Cumbrian manufacturers have secured a four-year contract worth up to £10 million to supply 3m³ waste containers for Sellafield. The win gives a local SME consortium-the Cumbria Manufacturing Alliance-a clear role in the next phase of nuclear decommissioning on the site.

Led by Carlisle’s Bendalls Engineering and West Cumberland Engineering in Workington, with additional partners, the alliance will fabricate stainless-steel legacy boxes designed for remote handling of intermediate level waste. Keeping production in Cumbria retains more value locally and builds long-run capability.

The award spans two contracts covering the first 60 box assemblies to support the Box Encapsulation Plant as it enters active commissioning. In practice, these containers enable retrieval of waste from legacy ponds and silos and its safe transfer to long-term storage systems on site.

Sequencing is deliberate. The initial phase finalises design for manufacture before moving into serial production, with the first six assemblies planned for delivery by Autumn 2026. That milestone provides a useful anchor for supplier scheduling, workforce planning and cash‑flow forecasting.

Sellafield Ltd describes the deal as both a schedule enabler and a skills investment. Management expects the programme to upskill local people and expand regional capacity to make nuclear‑grade products, with operational use from 2027 intended to accelerate retrievals and reduce risk in some of the site’s most hazardous facilities.

For SMEs, the headline value is only part of the story. A four‑year run provides order‑book visibility, supporting apprenticeships, coded welding qualifications and purchases of tooling and jigs. It also gives sub‑suppliers-from precision machinists to NDT and logistics providers-confidence to plan shifts and financing.

Quality demands are high. Remote-handled stainless-steel boxes require tight tolerances, repeatable welds and rigorous inspection regimes. Sustaining throughput while maintaining nuclear assurance will test labour availability, vendor quality systems and material lead times-areas where cumulative learning should drive gains.

The alliance model spreads delivery risk and pulls in specialist capability as needed, a pragmatic fit for moderate batch sizes with uncompromising quality requirements. We read this as a vote of confidence in Cumbria’s manufacturing base and a practical step toward deepening the local supply chain for decommissioning.

What to watch next are typical industrial gateposts: a design‑for‑manufacture freeze, first‑article acceptance and factory acceptance testing-milestones that typically underpin payment stages and delivery cadence. Pre‑loading the facility with empty containers ahead of 2027 operations should smooth the ramp.

Beyond this contract, the project offers a template for place‑based industrial growth: production‑grade work that compounds skills and capability. If delivery stays on plan through 2026, alliance members will carry a strong reference for future nuclear and clean‑energy bids, strengthening Cumbria’s manufacturing pitch.