When tackling the challenges of complex construction and engineering projects, the ability for several organizations to come together and work as a team is key to achieving success. Bechtel recognized this teamwork in an awards ceremony on May 7, honoring subcontractors and suppliers for providing superior performance in nuclear, national security, and environmental cleanup work in 2016.
At the event, President of Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security, & Environmental global business unit Barbara Rusinko praised all of the nominees. "You are absolutely critical to our success. We want high quality, high competence, what we need, when we need it. The range of capabilities in this room is incredible," she said.
Part of the team
Porvair Filtrations Group, Inc. was honored for their work supporting the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant near Richland, Washington which will treat 56 million gallons of waste currently stored in 177 aging underground tanks. Once operational, the plant will use a technology known as vitrification, a process of blending the waste with glass-forming materials, to stabilize the waste for future safe storage.
Porvair specializes in high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems, a key component at the Hanford facility. Their support to the team that will treat the cold-war-era waste offered a unique opportunity to assist in the largest nuclear waste clean-up in US history.
“We want to help solve the problem as an American company. It matters a lot to us,” said Eric Duvekot, a senior project engineer at Porvair.
Speaking on his company’s experience working alongside Bechtel, Duvekot said, “The culture is contagious. We adopted the ideals Bechtel put forth and we were considered co-equals on this project.”
Bechtel and its affiliates on government projects have purchased more than $1 billion per year in goods and services from small businesses over the past several years and did business with 1,400 companies in 2016 alone.
