Profile

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. , originally Babcock, Wilcox & Company and then The Babcock & Wilcox Company, is an American industrial manufacturer based in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their steam boilers and nuclear power systems. It was founded in 1867 by Stephen Wilcox and his partner George Herman Babcock with the intention of building safer steam boilers. The company was the main builder of naval boilers for American forces during World War II, and were a supplier to the Manhattan Project. After the war they entered the nuclear reactor business, and became a major supplier for commercial nuclear power plants. They also built naval nuclear reactors, including for the first commercial nuclear ship. In 2000 the company filed for bankruptcy due to lawsuits from employees over asbestos exposure; they emerged from bankruptcy in 2006.