inc.

"All of us are deeply saddened at the passing of Butch King, CEO of VT Halter Marine. Butch was a great leader and will be sorely missed. The legacy that he leaves behind is that of a strong and prosperous company that is committed to the customer and to continued success. On behalf of VT Systems, we extend our deepest condolences to Butch’s family during this time of loss.” ~ General (Ret) John G. Coburn / Chairman and CEO VT Systems, Inc.

•Remembering Brigadier General (RET) Boyd E. ‘Butch’ King

MarEx and Editor-in-Chief Joseph Keefe had the good fortune to visit Pascagoula and interview General King in May of 2007. We featured VT Halter’s CEO on the cover of that print edition of MarEx. King proved himself to be a fascinating individual with a rich background. He clearly knew his company and was the architect of what the firm had become in the wake of some very tough years experienced just before his arrival.

•About VT Halter

VT Halter Marine, the marine operations of VT Systems, is based in Pascagoula, Mississippi and is a leader in the design and construction of medium-sized ships in the United States. VT Halter Marine designs, builds and repairs a wide variety of ocean-going vessels such as patrol vessels, oil recovery vessels, oil cargo vessels, ferries, logistic support vessels and survey vessels. Please visit www.vthaltermarine.com.

VT Systems and its subsidiaries are preferred providers of engineering solutions, products, integrated systems, and services in the Americas across the core business areas of marine, aerospace, electronics and land systems. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, VT Systems operates throughout North America and offers a broad range of proven innovative services to both the commercial and government sectors. VT Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. Please visit www.vt-systems.com.

Media Contacts: Sarah Thuman / Manager, Corporate Communications / VT Systems
Phone: 703-739-2610 / Fax: 703-739-2611 / Email: [email protected]