President Obama Visits Ellicott

Robert Croom left the President and Peter Bowe touring Ellicott’s fabrication facilities.

President Barack Obama toured Ellicott Dredges on Friday May 17 as part of his program to promote jobs and opportunities for the middle class

Peter Bowe president and Robert Croom general manager of the Baltimore facility showed the President around the plant.  They stopped to hear Mike Aus burn table operator describe that operation then continued to the fabrication shop where Marty Barnes chief operations officer and Don Thomas fabrication shop supervisor described how cutters are assembled and other parts are fabricated.  Then Paul Quinn vice president of sales and George Allen assembly shop manager took over the tour and showed the President a complete 670 Dragon dredge bound for Avondale Services in Nigeria. 

Following the tour the President addressed a group of Ellicott employees local dignitaries press members and citizens. Ellicott employees stood on a 370 Dragon behind the podium which was flanked by dredge parts including three cutters bound for Bangladesh. 

President Obama praised Ellicott for its longevity and for the part it has played in the U.S. economy starting with providing dredges to cut the Panama Canal “one of the first connectors that (allowed) us to ship goods… that integrated the world economy.” He mentioned that Ellicott has sold equipment to more than 100 countries and has made investments that employ more than 200 people in Baltimore Wisconsin and Kansas to manufacture equipment stamped with “Made in America”. 

The President praised Myrna LaBarre who has worked at Ellicott for more than 50 years and has been a mainstay of the company for all that time. 

Peter Bowe told IDR that he mentioned to the President the importance of the Ex-Im Bank and the value of a good U.S. manufacturing vendor base.  Paul Quinn said that the President was curious about how dredges worked and seemed interested in the things he was seeing in the plant.