BTU International announced the receipt of orders for nuclear fuel sintering equipment. The total value of the orders, consisting of a walking-beam furnace and parts, approaches $3.5 million. The units will be shipped this year to customers located in Asia. BTU’s walking-beam furnace is a high-temperature system designed for handling heavy loads under precisely controlled temperatures and atmospheric conditions. Various system configurations provide process temperatures up to 1800C and atmosphere capabilities from oxidizing to fully reducing.

The walking-beam system includes a number of BTU’s proprietary technologies, including variable density refractory components, eductor technology and the walking-beam mechanism. In other news, BTU announced the shipment of the 3,000th thermal-processing system from its manufacturing plant in Shanghai, China, which was opened in February 2004.