Last updated at 11:50, Friday, 23 November 2012

Companies in West Cumbria will travel to Asia to help a nuclear power plant get back on its feet after last year’s tsunami and earthquake.

Flimby’s Forth Engineering and Workington’s TIS Cumbria Ltd are among 12 companies nationwide to go on a trade mission arranged by UK Trade and Investment, Britain’s Energy Coast and the Nuclear Industry Association.

The companies will jet off tomorrow to South Korea where companies are looking to draw on the West Cumbrian firms’ experience in the nuclear industry, especially their knowledge of decommissioning.

The West Cumbrian delegates will then travel to Japan to help increase awareness of Britain’s nuclear capabilities to assist with the multi-billion clean-up operation following the Fukushima incident.

Forth Engineering chief Mark Telford said that the Fukushima plant was looking to draw on Forth’s experience in decommissioning Sellafield.

Mr Telford said: “We have developed some clever machinery here for use in the nuclear industry.

“At worst we might get a sale. At best we could open up an opportunity to work world wide.”

The trip will finish next Friday. The 12 companies in the delegation are Tata Steel, Nuclear Engineering Services Ltd, NIS Ltd, James Fisher Nuclear, Nuclear Decontamination Services Ltd, Westlakes Engineering, Forth Engineering, TIS Cumbria Ltd, React Engineering, National Nuclear Laboratory, Shepley Engineers Ltd and Resource Marketing.

First published at 11:15, Friday, 23 November 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk