Cammell Laird Latest News 2012

Cammell Laird management, workers and sub-contractors have joined together to raise more than £11,000 for two children’s hospices on Merseyside.

In total, the workforce and subcontractors collected £5,600 which was matched by the shipyard’s management. The money will go to Wirral based Claire House Children’s Hospice and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Liverpool.

The recent cheque handover at Cammell Laird’s headquarters in Campbeltown Road, Birkenhead, marked the fifth year the yard had taken part in the fundraising initiative.

Cammell Laird spokesperson Joanne Bird said the workforce initially came up with the idea to raise the cash and Cammell Laird Chief Executive, John Syvret said he would match their efforts.

“This was a terrific effort by the Cammell Laird workforce and subcontractors who dug deep into their own pockets to make Christmas extra special for the sick children at Claire House and Zoe’s Place. As with the past 5 years, their fundraising amount was then matched by the shipyard’s management taking the grand total to £11,200. This is one of the largest amounts raised over the years and it really demonstrates the generous spirited ethos of our workforce. The shipyard has deep roots in the community and Claire House and Zoe’s Place are two very important and worthwhile causes. The cash will be split equally between the two.”

Zoe’s Place is the only Baby Hospice in the UK – it provides one-to-one respite and palliative nursing care for infants aged 0-5 years with life threatening or life limiting conditions.

Claire House provides specialist end of life care for children and young adults with life threatening and life limiting conditions as well as support for the whole family

Ansaldo Nucleare, a member of the Italian high technology group Finmeccanica, has signed a partnership agreement with Warrington based Nuvia and Birkenhead based Cammell Laird to design and build heavy modules and components for the UK’s multi-billion pound civil nuclear programme.

The partnership strengthens the initial partnership deal struck in August 2010 between Nuvia and Cammell Laird to enter the nuclear module market. Ansaldo Nucleare now becomes the third essential partner in this ‘best-in-class’ alliance. Ansaldo brings 30 years experience in the nuclear power sector with capabilities that include plant design, engineering, fabrication management, construction, commissioning, operational assistance, maintenance and decommissioning. In particular, Ansaldo Nucleare is the designer of the major modules for the Westinghouse AP1000 plant and currently involved in the design and construction of the Containment Vessel at Sanmen nuclear power plant in China. Ansaldo Nucleare is fully owned by Ansaldo Energia, a key player among the European power generation suppliers.

The partners propose to build super modules for AP1000 and EPR nuclear power plants, initially for the UK market, using an off-site ‘weather protected’ construction hall and sea access load-out facilities at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead capable of handling modules up to 5000 tonne.

The principle advantages of this innovative approach lie in the ability to design and build larger units than previously possible in a weather protected factory environment. This will ultimately reduce construction costs, improve quality, safety and delivery performance while reducing onsite construction content by a considerable factor.

John Syvret, CEO of Cammell Laird said “Ansaldo Nucleare has added an important new dimension to the partnership Nuvia and Cammell Laird formed last year, as they have patented module designs together with operational capability and significant design capacity. Ansaldo is also currently involved in the construction and management of the latest AP1000 Nuclear Power Plant being built in China. These skills when added to the capabilities and infrastructure of Nuvia and Cammell Laird, create a unique formula for the design, offsite construction and installation support of ‘super modules’ for future nuclear power plants to be built in the UK and ultimately around the world.”

Keith Collett, CEO of Nuvia UK commented, “The addition of Ansaldo Nucleare to the already impressive partnership of Nuvia and Cammell Laird creates a significant proposition to the nuclear new build market, increasing the spectrum of capability, knowledge and experience from one collaborative source. This association provides a real opportunity for Nuvia, Ansaldo Nucleare and Cammell Laird to drive innovation and enhance the technical engineering skills offered to the UK and International market.”

Roberto Adinolfi, CEO of Ansaldo Nucleare, speaking about the challenges ahead said “Ansaldo Nucleare has been a European pioneer in the development of third generation advanced designs based on passive technology that prevent reactor cooling difficulties after a blackout, supporting Westinghouse from the embryonic stages of their design of AP1000 and co-operating with other vendors to manufacture and test innovative components. The agreement with Cammell Laird and Nuvia will inject Ansaldo's experience in support of the UK nuclear program in a very effective way, creating a win-win opportunity for the partners in playing a leading role in the European nuclear market”.

Nuvia is one of the United Kingdom's largest independent suppliers of nuclear technology, providing a range of services from front-end consultancy through to design and build and final decommissioning, for new and existing nuclear facilities in the UK and overseas. Nuvia has extensive technical knowledge and experience in the construction of EPR nuclear power plants through its parent company the Vinci Group, one of the largest construction companies in the world. In particular it has specialist knowledge and expertise of UK as well as international nuclear industry standards and regulations.

Cammell Laird is the largest and most successful ship repair and conversion specialist in the UK with new build, major engineering construction capability and an enviable reputation for first class workmanship and industry-leading safety standards. Cammell Laird's project management team has a proven track record in the execution of major ship repair and shipbuilding contracts and the manufacture of ultra large complex engineering structures.