Toshiba takes over Westinghouse Electric

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 10-17-2006 | Patricia Sabatini

[RS_Rider]

Ownership of Westinghouse Electric Co. was transferred from British to Japanese hands yesterday as Toshiba Corp. completed the purchase of the Monroeville-based nuclear power plant company from British Nuclear Fuels PLC for $5.4 billion. An official announcement of the deal was expected this morning. Top officials of Toshiba, who are expected to be in town Friday to speak to Westinghouse employees, have said they intend to keep the company headquartered in Monroeville and retain current management and staff, which number about 3,000 locally and 9,000 worldwide.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Over 25 percent vacancy rate in downtown Pittsburgh!

Nah...all that space is for the casino management offices. And vendors to the casinos. And hotel rooms for the casinos. Yep, that's the ticket...

Actually...(and I know its for another thread) the only gambling that should occur in Pittsburgh should be on stern wheelers...riverboats!!! Make use of the waterfronts...but did anybody ask me?

[RS_Rider]

Gambling will provide as much economic winfall as have the satdiums and the convention center. "Build them and they will come" We can't even get illegal aliens to come to this city!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

LOL...they would only come to do the jobs 'real' Pittsburghers won't do. N'at.

[Army Air Corps]

Some of his ideas may also shape what is yet to come - the man was a genius and far ahead of his time.

[FreedomPoster]

No, it was Toshiba.

[Captainpaintball]

It is the same Toshiba that threatened the US with cutting off the supply of microchips needed to build nuclear weapons if we prosecuted them for giving the reds CNC machines.

[FreedomPoster]

Besides getting talent to move there, versus a Sunbelt state,
Pennsylvania is a relatively high-tax, business-unfriendly environment.

[RS_Rider]

I would like to thank you for your most interesting addition to this thread. Your comments were exactly the kind of feedback that makes Free Republic so valuable to thinkers.

[Ciexyz]

I'm not happy about the idea of casino traffic taking over the roads leading to the North Shore...but if it will bring jobs to the area....I'm tired of fighting over this issue, do it and be done with it.

[Ditto]

Of what used to be 154 business units, the nuclear division is the only one to still carry the Westinghouse name. It's just a name, the empire is dead and burried.

In fact, virtually all the pieces of the old Westinghouse are alive and doing very well -- just under different owners these days. It was a great company with outstanding products, excellent people, top notch technology and the world's absolute worst top management through the 80s and early 90s. Breaking it up and selling the pieces was the best thing for the employees and customers. All are doing very well now.

[kidd]

Whoa.

I'm out here in Windsor. I hadn't heard that contractors were being released. I've been told that they can't hire enough people. As far as i know, they're still offering a $1000 bonus for hiring referals.

Sorry about the release. Things will change quickly after China signs on (or goes with Areva)...keep your ears open.

[Ditto]

FWIW, I believe that UPMC now owns the Energy Center property (UPMC uses one the office towers) and that is the impetus for the move to Waltz Mill.

That's not the Energy Center -- that is the old R&D center in Chuchill, and UPMC is only in that one office building. The other buildings and labs are occupied by Seimens-Westinghouse (the old Power Generation Division) and the defence contractor (Northrup-Grummen?) who bought the Defense Electronics Division (military radar) back in the 90s.

The Energy Center is is Monroeville not Churchill. I have a number of acquaintences who work there and have not heard of plans to abandon that site. The did recently sell the Rt. 286 site which was not that great of a facility anyway.

[azhenfud]

As well as being a worldwide supplier of equipment in a number of other sectors, Toshiba supplies nuclear power plants, including instrumentation and control systems and post-installation services, to utilities that operate such plants, mainly in Asia. Toshiba also holds a minority share in the nuclear fuel assembly supplier Global Nuclear Fuels (“GNF”), controlled by the US company General Electric (“GE”), with Hitachi of Japan also holding a minority stake.

---

Toshiba holds a minority share in GNF and owns controlling interests in Westinghouse. How will that play among competitive markets?

[RS_Rider]

Palos Verdes head upgrade project was not awarded to Westinghouse, as anticipated. My group ended up with too many workers and nothing to do. They will let the $1000/head new hires read the paper until China makes up its mind, not the contractors. I got piked back up out at Waltz Mill on a 5 week contract... that lasted 10 days.