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Cyclife Aquila Nuclear announces a new Managing Director

We are incredibly excited to announce the appointment of Drew Corbett as the new Managing Director of Cyclife Aquila Nuclear, effective 1^st August 2023. Having served as Commercial Director, Drew brings with him a wealth of experience and his expertise in business strategy, coupled with a deep understanding of our operations and market dynamics, positions him perfectly to lead our organisation in to the future.

Drew takes over from Dave Barker, who stepped down as CEO on 31^st July 2023, having been in the role for over 12 years when Cyclife Aquilla Nuclear was first established. We are equally delighted to announce that Dave will remain part of the Aquila team, now serving as its Director of Strategy.

Whilst our day-to-day business will remain the same, we are excited to see the progression and future of Cyclife Aquila Nuclear under Drew’s leadership with the support of its Executive Leadership Team and the wider business. We spoke with Drew about his new appointment:

‘It is a huge honour to be appointed as Managing Director for Cyclife Aquila Nuclear and I am extremely excited.  

Firstly, I would like to thank Dave Barker and the amazing team at Cyclife Aquila Nuclear. Aquila Nuclear Engineering Limited was Dave’s vision, and he has had the determination, passion, persistence and industry knowledge to turn his vision into the impressive business that we see today. Our team have embraced the transition into to the Cyclife group, whilst continuing to perform in line with our values, ‘Elite & Ethical’. 

Secondly, I would like to thank the team at Cyclife for their support in ensuring that our transition into the group was smooth and for affording me this opportunity. 

The Nuclear Industry faces some amazing challenges over the coming years, and I believe that we are perfectly positioned, alongside our fellow Cyclife subsidiaries, to play a key role in providing the best possible solutions, whilst providing a fantastic environment for our people to grow and develop.’

We believe the transition will be seamless, given Drew’s deep-rooted understanding of our company and its values. We are also optimistic about this new chapter in our journey and anticipate continued success and growth under his leadership.

Please joins us in welcoming Drew in his new role and extending your support as we embark on this exciting new phase.

Cyclife Aquila Nuclear
Cyclife Aquila Nuclear offers Engineering Solutions in the specialist areas of Glovebox Technology, Shielded Facilities, Remote Handling Systems and Transport and Packaging to the following nuclear markets- decommissioning, new build, defence, science, and medicines.

Cyclife
Cyclife is a subsidiary of the EDF Group dedicated to the dismantling of nuclear facilities and the management of radioactive waste. It combines industrial waste treatment sites in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France with advanced engineering capabilities through its subsidiaries Cyclife Engineering, Graphitech and Cyclife Digital Solutions, which enable it to offer its customers a wide range of complementary services in Europe.

Media Enquiries

For media enquiries, please contact:

Olivia Tant

Marketing & Communications

Email: otant@cyclifeaquila.com

Professional Development Workshop Success with IMechE

On Wednesday the 9^th of August, Aquila hosted Steve Acott, our local Membership Development Manager for the IMechE to conduct a workshop focussed on Professional Registration Applications. Seven of our mentees attended to understand more about what is needed for the perfect application, a key step in becoming Professionally Registered with either the IMechE, IET or NI. In the workshop, Steve clearly explained each engineering competency, listing some examples and outlining the best approach to structuring answers to questions within the application forms. Additionally, Steve also provided individual feedback and guidance on mentees existing answers, allowing them to go away and tailor their answers to the questions more appropriately.

The workshop was invaluable, with lots of positive and constructive discussions taking place during the session. As a result of the workshop, attendees can now confidently complete their applications so that they can apply to become Professionally Registered. I am looking forward to working closely with Steve in the future to help support mentees complete Career Learning Assessments, and Interview Training for those who attended the workshop. A big thank you to Steve and all those who attended the workshop – the expertise and quality of work at Aquila clearly left a great first impression with Steve!

Here is what some of mentees had to say about the workshop:

‘Thank you to the Cyclife Aquila professional development scheme and Steve Acott for running the IMechE Application Workshop, I found it extremely useful. Steve ran an engaging session, providing lots of feedback and helpful advice. It has given me the information and confidence to finally finish my chartership application ready for submission.’ Geoffrey Sherwood, Mechanical Design Engineer.

‘I thought Steve Acott was very clear and concise about what was required for chartership which was enjoyable and helped my understanding. He provided easy to understand examples of the chartership forms giving some great advice in filling them in. He also elaborated on the process for chartership including the interview process and what we a likely to expect moving forward. During the Aquila tour Steve also showed great interested in the type of engineer and equipment Aquila produces.’ Duncan Metcalfe, Principal Engineer.

An Estate Agent, Car Mechanic or Finance Director. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Liz Wheeler our Finance Director certainly didn’t imagine herself crunching numbers for a nuclear engineering company.

Growing up, Liz was a huge fan of Neighbours, the Australian TV show. So, when it came to future careers, being a Car Mechanic like Charlene from the show was at the top of the list, alongside being an Estate Agent. Liz would often spend hours cutting up house magazines and attaching them to the clothes horse to make a shop window, playing ‘Estate Agents’ with her mum.

Fast forward to today, life is a little different to how Liz could have ever imagined it. Joining Aquila at the start of its journey in 2011, Liz joined as the Accounts and Admin Manager and was responsible for all finance and administrative duties across the business. As the business grew Liz also took charge of IT and HR until the business was at a size where these teams became stand-alone functions. Then in 2019 Liz was promoted to Finance Director having completed her Chartership in Management Accounting (ACMA, CGMA).

Currently Liz’s role requires her to develop and manage our financial strategy and aiming to mitigate financial risk, whilst also ensuring accurate financial reporting from across the business. The role includes a variety of financial based responsibilities including the determination of cost rates and utilisation targets, creating budgets and forecasts, management reporting to our parent company, Cyclife EDF Group through to financial accounting and reporting in line with statutory requirements.

Liz joined Aquila for the professional development opportunities, after reaching the most senior position available in her previous company. Aquila offered flexibility in hours, to accommodate being a new mum, but still presented opportunities for development, like achieving her chartership and being promoted through the ranks to director.

Aside from the development opportunities, Liz loves what she does, the challenge each day brings is different and with our acquisition into the Cyclife group it has brought more learning opportunities and new systems to learn and get involved with.  Aquila has a great culture and some superb individuals within the workforce with whom Liz has found not only fantastic dedicated work colleagues but also friendships. Most importantly as we continue to grow, and welcome new people we still maintain our core values of being elite and ethical.

Last month Aquila attended the STEM Fair at the University of Southampton, to talk to students about the opportunities that a STEM career with Aquila could offer. It was great to meet the students and show them how important STEM roles and ambassadors are in everyday life.

Aquila is committed to inspiring the next generation of engineers and supporting them in their next career steps alongside our experienced, established team.

Our stand included our latest 3D model of recently completed Hot Cells for a European client. Aquila has been completing the design, development, and installation of these Hot Cells, and it was fantastic to show the next generation of engineers our work, even if it is a slightly smaller version than the real thing!

Attending these careers fairs and exhibitions is important to Aquila because it affords us the opportunity to share our positive experiences with people who may not be familiar with the nuclear industry. It also allows us to positively influence the career development of the next generation of engineers by showcasing our capability and the opportunities available for those joining the industry.

Dave Collings, Aquila’s STEM Champion attended the event and commented on how wonderful it was to be back at a face-to-face event, the event was well attended by students from the University, and it was great to inspire them to consider a career in the nuclear industry. The event was engaging, exciting and encouraging!

If you met the Aquila team at the @University of Southampton and would like more information about one of our programmes, please contact the STEM team on STEM@cyclifeaquila.com

We are proud to have formed a new partnership with STEM Returners to help engineers return to the sector after a career break. Find out more below, or through our feature here: STEM Returners

“Aquila Nuclear Engineering, a Cyclife EDF group subsidiary, delivers projects across a range of domestic and international nuclear market sectors. from the design concept stage right through to manufacturing, testing, installation and commissioning.

The company will offer a pilot STEM Returners programme at their site near Winchester, Hampshire, which kicks off with the role of Senior Mechanical Design Engineer. The role will open to engineers who have struggled to return to their career through standard recruitment channels.

STEM Returners programmes act as a ‘returnship’, allowing candidates to be re-integrated into an inclusive environment upon their return to STEM.

Annual research from STEM Returners (The STEM Returners Index) has revealed the challenges engineers face when trying to return to work, following a career break. Recruitment bias is shown to be the main barrier to entry.

Natalie Desty, Director of STEM Returners said: “We are very proud to be entering this new partnership with Aquila, to return highly skilled people back into the industry they love. Only by partnering with industry leaders like Aquila, will we make vital changes in STEM recruitment practices, to help those who are finding it challenging to return to the sector and improve diversity and inclusion.”

Grace McMullan, Recruitment Advisor at Aquila, said: “At Aquila Nuclear Engineering, we strive to break down barriers and build an inclusive and diverse workforce. We support those who have taken a career break and aim to get them back into their chosen profession. We have recently formed a new partnership with STEM Returners to help Engineers get back into work, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

There is currently a well-known skills shortage in the UK engineering industry, but despite a clear need for people, professionals who have had a career break are often overlooked. STEM Returners has recently launched the 2022 STEM Returners Index to better understand STEM professionals’ experiences of trying to re-enter the sector after a career break.

The survey is open to all STEM professionals who have had a gap in their career, who are attempting to return to work, or who have recently returned to work. It is anonymous and asks a variety of questions including reasons for a career break, what challenges were faced when attempting to return to work and what impact COVID-19 had on finding a role.

The STEM Returners’ programme aims to eliminate barriers, by giving candidates real work experience and mentoring during their placement, as well as helping them to seamlessly adjust to life back in work.

Whilst the scheme helps solve the problem of sourcing talent in sectors with a shortage of skilled professionals, it also has the added benefit of increasing diversity in a host organisation. STEM Returners’ population of experienced professionals attempting to return to work are 51% female and 38% from black and minority ethnic groups, compared to 10% female and 6% BME working in the STEM industry. Successful candidates may be offered full-time positions at Aquila upon the completion of their 12-week placement. Since STEM Returners launched in 2017, nearly 250 STEM Returner candidates have joined programmes across the UK”.

Pictured left to right: Christopher Dane, Director for Business Development, Jacomex and Dave Barker, CEO, Aquila

Aquila strengthens its glovebox capability through collaboration with Jacomex – France

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd has entered an exclusivity agreement with Jacomex – France, enabling Aquila to represent and supply Jacomex custom made gloveboxes to the UK nuclear industry. The agreement is built on exciting synergies shared between the organisations. This collaboration now increases Aquila’s capability in supporting the growing demand for nuclear containments in the UK.

On 10 February 2022, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd and Jacomex of France signed an exclusivity agreement making Aquila the exclusive representative of Jacomex custom made gloveboxes for the nuclear industry in the UK. The arrangement excludes laboratory and pharmaceutical gloveboxes.

The agreement follows a period of positive conversations and factory visits between the parties, and further complements Aquila’s existing links with France: Aquila is the exclusive UK distributor for Getinge La Calhene, and Aquila has most recently become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cyclife – EDF Group.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Aquila and Jacomex as the demand for the highest quality gloveboxes from proven manufacturers is unprecedented, both companies know each other very well and we share the same values; elite and ethical”

Dave Barker, CEO, Aquila

“We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with Aquila. Our agreement provides both our companies solid ground to build a long-term partnership. I am thankful to the teams at Aquila and Jacomex for their support and enthusiasm in working together to meet the expectations of the challenges ahead.”

Christopher Dane, Director for Business Development, Jacomex

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd
Aquila Nuclear Engineering is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cyclife – EDF Group, with offices and workshops in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. Aquila is commercially active in the following 5 nuclear sectors:

• Decommissioning and Waste
• Plant Life Extension (PLEX) and Fleet Critical
• Nuclear Defence
• Nuclear Science
• Nuclear New Build
• Nuclear Medicines

Jacomex
Jacomex is wholly owned by the Gloveboxes Group, with offices and workshops in Dagneux, Ain, France, and a commercial offices in New Delhi, India. The group is also present in the USA with its subsidiary Inert Corporation, and in Northern France with Erea Pharma.

Jacomex is commercially active in:

• Nuclear Science,
• Nuclear Civil,
• Nuclear Defence,
• Nuclear Medicine

and in several industry sectors including:

• Academic and Laboratory,
• Pharmaceutical, Medicine, Life science,
• Aircraft and Aerospace,
• Chemistry,
• Additive Manufacturing,
• Battery and Solar Panel

TRADE, PRESS & MEDIA CONTACT:
Drew Corbett
Commercial Director, Aquila Nuclear Engineering
dcorbett@cyclifeaquila.com
(0)1962 717000
(0)7852 969150

Cyclife expands its engineering capabilities in UK with the acquisition of Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd.

Cyclife, the EDF subsidiary in charge of international dismantling and radioactive waste management services, is pursuing its development in Europe by acquiring complementary engineering capabilities provided by Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd.

A key player in the radioactive waste management field through its subsidiary, Cyclife UK, the EDF subsidiary had already expanded its scope of activities in 2020 to be able to additionally offer consultancy and engineering services in the field of dismantling, enabling it to win its first major contracts, notably for graphite reactors.

In order to pursue its development, Cyclife has chosen to acquire 100% of the shared capital of Aquila Nuclear Engineering from Calder Group. From design to manufacturing and commissioning, the company provides turnkey solutions in the fields of containment, shielded installations, remote handling and transport/packaging. The existing management team and all Aquila employees will continue to operate in its core market areas, but will also work closely with Cyclife UK to provide integrated waste led decommissioning solutions in this growing market.

Dave Barker, CEO, and founder of Aquila said:

“This acquisition is testament to the professionalism of the Aquila team and the reputation the business has gained across our nuclear sectors. We are delighted to be part of Cyclife / EDF and could not have chosen a better parent company to continue our success and growth.”

Estelle Desroches, CEO of EDF Cyclife SAS said:

“This acquisition is fully in line with the strategic ambitions of Cyclife / EDF, and will undoubtedly have a significant and synergistic impact on the development of both companies. It allows Cyclife to broaden its range of skills and strengthen its ability to provide integrated dismantling/waste solutions with high added value.”

Cyclife
Cyclife is a subsidiary of the EDF Group dedicated to the dismantling of nuclear facilities and the management of radioactive waste. It combines industrial waste treatment sites in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France with advanced engineering capabilities through its subsidiaries Cyclife Engineering, Graphitech and Cyclife Digital Solutions, which enable it to offer its customers a wide range of complementary services in Europe.

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd
Aquila offers Engineering Solutions in the specialist areas of Glovebox Technology, Shielded Facilities, Remote Handling Systems and Transport and Packaging to the following nuclear markets- decommissioning, new build, defence, science, and medicines.

Cyclife UK
Cyclife UK provides integrated decommissioning and waste management services comprising consultancy, engineering, site project implementation and waste treatment services, principally in the UK.

TRADE, PRESS & MEDIA CONTACT:
Drew Corbett
Commercial Director, Aquila Nuclear Engineering
dcorbett@cyclifeaquila.com
(0)1962 717000
(0)7852 969150