Curtiss-Wright Puts $30M Into Texas Plant for Nuclear Reactor Sensors

Curtiss-Wright Corporation said on Oct. 29, 2026 that it will invest $30 million to expand its Round Rock, Texas facility, adding manufacturing capacity for the pressure and temperature sensors used in commercial nuclear reactors.

The company said in its release that the project serves its Naval & Power segment and leaves room for future instrumentation and control (I&C) products, including radiation monitoring systems. POWER Magazine reported that the company did not disclose the added floor space, the production increase, the construction schedule or the number of new jobs. Curtiss-Wright said only that it expects to increase headcount at the site.

For power buyers, the item is about equipment supply rather than megawatts. Reactors need qualified sensors to monitor process conditions and support reactor control, so sensor capacity is one of the many components that has to scale if restarts and new builds move on schedule. Chair and CEO Lynn M. Bamford said the expansion positions the company to meet growing demand for sensors serving "existing and new-build commercial nuclear reactors." That demand is the company's claim, and the release gives no order figure.

What the Round Rock Site Will Add

Beyond more production space, the company said the expansion is designed to improve production flow. It will also house an Advanced Innovation Center for engineering, a metrology testing laboratory and a project management office. Anthony Nigara, senior vice president and division lead of Curtiss-Wright Nuclear, said the investment reflects long-term commitment to product quality and to the people who support customers.

According to POWER Magazine, the Round Rock project follows an $80 million expansion at the company's Cheswick, Pennsylvania, facility disclosed in July, aimed at U.S. Navy programs and commercial nuclear work, including future Westinghouse AP1000 and small modular reactor (SMR) projects. Chief Financial Officer Christopher Farkas told a Sept. 15 investor conference that capital spending rose about 30% in 2024 and 50% in 2025 and was expected to rise about another 30% in 2026.

The segment numbers show where the money is pointed. POWER, citing the company's second-quarter Form 10-Q, reported Naval & Power revenue of about $410 million for the quarter ended June 30, up 7% from a year earlier, and about $813 million for the first six months, up 13%.

Where It Fits in the Nuclear Supply Chain

The sensor plant is one of several supply-chain moves Voltgrid News has tracked this month, from Westinghouse's planned $1B fuel factory in South Carolina to Doosan Enerbility's first NuScale reactor vessel order. Those deals cover fuel and a reactor vessel; this one covers the instrumentation that every plant needs.

At the September conference, POWER reported, Bamford said Curtiss-Wright still expected an initial AP1000 reactor coolant pump order in 2026, but that the timing depends on Westinghouse winning a reactor order from a utility or an international project, potentially in Poland. She put the company's equipment content on an AP1000 above $150 million and, for Westinghouse's proposed AP300 SMR, at about half of that. Those are management estimates, not contracts.

What Is Not Confirmed Yet

Curtiss-Wright has not said how much sensor output the $30 million buys, when construction starts or finishes, or how many people it will hire. It has not named customers for the added capacity. Until those figures appear, the investment is a signal of expected demand and not a measure of how many reactors the supply chain can serve.