Higgins, Andrew’s brother, took over the retail end of the business and, with his sons, Ed and Jack, opened Higgins Marine Sales Corporation and operated it out of the City Park plant. Its success and lucrative government contracts enabled the company to expand into other related ventures that resulted in the creation of new subsidiaries, including Higgins Aircraft, Higgins Engine Company, and Higgins Plastics Corporation.Īfter the war, Higgins attempted to convert this considerable manufacturing capability to the production of such consumer products as appliances and house building materials as well as pleasure boats. Among the sixty-four products the company produced were various types of landing craft, notably LCVPs (landing craft vehicle, personnel) used in amphibious landings in the Normandy Invasion and countless other actions, and PT boats. Charles Ave., City Park, the Industrial Canal, Michoud (and an adjoining plywood plant), Bayou St. The ability of the company to design and produce vessels in record time meant that during the war they produced 20,094 boats, employing 20,000 workers at seven plants in the New Orleans area: St. With World War II that reputation enabled Higgins Industries to become one of the largest manufacturers of U. This led to his first government contract in 1937. He built a solid reputation for his company, especially within the petroleum and oil industry. Higgins specialized in developing shallow-draft boats that could easily navigate the bayous and marshes of the Gulf Coast and Central and South America. This arrangement allowed Higgins to keep nearly fifty people employed and pay off his debts by 1935. Higgins managed to keep Higgins Industries solvent by creating a third business, Boat Services Company, which bought the craft produced by Higgins Industries and sold or leased them to others. Both companies were put into voluntary receivership in 1931 to forestall bankruptcy, with a friendly judge naming Higgins as his own receiver. This company sought to develop a boat-building sideline, which began with his previous business, A. Charles Ave., New Orleans, on September 26, 1930. Andrew Jackson Higgins incorporated Higgins Industries, located at 1755 St.
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