Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
3/7/2014
EnergySolutions this week wrapped up its acquisition of Studsvik’s commercial U.S. operations. The deal includes the purchase of Studsvik’s processing facilities in Erwin and Memphis, Tenn., the acquisition of the THOR technology for the commercial North American and Chinese markets, and Studsvik’s portion of the joint venture it had formed with EnergySolutions for the SEMPRASAFE resin blending process. “We are pleased to have completed this transaction and look forward to implementing the products and services this acquisition makes possible to further strengthen our position as the market leader in the processing, transportation and disposal of low-level nuclear waste,” EnergySolutions President and CEO David Lockwood said. The Erwin facility has begun switching over to EnergySolutions ownership, with a new name change to “Erwin ResinSolutions.”
Part of the deal that had not been announced previously included EnergySolutions’ acquisition of two 8-120 B shipping casks. “Now we are up to four owned by EnergySolutions We do have an additional four that are in fabrication, and we are expecting those to be complete by the end of Q1, which is right around the corner so that’s still on schedule. That would put our 8-120B cask fleet up to eight,” EnergySolutions Vice President of Barnwell Operations James Harris said during a panel at the 2014 Waste Management Symposia, held this week in Phoenix, Ariz.
From Studsvik’s perspective, the sale was an opportunity to unload some costs, while still maintaining somewhat of a presence in the U.S. Studsvik will still maintain rights to the THOR technology when it comes to the U.S. government market, and the company still will maintain an engineering services agreement with EnergySolutions, according to Howard Stevens, vice president of engineering for Studsvik. “Studsvik is not going away,” Stevens said during a panel at this week’s meeting. “All of the company is not being sold.” Studsvik decided to sell these holdings as a way to reduce costs in its U.S. market, President and CEO of Studsvik Michael Mononen said last month. The sale price for the facilities amounted to approximately $23 million.
