American Company Part of Worldwide Effort to Help Cool Japan's Nuclear Reactors

STURTEVANT, Wis., April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A Wisconsin company is part of a global effort to help contain Japan's damaged nuclear reactors. Putzmeister America, Inc., based in Sturtevant, is a division of one of the world's most respected heavy equipment manufacturers, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH (PCP). The two affiliates are sending four additional boom pumps to join one already working at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The two pumps departing from the U.S. – the 70Z-Meter, the world's largest – leave on Saturday, April 9, one from Los Angeles International Airport and the other from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Each pump weighs approximately 190,000 pounds and has a boom reach over 227 feet. They'll travel on Russian Antonov cargo jets, among the world's largest aircraft. Two additional pumps will be sent from PCP.

"Like others all over the world, our thoughts have been on helping the people of Japan," said Dave Adams, president and CEO of Putzmeister America, who is heading to Japan with one of the pumps. "Fortunately, we have a piece of equipment that's working to help cool the reactors, so we're moving fast to get additional pumps to Japan."

Two technicians will accompany each pump to provide training and ensure operators are comfortable using the equipment. Normally used to pour concrete for bridges and high-rise construction projects, the machines offer pin point accuracy and unmatched reach to directly target hotspots within the reactors. The pump is operated via remote control, so the operator is able to remain in a safe location approximately 1.2 miles away.

Two Putzmeister customers – Mike Parigini of Associated Concrete Pumping in Sacramento, Calif., and Jerry Ashmore of Ashmore Concrete Contractors, Inc. in Evans, Ga. – made the pumps available upon learning of the need in Japan.

Putzmeister has previous experience working on nuclear power plants in crisis and other disasters. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, Putzmeister sent 11 boom pumps to help place the concrete to entomb the reactor block. Also, for more than 25 years, Putzmeister concrete pumps have been used in fire-fighting operations.

Background

The idea to use concrete boom pumps to cool the reactors came from Hiroshi Suzuki, the head of the Putzmeister subsidiary in Japan, who contacted Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Japan's prime minister. Suzuki provided vital information about the machine's capabilities and how they could help cool the reactors. Two days later, Japan's prime minister gave an emergency order to bring ashore a Putzmeister boom pump that had been en route to a customer. On March 22, after receiving training from Suzuki, 12 workers pumped 150 tons of seawater through the pump's 190-foot long boom into the reactor's spent-fuel pool. Upon seeing successful results, the effort to bring in additional pumps began.

About Putzmeister America, Inc.

Putzmeister America, Inc. – a division of one of the world's most well-recognized and respected heavy equipment manufacturers, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH – builds truck-mounted concrete pumps designed for a wide range of applications, including the construction of bridges or high-rise buildings. Based in Sturtevant, Wis., Putzmeister America manufactures a complete line of truck-mounted concrete boom pumps, separate placing booms, truck-mounted telescopic belt conveyors, and trailer-mounted concrete pumps as well as mortar, grout, shotcrete, plaster and fireproofing pumps and mixers, industrial pumps, tunneling machinery and pipeline systems.

Resources:

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SOURCE Putzmeister America, Inc.