Framatome commissions high-precision measurement facility in Jeumont, France

March 30, 2021 – Framatome commissions a new high-precision test measurement facility at its manufacturing plant in Jeumont, France. The first measurement test of a nuclear energy plant component marked the completion of the large-scale project, which included a 1 million-euro investment in high-precision equipment and associated clean-room facility.

“Over the past three years, we invested approximately 60 million euros to enhance the industrial performance of our component manufacturing plants in Jeumont, Saint-Marcel and Le Creusot,” said Jean-Bernard Ville, senior executive vice president of the Projects and Components Manufacturing Business Unit at Framatome. “This work supports our ambition for our facilities to be global benchmarks in the nuclear energy industry.”

The new 165-square-meter clean room, with independent heating-and-air-conditioning, includes a 10-ton bridge crane and an 8-ton transfer trolley to support large component testing. A high-precision measurement machine provides results with a precision of 1.7 µm plus 2.5 µm per meter measured. The machine offers the precision necessary when measuring large parts like thermal barriers or diffusers for the nuclear energy industry. It meets the most stringent requirements for components that measure up to 8 tons.

“The 32-ton high-precision measurement machine meets our customers’ needs in an industry where safety and quality are paramount,” said Bertrand Golfier, director of the Jeumont plant. “We are committed to ensuring our Jeumont plant has the capabilities needed to manufacture the mobile components that our customers rely on to produce safe, reliable, low-carbon energy.”

Framatome's Jeumont plant, located in the Hauts-de-France region, has specialized in designing, manufacturing and maintaining mobile components for the nuclear energy and defense industries since 1970. Today, it has a high-performing workforce of 550 employees.

Extending over an area of 11,600 square meters, the Jeumont plant manufactures two key components for the primary circuit of a nuclear power plant: control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) and reactor coolant pumps (RCPs). More than 6,000 CRDMs and 310 RCPs have been supplied to customers worldwide since the plant was commissioned. The plant also provides international customers with replacement and spare parts and components for new build projects with EPR and Hualong reactors.