ATS and Bruce Power Open Advanced Automation Testing Facility

ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc., an automation solutions provider, and Bruce Power held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the Major Component Replacement (MCR) Integration testing facility on the ATS Cambridge campus. The ceremony took place Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 10:00 a.m. EST at ATS’ headquarters in Cambridge, Ontario.

“The ATS and Bruce Power partnership is one that shares the common goals of safety, quality, precision, and innovation,” said Andrew Hider, ATS CEO. “Thus, it is with great pride and excitement that we announce the official opening of the MCR Integration Facility which embodies all of these goals as a state-of-the-art automation testing facility.”

ATS is Key Supplier in MCR Program

ATS plays a key role in supporting Bruce Power’s MCR program by designing and supplying all of the automation equipment required to remove the irradiated reactor components including the fuel channels, calandria tubes and calandria tube inserts. There are multiple systems required to remove the components; all are highly automated and controlled remotely. This equipment has been designed to maximize safety during the removal process while optimizing operational resources. To this end, the 43,000-square-foot MCR Integration Facility was designed with geometries and interfaces identical to the actual Bruce Power reactor vault. This facility’s goal is to ensure that the tools are operating correctly in a full-scale simulation environment, where production time, budgets and vault transitions can be verified and optimized to greatly reduce project risk. Work is already underway in the facility.

“By forming partnerships with key suppliers such as ATS, we are innovating and creating jobs throughout the province with Made-in-Ontario solutions for the components we will need to successfully complete our Major Component Replacement projects,” said Rencheck. “The MCR facility will see ATS as well as six other supplier companies testing the tools necessary to execute the project smoothly and efficiently.”

The Bruce Power MCR will begin in Unit 6 in 2020, followed by Units 3 through 8, extending the life of the site to 2064. Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program, which includes Asset Management and MCR, began on January 1, 2016, and remains on time and on budget.

“Bruce Power’s supply chain acquires 90 percent of its goods and services right in Ontario, investing $4 billion into the province’s economy annually, while creating and sustaining 22,000 jobs directly and indirectly every year, including here in the Cambridge area,” said Rencheck. “We are also delivering 30 per cent of Ontario’s electricity at 30 per cent less than the average cost to generate residential power.”

ATS and Bruce Power Innovators in Community

“Organizations such as ATS and Bruce Power have helped spur innovation and economic growth, benefiting Cambridge and the Waterloo Region,” said MPP Belinda Karahalios. “This year, ATS is celebrating 40 years of being a meaningful part of many local families’ lives, providing highly-skilled employment opportunities while benefiting from the depth and breadth of the talent in this region.”

Amy Fee MPP for Kitchener South-Hespler said, ATS’ role in Bruce Power’s Life Extension Program will continue to strengthen the region’s economy and provide opportunities for residents for years to come.

“I’m excited and very proud to see ATS continue to grow and play a valuable role in the Waterloo Region,” MPP Fee said. “Providing long-term security for high-level employment right here in our community brings home the benefits that we see in this kind of partnership.”

“As I’ve often said, Cambridge is a city located at the gateway to Canada’s Technology Triangle, providing steady economic growth and addressing the technology challenges of the future,” said Mayor Doug Craig. “This joint facility with ATS and Bruce Power attests to this future-looking innovation that is a hallmark of this inventive community.”

In June 2018, ATS announced the receipt of new enterprise Order Bookings from Bruce Power valued at approximately CAD $60 million. This was a follow-on to the original Bruce Power Life Extension Program announced in December 2016. The original agreement named ATS as a supplier for strategic tooling services including key reactor tooling systems for the removal of fuel channels for Bruce Power’s long-term investment program. The program includes the life extension of six units announced in December 2016. ATS’ long-standing relationship with Bruce Power has also included co-development of The Bruce Reactor Inspection and Maintenance System (BRIMS).

The ceremony took place Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 10:00 a.m. EST at ATS’ headquarters in Cambridge, Ontario.