Westinghouse Electric Company
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- The Westinghouse Electric Company is a present-day nuclear technology business. See Westinghouse for other uses, including its famous former owner's history prior to 1999 and recent licensing deals.
Westinghouse Electric Company is a nuclear reactor technology business company, providing nuclear services, power plants, and nuclear fuel to utilities and governments in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Toshiba Group is the majority owner of Westinghouse.
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[edit] History
- In 1995 Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchased CBS and started giving up its industrial and defense businesses.
- In 1996, the company sold its defense electronics business and purchased Infinity Broadcasting.
- In 1997 the company was renamed CBS Corporation.
- In 1998 the company CBS Corporation sold its nuclear business to BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels) who started to operate it as Westinghouse Electric Company. The same year, CBS Corporation created a new subsidiary company called Westinghouse Electric Corporation to manage the Westinghouse brand.
- In 2000 the ABB Group's nuclear power business was purchased by BNFL and merged into Westinghouse Electric Company.
- In 2006 Westinghouse Electric Company was sold by BNFL to Toshiba.
[edit] Europe
Westinghouse Electric Company has several fully owned subsidiaries in Europe such as the European Service Center (also called Westinghouse Electric Belgium) located in Nivelles, Belgium, where equipments are being prepared for interventions throughout Europe. After the take over of ABB Reaktor in Germany, Westinghouse transferred the radiological storage activities located in Ladenburg, Germany, to the existing site in Nivelles, Belgium, which was extended. Soon after that extension, another extension followed as the people working in the Brussels' office were transferred to Nivelles too. It is estimated that 150 people were working in Nivelles at the end of 2005.
[edit] Sale to Toshiba
In July 2005 BNFL confirmed it planned to sell Westinghouse, then estimated to be worth $1.8bn (£1bn). However the bid attracted interest from several companies, including Toshiba, General Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and when the Financial Times reported on January 23, 2006 that Toshiba had won the bid, it valued the company's offer at $5bn (£2.8bn). On February 6, 2006 Toshiba confirmed it was buying Westinghouse Electric Company for $5.4bn and announced it would sell a minority stake to investors.[1]
The sale surprised many industry experts who questioned the wisdom of BNFL selling one of the world's largest producers of nuclear reactors shortly before the market for nuclear power is expected to grow substantially; China, the United States and the United Kingdom are all expected to invest heavily in nuclear power. [1] However The Economist gives several reasons in favor of a sale; the commercial risk of the company's business in Asia may be too high for taxpayers money, if Westinghouse won the bid for any new nuclear stations in the UK competition questions may be raised, if lost it may be seen as a lack of faith in its own [Westinghouse] technology' and finally the record of UK governments building nuclear plants is a commercial disaster. [2]
The acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company for $5.4bn was completed on October 16, 2006, with Toshiba obtaining a 77% share, and partners The Shaw Group a 20% share and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. a 3% share.
[edit] Moving to Cranberry Township
After a long waiting, Westinghouse finally decided to move its world headquarter from Energy Center, Monroeville, PA to Cranberry Woods, Cranberry Township, PA. A memo stated the main reason was due to rapid expansion in the global Nuclear industry. A community website easywemove.info was created to assist easy transitions to the north of Pittsburgh.
[edit] References
- ^ BBC News (2006) "BNFL to sell U.S. power plant arm" Retrieved Feb. 6 2006
- ^ "Technology transfer" (Jan. 28, 2006) The Economist pp. 30—31
