IRVING, Texas & FARNBOROUGH, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that the recently named Fluor Pilot Plant at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom is being used by the first chemical engineering graduates. A donation of $300,000, made through Fluor’s philanthropic organization, the Fluor Foundation, was provided to the university’s Chemical and Process Engineering department earlier this year to upgrade and refurbish the plant to produce industry-prepared engineers.
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University of Surrey President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Max Lu, and Fluor's Senior Vice President and Surrey Alum, Robin Chopra (L-R) at official opening of the Fluor Pilot Plant. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Fluor continuously invests in developing future engineers, so we are particularly pleased to work with the University of Surrey to provide third-year students with industry experience by running a small-scale manufacturing plant as part of their practical experience module,” said David Seaton, chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation. “Fluor has been operating in the UK for more than 60 years, and today our engineers are working on some of the largest and most challenging energy projects in the industry. Developing future chemical engineers is not only in the interest of Fluor, but also of vital interest to the United Kingdom.”
“We are very grateful for Fluor’s generous grant that has benefitted our students,” said Professor Max Lu, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Surrey. “At Surrey, we pride ourselves on our industry connections. Fluor is an important partner of the university and a significant potential destination for our graduates. This Fluor Pilot Plant is improving the quality of the practice-based learning that we provide students who will enter the industry with enhanced skills and experience.”
The Fluor Pilot Plant also provides realistic industry experience to trainee chemical weapons inspectors who use the facility to gain practical hands-on experience in preparation for their field work. The trainees are from the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Fluor in the UK is working with government and academia to develop the optimum engineering talent pool for the country, and it is particularly pleasing that our long collaboration with Surrey University has resulted in enhancing industry-like experience for chemical engineering graduates,” said Ashley Rees, vice president and managing director of Fluor’s UK operations. “We continue to seek initiatives and partnerships with STEM-focused universities and schools so that we can create an engineering legacy.”
The University of Surrey is an internationally recognized research-intensive institution that is committed to working with industry-leading companies to ensure that its students are at the cutting edge of their field of study. More than 90 Surrey graduates have worked or currently work at Fluor, and some of these representatives attended the opening event.
Fluor’s UK operations are based in Farnborough, Hampshire, from where the company serves a wide range of industries including energy, chemicals, government, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, mining and the nuclear power market sectors.
About Fluor Corporation
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds and maintains capital-efficient facilities for its clients on six continents. For more than a century, Fluor has served its clients by delivering innovative and integrated solutions across the globe. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor ranks 149 on the Fortune 500 list with revenue of $19 billion in 2016 and has more than 60,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fluor.com or follow Fluor on social media at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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