Poland: AREVA and EDF strengthen their partnerships with local industry

AREVA and EDF are organizing today another "Suppliers Day," in Katowice, Poland. The 6^th edition of this event benefits from the participation of the Polish Ministry of Economy and the Polish Confederation Lewiatan. During the event, five new agreements with Polish companies will be signed (Energomontaż-Północ Gdynia Sp. z o.o., GEA Technika Cieplna Sp. z o.o., MEDCOM Sp. z o.o., PROCHEM S.A., Remontowa S.), opening new perspectives for future cooperation in the nuclear field.

With each edition attracting a hundred local businesses on average, EDF and AREVA are able to develop an expanded network of suppliers in preparation for the start of the Polish nuclear program. The procedure to select, among others, the program’s strategic partner, as well as the financing and the technology, is expected to be launched in 2015 by the utility PGE EJ 1.

"This supplier day and the signature of new agreements confirm AREVA's commitment to rely on the expertise of Polish companies and proceed with further localization underway. Several dozen Polish companies are already part of AREVA’s supply chain, including more than thirty which work at our new nuclear build projects in Europe and in China," said Tarik Choho, chief commercial executive officer of AREVA. "We believe that these companies in Katowice, located in the heart of a major industrial area, will provide key support for the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant, as well as for our other projects around the world." 

Dominique Lagarde, executive vice-president of EDF's Nuclear Engineering Division, said: "The support of partners with high-level skills will be a key component of the future Polish nuclear program. These supplier days are an opportunity to share our experience and to foster the expertise of the Polish industrial sector in this field. They are essential to ensuring the long term safety and performance of the future power plants, while contributing to the country’s economic development."