The UK is a hotbed for nuclear decommissioning - but closing 17 of Britain’s oldest atomic power plants is not exactly cheap, expected to cost an estimated £130bn+ over the following 120 years.

Fortunately, specialist engineer Avingtrans (AVG) has some of the best nuclear talent in the world across life extension, new build, and decommissioning . In fact in terms of the latter, the firm said today that its subsidiary Stainless Metalcraft arm had signed another 2 contracts worth a combined £14.5m, boosting its orderbook to more than £75m over the next 6 years.

Stainless Metalcraft is already in the process of delivering 1,000 ultra-secure mini-car sized storage boxes  worth £70m to Sellafield, which are designed to last 500 years. This could be just the tip, though, as it's also well placed to secure all of Phase 3 when the contract is eventually tendered, potentially adding a further £900m.

In terms of the two orders, Metalcraft will produce stainless steel waste containers that will be used to store intermediate level legacy waste for an existing client, probably Sellafield, alongside preparing concrete waste containers to support the decommissioning of the now-retired fleet of nuclear power stations for a new customer.

These contracts underpin Singer Capital Markets’ FY24 forecasts of £137m sales, £10m of EBITDA, and 2.8p EPS – the broker has a BUY rating and a 510p price target on the stock, slightly ahead of Cavendish's target of 495p.

Austen Adams, divisional managing director of Avingtrans, commented: “Winning these additional contracts is a testament to our production capability in Cambridgeshire and the incredible potential of our team members, who are highly skilled and ready to tackle these new challenges in the future decommissioning market."

“This challenge highlights the finest aspects of UK manufacturing while the benefit of a large forward order book enables us to invest in the people essential to the success. We are looking forward to fulfilling these contracts and more to follow.’’

Meanwhile, Avingtrans’s other safety and mission critical products, and aftermarket services, continue to enjoy robust demand, too, with noteworthy contracts signed with numerous blue chip clients. These include Sellafield for low-level waste storage boxes, TerraPower in the US, Forsmark in Sweden, Magnox in nuclear power, alongside a Rolls Royce defence deal, tunnel blast proof doors for HS2, and energy projects around the world, from the North Sea to China.
 
That means all told, the group has excellent forward visibility and more than 90% of FY24 revenue covered. 
 
Let’s not forget, either, that Avingtrans has developed a high potential, medical devices division via its 75% stake in Magnetica and 100%-owned Adaptix, which could literally transform the $3bn small form X-ray and MRI imaging markets. The technology offersg crisp 3D, orthopaedic and veterinary based scans at the ‘point of care’, typically for hands, elbows, and feet.