Edmonton-based Matrikon is making a major move into the U.S. nuclear energy industry with a $3.5-million contract to supply an emergency warning system to a plant in New York State.
“It’s a newer industry for us, but one where we’re seeing a lot of activity,” says Nicole Sayler, communications manager for the company, which provides industrial IT software for several sectors including the oil and gas, petrochemical, pulp and paper industries.
The deal will see Matrikon design and install custom software and a network to link 154 emergency sirens located in four New York State counties to the Indian Point nuclear power plant.
The plant is owned by Entergy, the third-largest power generator in the U.S. with more than 2.5 million customers.
The system will allow for co-ordinated operations, monitoring and maintenance from each county’s emergency response centre, as well as from Entergy’s Indian Point facility.
“The nuclear industry is a sector we’re quite interested in – in fact, all energy sectors – because they’re a growth industry right now and have been for some time, particularly due to the recent deregulation across North America,” said Sayler.
“The utility companies are looking for new ways to become efficient, and to optimize their operations to improve their bottom lines,” she said.
The 325-employee company is headquartered in Edmonton, with branch offices in the U.S. and Europe.
Sayler said about 81 new workers were hired earlier this year to help with this project and others recently awarded to Matrikon.
