Posted on June 22, 2026
Today marks an important milestone for Birdon America and the future of maritime manufacturing in Northwest Florida.
The City of Pensacola has earned the second of three approvals needed from the Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors to finalize a $76 million grant that would establish Birdon America’s Southeastern Headquarters and a Tier 2 advanced ship manufacturing facility in Pensacola.
On June 22, Triumph’s Board approved the term sheet for a grant that would transform the Port of Pensacola and support the creation of 2,000 jobs, the largest job creation project in the city’s history.
The term sheet outlines the components of the grant agreement. When fully approved, this investment will assist the City of Pensacola in building a 400,000-square-foot shipbuilding facility at the Port, strengthening the local economy and directly supporting our military through shipbuilding and the production of critical modules for ships and submarines.
This project would also be one of the largest grants approved by Triumph Gulf Coast, the nonprofit corporation created to manage funds recovered for economic damages to the state following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“We are grateful to the City of Pensacola, Mayor D.C. Reeves, Triumph Gulf Coast, the State of Florida, and the many partners who have worked diligently to advance this transformational opportunity” Tony Ardito, Birdon America’s President said.
Project highlights:
• 2,000 jobs
• 1,437 positions with an average annual wage of $68,000
• 563 positions with an average annual wage of $112,000
Next Steps: The third and final step is approval of the grant agreement. Once constructed, the City of Pensacola will retain ownership of the facilities as public infrastructure and enter into a long-term ground lease with Birdon America for their use.
The total project cost is $275 million, with additional funding anticipated from:
• State of Florida
• Facility operator
• Future grants
