Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £165m pan-European engineering group, is creating closer ties with French nuclear equipment manufacturer, Getinge La Calhene (GLC).
Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd is the sole UK distributor of GLC products and members of its commercial team have recently completed a comprehensive training programme, hosted by GLC, to learn more about GLC product details and applications.
Getinge La Calhene’s products include double-lidded posting systems (DPTE) for safe transfer of radioactive material, Master Slave Manipulators (MSM) for handling in hot cells, and shielded flasks for radioactive material movement on site (PADIRAC).
Drew Corbett, Business Development Manager, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:
“This training has been invaluable and, with the global market for hot cell and containments expanding, Aquila has made the decision to build its own in-house training and trials facility at its technical center in Winchester, Hampshire.”
Dave Barker, CEO, Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:
“Our relationship with Getinge La Calhene goes back many years and their products align exactly with our four product categories; containment, shielded facilities, remote handling, and transport & packaging. We know how to engineer the GLC products into a complete system build which is great news for our clients as it’s proven technology installed worldwide.”
Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £165m pan-European engineering group, has been awarded the contract to design and manufacture a Drum Housing Unit (DHU) for use with monitors, for the detection of radon by Magnox Limited.
The DHU will be installed at Magnox’s Harwell site to house radioactive waste drums to enable the measurement of radon gas emanating, prior to their transfer to another site for long-term storage. A key area of focus will be achieving a durable and adequate seal to prevent radon gas escaping from the DHU during the monitoring process.
Dave Barker, CEO of Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:
“2017 continues to be a great year for Aquila and we are pleased to be awarded this contract with Magnox Limited. Aquila has a vast amount of experience in offering pragmatic and effective solutions to containment challenges. We are looking forward to working with Magnox and adding the Drum Housing Unit to our containment portfolio.”
The scope of the contract includes solutions for the complete DHU housing sealing arrangements, including testing plan and maintenance requirements, all lifting features and connections for vacuum extract and radon monitoring devices. All manufacturing drawings and production of the DHU is within the scope, including the Works Acceptance Testing.
Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £165m pan-European engineering group, has been awarded a contract by Magnox Limited to design and manufacture an external mixing unit as part of the Modular Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) Encapsulation Pre-Conditioning Project at Hinkley Point A.
Work will comprise the design and supply of a horizontal shaft mixer for the immobilisation of sludge with cement powders and an associated washing system. The equipment will be installed on a mezzanine steelwork platform to be located within a new portal frame clad building at Hinkley Point A in Somerset.
The scope includes the sizing of the building to install and operate the mixer system, design and supply of the mixer, cement delivery system and all associated plant and equipment. The system will be capable of being operated locally, during commissioning, or remotely, during operations, and the entire functionality will be demonstrated during an integrated Factory Acceptance Test.
Jim Fyfe, Project Manager, Magnox Limited, said:
“We are looking forward to working with Aquila, who put forward a very strong bid to win the External Mixing contract.”
Dave Barker, CEO of Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:
“We’re delighted to be awarded this contract with Magnox Limited and look forward to working closely with the Magnox team. We believe this award recognizes our thorough open book approach to bidding in both technical and commercial terms.”
The summer of 2017 is a milestone for Aquila Nuclear Engineering as they exceed their metrics’ targets for both opportunities and order intake, within the nuclear industry.
Since its inauguration in 2011, Aquila has implemented a highly focused communication and growth plan. Combined with delivering to an exceptional standard, their strapline is ‘PRAGMATIC, COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION, ALWAYS’, this has driven the success of the company.
Dave Barker, CEO, Aquila Nuclear Engineering said:
“2017 is a great year for the whole team at Aquila, we’re seeing continued growth in terms of sales and the size of our team and we put a lot of this down to our approach of delivering on our promises, delivering what we said we would, to our clients. It’s not just about the numbers though, we have a great culture at Aquila that means we overcome challenges in a collaborative way. We enjoy what we do, we like our clients and we enjoy coming to work, that makes things so much easier for everyone.”
To celebrate summer in style, Aquila Nuclear Engineering have collaborated with their design agency, The Glow Studio, to design their own ‘Nuclear Fuel’ ale brand.
Bowman Ales, an award-winning brewery local to Aquila’s Twyford offices (near Winchester), kindly agreed to let Aquila re-label their own Meon Valley Bitter bottles to feature Aquila’s very own customised label.
‘Nuclear Fuel’ ale will be given to Aquila’s clients and employees as gifts.
Dave Barker, CEO of Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, part of the Calder Group, the £165m pan-European engineering group, has recently been appointed Chairman of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Estate SME Steering Group – Southern Region.
The group provides a forum for strategic engagement between the NDA, the Site Licence Companies (SLCs), Tier 2 suppliers and SMEs representing the supply chain, and feeds into the National SME Steering Group to promote shared learning, best practice and coordination.
Appointed for a period of 3 years, Dave Barker will chair the group to focus on topics relating to improving the attractiveness and the health of the market, supporting the portfolio of NDA sites with a particular focus on the SME community.
As an advocate for SMEs, the group will provide a direct communication route between representatives of the SME supply chain and the NDA, connecting up all levels of the supply chain, acting as a sounding board and identifying areas for improvement.
With over 35 years’ industry experience, Dave’s expertise cover a strategic, technical and commercial portfolio, providing hands-on solutions to mission critical engineering.
Dave Barker, CEO of Aquila Nuclear Engineering Ltd, said:
“I’m honoured to have been voted Chairman of the steering group and I believe the mix of companies represented will work well with the Site Licence Companies in helping to improve performance and increasing the percentage of business flowing into the supply chain at the SME level. There are great opportunities for SMEs in the South, not just within the NDA estate, but also at AWE and EDF, so we have a lot to go for.”
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Design | Manufacture | Assembly | Installation of Equipment for the Nuclear Industry
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AQUILA AND BD NUCLEAR HAVE AGREED TO WORK TOGETHER IN PROVIDING DECOMMISSIONING SOLUTIONS TO THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY.
This agreement to collaborate has resulted from an assessment of the two companies’ capabilities, market knowledge, decommissioning techniques and complementary skills.
Aquila, is a specialist in the design and supply of containment systems, shielded facilities, remote handling and transport/storage packages.
BD Nuclear, are specialists in providing diamond wire cutting and size reduction techniques, in steel and concrete.
Aquila and BD Nuclear together, can provide bespoke decommissioning solutions to the nuclear industry, combining specialist cutting and size reduction techniques within contained and shielded environments, including remote handling. Both companies follow the same driving principals in designing fit for purpose solutions, competitively and most importantly, safely.
Aquila Nuclear and BD Nuclear, believe that in working together we can offer turnkey solutions to the decommissioning industry within Europe. This joined up approach offers our clients unparalleled access to cutting, size reduction, remote handling and sorting techniques, tried and tested.
OUR CLIENT BASE IS WHOLLY NUCLEAR AND JOINTLY INCLUDES:
- Areva
- AWE
- AMEC
- Babcock Marine Development
- Cavendish Nuclear
- CEA
- Costain Nuclear
- Dalton Institute
- DSRL
- Edf
- GEHC
- Imperial College London
- Interserve
- Jacobs
- Keltbray
- National Nuclear Laboratories
- Redhall
- Magnox
- Nuvia
- RPS Group
- Sellafield Limited
- Tractabel
- University of Manchester
- University of Hull
- University of Oxford
- UKAEA
The Aquila and BD nuclear teams have undertaken projects at all Magnox sites, Sellafield and DSRL. Both companies have framework agreements already in place at DSRL for size reduction, mechanical engineering and manufacturing services.
APPLICATION SOLUTIONS
We would welcome opportunities from the nuclear industry to engineer total cutting and size reduction solutions from:
- Concept
- Feasibility studies
- Detail design
- Full manufacture, assembly and works testing
- On site plant installation and commissioning
- On site team classified workers-Pressurised suit trained and DV cleared.