French engineering and support firm Efinor – a key player in the South West nuclear sector – is to open a manufacturing and technology centre in Bristol four years after arriving in the city with just two staff.
The Normandy-headquartered, €70m revenue firm, which is working on fellow French firm EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant near Bridgwater, is expected to create a number of highly skilled jobs at its new centre at Avonmouth, pictured, taking total staffing above the 60 figure.
The new facility will continue to support the construction of Hinkley Point C as well as stepping up Efinor’s efforts to deliver innovative projects as part of the UK government’s ambitious energy programme targeting net zero carbon by 2050.
Efinor is working with BYLOR, a joint venture between Bouygues Travaux Publics and Laing O’Rourke which is providing Hinkley Point C’s main civil engineering works, and NNB, a subsidiary of EDF formed to build and operate nuclear power stations in the UK.
The new centre will also support the UK’s proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk.
Bristol-based Efinor engineering & projects business unit group director Anthony Prod’Homme, who is also MD of its UK business, said: “Choosing the Bristol area to locate our UK headquarters four years ago was a straightforward decision because it allowed us to be close to our main customer NNB and our leading projects location on the Hinkley Point C site.
“Since the start we have benefitted from this great location and from the dynamic drive of the South West region.
“This new addition to our UK capabilities will contribute to Efinor’s abilities to secure the delivery of our customers’ projects and enable us to propose new services locally and promote innovation.
“We are grateful for the support we have received from local organisations and now we are looking forward to supporting the construction of Hinkley Point C and also helping the UK achieve its Net Zero carbon targets.”
Before opening its Bristol base in 2017 to support Hinkley Point C, Efinor had worked on EDF’s Flamanville nuclear plant in France.
It spent two years in an office on Bristol’s Victoria Street before expanding into a new base in the city’s Whitefriars office complex.
Its decision to open a manufacturing and technology centre at Avonmouth has been welcomed by Nuclear South West, the public-private partnership organisation which champions the region.
It described the move as a “fantastic success story” which demonstrated the strength and resilience of the region’s nuclear industry and showed how the area from Cornwall to Gloucester was an increasingly attractive proposition for investors.
Nuclear South West innovation manager Andy Bates said: “It’s wonderful to see Efinor go from strength to strength here in the South West of England and play a very important role in the construction of Hinkley Point C.
“Efinor’s success demonstrates the incredible resilience of our region’s nuclear sector which is set to play a pivotal role in getting the UK moving again and helping the nation’s clean energy transition.
“Efinor’s work within the Hinkley Point C supply chain has enabled the company to attract local talent but also support economic growth for the region and their success is a great example of how we can help companies settle in the South West.
“This is a truly fantastic success story and we are confident it will encourage more companies to invest here in the South West where we have the skilled workforce, the opportunities, the infrastructure and support structures to ensure more success.”
Efinor was supported by the West of England Combined Authority through its inward investment arm Invest Bristol & Bath, which has worked closely with it to support its growth and ambitions in the region.
Nuclear South West brings together industry, academia and the public sector, and is supported by the West of England, Heart of the South West and GFirst Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
