Spaniards unite to supply heat exchangers

Thursday, 31 July 2008

Two Spanish companies - Equipos Nucleares SA (Ensa) and Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) - have agreed to collaborate in the supply of heat exchangers for nuclear and thermal power plants worldwide.
 

Ensa's Maliano facility, where large nuclear components are made

Francisco Pinto Ballesteros, president and CEO of Ensa, and Juan Llado Arburua, vice president and CEO of TR, signed a framework partnership agreement in early July. According to a joint statement, Ensa and TR estimate the value of the global market for heat exchangers at some €300 million ($470 million) per year.
 

In 2007 the two companies were jointly awarded a contract to supply two replacement heat exchangers for a Spanish nuclear power plant, which are scheduled to be delivered in August. The success of this contract led the companies to signing the partnership agreement for further collaboration.
 

Heat exchangers allow efficient heat transfer from one fluid to another. They are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, and natural gas processing as well as power plants.
 

TR is an international general contractor engaged in the engineering and construction of industrial facilities in the fields of oil, gas and petrochemical industries, as well as in electricity generation.
 

Ensa, part of the state-owned holding SEPI Group, designs, manufacturers and installs heavy components and other major equipment for nuclear power plants, such as reactor vessels and their internal components, steam and pressure generators, as well as for thermal power plants and other facilities. The company currently exports 85% of its production and manufactures components and equipment for nuclear power plants in several countries, including the USA, China, South Korea, South Africa, France and Sweden.
 

Separately, Ensa has announced that it has shipped four Westinghouse-designed steam generators for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California. The delivery fulfils the contract signed with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in September 2004 for eight replacement steam generators for the plant.
 

In May, Ensa delivered a steam generator to China National Nuclear Corp's (CNNC's) Qinshan nuclear. Ensa's participation in the project to expand the Qinshan plant involved designing and manufacturing one steam generator, as well as providing technical support to Shanghai Electric Group Corp for the manufacture of three further such steam generators.
 

Ensa said that over the past 27 years it has supplied a total of 134 steam generators for nuclear power plants worldwide.
 

Four Spanish companies, including Ensa, have recently formed a joint venture specifically targeted at supplying products and services to the Chinese nuclear power market. Enusa, Tecnatom and Ensa originally formed the Spanish Nuclear Group for China (SNGC) consortium in February 2007. On 4 July, Ringo Valvulas agreed to join the group, which then officially became a joint venture rather than a commercial alliance. Each company holds a 25% stake in SNGC, whose purpose is the marketing and supply of nuclear products and services abroad, particularly in China.