BWXT Begins Life as a Pure Play Nuclear Company
The Babcock & Wilcox Company has completed its planned separation into two companies, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. and BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT). One of the neat things about this announcement is that BWXT will be headquartered in Lynchburg, VA. It might also mean that there is a chance that the new company will regain interest in developing a market for smaller reactors.
BWXT’s existing customer base shows that designing and manufacturing more flexible nuclear heated machines that can meet the energy needs of a larger potential customer base is a well-proven technical option. Perhaps this will be one small step in empowering America.
Here is the press release that B&W issued this morning.
BWXT Completes Spin-Off of Power Generation Business
Begins Trading on New York Stock Exchange Under New Ticker Symbol
(LYNCHBURG, VA – July 1, 2015) – BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) (NYSE:BWXT) has completed the spin-off of its Power Generation business and will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “BWXT.”
In 2014, The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) announced its intent to spin off its Power Generation business, and on June 8, 2015, B&W’s board of directors approved the spinoff. The Power Generation business is now known as Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.
BWXT is the sole manufacturer of naval nuclear reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers; provides nuclear fuel to the U.S. government; provides technical, management and site services to support governments in the operation of complex facilities and environmental remediation activities; and supplies precision manufactured components and services for the commercial nuclear power industry. BWXT has locations throughout North America.
BWXT is led by Executive Chairman John A. Fees and President and Chief Executive Officer Peyton S. (Sandy) Baker.
“This is clearly an important day in the long history of our Company,” said Mr. Fees. “We believe that our stable backlog and consistent earnings make us an attractive investment opportunity. As a standalone company, BWXT will have greater management focus on the distinct business of government and nuclear operations. We will also have greater ability to attract an investor base suited to our Company’s specific operational and financial characteristics.”
Mr. Baker said, “On behalf of our employees, I‘m proud to say that we are ready to continue our excellent work in safely providing products and services in some very specialized and high-consequence markets. We have an outstanding track record of using technical expertise and advanced technologies to deliver quality results, and we look forward to continuing that work for both the United States government and private customers.”
To learn more about BWXT, visit our website at www.bwxt.com.
About BWXT
Headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) is a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government; provides technical, management and site services to support governments in the operation of complex facilities and environmental remediation activities; and supplies precision manufactured components and services for the commercial nuclear power industry. BWXT has more than 5,200 employees and significant operations in Lynchburg, Va.; Erwin, Tenn.; Mount Vernon, Ind.; Euclid, Ohio; Barberton, Ohio; and Cambridge, Ontario, as well as more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy sites around the country. Follow us on Twitter @BWXTech and learn more at www.bwxt.com.
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Media Contact
Aimee Mills
Public Relations Manager
980.365.4145
aemills@bwxt.com
Interesting press release. It’s interesting that the new HQ for BWXT is Lynchburg, but the PR Manager gave out a Charlotte phone number. Have to be a real geek to notice that! 🙂
@Tom Bearden
Maybe Ms. Mills is using a mobile phone and keeping her old number.
So what? My wife lives in Virginia, but has a California phone number for her work. It’s a cell phone.
Phone number consistency can be more important, particularly when it comes to business, than locality. B&W has been headquartered in Charlotte for a while. Why would it be surprising that people who used to work for B&W would still have a Charlotte number during the transition?
Higher costs?
Sometimes you get what you pay for. Not having a low-tech boilermaker run your high-tech nuclear business can result in substantial savings that are not at all obvious in a six-paragraph news piece.
A “Pure Play Nuclear Company” may not be a good thing. Am I the only one concerned that, without additional revenue streams/product lines, BWXT might not be able to, in the short term, generate enough revenue to re-invest in bringing mPower to market. When it was part of a larger company, at least theoretically (although it sounds like the investors/CEO wouldn’t let it do this, so as not to reduce the near term profitability of the combined business) the B&W company could have re-invested profits from other markets to help it get through the tough startup period of bringing mPower to market.
BWXT’s main product line was — and still will be — providing services (particularly nuclear fuel) for the military. No need to worry there.
As far as the larger company goes, Babcock and Wilcox was in bankruptcy because of all of the lawsuits concerning asbestos exposure from the boilers that they had manufactured. The larger company was an albatross for the nuclear-focused business line for many years.
Considering that nuclear power plants are high pressure boilers, the splitting of the boilermaker business from the nuclear business means that BWXT no longer has the depth it would need to be a supplier of commercial nuclear technologies. Sure, nuclear power is special and unique, but nuclear reactors are boilers. The split was not useful.
It is fairly simple for the new company to contract with the old one for boiler designs. A debt free company with a built in cash flow business and a leading design sounds like a good bet to me.
Thank you for that additional info, which I was unaware of. 🙂
OK … I see one MBA, I see two MBAs. What was your point again?
Do you really think that one person’s bachelor’s degree from many years ago is going to make the difference between the success and the failure of a company? Is that how shallow your thinking is?!
@michael scarangella
BWXT includes the group in Cambridge that makes the pressure vessels and steam generators for nuclear plants.
Mr. “Galt” – Er … Excuse me, I’m the one who’s trolling?!
Mr. Pot, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Kettle. You might find him a little reflectively challenged.