Business gives second life to decommissioned ship parts

MILAN TWP. — Big Ship Salvage has been making waves in the sale of nautical lights and decor."We salvage parts from ships around the world that are being decommissioned and are at the end of their useful life," said Jim Unger who owns the business and operates it with his son, Mitch. "We take the lights, portholes, steering wheels, anything that we can pull off. We then refurbish, polish, rewire and sell."The company started about 17 years ago in South Carolina, but Unger bought it from the company's founder last November and moved the business to the Avery Commerce Park, on Milan Road across from Circle K, in Milan Township.Jim was born and raised in Berlin Heights. After 28 years of working in higher education as a campus president and campus director at various colleges, he decided it was time for a change."We've always lived up here on the lake and I happened to meet the guy who started this business and he was looking to retire," Jim said. "I thought we could make this a family business."Big Ship Salvage has the largest retail inventory in the United States of salvaged ship lights and does all of its business online, which is where Mitch comes in.Mitch is a graduate of Edison High School and Ohio University. Before joining his dad's business he worked for an e-commerce company that sells online through stores."So I had a little bit of experience with product listing and writing descriptions that I wanted to bring to this business and apply it," Mitch saidWhen a piece comes in, they blast the paint off it, polish it, rewire it, sell it online and ship it to the buyer. Most of their customers are people who want to place the lights or artifacts in their homes as decor."The great thing about this business is 99 percent of our customers are really happy and excited by the product because it's something they've never seen before, but when they do they love it and put it in their homes," Jim said.They are sent pictures from customers to show how they placed the items in their homes, but they are also do business with movie and TV productions. The upcoming war movie "Midway" and the Netflix show "Outer Banks" bought lights from them."Typically it's a show or movie that features ships from a particular era and they want authentic pieces for their sets when they film," Jim said.Most of their clients are on the East Coast with a smaller portion on the West Coast, but after a year of business and some interest, they want to get the word out to the Great Lakes region. They hosted an open house 10-2 p.m. on Saturday in Unit D-1 at the Avery Commerce Park for their first year anniversary.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterJim, left, and Mitch, right, Unger stand in front of their inventory of refurbished artifacts from decommissioned ships on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The father and son team run Big Ship Salvage in the Avery Commerce Park in Milan Township.Big Ship Salvage, in the Avery Commerce Park in Milan Township, has the largest retail inventory in the United States of salvaged ship lights. They also refurbish anchors, steering wheels, portholes and anything else they can get off ships that have reached the end of their usefulness.Big Ship Salvage, in the Avery Commerce Park in Milan Township, has the largest retail inventory in the United States of salvaged ship lights. They also refurbish anchors, steering wheels, portholes and anything else they can get off ships that have reached the end of their usefulness.