Westinghouse PaR Nuclear And Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group To Form JV To Provide Crane Components, Fuel-handling Equipment In China

PITTSBURGH, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

The new company, to be called PaR-TZ Nuclear Company, Ltd., of which PaR Nuclear will hold a majority interest, will provide the 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. 

"China has a fast-growing economy and a dramatic need for more electricity generation," said Jack Allen, president, Westinghouse Asia.  "Clean, safe, reliable nuclear power will be an important source of that electricity, and this arrangement enables us to provide close-to-the-customer solutions and support for crane component and fuel-handling equipment needs."

From 2000 to 2010, China's energy demand doubled and in 2011, its electricity consumption rose 11.7 percent.  Currently, China has 15 nuclear power plants in operation, more than 25 under construction and more about to start construction.  By 2020, the country expects to increase its nuclear capacity to 70 to 80 GWe. 

"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 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: one at Sanmen in Zhejiang Province and two at Haiyang in the Shandong Province.  The flagship AP1000 unit, Sanmen 1 is expected to come online in 2013. 

Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TKY:6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world.  Westinghouse supplied the world's first pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa.  Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. 

About Taiyuan Heavy Machinery (Group) Co., Ltd.
Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co., LTD (TYHM) was established in 1950, as the first constructed heavy machinery manufacturing enterprise since the founding of new China.  TYHM is one of the 50 largest industrial enterprises in the machine building industry in China.  TYHM has the largest crane manufacturing base, excavator manufacturing base and forging equipment manufacturing base in China.  TYHM's products are used in the metallurgy, mining, energy, transportation, chemical, aerospace, and other industries and are exported around the world.

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company