Over 100 delegates from around the country attended a recent event highlighting the opportunities which the UK’s new civil nuclear build programme may present to the countries’ manufacturing businesses. Interest in the Advanced Manufacturing Forum (AMF) event, hosted in association with the Sheffield Region: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials team was such that the event was held at the AMP Technology Centre in Rotherham.

Speakers including David Powell of Westinghouse Electric Company, Graham Honeyman of Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd, and Kevin Parkin of Davy Markham Ltd outlined the potential prospects arising from the planned programme, and what elements are required to achieve this potential.

UK manufacturers have a unique opportunity to put themselves at the forefront of the global nuclear industry, according to keynote speaker David Powell, head of customer relations for reactor provider Westinghouse UK.

Global nuclear capacity is expected to reach 1280GWe by 2050 from 372GWe today, Powell noted. "The UK has the opportunity to really benefit from being at the start of this," he said. "We want to find the best ways of working with the UK supply chain, which is already strongly engaged with meeting our global needs."

Westinghouse aims to have the first of its AP1000 reactors operational in the UK by 2020. "We buy where we build, and will do the same in the UK," Powell said. "By the fifth AP1000 unit, we expect that over 70 per cent of what we need will be coming from the UK."

Westinghouse will support its supply chain by technology transfer and by strategic investment, as with its support for Sheffield Forgemasters' 15,000-tonne forging press. "At the moment, we rely on Japan Steel Works for large forgings, and for a company like Westinghouse it's never good to depend on just one supplier," Powell noted.

Graham Honeyman provided an overview of Forgemasters' current involvement in the nuclear industry, highlighting their expertise in forging very heavy safety critical parts, which require high quality forgings to very fine tolerances, and outlining how the planned investment in the new press will ensure that they would be one of only two companies in the world capable of making 100% of the heavy forgings for a nuclear reactor set.

Kevin Parkin emphasised the UK's need for suitably qualified engineers, and the benefits to industry of supporting the introduction of more apprentices who would be trained and developed to become the next generation of world class engineers. He also spoke about the need for quality standards in the nuclear industry and his belief that companies should ensure they are achieving the very highest levels of quality to give them a fighting chance of supplying into this industry.

Denzil Lawrence from the AMRC with Boeing which runs the AMF events was pleased with the attendance, saying;

"The AMF events generally attract a good number of delegates but this time we've exceeded our expectations. There are some potentially large opportunities for UK manufacturers to benefit from the planned new build programme, and it's clear that the forward thinking companies are already looking to learn more about how they could gain from those opportunities."

Anthony Cundall from the Sheffield Region: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials project team added;

"The announcement that the Sheffield Region will be home to two groundbreaking research and engineering plants for the new civil nuclear manufacturing industry has further cemented the region's position as a key location for future civil nuclear developments.

"The new £25m Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) at the AMP, and a Rolls Royce component manufacturing, assembly and testing facility add to an existing array of expertise in the civil nuclear sector from established companies such as Sheffield Forgemasters, Davy Markham, Technicut and Newburgh Engineering Ltd. It is therefore fitting that we should hold an event of such importance in the region."