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Focus on future at nuclear hub
ONE of the Fylde's biggest employers says it is focused on bringing a nuclear revolution to the coast.
It comes as Toshiba Westinghouse, owners of Springfields, have set up a permanent home for its regional office.
Due to a massive expansion of its office staff, the Salwick-based company has left its Preston office in favour of a larger one in Chorley.
But bosses at the nuclear fuel maker said its priority over the coming months is to secure the contract for the much vaunted AP1000 reactor.
The AP1000 reactor is battling it out with its French counterpart Areva, with its EPR reactor, to become the facility of choice in 2011.
The company is heading a list of firms bidding to build a reactor at an as-yet-unnamed site in the UK.
Mike Tynan, Westinghouse UK chief executive, said: "Whilst fuel manufacture at Springfields remains a crucial part of our business in the UK, there is a bigger picture for us here, which cuts across all of our business areas.
"We are working hard to ensure that the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design is licensed for use in the UK, and that it is selected by utility customers.
"We are also developing a reactor services and decommissioning business here, which is a growing area for Westinghouse, building on our track record in this sector overseas.
"We have found that having a headquarters located a few miles away from our Springfields location has been helpful in allowing us to focus on these wider opportunities and the synergies between them.
"Matrix Park will suit our needs well – it has space for more people, and we will have a longer term presence there.
"Importantly too – it retains our roots in central Lancashire, where Westinghouse is long-established.
"We established a regional office presence at the Pavilions in central Preston 18 months ago now, and although that has served us well it was always intended to be a temporary base.
"Due to continued expansion we have outgrown the office space we have there, and the time is right for us to establish a base which will meet our needs for years to come."
Plans to move staff to Chorley will start next month.
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Wednesday 30 May 2012
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