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We trace our history back to the 1850s with the invention of the water tube boiler. Operating for many years as a part of The Babcock & Wilcox Company, we have long been at the forefront of the commercial nuclear power generation and government nuclear industries. Indeed, we’re proud to have achieved an impressive number of firsts in both businesses. In 2015, The Babcock & Wilcox Company spun off its power generation business to allow BWXT to focus on government and nuclear operations.
Trademarks of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“B&W”) are used with permission, and such use does not indicate any endorsement by B&W of BWXT products or services or affiliation between the companies.
A Timeline of BWX Technologies, Inc.
Stephen Wilcox patented the water tube boiler
Stephen Wilcox and George Babcock established Babcock, Wilcox & Company
First central electrical station in the US, operated by the Brush Electric Light Company in Philadelphia, is powered by four 73-horsepower B&W boilers
Thomas Edison wrote that the B&W boiler is “the best boiler god has permitted man yet to make”
Marine boiler business is launched with the installation of a new boiler built for Stephen Wilcox’s steam yacht Reverie
B&W’s international business was consolidated with the founding of Babcock & Wilcox Limited, headquartered in London, England. The US-based B&W retained no management interest in Babcock & Wilcox Limited
Stephen Wilcox died in November. George Babcock died 19 days later.
New York City’s first subway powered by B&W boilers
Purchased the Stirling Consolidated Boiler Company plant in Barberton, Ohio, to manufacture boilers for industrial applications
Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet powered by B&W boilers
B&W and Goldie-McCulloch incorporated in Canada, setting the stage for the company’s eventual establishment of Babcock & Wilcox Canada, Ltd., located in Cambridge, Ontario
Contracted to construct penstocks for Hoover Dam
Provided components, materials and process development for Manhattan Project
Awarded first contract to research propulsion systems for US Navy
Awarded contracts to design and build boilers for the SS United States, the first American superliner
Designed and fabricated components for USS Nautilus, world’s first nuclear-powered submarine
Manufactured components for the first full-scale peacetime nuclear power plant in the US – the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania
Designed and built first privately licensed commercial Critical Experiment Laboratory and began operations at Lynchburg Research Center, the first privately financed US nuclear facility
Constructed first supercritical pressure coal-fired boiler
Began fabricating research and test reactor fuel for universities and national laboratories
World’s first nuclear merchant ship NS Savannah is launched with a B&W-manufactured nuclear reactor
Designed and furnished reactor systems for Indian Point, thus entering commercial nuclear market
Site at Mount Vernon, Indiana, developed for manufacturing large, heavy nuclear steam supply components
Concluded design work on Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)
Initiated design and fabrication of components for Nimitz-class aircraft carriers
Designed and built components for liquid metal fast breeder reactor
Acquired by J. Ray McDermott & Co., Inc.
Awarded contract to design space nuclear thermal propulsion system
Selected to manage and operate Specific Manufacturing Capability (SMC) at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
Issued patent for solar bi-modal space power and propulsion system
Initiated design and fabrication of heavy-equipment components for Virginia-class submarine
Awarded first major US Department of Energy site management and operating contract at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory as part of winning team
Awarded contract to downblend HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium) from Project Sapphire
Awarded first prime contract from the US Department of Energy to manage and operate the Mound Site in Ohio
Awarded contract to develop fuel cells and hydrogen reformers for US Navy
Awarded contract to manage and operate Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas
B&W and some subsidiaries file a voluntary petition in the US Bankruptcy Court to reorganize under Chapter 11
Supported development of reactor plant for Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO)
Awarded contract to manage and operate Idaho National Laboratory as part of Battelle Energy Alliance
Awarded contract to manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of Los Alamos National Security, LLC
Began developing oxy-fuel technology for carbon capture at fossil-fueled power plants
Consolidated B&W and BWXT operations under the name The Babcock & Wilcox Company.
Acquired Marine Mechanical Corporation in Euclid, Ohio
Acquired Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. in Erwin, Tennessee, as a subsidiary
Began small modular reactor design for commercial nuclear industry
Spun off from McDermott International as standalone, publicly traded company
Awarded contract by the US Department of Energy for uranium conversion operations at the Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants
Provided consulting services for nuclear reactor recovery efforts at Fukushima, Japan
Awarded management and operating contract at US Department of Energy’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project
Awarded Waste-to-Energy power generation plant contracts in West Palm Beach, Florida
Signed Memorandum of Understanding for support for the development of TerraPower’s Generation IV traveling wave reactor
B&W spun off power generation business. Government and nuclear operations continue under BWX Technologies, Inc.
BWXT rings bell at NYSE – Dec. 2015
BWXT completes acquisition of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada, Inc. joint venture, renamed BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. (BWXT NEC)
BWXT awarded $18.8 million contract from NASA to initiate conceptual designs for a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor
Acquired Sotera Health’s Nordion medical isotope business to support breakthrough isotope technology
Acquired Laker Energy Products, Inc. to broaden our portfolio of CANDU® components.
BWXT awarded $21 billion contract from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for environmental management operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina
BWXT awarded contract from U.S. Department of Defense to build the first advanced nuclear microreactor in the United States.
Jan Bertsch elected as first female board chair in BWXT’s history
BWXT completes acquisition of Cunico and Dynamic Controls, Ltd. to expand and enhance core naval nuclear manufacturing business by adding highly-engineered, proprietary valves, manifolds and fittings for global shipbuilding
BWXT awarded contract to provide nuclear reactor engine and fuel for DARPA space project
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The products and services described herein are provided by subsidiaries of BWX Technologies, Inc.