Project: Qualification as a Supplier of Components for Nuclear Facilities
Funding Program: Saxony-Anhalt FURTHER EDUCATION (WEITERBILDUNG)
Financed by: ESF Plus and the State of Saxony-Anhalt
Approval Period: November 15, 2023 – September 30, 2024
Magdeburger Industriearmatur-Manufaktur GmbH is a small, medium-sized company that is still dedicated to the development and manufacture of special valves for the chemical and petrochemical industries. The export share of our products is over 80%. The structural change in all areas of daily life and in almost all production processes for the provision of heat is a global process, with attempts being made to substitute the combustion of fossil fuels with electrical energy. There are different approaches to the transformation of energy sources toward electrical energy. Germany is pursuing the path of "generating" electrical energy from wind and sun, while in most other countries, the dramatically increasing demand for electrical energy—driven by the growing global population and rising living standards in industrial and emerging countries—is to be met by operating and constructing new nuclear power plants (NPPs). Currently, 33 countries operate 446 nuclear power plants worldwide. As of today, another 80 nuclear power plants are under construction, and 356 NPPs are in the planning stage. These figures clearly indicate that nuclear technology is a growth market that we, as a company, intend to enter. In addition to necessary expansion investments in our machinery and equipment (which are already being implemented), another key factor is the adequate qualification of welding and inspection personnel for the high demands in nuclear technology. Thus, beyond having a Welding Engineer, the qualification of one of our employees as an International Welding Specialist according to DVS-IIW Guideline 1170 is required. Furthermore, the qualification of inspection personnel for non-destructive testing (NDT) of materials, specifically on welds of pressure-retaining components, is necessary in the area of Penetrant Testing (PT Level 1/2 training) and Radiographic Testing (RT FDI Pw training). The training of an employee in the area of penetrant testing allows us to visually detect discontinuities open to the surface, such as cracks and pores. The RT FDI Pw training is aimed at welding supervisory personnel to enable them to qualifiedly evaluate radiographic images (X-rays). The focus of the training is the recognition, classification, and evaluation of irregularities in welds that are not visible on the weld surface.