Areva looks to consolidate German activities

Areva's German subsidiary, Areva GmbH, has announced plans to consolidate its activities. The move, in response to Germany's changing nuclear power market, would result in the closure of its engineering services facility in Offenbach.

Following a meeting of Areva GmbH's supervisory board yesterday, the company said it will begin discussions with its "social partners" on a project to relocate the engineering and development activities at Offenbach to its manufacturing sites and testing facilities at Erlangen and Karlstein by mid-2016 at the latest.

The Offenbach site is the second biggest Areva site in Germany after Erlangen. The facility's operations focus on engineering services for boiling water reactor systems, for construction and electrical systems, and instrumentation and control, as well as the associated distribution services.

Areva said all of the 700 employees at the Offenbach site would be offered posts at either Erlangen or Karlstein if the move goes ahead.

The company said the aim of the project is to "optimize the industrial footprint of Areva in Germany by improving cooperation between the teams and providing structural savings."

Areva GmbH managing director Stefan vom Scheidt said, "Areva needs to enhance its competitiveness to adjust to the changing market conditions." He added, "This consolidation will make sure that our sites are the right size to ensure their operational efficiency."

In March 2011, Germany reacted to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi by ordering eight older reactors to close for a three-month 'moratorium'. Acting on federal instructions, state environment agencies subsequently ordered that those reactors never restart. The country's 17 remaining reactors are all planned to be shut down by 2022.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News