UNITED STATES
Having successfully privatised last summer, the US Enrichment Corp, a subsidiary of USEC Inc, is moving quickly to reassert itself.
In 1999, USEC will terminate a contract with Lockheed Martin Utility Services, a unit of Lockheed Martin, for management of its gaseous diffusion plants in Ohio and Kentucky. USEC will operate and maintain the GDPs itself, a move it says will enable it “to better align employees’ performance with our objectives”.
“USEC will now take these facilities into a new era of efficient, safe operation in order to extend our role of global leadership in the production and sales of enrichment services,” USEC President and CEO William H Timbers, Jr, said.
USEC expects the transition to take about six months.
Ever since the federal government built them in the 1940s, the GDPs have been managed by an outside contractor. Prior to Lockheed Martin, that role was filled by Union Carbide, Goodyear Atomic and Martin Marietta.
USEC has also restructured its management team and brought in several new faces.
• George P Rifakes, Executive Vice President, Operations, will become Senior Executive Vice President. He will oversee USEC’s advanced technology programmes, including the atomic vapour laser isotope separation (AVLIS) technology, and a new long-term strategic business analysis function. Those two programmes are headed, respectively, by William Bennett, Vice President, Advanced Technology, and Richard Kingdon, Vice President.
• Jeffry E Sterba will join USEC as Executive Vice President responsible for marketing and sales, corporate development, international trade relations and information technology.
• Robert Van Namen, who currently heads nuclear fuel management at Duke Energy, will become USEC’s Vice President for marketing and sales.
• James H Miller, Vice President, Production, will be promoted to Executive Vice President. He will be in charge of production, regulatory affairs and procurement.
• Robert J Moore, Vice President and General Counsel, will become Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He will head the legal department, corporate communications, corporate secretary and government affairs.
• Timothy B Hansen will be appointed Corporate Secretary.
• Henry Z Shelton, Jr, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He will be responsible for finance, human resources and administration, and investor relations.
