The local heavy equipment manufacturer Doosan IMGB, the subsidiary of South-Korean Doosan said it expects revenues of €100 million for this year, or 10% year-on-year growth, and 7% increase in profit margin.

The company announced recently the delivery of the first shell due to a nuclear power plant currently under construction in the Republic of Korea, in a series of many such components, as the company will in the future roll them out on a continuous basis.

“We expect the value of shell deliveries for nuclear industry to increase to over 7% of total revenues”, said Florin Antonescu, chief management officer of the company.

Although Doosan IMGB has no order for this product range, the company says “the event is a milestone for the Bucharest-based company, which marks the re-entry – after two decades – on its once traditional nuclear equipment market”. A market that currently experiences what Doosan IMGB officials call “the renaissance of the nuclear industry.”

Shell production for the nuclear industry started one year ago, with the ASME authorization granted by the relevant bodies in Korea. Shells used in the nuclear power plants are massive cylinders that are key structural parts of a plant's heart, the nuclear reactor.

While this first shell is five meters in diameter, one meter high, has walls over half meter thick and weighs in excess of 60 metric tons, some of the following ones will have heights of up to 4.5 meters and weigh some 100 metric tons.

“As compared with the traditional method of making such components, which involved longitudinal welds, forged shells feature considerably better mechanical characteristics. Combined with high quality execution of the equipment, this has the potential of expanding the lifespan of a nuclear reactor beyond the 'normal' 30 years, to 40, 50, or even 60 years,” said Doosan IMGB's Presiden