Interviewer(s): Jason Theriot

Affiliation: University of Houston

Guy Covington is a 4th generation shipbuilder from Orange, TX. Guy's father, Don Covington, became president of Levingston Shipbuilding Company and later started Texas Dry Dock, Inc. (TDI) after Levingston shut down. Guy worked summers at Levingston and finally went to work for TDI in 1992. In 1999 he helped his brother, Russell, start Beacon Marine in Orange, TX, to refurbish and convert drilling rigs. Currently he is the vice president of the company and helps manage the firm's shipyards in the Golden Triangle and Mexico.

Company history/significance: Guy and his brother, Russell, come from a long-line of shipbuilders; it is their heritage. The cumulative experienced gained over the last century by the Convington shipbuilders and their workers have been passed on to this generation at Beacon Marine. The company emerged after TDI-Hatler sold out to Friede & Goldman in the late 1990s. TDI pioneered the rig repair/conversion business in the 1990s and that legacy has carried over to Beacon marine. Beacon has several yards in the Triangle, including their main yard on the historic Harbor Island, first established by Weaver and Levingston in the 1930s and 1940s. Beacon has also taken their company global and opened a shipyard in Mexico to service rigs for PEMEX and their American drilling contractors.