Component Two

Identify two companies and one product produced by each company that directly relate to the NCT technical application your team has selected.

Image used with the permission of McDonough Marine Services

McDonough Marine Service, known as “The Barge People” was organized in 1945 as an ancillary support service for Bernard P. McDonough’s Construction Company. The original barge leasing business eventually grew into a full service marine company, including the leasing and operation of barges.

The mission of McDonough Marine is “to continue serving as the global leader in the marine transportation industry by providing exceptional, safe, quality service”.

McDonough purchases a variety of barges to operate on both inland and ocean waterways. Barges such as deck or crane are used generally as platforms for construction. Hopper and shale barges are built for the transport of bulk materials. New barges are bought to replace older ones and depending on the demands of the market. Currently McDonough Marine's fleet of barges counts 600¹, mostly consisting of deck and hopper varieties.

A sister company of McDonough Marine, McDonough Project Services, operates a fleet of seven towboats on the American Inland Waterway system and provides repair services.

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Image used with the permission of New England Boatworks, Inc.

New England Boatworks (NEB) started after the 1983 America's Cup with a “Lets see how we can do it better” approach to boat building. In 1988 the founders Tom Rich, Steve Casella, and David MacBain applied their specialties in metalwork to yacht and boat construction, along with the participation of other experts in boat-building to form NEB.

The company produces state-of-the art sail and power yachts, along with providing a variety of other services such as a marina, yacht repairs and storage.

NEB continually asks "How can we make it better?" in order to continue to produce high quality products. NEB leads the way in the application of advanced composite technologies such as Kevlar and Carbon Fiber, to continue to produce innovations in power and sail yachts.

SP Systems supplies NEB with Carbon Fiber for the production of yacht components and West Systems supplies epoxies for sealing them.

Identify one professional association or trade organization associated with the products your team identified. Include:
   its name,
   description of its mission, and
   number of people/companies involved.

Image used with the permission of The American Waterway Operators

The American Waterway Operators is a national trade organization that promotes the barge, tug and tow boat industries. Its mission is dedicated to promoting the economics and positive environmental impacts of the tug and tow boat industry, along with increasing safety along the nation's waterways. Organized in Washington DC 1944, the AWO has subsequently grown to 375 member organizations, consisting of operators of marine vessels and affiliate support services such as finance or shipyards members2. There are regional offices in New York, Seattle, St. Louis, and New Orleans. It is governed by a 52 member board of directors who direct the development and implementation of policy.

The association holds two annual conventions. During 2006, its spring convention (April 5-7) will be held in Arlington, VA, and its fall meeting (October 11-13) will be held in Seattle, WA. Typically the conventions are attended by over 100 different maritime industry members and focus on projects and issues to be dealt with by the AWO. These issues can be legislative actions or new Coast Guard regulations¹ that will effect the maritime industry. Also at the conventions, there are breakout sessions where industry-specific issues are discussed.

AWO members have three major benefits from participation in the organization, the Responsible Carrier Program, a standard trade association advantages, and security. The RCP is a mandatory program for AWO members which certifies them as safe and environmentally responsible, carriers who fail to be certified will lose their membership in the organization. As a trade association, AWO benefits its member companies with a permanent presence in Washington DC, that they could not afford on their own. The AWO has developed a template security plan for their members in cooperation with the Coast Guard, called the Alternate Security Plan.².

The association is partnered with the United States Coast Guard, to promote safety and security² on waterways. Due to this partnership there has been an 87 percent reduction in the occurrence of oil spills since 1994.

Propose and describe a new product or new process based on your team's NCT technical application

Everyday scores of barges can be found transporting materials such as coal up and down the Mississippi river. On the laden leg of a barge’s trip it sits very low in the water, with only about 2 feet exposed, however after the barge operator has delivered his cargo a problem surfaces (quite literally). When the cargo is offloaded the barge rises, until it draws very little water. When in this unladen state barges become difficult to control, the large amount of exposed hull acts as a gigantic sail, catching the wind and driving the barge off course. Our centerboard is designed to negate this lateral drift caused by wind, which is greatest when the barges are completely unladen. The centerboard will also act as a pivot point shortening the turning radius and making the barge easier to maneuver. The centerboard is constructed of carbon fiber because of its low weight and high strength characteristics. Finally a radar device linked to an electric winch allows the centerboard to automatically withdraw into its casing to avoid oncoming objects in the water.

Via the Internet, locate a company that might be able to manufacture your team’s proposed product. Send the company an e-mail asking that someone in the company evaluate the product your team proposed. If your team is not able to obtain a response to your inquiry, provide on your website an example of the e-mail request you sent and the names of manufacturers to whom you sent the request.