Westinghouse Electric Company's PaR Nuclear Inc., a global leader in the supply of fuel-handling equipment and nuclear cranes, has signed agreements to establish a joint venture with Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co., (TYHM), manufacturer of cranes, forging equipment, excavators and other heavy machinery.
PaR Nuclear will hold a majority interest in the new company, to be called PaR-TZ Nuclear Company Ltd., and that will provide assembly, testing and sale of new critical crane components and fuel-handling equipment, as well as the associated services and spare parts of these to the Chinese commercial nuclear market.
The new company will be based in Taiyuan, China, located approximately 500 km (311 miles) southwest of Beijing.
“There is a large, nuclear-specific market for crane components, fuel-handling equipment, spare parts, and outage and installation services in China,” said Bill Burns, president, PaR Nuclear. “We are pleased to be joining with TYHM to broaden our collective reach and further enhance our ability to provide equipment and services to the Chinese nuclear market.”
PaR Nuclear has a significant and ongoing engagement in the Chinese nuclear market. In 2009, the company formed a joint venture company with Hutchinson Manufacturing Inc. to fabricate, assemble and test large cranes for nuclear power plants, including the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant. That company, called NuCrane Manufacturing LLC, shipped the first AP1000 polar crane from its US factory in Hutchinson, Minn., to the flagship AP1000 nuclear plant, Sanmen Unit 1, in August 2011. In addition, PaR Nuclear will provide refueling equipment for the three additional AP1000 plants currently under construction in China.
