LONDON: Avingtrans plc (AIM: AVG), which designs, manufactures and supplies critical components, modules, systems and associated services to the energy, medical and industrial sectors, announced that it has acquired the intellectual property, trading history and brand of Joseph Oat Corporation (Joseph Oat), a nuclear engineering specialist based in the United States, for a cash consideration of US$2.5 million.

Joseph Oat has been one of the best-known names in the nuclear supply chain since the 1980s and 1990s, especially in the USA, supplying performance-critical components to some of the largest names in the nuclear industry and maintaining a significant installed base for service and replacement work. The Acquisition follows the planned retirement of Joseph Oat’s owners/ managers.

Avingtrans has continued to see strong performance across its nuclear businesses during the first quarter of the new financial year, securing strategically important contracts with new customers across emerging nuclear technologies, power life-extension and the US defence sector. This has included long-lead items for TerraPower and replacement equipment to support the Duane Arnold nuclear power station. Hayward Tyler and Energy Steel, the Group’s N-stamp-certified US nuclear businesses, are well positioned to become critical suppliers to the next generation of nuclear energy facilities, with active involvement across new build, fusion, life extension and decommissioning programmes.

Austen Adams, Chief Operating Officer of Avingtrans, commented: “The nuclear market offers strong growth potential across the US, driven by an unprecedented convergence of Big Tech energy demand, aggressive US federal de-risking, and a shift towards economies-of-scale production for small modular reactors.

“Avingtrans already has a strong US presence in nuclear markets through our N-stamp-certified Hayward Tyler and Energy Steel businesses. The acquisition of the Joseph Oat IP fits well with these capabilities and provides a valuable opportunity to scale to meet growing demand across the sector.

”The Joseph Oat IP is highly complementary to the Group’s existing US nuclear businesses, and extends the Group’s reach into legacy installed equipment across US power plants and other process industries, where ownership of the original designs removes the need to reverse-engineer components and ensures replacement parts fit first time, avoiding costly downtime.

“The Acquisition also broadens the Group’s engineered product portfolio without the associated design cost, widens access to qualified AP1000 components, and brings valuable brand equity through the Joseph Oat name.”

Avingtrans designs, manufactures and supplies original equipment, systems and associated aftermarket services to the energy, medical and industrial markets worldwide.

Business units

Hayward Tyler – Luton, East Kilbride UK, USA, China and IndiaSpecialises in the design, manufacture and servicing of performance-critical motors and pumps for challenging environments.Energy Steel, Inc – Rochester Hills, Michigan, USAProvider of custom fabrications for the nuclear industry, specialising in: OEM parts obsolescence; custom fabrications; engineering design solutions; product refurbishment; on-site technical support.Stainless Metalcraft Ltd – Chatteris, UKProvider of safety-critical equipment for the energy, medical, science and research communities, worldwide, specialising in precision pressure and vacuum vessels and associated fabrications, sub-assemblies and systems.Booth Industries – Bolton, UKDesigns, manufactures, installs and services doors and walls which can be tailored to be: blast and explosion proof; fireproof; acoustically shielded; high security/safety; or combinations of the above.Ormandy Group – Bradford, UKDesign, manufacturers and servicing of off-site plant, heat exchangers and other HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) products.Slack & Parr – Kegworth, UK, USA & ChinaDesign, manufacture and servicing of high-precision gear metering pumps, hydraulics flow dividers and industrial pumps.Composite Products Ltd – Buckingham, UKCentre for composite technology, parts and assemblies, serving customers in industrial markets.Adaptix Ltd – Oxford, UKAdaptix has developed novel 3D X-ray for Orthopaedic and Veterinary applications amongst others. Commercialisation of this system (and others) is on-going.Magnetica Ltd – Brisbane, AustraliaMagnetica Limited specialises in the development of next generation MRI technologies, including dedicated extremity MRI systems and MRI system components. Magnetica has successfully built and tested a compact, integrated 3 Tesla orthopaedic MRI system, demonstrating clinical-quality imaging. Commercialisation of this system (and others) is on-going. Magnetica’s structure now includes two other business units:Scientific Magnetics – Abingdon, UKDesigns and manufactures superconducting magnet systems and associated cryogenics for a variety of markets including MRI and provides services for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance instruments.Tecmag Inc – Houston, USADesigns, manufactures and installs instrumentation, including consoles, system upgrades, and probes, mainly for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) systems.