Dounreay unveils plans to spend £139m in supply chain

25th March 2016

Photograph of Dounreay unveils plans to spend £139m in supply chain

Dounreay held its annual supply chain event this week in the Merlin Cinema, Thurso, with suppliers attending from all over the UK.

The site spent a total of £121 million on 306 contracts in 2014/15; with 102 contracts let for more than £50,000 and 5117 transactional purchases made for less than £3,000.

At the end of 2015/16 quarter three, Dounreay had spent a total of £92 million, with 355 contract comittments, and had let 124 contracts valued at more than £50,000.

Local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are forecast to be awarded contracts to the value of £10.82 million to 96 companies and a total of £27.76 million are awarded to 490 SMEs by the end of 2015/16.

Small and Medium Enterprises are companies which employ fewer than 250 employees and have an annual turnover of less than €50 million per year. Local SMEs are based in Caithness and North Sutherland.

The NDA needs a healthy, vibrant, dynamic and competitive supply chain, and the SME agenda supports that aim and mission. This year, we plan to spend £139M in the supply chain, of which £92M has already been committed (67% of yearly budget).

This next financial year we plan the same ratio of spend into the supply chain (circa 70% of yearly budget) with just a slight reduction in total value.

More than £184 million of contract opportunities are forecast to be let in the next financial year.

A community benefits plan is to included in larger contracts when they are issued for tender.

The aspiration is that by 2020 Caithness and North Sutherland will provide a healthy, economically stable environment for its growing population. Its network of thriving communities will reflect the area's rich heritage and varied landscapes. The area's population will be well-educated, highly-skilled and outward-looking, reinforcing its attractiveness as a place to live, work, invest and visit.

 

Related Businesses

 

Related Articles

14/8/2026 : Other Public Services

Scotland Has the Sites, Skills and Dounreay — So Why Is It Saying No to Britain's Nuclear Future?

There is something increasingly strange about Scotland's position in Britain's emerging nuclear revival.   Scotland has nuclear sites.  

28/7/2026 : Other Public Services

Caithness at the Centre of Scotland’s Electricity Revolution: The Transformation Happening Around Us

Caithness at the Centre of Scotland’s Electricity Revolution: The Transformation Happening Around Us Look across Caithness today and it is easy to see individual electricity projects – a new substation here, a cable route there, construction work around Dounreay or Spittal.  But put them together and a much bigger picture emerges.  

28/7/2026 : Other Public Services

Orkney Link Reaches Major Milestone at Dounreay – What It Means for Caithness and Scotland’s Energy Future

A major piece of underground engineering at Dounreay has been completed, bringing the Orkney electricity link another step closer to reality and putting Caithness at the centre of a project designed to unlock hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy.   SSEN Transmission has announced the successful completion of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at Dounreay, describing it as a major milestone in the construction of the Orkney Link.  

30/6/2026 : Other Public Services

 
Innovative robotics trialled to tackle nuclear waste challenges

Innovative robotic solutions being trialled at Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) Oldbury site to tackle most challenging aspects of legacy waste management.   Oldbury nuclear decommissioning site is a trailblazer for robotics and other innovative approaches, with NRS deploying robotics trials in South Gloucestershire to tackle some of the most challenging aspects of legacy waste management, reducing risk to workers and improving efficiency.  

16/6/2026 : Other Public Services

 
NDA group employees recognised by His Majesty the King

Three NDA group employees awarded honours in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list.   Three NDA group employees have been awarded honours in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list, for services to the nuclear industry and the local community.  

4/6/2026 : Other Public Services

Wylfa Decommissioning But With Good Propects For Future Nuclear Dvelopments

Wylfa, located on Anglesey, North Wales, is a historic nuclear site that operated from 1971 to 2015, featuring the UK's largest and last Magnox reactors.   Known for its significant contribution to UK energy, it is currently undergoing decommissioning while being designated as a premier location for new, small modular reactor (SMR) technology.  

20/5/2026 : Other Public Services

 
Scottish nuclear site hails e-learning platform as great example of industry collaboration

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) award-winning e-learning platform has been hailed as a great example of industry collaboration in action.   To mark Learning at Work Week 2026, NRS Dounreay has highlighted how the ECITB’s Learning Experience Platform (LXP) has become a “go-to training solution” for its 1,400 workers.  

15/5/2026 : Other Public Services

 
NRS socio-economic funding supports 129 UK community projects

Almost £2 million was invested by Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) last year in socio-economic initiatives, supporting good causes in communities local to its 14 decommissioning sites.   The NRS socio-economic scheme provided £1,979,721 during 2025-26 to enhance the social and economic wellbeing of communities located near NRS sites.  

15/4/2026 : Other Public Services

Buried in the Sand: The Radioactive Legacy Washing Up on Britain's Shores

It sounds like something from a Cold War thriller, not a family day out: fragments of radioactive material, invisible to the naked eye, quietly lying in the sand.  Yet for decades, beaches near Dounreay and Sellafield have been the final resting place for exactly that.  

14/3/2026 : Other Public Services

 
Why Repaint a Building Marked for Demolition? The Practical Logic Behind the Dounreay Dome's Fresh Coat

At first glance, the decision to repaint the iconic Dounreay dome as it is a structure already scheduled for demolition seems baffling.  Why spend money maintaining a building that will soon be torn down? Why refresh the exterior of a landmark whose days are numbered? The answer is far more practical than it appears.