Westinghouse buys Italian component maker
Westinghouse is to buy Italian heavy equipment manufacturer Mangiarotti SpA, which it said will strengthen its supply chain and broaden its reach into the oil and gas industries.
Expansion into these new markets was "of primary interest" to Westinghouse, it said yesterday when announcing the purchase. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although it is expected to be completed by early August.
Mangiarotti holds ASME and ISO 9001 qualification and manufactures various safety-related components at its three facilities at Monfalcone, San Giorgio di Nogaro and Pannellia for use in in the energy and process industries. It is supplying a range of parts to the Westinghouse AP1000s under construction in America at Vogtle and Summer, including the pressurizers, core make-up tanks, accumulator tanks, and residual heat removal heat exchangers among other things. Mangiarotti has also supplied Areva, GE, Siemens and Sogin, as well as the Angra and Ringhals nuclear power plants.
The announcement comes several months after reported concerns about cashflow at the Italian company. In May, the Italian trades union organisation Confederazione Italiania Sindicati Lavoratori (CISL) noted that the company had a healthy order book but was stymied by a lack of financial resources to back the purchase of raw materials after banks withdrew funding guarantees. According to the CISL, a sale to Westinghouse would result in a "significant injection of liquidity" for the company. Westinghouse has promised to continue operations at the Monfalcone and Pannellia facilities.
Westinghouse senior vice president of global strategy and operations support Rick Gabbianelli referred to Mangiarotti as "an important and long-term supplier", adding that its incorporation into the Westinghouse supply chain underlined the company's commitment to its investment strategy.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
