Joint Venture Begins Making Cranes for Nuclear Power Plants

June 24, 2010

Minnesota-based NuCrane Manufacturing opened a 51,000-square-foot facility in April.

NuCrane Manufacturing LLC has begun fabricating, assembling and testing specialty cranes for nuclear power plants, at its new manufacturing facility in Hutchinson, Minn.

The 51,000-square-foot facility, which began manufacturing on April 5, is designed to make large overhead cranes mainly used in the nuclear industry. The facilitys customers include the Westinghouse-designed AP1000 plants under construction in China and those planned for future construction in the United States.

NuCrane Manufacturings initial project is the manufacture of a polar crane and cask-handling crane for China National Nuclear Corp.s Sanmen 1 Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province, China. Production of the cranes is on schedule, and the cranes will be shipped from Minnesota to China in mid-2011, according to NuCrane.

NuCrane, a joint venture between Westinghouse Electric Co. subsidiary PaR Nuclear Inc. of Shoreview, Minn., and Hutchinson Manufacturing Inc., was formed in September 2009.

A typical nuclear power plant uses 40 cranes in various roles. The NuCrane plant will focus on the 16 specialty cranes for the U.S. AP1000TM market as well as specialty cranes for other U.S and global customers, according to the company.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.