July 9, 2015
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Bruce Power's maintenance and inspection activities will be enhanced through a new, state-of-the-art tooling system unveiled Thursday by a coalition of respected Ontario-based companies. The coalition has used innovation to drive the province's nuclear industry forward by meeting the operational needs of the Bruce Power site.
"Ontario's nuclear facilities provide reliable and clean electricity," said Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa who attended the event. "Innovation within the industry is a key driver of jobs and economic growth throughout the province. Improving affordability and competitiveness is also key and that is why our government is committed to the refurbishment of the Bruce Power and Darlington units as part of Ontario's Long-Term Energy Plan."
The Bruce Reactor Inspection and Maintenance System (BRIMS) tool was unveiled at ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. in Cambridge and will be shipped to Bruce Power where it will make its debut during the company's planned outages for the balance of 2015.
In attendance at the unveiling of the BRIMS tool at ATS Automation in Cambridge, are Duncan Hawthorne (L), president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power; Anthony Caputo, chief executive officer of ATS Automation; Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa; Cambridge MPP Kathryn McGarry; and Cambridge mayor Doug Craig; photo courtesy of Bruce Power
"It's so encouraging to see innovation and collaboration at work, sustaining jobs and economic benefits in our community and across the province," said Cambridge MPP Kathryn McGarry. "I'm proud of the role our local industry is playing in providing clean, affordable and reliable nuclear energy for Ontario now and in the future."
The BRIMS automated tooling system is the result of a multi-company collaboration, involving Bruce Power, ATS Automation, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., BWXT Canada Ltd., Candu Energy Inc. a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada.
"We are proud to be part of this important initiative for Bruce Power, a valued ATS customer," said ATS Automation chief executive officer Anthony Caputo. "ATS automation solutions are at the core of mission-critical processes across a wide variety of industries. We have applied our knowledge in this case to provide a very cost-effective way of inspecting and maintaining nuclear reactors."
Bruce Power provides 30 per cent of Ontario's electricity at 30 per cent below the average price and its operations inject more than $4-billion into Ontario's economy every year. Ontario's Long-Term Energy Plan relies on Bruce Power's eight units to supply clean, reliable electricity for decades to come.
"This is an example of the nuclear industry's incredible innovation and Bruce Power is proud to be at the forefront of this world-class technology to ensure we continue to deliver clean, affordable, reliable electricity to Ontario families and business," said Duncan Hawthorne, president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power. "This new tooling builds on lessons learned from years of operation, allowing for more effective execution of our inspection and maintenance activities that we carry out on a planned basis through maintenance outages."
"The City of Cambridge congratulates all the companies involved in this successful project," said mayor Doug Craig. "Our community is proud of the role businesses, such as ATS Automation and BWXT Canada, play in the global nuclear energy supply chain and it's encouraging to see what is possible when Ontario-based companies collaborate."
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