Posted on December 19, 2025
By Peter Bowe, Publisher
DredgeWire Publisher Peter Bowe attended Ellicott Dredge Enterprise‘s Baltimore plant Annual Christmas Holiday luncheon where CEO Dave Watkins and VP Sales Paul Quinn shared highlights on a very successful year.
Santa at Ellicott Holiday Luncheon
Watkins noted sales and profitability across all of the company brands, Ellicott, Mud Cat, & IMS Dredges, were the best in many years. He said that Ellicott continues to grow, entering 2026 with a substantial backlog.
He introduced half a dozen new staff hires in all departments and announced plans for an increased investment in stock dredges.
Quinn called “2025 the busiest year that I can remember” with a combination of sales of standardcutter suction dredges and large custom dredges.
In one recent win, Ellicott has prevailed in a highly competitive bid in South Florida for a repeat customer to replace a successful Ellicott model with a modern unit.
A standard model 670 14″ dredge was shipped while the lunch was going on to a new customer in Florida.
Watkins also mentioned that during the event in real time Ellicott had finalized a 20-inch dredge order for Canada.
AI Data Centers Driving New Sand & Gravel Dredge Sales
Apparently AI affects all aspects of the economy including in some non-obvious ways. As construction of new data centers explodes, operators need to locate near available power sources, and sometimes now in remote locations. This drives demand for sand and gravel, where producers are opening new pits near new data centers–hence, new dredges! Ellicott has been ready to step indelivering several orders in this space.
Seattle District of USACE Recognition of “Efficient” Ellicott Dredge
Quinn noted that the Seattle District of the USACE has just published a project fact sheet about the successful application of an Ellicott Series 670 dredger by Duwamish Services. The Corps was unusually effusive stating:
“These successful operations…demonstrated the dredge’s strong performance and reliability.”
See the Corps’ report here: https://dredgewire.com/2025-usace-quillayute-everett-dredging/
At the meeting Watkins announced the “Golden Impeller Awards, given to individuals for their lasting contributions to Ellicott’s culture and success. The last few winners have been Todd Johansson, Alex Green, and Robin Manning.
Ellicott CEO Dave Watkins (C) with Golden Impeller Award recipients Alex Green (L), and Robin Manning (R)
Watkins concluded his comments to the group saying, “We are winning, and we are having fun while taking care of our employees and our customers.”
DredgeWire Publisher Peter Bowe (R) with Ellicott Mechanic Simon Glasgow (L)
