Company Report: Westinghouse Electric Belgium
The name of power Nivelles in Belgium is home to the Westinghouse European Service Centre, a fully-licensed Class 2 nuclear facility that supports Westinghouse Field Services' work at European operating reactors: it is expanding and adapting its role to meet the certain demand for more nuclear capacity to provide clean, safe energy

Westinghouse Electric built the first AC generating plant in

In 1956 it built the first commercial pressurised water reac

Today it is one of the leading engineering companies in the

Westinghouse has a powerful name, one that brings to mind the great turbines that powered the second industrial revolution and the growth of modern industry. The company built the first AC generating plant in 1886. In 1956 it built the first commercial pressurised water reactor (PWR) at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. If any company in the world can talk with authority about electric power generation it is Westinghouse, and today it is one of the leading engineering companies in the field of nuclear power generation.

But things have changed a lot since the late 1950s; Shippingport, now decommissioned, had an output capacity of 60 MWE (megawatts electric). Westinghouse Electric Company’s latest reactor is called the AP1000 and is designed to produce 1,154 MWE. It is the only Generation III+ reactor to receive design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Now this article is being written on a Toshiba computer, and most of us associate Toshiba with small, quiet devices. Nevertheless Toshiba has 27huge ambitions in the field of nuclear power, and acquired Westinghouse in 2006 with the stated objective of trebling its nuclear power business by 2015.

THE NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE
The acquisition was prompted by renewed global interest in nuclear energy, driven by concerns to secure stable electric power supplies, and to promote conservation and develop environmentally friendly technologies. Public awareness of the need for additional nuclear energy capacity is emerging in Europe and the US, and the fast-growing Asian economies. China and other growing economies have already planned new investments in plant construction.

This awareness is also stimulating further interest in the renovation of already commissioned plants. On the strength of these trends, the nuclear plant industry expects to see consistent growth in coming years. By 2020, the global market for nuclear power generation is expected to grow by 50 percent compared with today.

“The world is facing the Nuclear Renaissance,” says CEO Sylvestre Viré. “It’s a huge growth opportunity and one we have decided at Westinghouse to seize. We have an aspiration to multiply our sales volume tenfold in 10 years! This will depend to a large extent on the construction of new reactors, and we know too that we will have to realign all our core structures like financial, HR, supply chain management and the rest. We have a few years ahead of us to get ready, but by around 2020 we hope to be a $30 billion turnover company employing around 40,000 people around the world.”

In Europe, Westinghouse faces competition from the French conglomerate Areva, Siemens and to some extent General Electric: its strategy to stay ahead of these players is based on its global presence.

Westinghouse Belgium is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of two reactors at Tihange, three at Doel and of 15 other units across Europe — for instance, at Krško in Slovenia. It is not currently building new reactors in these countries, concentrating mainly on plant life extension and power up-rating. Nivelles is very active in engineering services, including primary system design and repair, as well as system and safety analysis, accidents simulation and assessment, and working with the regulators on checking emergencies procedures.

Westinghouse Belgium also delivers engineering services covering the whole world: “We work in South Africa, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Eastern European countries, the UK and even the US; so engineering services in Belgium is the Westinghouse centre of excellence for pressurised water reactors and one of the main driving forces for growth here in Nivelles.”

NEW CAPACITY AT NEVILLES
Its field services division handles on-site work, such as reactor vessel head replacement or steam generator inspection and installation. “Field services is a fast growing activity,” says Viré. “We are building the new Westinghouse European Pump and Motor Repair and Maintenance Centre at Nivelles.”

This large workshop is nearing completion and will be operational by the beginning of 2010. This facility will create up to 40 new jobs at the European Service Centre, a fully-licensed Class 2 nuclear facility, and though the bulk of its work will be in support of EDF facilities in France, and will support customers throughout Europe, he says.

The new maintenance centre will be joined by 31 further growth, Viré continues: “We are preparing ourselves for the steam generator replacement market in Europe, particularly in France, and we need to build-up our engineering services expertise capabilities. Brain power is what we need most, so we started a recruitment campaign as well as the extension of our facilities.

“As there will be more focus on upgrading and increasing the power output of existing power plants, we will leverage our expertise and knowledge to do that. Remember, we are the OEM and have built something like 18 PWR units in Europe. As soon as a plant life extension programme comes up, the utility will revert to us because we have the plant knowledge!” This gives Westinghouse a decisive competitive advantage, he points out.

NETWORKS AND SKILLS
The face of the world is changing, says Viré. “Westinghouse is looking at cooperation, partnership and alliances all over the world, having started discussions this year with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). This growth is not going to be possible on our own. It will be through networks, alliances, acquisitions and all forms of partnership. A huge networking supply chain will be established.”

A major challenge is to find the skilled people that are needed. “We are still able to recruit people from the market and eventually from the competition, but that is not enough. That’s why we established the European Trainee Programme and the Westinghouse Academy; to enable young engineers and new hires to inherit what senior engineers have collected in expertise and know-how, and partner with prestigious universities like Manchester in the UK, Pittsburgh in the US, as well as here in Belgium and at the European Community level. More specifically the European Trainee Programme hires three new engineers each year in Belgium, trains them for 18 months, then offers them the choice to work on new build, fuel supply, engineering services or any other activity, anywhere in the world they choose.

“Complementary, Westinghouse has developed a worldwide programme called Customer First, started six years ago to give Westinghouse engineers and managers two years basic training in six sigma, human performance and behaviour differentiation. It is a very ambitious programme, but it works and has contributed tremendously in improving our operational excellence.”

Motivating young engineers is also of utmost importance and it is assigning young engineers to support activities — for instance, new build studies and projects like AP1000. “We know the AP1000 is going to be built in Europe. When exactly, we don’t know, but very soon; perhaps first in the UK and for that we need a core team and are contributing to build up that core expertise now in Nivelles, together with the other European regions,” says Viré.

This Nuclear Renaissance makes nuclear a very attractive industry for newly qualified engineers, as Viré points out: “Someone joining Westinghouse today can still be working on new build in 30 or 40 years’ time: where else can you promise that?”

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