TÜV SÜD acquires Korean nuclear engineering service provider GNEC

Seoul, Korea – TÜV SÜD, a globally recognised quality and safety testing, certification, consulting and training organization, sealed the acquisition of leading Korean nuclear service provider GNEC Inc. on October 29, 2009 at a signing ceremony in Seoul. The new entity, TÜV SÜD GNEC will support Korea’s ambitious domestic nuclear program by providing specialised engineering and consultancy services for the planning, licensing, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. It will also facilitate the market export of Korean nuclear power plants to markets such as China and India, through its winning combination of superior knowledge and global experience in nuclear power plant technology, coupled with its excellent global network in the nuclear power industry.

TÜV SÜD’s 600 staff strong nuclear energy arm is a major player in the field of German and British nuclear engineering consulting services. Its portfolio includes third party inspections and reviews on nuclear power plants in Germany on behalf of the German Supervisory Authorities and technology consulting, third-party inspections and review of nuclear power plants for manufacturers and utilities around the globe. GNEC, a leading Korean nuclear engineering company, provides design and engineering consultancy, approval support and certification, as well as training services. It has been a leading player in the development of the Korean nuclear power industry, heavily involved in projects such as the construction of Shingori Nuclear Power Plant 1 and 2 and the upgrade of Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant 1 and YoungKwang Nuclear Power Plant 3 and 4. “With this acquisition, we are bringing together the best of German and Korean nuclear expertise to create a winning combination for the nuclear industry in both Korea and the rest of Asia. TÜV SÜD GNEC will leverage on the expertise and experience of GNEC to provide a more diverse and specialized range of services to meet domestic market needs in Korea; TÜV SÜD’s global network will provide a gateway for the Korean nuclear power industry to expand into overseas markets” commented Dr. Manfred Bayerlein, Chief Operating Officer, TÜV SÜD Group. The GNEC acquisition marks the latest development in TÜV SÜDs nuclear growth strategy, following the acquisition of UK’s Nuclear Technologies in 2006.

Nuclear power is widely regarded as the main energy source that can replace fossil energy in many Asian countries and Korea is set to become the region’s main supplier of plant equipment and expertise. Countries such as Japan, Korea, China, India and Taiwan already have many nuclear power plants and they are constructing or planning to build more in the future. In particular, China and India have plans to build 16 and 10 nuclear power plants and Korea intends to increase capacity from 20 to 28 power plants in the near future. Reiner Block, CEO of TÜV SÜD Korea and former Head of TÜV SÜD Industry Services Division in Hessen, Germany firmly believes the combined strengths of TÜV SÜD and GNEC will support Korean nuclear industry export: “The Korean nuclear industries are ready to export their products abroad. In fact, the entire nuclear power plant can be constructed by Korean suppliers. There is, however, no real third-party inspection in Korea and this currently hinders foreign market entry. If TÜV SÜD GNEC can provide real third party inspection to the Korean nuclear industries, it will increase impartiality and transparency of them. With TÜV SÜD GNEC, Korean nuclear industries will be able to expand overseas”.

Jeon-Yoon Lee, Co-President of GNEC explained the complementary fit of the two entities. “GNEC offers design and certification for key nuclear power equipment, approval support and specialized nuclear technology services such as plant engineering, the development of nuclear power and clean energy application systems and devices. TÜV SÜD is a major player in the German and British nuclear industry and already has renowned expertise in technology consulting and review strategies. Our partnership with TÜV SÜD will help us grow into a company that has internationally high-tech energy technologies”.

“We are delighted to strengthen our competitiveness in the nuclear energy business of the group through this acquisition,” Reiner Block said. “Building upon GNEC’s technology, TÜV SÜD Korea is committed to facilitating the domestic energy industry by supporting technologies such as nuclear power devices and designs, and approvals.”