Page 136 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
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In 2014, Peterson did a top-end overhaul on a pair of Cat 3516 engines for the tug Delta Billy. It was historic—not for the work done but rather the location where it was performed: on the water at Point Richmond. For sixty years Peterson had been conducting its marine repair business from field trucks dispatched all over the SF Bay Area. Techs would park as close as possible to the ailing boat, flip open their tool bins, and get to work. In April 2013, Peterson launched its new dockside service facility, which changed all that. Customers now have another option. “Our boat dock was a brilliant move,” says Floyd. “We are the only Cat- erpillar dealer on the West Coast to have a shore- side facility for marine repair. It’s been tremendous for our customers.”
The dock affords Peterson customers several ad- vantages. Chief among them is the savings on travel time. “Our regular labor rate includes por- tal-to-portal travel time,” explains Floyd. “But when a customer brings his vessel to our dock in Richmond, there is no travel time. In effect, they’re getting a discount for using our dock. So all the dollars Baydelta spent on those 3516 overhauls in 2014 went straight to the repairs themselves.”
THE INVITATION (2013)
Peterson landed the dock deal at the invitation of Keefe Kaplan Maritime Inc. (KKMI), a boat works facility owned by two local world-class sailors. Keefe and Kaplan set up their operation in 1996
     PETER ZWART’S LAST TUG
The last tug Zwart built, the Delta Teresa, was completed
in 2019, a few months after he passed away suddenly in January. It was the second hybrid-powered tugboat built and operated on the West Coast—and named after Zwart’s wife. Peterson supplied two 3516C main engines as well as three C9.3 and one C7.1 gen-sets for the electric-hybrid propulsion system. Zwart’s ashes were spread on the San Francisco Bay from a Baydelta tug in his memory. His passing is a huge loss to the industry and to the people who knew him best.
 Top left, clockwise: Peterson service truck at the docks; The Delta Teresa docked in San Francisco; Peter Zwart, Baydelta’s operations manager
134 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG
 

























































































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