Manufacturing 2019 Manufacturing Week Bus Tour | Page 32

Hewes Marine
Colville
David Honeycutt, senior director at Hewes Marine, stands in front of the company’s
press brake — the largest west of the Mississippi. It bends sheets of aluminum into boat
hull shapes. Hewes acquired the machine from a former supplier, allowing it to move
production in-house. The 200,000-pound machine required a special footing that is
essentially a giant raft floating on the valley’s water table. Installing the footing alone
took six months. “We half-joked the hole cost as much as the machine,” Honeycutt said.
Hewes Marine makes all-welded
aluminum boats from 16 to 26 feet
long. The company employs 160
people. Founded by brothers shortly
after World War II, Hewes Marine is
still family owned, and just moved into
a new, larger facility.