Birdon Group USA opens Connecticut facility

Shipbuilding, design, and maintenance company Birdon Group USA, Denver, has opened a production plant in Portland, Conn., to modernize search-and-rescue vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard. The company expects to hire 50 people at the new facility.

Birdon holds a 10-year contract with the Coast Guard to engineer, procure, and refurbish more than 100 47-ft. MLB rescue vessels. About half will be completed at the new plant; the remainder will be refurbished at the company’s facility in Bellingham, Wash.