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94 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 ?Vigor is a diversi Þ ed marine and industrial fabri- cator and it is a ship repair specialist,? is how Frank Foti, the owner of Vigor Industrial for nearly 20 years, concisely describes his company. ?You?re in a ship- yard (Vigor Seattle) where there?s a Navy destroyer, a shipyard that is building and repairing barges; and a shipyard that is building and repairing ferries.?The story of Vigor?s rapid ascension as a driving force in the PaciÞ c Northwest ship construction and repair market is an intriguing one, and one fairly well recorded as Foti has an obvious ease with the media. But the story of Vigor almost never was, as early in his life Foti was embarked on a career in the telecom-munications industry. But then his father, who owned a small construction company in Cleveland, became terminally ill and his dying wish was that Foti would come in to run the family business, which Foti reluc-tantly agreed.?I was a typical high school kid who grew up one way, his father grew up another way,? said Foti. ?I used to turn my nose down to people who got dirty for a living, then I fell in love with people who get dirty for a living when I realized that there was more hon-esty, more truth out on a scaffolding than there was in the ofÞ ces that I had spent time in. So my career took a turn where I became a business owner for industrial work. I didn?t know it was going to go there.? Spend Þ ve minutes with Foti and it is apparent he?s not remiss to share his opinion. And while he talks straight and fast, it becomes instantaneously clear that it is not about him. In fact, far from it.?You see in my of Þ ce that I don?t have a single pic- ture of a ship; only people,? said Foti. And he?s right, as the ofÞ ce walls are Þ lled with dozens of photos of Vigor workers, past and present, a daily reminder to Foti of what his business is about.But while he acknowledges the value of the people under his employ, from the start he knew it was his job to build a company beyond the Portland shipyard, a company of sufÞ cient geographic and capability depth and breadth to supply ample opportunity to attract and retain the best people. ?Portland is a destination resort for repair and fabri-cation, but it has no local market,? said Foti. ?Once we shrunk (after he took over the shipyard in 1995, just as the U.S. Navy was transitioning from the 600-ship Frank(ly) Frank(ly) Speaking Speaking Frank Foti of Vigor In- dustrial has steadily em-barked on a consolidation of the PaciÞ c Northwest ship construction and re- pair industry. Starting in Portland in 1995 with about 50 employees, the ubiquitous owner of Vigor has built his business to-day to more than 2,000 employees in an ever- widening industrial group. During a recent visit to Seattle, he shared insights on his company and the market.By Greg Trauthwein ?My personal philosophy is I have to do two things: make money and make a difference . If you are doing one or the other it?s not enough for me.?Frank Foti, CEO and Owner, Vigor Industrial The Portland yard is where it all started for Frank Foti & Vigor Industrial, with a rendering of how it will look with the new ß oating drydock. Right is Foti pictured right in his ofÞ ceMR #8 (90-97).indd 94MR #8 (90-97).indd 948/7/2014 10:01:44 AM8/7/2014 10:01:44 AM
