Company Profile

nuclear_cleaning_tools_baronBaron and Associates, Inc.
207 Mission St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA
Steve Baron, President
phone: 831-426-4910 fax: 1-888-290-7551
email: [email protected]

Products & Services
Develops and manufactures nuclear power plant maintenance equipment for:

  • Reactor vessel stud cleaning
  • Reactor vessel stud hole cleaning
  • Reactor vessel flange cleaning
  • Reactor vessel stud nut cleaning

This equipment includes:

  • BARON MODEL B7 RV Stud Hole Cleaning Machine
  • BARON MODEL D1 RV Stud Cleaning Machine
  • BARON MODEL E5 Underwater RV O-Ring Flange Cleaning Machine
  • BARON MODEL P1 RV Stud Nut Cleaner

History
Baron and Associates, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets reactor refueling and maintenance tools and equipment for commercial nuclear power plants. This equipment is based on needs identified by plant maintenance supervisors:

  • Reduce occupational radiation exposure
  • Cut critical path time during refueling outages
  • Improve maintenance task quality and repeatability

Founded in 1980 to provide engineering consulting services to the commercial nuclear power industry, BARON began development and manufacture of reactor servicing tools in 1982. Following a decision to specialize in a catalog of standard tools, rather than plant-specific, custom-engineered equipment, BARON has offered an expanding line of simple, reliable, and relatively low-cost refueling maintenance equipment. BARON does not offer in-plant services, other than equipment start-up and checkout.

Markets
BARON markets refueling service equipment direct to plant maintenance and refueling engineers and supervisors at PWR plants. Marketing contacts are by plant visit, by phone, and by detailed product descriptions at the prospective customers request. Most sales are within plant operating staff tooling budgets, and follow a word-of-mouth endorsement from plant contacts who have agreed to discuss their use of BARON equipment.

Products
The current BARON reactor refueling equipment catalog includes four types of cleaning machines. Current and previous products in use include remote-controlled reactor and reactor head flange cleaners, reactor stud, stud hole, and stud nut cleaners, and various specialized gripping and lifting tools: more than 175 units are at forty-five nuclear plants in the USA, UK,  Sweden, and South Korea.

Shipping
Products are shipped with complete operating and maintenance documentation. BARON maintains a file for each machine in service, and an inventory of spares.

Customers
Customers include more than twenty electric power utilities, and the leading refueling service contractors in the USA.  Although most sales are direct to the plant user group, BARON also provides equipment via refueling contractors and major reactor equipment suppliers.

Management
President and Chief Engineer: Stephen L. Baron
Prior to founding this company, Steve Baron spent ten years in commercial nuclear power plant design, construction, and inspection. Mr. Baron received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a registered Mechanical Engineer and registered Nuclear Engineer.

Plant Facilities
Baron and Associates, Inc. operates from an engineering and assembly facility in Santa Cruz, California, and purchases fabricated components from local and regional shops and suppliers. Engineering files include component purchase and assembly drawings and specifications, assembly and inspection instructions, as-built product files and follow-on reports.