F4N is a service designed to help UK manufacturing companies win contracts in the civil nuclear supply chain by measuring their operations against exacting industry standards. The programme involves an initial audit of a company’s capabilities and procedures undertaken by a Nuclear AMRC assessor, who also helps the company develop an action plan to make the changes required to close any gaps between its current performance and the nuclear industry’s expectations.

In a survey of participants, three quarters of companies that have completed the F4N programme said that they have experienced meaningful business benefits as a result, and 100% of them said they would recommend F4N to other manufacturers.

– Gaining F4N accreditation is very important to us. This will significantly raise our profile across the entire nuclear industry supply chain - new build, operations and decommissioning – and, although it is primarily a UK initiative, F4N status also gives us added exposure globally through Nuclear AMRC’s international partners, Peter Henshaw, Business Development Energy for Fine Tubes, commented.

Fine Tubes’ involvement in the nuclear power industry began when the company started supplying nuclear fuel cans to the United Kingdom’s first generation of gas cooled reactors. Since then the company has manufactured products for AGR, pressurized water, light water, heavy water and fast breeder reactor technologies. Today, Fine Tubes products are deployed in plants in the European Union, United States, Canada, India and China.

Fine Tubes’ US-based sister company, Superior Tube, has had an association with the nuclear industry since the 1930s when scientists first discovered how to split the atom. Since then, Superior Tube has been a key supplier to the U.S. nuclear defence industry.

Nuclear AMRC was established in 2009 in response to the United Kingdom’s Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, led by the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester with Rolls-Royce as lead industrial partner. Other founding partners were Areva, Westinghouse, Sheffield Forgemasters and Tata Steel. In March 2011, Nuclear AMRC was among the first to become part of a new generation of government-backed Technology Innovation Centres, later branded as the Catapults.

Fine Tubes is a leading metal tubing manufacturer with its headquarters and production facilities in Plymouth, UK, and sales offices in Germany (Meerbusch), France (Orleans), India (Mumbai) and in the United States (Collegeville, Pennsylvania). In addition, the company has several agents across the globe, including oil and gas specialists in Kuwait,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabiaand theUnited Arab Emirates.

Fine Tubes currently employs around 380 permanent staff and exports its products to over 35 countries worldwide

www.finetubes.com