NSG ENVIRONMENTAL ENERGISED BY THE CHALLENGE
WITH OVER FOUR DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, NSG ENVIRONMENTAL’S VISION IS TO BE THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY’S PREFERRED PARTNER FOR ENGINEERING, WASTE MANAGEMENT & DECOMMISSIONING SOLUTIONS.
ENERGISED BY THE CHALLENGE
PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOAO SEABRA
After more than 17 years with the business, Gareth Wilson understands the spirit of NSG Environmental better than most. While the organisation’s standing within the nuclear industry is clear for all to see, Gareth has been a part of the people-oriented, values-led culture that underpins everything NSG does.
Having started at NSG as a project engineer, Gareth worked his way up through the business to become, ultimately, Managing Director in 2025. The appointment was not only an endorsement of Gareth’s skills and experience, but also a celebration of the long-term, person-centric approach that has enabled NSG to achieve enduring success.
“Our mission at NSG is to build a company that clients and suppliers want to partner with, that employees are proud to work for, that our competitors admire, and that our communities and shareholders recognise as adding value,” Gareth states. “I am very fortunate to have stepped in as Managing Director – after a carefully managed period
of transition – at a very successful business.
My main goal is to build on the success to date whilst keeping us on our current trajectory.”
TRUSTED PARTNER
As a trusted partner in the nuclear industry for engineering, plant life-extension, waste management and decommissioning solutions, NSG is highly advanced from a technical perspective. With multiple decades of experience in both the civil and defence sectors, the company responds to some of the industry’s most complex challenges.
Gareth Wilson, Managing Director, NSG Environmental.
Delivering control and functional safety systems projects across the nuclear industry, covering the full project lifecycle from requirements capture and design through to build, test, install and commission.
NOVEUM
Noveum is a nuclear engineering services specialist that has worked with NSG Environmental on a number of critical nuclear defence projects since the company’s launch.
It is a genuine partnership founded on our mutual ‘client first’ principles – a shared DNA.
The services and capabilities provided by the Noveum and NSG Environmental team are truly complementary and provide an unparalleled level of domain experience. The client benefits from a wholly seamless experience from a team comprised of uniquely experienced talent.
Our partnership goes from strength to strength as the nuclear sector undergoes a renewed period of development.
www.noveum.co.uk
“We’re a project delivery and consultancy business, so we can offer services across the entire project lifecycle,” Gareth says. “Our consultancy team covers the likes of problem definition, strategy development, and R&D testing, while our engineering unit supports the likes of lifecycle engineering and plant & process design.
“Additionally,” he adds, “we have on site capability for full waste characterisation, decommissioning planning, and onsite implementation with integrated decommissioning and waste management project teams. From concept design and problem definition right through to clearing a site, we have a broad range of in-house capabilities.”
The diverse nature of NSG’s work means the company is equally comfortable overseeing civil nuclear cleanup projects as it is performing engineering and installation for defence infrastructure or supporting new ventures in pursuit of the clean energy initiative.
delivery of any NSG project, no matter the size or client, comes down to one vital cultural priority – collaboration.
“We are very big on collaborative working,” Gareth notes. “It is pivotal for successful delivery in the industry, and we were at the forefront of that.
“Our core driver, ultimately, is project success. We know that, if we do a good job, we will receive repeat business, as well as encourage new clients.
“As a business, we are open and honest. Our clients appreciate that and enjoy working closely with us as a result.”
Clients benefitting from NSG’s commitment to collaboration include Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), an organisation
tasked with decommissioning first generation nuclear and research sites across the UK.
NSG has been the wet waste delivery partner for NRS for a number of years and has, during that time, designed, built, installed and commissioned several plants across the NRS estate for waste retrieval and encapsulation.
“A recent example of our work with NRS is the design and installation of Modular Intermediate Level Waste Encapsulation Plants (MILWEP) across three sites in the UK,” Gareth remarks. “In fact, we have just finished installing a scaled-down MILWEP on a fourth site and this demonstrates the trust our clients have in us as they continue to involve NSG in their key projects.
“For us, innovation is not about reinventing the wheel. Instead, it is about identifying proven technologies from other sectors and applying them in a nuclear context, integrating systems in a way that delivers a practical and reliable solution.”
‘BEST ATHLETE’ APPROACH
Another defining project in the company’s recent history saw NSG partner with the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) in West Cumbria on a magazine decommissioning project involving former ordnance magazines – large concrete bunkers that had subsequently been used to store plutonium contaminated materials.
Crucially, the project was delivered through a fully integrated team structure. Personnel from NSG, the client, and subcontractors worked together under a single project organisation chart, with roles filled according to a ‘best athlete’ approach that prioritised expertise rather than company affiliation.
“That model is more common now, but at the time it wasn’t something that had been widely done,” Gareth reveals. “We essentially created a single project team with the right people in the right roles, regardless of where they came from. It meant everyone was focused on the same objective and working in a genuinely collaborative way.”
The success of the project had a ripple effect. Through the visibility it created, NSG went on to secure further work with GE Healthcare under a similar integrated arrangement. That experience, in turn, helped lead to a major framework in the UK defence sector.
While details of the defence project remain confidential, Gareth confirms that it is currently the company’s largest contract, with over 300 personnel working on a major UK site delivering facility life-extension, engineering and installation operations.
“Again, it’s delivered through a fully integrated team,” he adds. “We have NSG and client personnel working side by side, delivering critical operations together. That entire chain of opportunities really grew out of our collaborative ethos.”
THE NEXT GENERATION
Despite the highly technical nature of nuclear engineering, the success of NSG ultimately rests on its people. The business now employs more than 500 specialists, including engineers, consultants, radioactive waste advisers and radiation protection advisers, all of whom contribute to the safe and effective delivery
of projects across the sector. For Gareth, the development and retention of talent is one of the most important priorities for the business.
“I’m a big believer in developing and retaining our own people because I’m probably a good example of that approach myself. Whether it’s development schemes like our Road Ahead programme or our Next Generation Leadership initiative, if someone wants to progress and improve themselves, we will support them in doing that.”
At the same time, NSG is investing in the next generation of industry talent through graduate schemes, engineering apprenticeships and specialist training programmes. These initiatives not only support the company’s own growth but also contribute to addressing the wider skills gap within the nuclear sector.
“Our industry is facing a national skills shortage,” Gareth points out. “Bringing in apprentices, graduates and trainees is a really important part of building the capability we’ll need in the future.”
As NSG continues to expand, the company will look to benefit from growing collaboration between different parts of the nuclear industry, as well as a push within the organisation for international expansion. However, for Gareth, maintaining NSG’s distinctive culture remains a priority.
“We don’t want to become a big corporation where everyone feels like a number,” he says.
“Yes, I’m the Managing Director, but I want to remain visible and approachable to everyone in the business. Keeping that personal connection is really important to us.”
