Energy Technology Engineering Center - Corporate Organization

Corporate Organization

The LMEC was originally operated by the Atomics International division of North American Aviation and later by way of corporate merger, by Rockwell International. In 1996, The Boeing Company purchased Rocketdyne and assumed the ETEC contract with the Department of Energy.

Two distinct organizations within Atomics International were supported by the DOE at SSFL Area IV: one focused on the development of civilian nuclear power and the other, LMEC/ETEC, was the center of excellence for research and testing of non-nuclear components relating to liquid metals. Although ETEC was operated by Atomics International (and later by Rockwell International), the U.S. Government required the ETEC be operated separately from Atomics International in order to avoid giving the company an unfair advantage through preferential access to government-sponsored research. Thus, the ETEC operated as an autonomous entity within Atomics International.

At its height in 1973, ETEC employed four hundred fifty people. Parent Atomics International employed some 9,000 people during its height in the late 1970s.

The distinction between ETEC and AI nuclear division is blurred by the demise of Atomics International and the cleanup of radioactive materials under DOE’s “ETEC Closure” contract with The Boeing Company. The US Department of Energy has assumed responsibility for the identification and, if necessary, cleanup of impacts to the environment resulting from the sodium- or radioactive material-related activities within SSFL Area IV.