21 April 2010 - Flowserve of the USA has finalized its joint venture agreement with China's SUFA Technology Industry Co Ltd to produce safety-related valves, one of the few component areas lacking in the Chinese supply chain.
According to the World Nuclear Association, Flowserve and SUFA - a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) and the largest valve manufacturer in China - agreed to form the joint venture called SUFA-Flowserve Nuclear Power Equipment Co Ltd last year. The new firm was to be based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province and 51 per cent owned by SUFA and 49 per cent by Flowserve.
In a statement, Flowserve said, "Since the initial announcement, both parties have been actively working to complete the amendment, which has now been finalized and clarifies the path forward for the joint venture."
The two partners have now signed the amendment to the joint venture agreement, under which SUFA's ownership share will be increased to 55 per cent, while Flowserve will take 45 per cent.
As part of the agreement, both companies will supply nuclear power industry valve technology and jointly construct a manufacturing facility. The joint venture will manufacture safety-related valves, including main steam isolation valves (MSIVs), exclusively for China's nuclear power industry. MSIVs are used to assist in the safe shutdown of a reactor in the unlikely event of a rupture in the plant's main steam piping.
Jiangang Qiu, vice president of CNNC and chairman of SUFA, commented: "This amendment will satisfy the Chinese government's nuclear power development strategy, and will make this joint venture a successful nuclear valve manufacturer in China."
In October 2009, Flowserve was awarded a "multi-million dollar" order from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for the MSIVs and feedwater isolation valves for units 3 and 4 of its Shin-Kori nuclear power plant. The units are the first to be constructed using KHNP's new APR-1400 reactor design.
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