Federal Services Wins $12 Million USACE Contract
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Alexandria, VA. (July 2010) - MPR has been awarded a $12 million dollar contract by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide construction engineering services for various civil works, environmental, DOE and military projects assigned to the.USACE. MPR’s team members on this contract include Black & Veatch, Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., and Environmental Dimensions, Inc. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch is one of the largest, most experienced engineering and architectural firms in the United States. Ben C. Gerwick is an internationally known consulting engineering firm that specializes in marine structures. Environmental Dimensions specializes in services for environmental investigation and remediation of sites contaminated with radioactive, hazardous, and mixed-waste materials.
Bob Coward Speaks to Latest Challenges Affecting New Nuclear Plant Development
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Alexandria, VA. (July 2010) - In June 2010, Bob Coward, a Principal Officer of MPR Associates, gave a speech titled Competitiveness, Economic and Intangibles of New Nuclear Power Plants- An Implementation Perspective to a conference sponsored by the US Nuclear Infrastructure Council where he highlighted the rising total cost of new nuclear units to be the greatest challenge facing the new nuclear industry. According to Coward’s speech, the nuclear industry has made considerable progress in the reliability of new nuclear units over the past five years. However, utilities and merchant power companies face a growing struggle in how to fund the increasing total cost of large new nuclear units. “The sheer size of the investment is turning in to the biggest challenge, not the cost per kilowatt,” said Coward. With the total cost to build a new nuclear unit estimated between 6 to 8 billion dollars, the total cost is rivaling the market capitalization of several utilities and merchant power companies in the US, essentially turning new nuclear projects into “bet the company” projects. On top of the soaring total cost of new units, cash flow issues and potential diluted earning incurred during construction are presenting further barriers to development of new nuclear units. As Coward stated in his speech, “A company might have to spend as much as 30% of the entire project costs before an NRC license is secured, and those up-front expenditures are especially difficult to finance.” Alternatively, the rising cost of large new nuclear units has increased interest in investing in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). SMRs can be constructed and brought online faster with a reduced total cost compared to large new nuclear units providing more flexibility in approaching new nuclear implementation. Coward’s speech describes a “Societal Approach” to addressing cost related issues associated with new nuclear unit development. Coward’s “Societal Approach” calls for increased effort to promote energy company collaboration on new unit projects, consideration of additional incentives to ease cash flow and diluted earnings issues even before obtaining government licenses, and for an industry wide review of total cost drivers of new units and proposed ways to reduce total cost of new nuclear implementation. Coward is scheduled to present a speech on the status of the new nuclear renaissance to the 2010 Women in Nuclear Conference in Seattle, Washington at the Westin Hotel on July 18th, 2010.
MPR Acquires HUCKdesign LLC
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Alexandria, VA. (June 2010) - MPR announced the completion of its acquisition of HUCKdesign, LLC, an award winning industrial design firm. The new entity will now operate as HUCKdesign℠, A Service of MPR and will be positioned as MPR’s in house industrial design service. This acquisition developed naturally out of the strategic alliance that MPR and HUCKdesign, LLC formed in 2008 to offer their clients a comprehensive and streamlined product development process. Together, MPR and HUCKdesign℠ offer an integrated product development process that concurrently combines first-of-a-kind engineering with human factors-focused industrial design. Through concurrent engineering and industrial design, MPR is able to provide turnkey product development solutions to our clients allowing for rapid prototyping of new innovative products and technologies. This process has provided their clients with more than 100 new products and technologies.
“We are excited about the joining of our companies because our combined strengths will result in delivering dynamic solutions to customers. This union cements a working relationship that is vibrant and effective, and we are looking forward to the opportunities it will unleash,” said Paul Damerell, Principal Officer of MPR.
MPR, with HUCKdesign℠, now combines technology, engineering, and conceptualization with design, packaging, and model building to propel new products and solutions from concept to prototype to reality. Christian Haller, MPR’s Director of Product Development, commented: “The formal joining of our businesses will continue the MPR and HUCKdesign℠ reputation of excellence for developing first-of-a-kind innovative technologies.”
“Our companies are an ideal fit. We share similar values and approaches and we have complementary skills that have proven to serve customers well,” explained Charles Huck, President of HUCKdesign, LLC.
To learn more about how MPR and HUCKdesign℠ can address a wide range of product development needs across numerous industry sectors, please visit: www.mpr.com/product-development/services/huckdesign.php