Nuclear JV between Eon &

We regret that only companies in attendance at our Events are given access to the speaker presentations

The goal of EIConnect POWER was simple – to bring together the largest gathering of operators, contractors, developers and suppliers all under one roof.

Delegates were able to attend a rolling series of presentations by leading companies and gain a real insight into their current project requirements and procurement strategies. Those presenting at EIConnectPOWER were a roll-call of all the major players in the international power sector and consisted of Alstom, Amec, Areva, AtomEnergoExport, Carlton Power, CH2MHILL, Doosan Babcock, EDF, Eletronuclear, Fluor, GDF Suez, Jacobs, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Punj Lloyd, RWE, Shaw, and Siemens.

EIConnectPOWER also played host to 59 stand holders who showed off their products to potential buyers drawn from the speaker companies in attendance.

In addition, the evening of November 4th provided a chance for delegates to relax and network further at a gala dinner at Old Trafford, home of the Premiership and recently European Champions, Manchester United. Liverpool legend and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen was the after dinner speaker.

Yet, it was on the floor of Manchester Central, the event location, that the majority of the business took place.

You can normally predict that a networking event is going to be a success for attracting new business, when you generate a lead while putting up your stand the day before the event opens!

This was what happened to Carpenter & Paterson, specialists in the design and manufacture of pipe suspension equipment, as they set up their stand.

Carpenter & Paterson’s Steve Lewis continues: “The lead came out of the blue. One minute, a gentleman from a precision engineering company passed our stand (which was in the process of being built) and the next minute, I was asked whether we wanted to take on a pipe support enquiry. We are now confident of turning this into tangible business.”

Delegates also had the opportunity to book one-2-one meetings with the speaker companies during the two days with a total of 500 meetings taking place.

From the speaker perspective, Robert Davies, UK Country Director (pictured) at world energy specialists, Areva, provided an overview of the group and, in particular, the focus on developing its nuclear project management and consultancy business. He also provided an outline of procurement strategies at the group.

Lee Hewitt, National Grid’s UK Head of Procurement, outlined some of the key areas for the supply chain at National Grid, such as nuclear, international and renewables connectors that can connect the new sources of energy to the grid.

GDF Suez, the world’s second largest utility, focused on supply chain opportunities with two of its landmark UK projects – Teeside Power Station, the world's largest CCGT combined heat and power plant providing about 3% of the electricity needs of England, Wales and Scotland; and Shotton Power Station, which has two 75Mwe gas turbines.

Steve Willis, Engineering Manager at Shotton, provided an overview of the supplier prequalification process, including the prequalification questionnaire, how the tender plan is prepared, and the vendor selection methodology from commercial and engineering assessments to Health & Safety policies, and response times. Activities currently up for tender include multi-disciplinary services, such as scaffolding and insulation, through to mechanical maintenance and pipe and fabrication services.

Other highlights (among many) at EIConnectPOWER included a presentation by Stefan Reisacher, Director, Commodity Sourcing, Thermal Products at Alstom, a world leader in integrated power plants for the production of electricity and air quality control systems. Stefan stressed how Alstom looks at long-term strategic issues in terms of its supply chain and provided an overview of some of the products Alstom buys, including steel and welded structures, tubes and piping, pressure components, gas path parts, castings and mechanical systems.

As the UK embarks on a seemingly slow return to growth, many sectors and their respective supply chains are yet to reap significant benefits. There is one notable exception, however – the UK power sector.

Like many other sectors, power has had a difficult couple of years. The EIC’s own data, however, shows that positive signs have emerged. According to EIC Monitor, a quarterly index that tracks the 7,500 most important active and future projects across the global energy industry, the power sectorhas experienced a surge in new projects during the last quarter (July-Sept 2009). There have been 142 new projects totalling US$166Bn, with a total capacity of 98GWe in Q3 2009. The total value of new projects this quarter is up 49% on Q2 2009 and generating capacity of these projects is up 45% on Q2 2009.

69% of global power plant operators are expected to maintain or increase spending with the supply chain over the next year The UK Nuclear New Build Programme alone is estimated to be worth at least £38 billion over the next 20 years. And the UK has over 10GWe of large conventional plant either approved or consent applied and a further 25GWe of plant at planning stage. And on November 9th, Ed Milliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, unveiled plans to fast-track a new generation of nuclear power stations with the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) likely to start accepting planning applications from March next year.

Testimonials from attendees at EIConnect Power

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