Gunderson is identified as the only one of seven local wartime shipbuilders to remain in business. It acquires a fabrication plant and resumes commercial tug, trawler, and barge construction in 1947. By the 1970s the yard can produce vessels up to 650 feet long and has become a leading West Coast barge builder. The Exxon Valdez spill later creates additional demand when new barges and tankers are required to use double hulls. The case illustrates how adaptable facilities and accumulated production knowledge can survive the end of an emergency programme.
Notable Point · 19:50-20:26
Gunderson converts wartime capacity into a postwar barge business
The only surviving local wartime builder shifts into commercial vessels and later benefits from the demand for double-hulled barges.