Official opening SP5 hall 5, Almelo
22 September 2008
On 22 September 2008, 92-year old centrifuge pioneer Professor Jacob Kistemaker, officially opened hall 5 of the new SP5 building at URENCO’s Almelo plant, the Netherlands. The Professor was extremely impressed by URENCO's development over the past decade and was very surprised to learn approximately how many centrifuges are currently operated on the Almelo site.
After the opening ceremony, which included attendees from URENCO (Bart Le Blanc, Chief Financial Officer, Paul de Jong, Executive Director, CTG, and Huub Rakhorst, Almelo Managing Director) and Peter Sterkenburgh on behalf of UltraCentrifuge Nederland (UCN), Mr Kistemaker was given a tour around SP5 to see the control room, feed and take off and, most importantly, to view the latest model of centrifuge.
Prof. Kistemaker had fond memories of the time he worked on the centrifuge project. He proudly told his audience about the spirit of working together to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. "Luckily, I am not one to give up easily!" he said with a wide grin.
Pictured left to right: Huub Rakhorst, Almelo Managing Director and centrifuge pioneer Professor Jacob Kistemaker, centrifuge pioneer.