Vit Plant Partners Receive Global Supplier Awards

Bechtel has recognized four companies—including three based in the Tri-Cities—with 2020/2021 Global Supplier Awards for their contributions to the Hanford Vit Plant project.

Bechtel is the prime contractor for the Hanford Vit Plant. Each year, Bechtel recognizes supply chain partners that have supported Bechtel’s execution of key projects around the world and across the energy, infrastructure, nuclear, security, environmental, mining & metals, equipment, technology and logistics markets.

The 2020/2021 Bechtel Global Supplier awards recognized 55 suppliers and subcontractors. The four Vit Plant suppliers recognized include:

• Fluid Controls and Components, Inc. (FCCI) of Richland, Wash. Known for its expertise with precision valves, FCCI provided valves, piping and piping components for Vit Plant construction. FCCI also sourced 108,000 pounds of frit, a mixture of chemicals heated in a furnace to form glass, that will be used during the heatup of the Vit Plant’s first melter later this winter.
• Inland Asphalt Company, which has facilities in Spokane and Richland, Wash. Inland Asphalt paved 115,000 square yards, the equivalent of 18 football fields, of roadways, parking lots and walkways around 17 structures at the Vit Plant. The work was coordinated with ongoing construction work and completed with no safety incidents.
• Pacific Office Solutions in Richland, Wash. Pacific Office Solutions offers a wide variety of diverse products and created “shopping agreements” that allowed Bechtel staff at the Vit Plant to easily order necessary supplies. Pacific Office Solutions also helped protect Vit Plant employees during the early days of the pandemic by sourcing personal protective equipment even when demand for those items was at its highest.
• Petersen, Inc., of Ogden, Utah, and Pocatello, Idaho. Petersen, Inc. built the two 300-ton melters that will be used at the Vit Plant to vitrify the low-activity tank waste. The melters are so intricate that the specifications for each melter included about 1,200 engineering drawings and took two to three years to fabricate. Petersen, Inc. also manufactured the stainless steel containers that will be used to dispose of the waste and is fabricating a third spare melter for Bechtel.

“The partnerships we have with suppliers and subcontractors are crucial to the success of the Vit Plant,” said Frank Salaman, Bechtel procurements and subcontracts manager at the plant. “Their outstanding dedication to quality and customer service makes them vital partners for the success of our important project.”

The Vit Plant, also known as the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant project, will use the vitrification process to safely treat and store a portion of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste generated at Hanford during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. The waste is mixed with silica and other glass-forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit in one of two melters, then poured into stainless steel containers. The treated low-activity waste will be disposed of at Hanford in permitted trenches covered with soil.

The suppliers and subcontractors recognized by Bechtel with 2020/2021 Global Supplier Awards are a diverse group: some 65% of the recipients are small and/or minority-owned businesses, and the recipients come from seven different countries and across the United States.

Companies were evaluated on multiple factors including overall performance, ability to deliver quality services/supplies on time, ability to work collaboratively to meet milestones, and meeting or exceeding project expectations in aspects of safety, performance, technical expertise, and environmental compliance.

The Vit Plant facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

Company Contacts for Interview Requests:

Bechtel: Staci A. West, 509-378-0308 or sawest@bechtel.com

Fluid Controls and Components Inc.: Russ Watson, 509-375-0774 or russ@fluidcontrols.net

Inland Asphalt Company: Steve Hanson, 509-946-2860 or steve.hanson@inlandnw.com

Pacific Office Solutions: Julie Valdez, 509-452-1993 or jvaldez@posolutions.com

Petersen Inc.: Rob Despain, robd@peterseninc.com