Framatome revamps nuclear training pipeline
A French nuclear power company with its United States headquarters in Lynchburg is ramping up hiring to meet a growing global need for clean, low-carbon energy. Framatome North America is recruiting for 200 positions in the U.S, about 125 of which are in Lynchburg, and it anticipates a “significant” number of additional openings in coming […]
Manufacturing 2023: KATHERINE WILLIAMS
On July 1, Williams succeeded CEO Gary Mignogna, who became Framatome’s board chairman upon his retirement after 45 years leading the nuclear reactor and fuel manufacturer. Williams has worked for the U.S. subsidiary of French nuclear reactor manufacturer Framatome (formerly Areva NP) for more than 20 years and manages all of the parent company’s financial […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: REX D. GEVEDEN
Before joining BWXT in 2015 as its chief operating officer, Geveden was an executive at Teledyne Technologies, as well as a chief engineer and associate administrator at NASA, where he ran support contracts for the International Space Station and helped develop next-generation lunar vehicles. In 2017, he became CEO of the Lynchburg-based manufacturer of nuclear […]
Amentum-led team receives $5.87B nuke cleanup contract
A team led by Chantilly-based federal contractor Amentum Services Inc. will manage the decontamination and decommissioning of a Cold War-era nuclear weapons complex under a $5.87 billion, 10-year contract announced by the U.S. Department of Energy Thursday. Southern Ohio Cleanup Company LLC, based in Aiken, South Carolina, is a joint venture led by Amentum Environment […]
SWVA ‘ideal’ for small nuclear reactors, study says
Sites in Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton would be “ideal” for installing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), according to a state-funded feasibility study released Monday. Examining the technical feasibility, safety considerations and economic viability of locating small reactors in Southwest Virginia, the study conducted by Reston-based Dominion Engin[...]
BWXT wins potential $45B DOE contract
A joint venture led by BWX Technologies Inc. has won a federal contract worth up to $45 billion — its largest ever — from the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up a decommissioned nuclear production site in southeastern Washington state, the Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier announced Monday. The Hanford Site Tank Farms […]
Balance of power
Chris Rawlings was a mechanic who wanted to be a pilot. He left the Marine Corps in 2008 after deploying twice to Iraq, where he supervised an aircraft maintenance team, going on to perform similar duties as a civilian contractor in a hangar at Fort Eustis. But his plan was to get back into the […]
SHARON SMOOT
Smoot is a unicorn — a Black woman overseeing 4,700 employees in the highly technical field of manufacturing components for nuclear reactors. Named last summer as head of the Lynchburg-based federal contractor’s nuclear division, Smoot spent 30 years as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy, ultimately serving as executive director for logistics, maintenance and […]
Framatome CEO retiring; CFO to be promoted
Framatome Inc. President and CEO Gary Mignogna will retire July 1, and Chief Financial Officer Katherine Williams will succeed him, the Lynchburg-based nuclear reactor and fuel company announced Tuesday. Mignogna will become chairman of Framatome Inc.’s board upon his retirement. Williams, who will continue to serve as CFO, has worked for Framatome, a French nuclear […]
BWXT names general counsel
Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. has promoted Ronald O. “Chip” Whitford Jr. to senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary, the Fortune 1000 federal contractor announced Wednesday. The promotion was effective Tuesday. Whitford, who joined BWXT in 2017 and has most recently served as vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant c[...]
Virginia 500 Spotlight: Rex D. Geveden
CEO and president, BWX Technologies Inc. Lynchburg BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO OTHERS: Write and track your life goals — family, financial, career, experiential, spiritual, etc. I’ve been doing this for 35 years. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? My first real job was systems analyst at Teledyne Brown Engineering. PERSON YOU ADMIRE AND […]
Southwest Virginia could get small modular nuclear reactor
In early October, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his goal of developing a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) in Southwest Virginia within 10 years, part of a plan to make the region an epicenter of energy innovation. Not long after, Youngkin said he planned to allocate $10 million to create the Virginia Power Innovation Fund, with […]