A couple of smaller vendors to the nuclear industry say they are prepared to help clients withstand the current COVID-19 pandemic.
UniTech Services Group, a provider of personal protective equipment for the nuclear industry in North America, last week predicted no “service disruptions” through the second quarter.
“We’re going to take the right preventative measures to keep our own staff safe and we wish health and safety to the entire nuclear industry workforce,” Vice President Michael Bovino said in a press release.
UniTech touts a diverse supplier base and remains in close contact with providers of raw materials and other goods necessary for industry personal protective equipment. The subsidiary of Massachusetts-based uniform and workwear supplier UniFirst also said its protective clothing and laundry services do not rely on international sources.
In addition to a large inventory of disposable personal protective equipment, the vendor said it has an inventory of 50,000 sets of protective coveralls and the ability to make 500-plus sets of coveralls daily in North America. The company, which bills itself as the world’s top provider of protective radioactive clothing and personal gear, serves all Energy Department national laboratories, according to its website.
In a statement on its website, Idaho-based North Wind said it has “made an effort to build a financial reserve that will enable us to respond to large project demands, and in this case a national emergency.” The document did not offer details on the size of the financial reserve. North Wind did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
North Wind Group provides engineering and other professional services, as well as environmental services, facility operation and infrastructure, and construction services. It runs the Transuranic Waste Processing Center at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. It is also excavating and relocating material from the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Utah.
Internally, North Wind is encouraging telework where possible, using social distancing, more remote meetings, and more use of social distancing.
