The main company producing the heavy forgings required for nuclear power plants, Japan Steel Works (JSW), is spending 40 billion Yen (Aus$330 million) to increase capacity in advance of orders expected from both China and the USA.

Japan Steel Works has production and research bases in Hiroshima, Yokohama and Muroran.

The Muroran centre, in Hokkaido, hosts the heavy steel works and research laboratory relevant to power generation. Muroran manufactures reactor pressure vessels, steam generator components, generator & turbine rotor shafts, clad steel plates and turbine casings for nuclear power plants.

JSW has been manufacturing forgings for nuclear plant components to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards since 1974, and around 130 JSW reactor pressure vessels are used around the world - more than one third of the total.

News sourced from World NuclearNews