Oct13 issue 14

Page 23

NECSA

www.bfluor.co.za

Bring it all together market

technology

• Building Revenue Streams for selected customers • Drive product development tailored to user requirements

Bfluor offers highly specialized chemical business and technology management consulting services to start-up projects during their screening, pre-feasibility and feasibility phases the construction of the reactor facilities. Either way, the company is keen to have as much South African involvement as possible. “Necsa and South Africa want an option that allows for optimum local participation,” says Tshelane. As for the rest of the world, reports suggest that there are around 240 research reactors in 56 countries. In Africa; Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria all have reactors and Libya has one in temporary shutdown. The DRC had two research reactors which have both been permanently shut down.

NECSA ACTIVITIES Interestingly, the perception of Necsa in the public eye and the company’s profile has not been that high in recent times; strange considering this is a state-owned company with around 2000 employees. Tshelane explains that sometimes it can be difficult for people to fully understand the activities of Necsa as the company operates in such a diverse range of areas. It owns subsidiary companies including NTP Radioisotopes and Pelchem, it manages and operates the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility and also acts as a leading industry trainer, up-skilling large

• Technology Commercialization Experts • Extensive experience in uranium conversion for the nuclear fuel cycle

finances • Deliver validated Definitive Feasibility Studies

numbers of people every year. “The profile of Necsa has not been that high as many people find it difficult to understand what Necsa’s business is,” says Tshelane. “To a large extent, that is driven by the fact that we do a lot of things. For example, we do research and development in the nuclear field, we do production of radioisotopes, we produce fluorine related compounds, we do training; we are essentially an anchor for government policy-making process, in the nuclear sector. If you take all of these things and compare us to a private company, it’s much more difficult to wrap your mind around what we’re doing. “We’ve had parliamentarians ask us to find a simple way of explaining who we are but we can’t explain it any simpler than talking about our activities which are diverse and complicated.” Even regular customers of Necsa sometimes struggle to understand exactly how far the company’s reach extends but Tshelane suggests that long-standing stakeholders tend to have more of a complete idea. “Because we are not a single product or single service company, it’s difficult for people to conceptualise what we are,” he says. “Some stakeholders will interact with us in one area

OCT 13 PAGE 23


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