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Dave and Steve Barker, Aquila’s CEO and Commercial Specialist are returning today after attending the 56th annual meeting on Hot Laboratories and Remote Handling in Chennai, India. Steve’s presentation for a remote cutting machine, currently being designed and built by Aquila – for use at ESS in Sweden – was well received and many new opportunities have opened up in PIE and isotope production” The conference is highly technical and attended by 20 countries, mainly users of Hot cell facilities. A great few days had. Thank you to the organisers and the wonderful Indian hospitality.

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £178m pan-European engineering group, has presented at the 55th edition of the Annual Meeting on Hot Laboratories and Remote Handling (HOTLAB) in Helsinki, Finland, hosted by the Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (VTT).

Held on 16-20 September 2018 at Helsinki Congress Paasitorni, this was Aquila’s fifth consecutive visit to the HOTLAB Conference which has become the major global forum for technicians, operators, engineers, researchers and suppliers, working at and developing nuclear Hot Cell facilities.

Aquila’s Senior Mechanical Engineer, Gary Butler, delivered a presentation and technical paper entitled ‘Fit For Purpose Design For Remote Operations: Handling The Hot Potatoes’, providing an insight into how Aquila has delivered pragmatic, fit-for-purpose solutions to clients facing challenging ‘In Cell’ projects. Aquila’s new Hot Cell-focused exhibition stand provided the perfect platform to engage with delegates and network throughout the conference. The presentation was extremely well received and generated a great deal of interest, prompting a variety of delegates to visit Aquila’s stand to discuss the challenges they face and Aquila’s capabilities.

The three-day conference included 47 technical presentations, networking & exhibition sessions and a poster session showcasing 23 projects. This was then followed by a technical tour of the brand new VTT Hot Cell Facility and a tour of the Posiva Final Repository.

With over 140 delegates, representing 21 countries, the event offered Aquila a truly global overview of the Hot Cell Market and extensive opportunities to discuss Aquila’s capabilities with existing and potential clients. The event also provided a platform to discover how international Hot Cell users are developing technologies, utilising their Hot Cells, and what plans they may have for new facilities.

Aquila is looking forward to next year’s HOTLAB being held in Mamallapuram, India.

Read Aquila’s technical paper, Fit For Purpose Design For Remote Operations: Handling The Hot Potatoes

For more information, contact Drew Corbett, Nuclear Business Development Manager, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd.

Aquila’s Engagement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) has picked up with the decision to take on 2 design apprentices through SETA; 1 work placement undergraduate under the Year in Industry programme and 2 graduate positions.

The Design apprentices will work under the supervision of Chris Thomson’s team, Aquila’s Engineering and Projects Director and the Year in Industry and Graduates under the supervision Dave Barker’s commercial team.

Dave Barker, CEO said, “We have some good internal development projects for the apprentices and graduates to get stuck into, which have real market potential”.

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £178m pan-European engineering group, has attended the inaugural Big Science Business Forum (BSBF) in Copenhagen, Denmark, following an invitation from the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Held on 26-28 February 2018 in Copenhagen, the Big Science Business Forum brought together nine of the world’s largest research facilities and 1000 scientists, engineers, business executives and government officials from 29 European nations. The event focused on the commercial opportunities available to European industry, with procurement opportunities and orders worth more than EUR 12 billion.

Organised by CERN, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, ESS, European XFEL, F4E and ILL, a further nine Big Science organisations joined the conference, resulting in 18 of the world’s most advanced Big Science organisations coming together, all under one roof.

All these Big Science facilities and organisations require high-tech solutions and provide great innovation and growth opportunities for private companies, like Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, a specialist in the nuclear engineering field.

Drew Corbett, Nuclear Business Development Manager, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:

“We were delighted to have been invited to the very first Big Science Business Forum. The event provided an unparalleled insight into Europe’s Big Science projects, detailing potential commercial opportunities, allowing direct access to Industrial Liaison Officers and facilitating dialogue between a wide range of supply chain contributors from across the world.

This forum proved an excellent platform to share Aquila Nuclear Engineering’s experiences and capabilities, as we look to increase awareness of our services, internationally. We now look forward to developing the relationships initiated at the event and attending the next BSBF!”

Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £165m pan-European engineering group, is continuing to grow in both size and scale, and has opened up another new facility at their offices in Twyford, Hampshire, UK.

Unit 15, the new 2000 square foot facility at Hazely Enterprise Park, has been acquired by Aquila and will house Aquila’s Design Engineering and Project Management teams, following further contract awards in 2017 from across the EU and, more recently, the United States.

Dave Barker, CEO, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:

“2017 was a busy year with multiple contract wins. Our tendering activity saw a 25% increase in opportunities and a 30% increase in our hit rate, as well as existing clients returning with more work for Aquila. We’ve been continuing to build the brand and are ready for a great 2018.”

Aquila celebrated the opening of the new facility with an employee event, gifting staff with Aquila goodie bags, including Aquila Nuclear Fuel Ale.