Patrick Kelly ’80, CEO of Fraser Shipyards, next to the Honorable James L. Oberstar, one of about 100 Great Lakers that operate on the Great Lakes, in for repair work at Fraser’s Dry Dock Number 2 in Superior, Wisconsin.
When Patrick Kelly ’80 first walked into Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin, he saw more than rusting steel and underutilized land. He saw possibility.
Fraser Shipyards has been operating continuously since 1888, serving as a critical link in North America’s industrial heartland. Located on Lake Superior in the Duluth-Superior Harbor—the nation’s 15th largest port by volume—the shipyard has been a workhorse for the Great Lakes, repairing massive “Lakers” that haul everything from iron ore to grain. But when Kelly and his partners acquired Fraser in 2021, they found an under-managed facility that needed new energy, new vision, and above all, new investment in its people.
“I enjoy new career challenges, and one step led to the next in my career path. I started on the technical side of things in geology and geophysics,” Kelly says. “I used that to branch into the business side of the oil and gas industry, and from there into many different things business related over the years.”
Kelly, who was head monitor at Taft before studying geology at St. Lawrence University and Wright State University, ultimately earned his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He has built a career taking on complex business expansions and turnarounds. For him, the appeal is simple: people.
“I’ve seen the power of people aligned around a common objective, beginning at Taft and throughout my career. And I’ve always enjoyed that. I really enjoy identifying an opportunity and then figuring out how to get there or get close, or maybe modifying entirely midstream. It’s a bit of a puzzle, and I enjoy putting those puzzle pieces together,” he says.
The Lee A. Tregurtha, pictured at Fraser Shipyards, was originally used in World War II as a tanker, Chiwawa. It was present at the Battle of Midway and in Tokyo Harbor during the signing of the Armistice that ended World War II. Over several decades, it has been one of the most altered vessels on the Great Lakes. Photo Credit: Douglas Hildebrandt
One of his first moves at Fraser was to bring transparency to the yard’s operations. Production teams, previously cut off from performance data, suddenly had access to daily metrics. Most importantly, Kelly and his leadership team focused on safety. “When we arrived, the yard had about 18 injuries per million hours worked,” Kelly says. “That was unacceptable. Four years later, we average close to zero. That focus tells the team that we care, first and foremost, about people going home in the same shape they arrive each day.”
The results speak for themselves. Fraser has increased repair work for Great Lakes fleets to levels not seen in decades, and its reputation for quality has brought in new customers. At the same time, the yard has expanded its new construction business, growing from a single U.S. Navy contract to four separate vessel lines.
But Kelly’s ambitions stretch beyond repair and construction. Fraser is working to transform itself into a tri-modal terminal, adding rail access to its already strong truck and water connections. With 100 acres of waterfront property—and only 20 acres currently in use—the potential is enormous. “A true tri-modal facility will open a northern gateway for products moving east and west across the continent,” Kelly says. “That means new business, new industries, and most importantly, new jobs for an underemployed region.”
Ships in for winter repair at Fraser Shipyards docks. Photo Credit: Schauer Photo Images
Job creation, in fact, is one of Kelly’s deepest motivations. “Year-round, we employ 200 people currently, maybe just a little bit more than that. And then during our heaviest time of the year, we triple that headcount to 600 for about three months,” he says. “Every January, February, and March, we bring in union folks from all over the country to help during our winter repair season.”
Kelly adds, “When the Great Lakers come off the water because of ice and bad weather, they all come in for repairs. And we’re like an Indy 500 pit crew. A vessel arrives in January. It is absolutely leaving in
March. There’s never a debate with the owner about when that vessel is leaving. They tell us when they need the vessel back on the water, and we work to their requirements, typically by about March 15 each year.”
For Kelly, the work at Fraser is as much about legacy as it is about ships. “I like solving puzzles, especially when the solution creates opportunities for people—some of whom come from second- and third-generation maritime families,” he says.