Germany’s GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH is expanding its activities in the field of nuclear power plant decommissioning after Eisenwerk Bassum (EWB), which has been part of the GNS Group since 2020, took over Maschinen-Meyer GmbH & Co. KG in Sulingen on 21 February.
The two companies located south of Bremen have been active in many areas of metalworking and processing for decades, with a special focus on the production of packaging for radioactive materials such as containers and barrels. These are required in rapidly increasing numbers, particularly against the background of the decommissioning of German nuclear power plants.
The previous activities of Maschinen-Meyer will be integrated into the organisation of EWB, and the Maschinen-Meyer location in Sulingen will be retained in its entirety, along with some 80 jobs there. Following the takeover, the GNS Group now has more than 800 employees at nine locations in Germany.
Both in Sulingen and in Bassum, GNS is planning significant investments and a massive expansion of production capacities. For example, by 2024 the capacity for the Konrad containers required for the final storage of radioactive waste in the Konrad repository is to be almost tripled from the current 500 units a year.
"We welcome the new colleagues from Maschinen-Meyer to our group of companies and look forward to our future together,” said Dr Jens Schröder, technical director of GNS.
“The proven drums and containers from Maschinen-Meyer complete our range of packaging solutions for the nuclear sector. From now on, we can reliably offer our customers a comprehensive range of packaging for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste from a single source. The planned investments at both locations in Bassum and Sulingen will also improve the security of supply for our products, which are in great demand, and create new jobs.”
