Bridgwater firm wins Hinkley contract
Bridgwater based precision engineering firm, Berry & Escott has secured a major contract at Hinkley Point C. The firm that has been in the town for over 30 years, is based at the Blake Mill Business Park. They employ 52 people according to their latest filed accounts.
The contract will see the company design and install vital training equipment at Hinkley C. This becomes more and more important as the nuclear power station edges towards becoming operational.
The work will see them design a “flow loop simulator.” This is a replica of key systems found across the site, including tanks, pipework, and pumps. Trainees will use the equipment to gain experience in operating key components in real life scenarios. They have previously installed similar system at the National College for Nuclear, in Bridgwater.
Berry & Escott plan to recruit twenty additional workers and apprentices from the local area. That will bringing the total workforce to seventy-five.
Meanwhile winning the contract will mean that the company becomes a tier one contractor for the Hinkley C project. There are around 150 Tier 1 contractors who can develop their own supply chain to support the work they provide to Hinkley C. This should in turn provide more local employment opportunities in the Bridgwater area. It is also a major boost to the status of the business to win Tier 1 status on a contract of this magnitude. A point reiterated by Lee Berry, Director at Berry & Escott: “Achieving Tier One status on Europe’s largest construction site is an outstanding achievement for our company and we are truly thankful to every member of the team that makes us who we are.”