BURLINGTON - A massive refit of Ontario nuclear reactors announced Thursday has turned into a multimillion-dollar boon for a local company.

Laker Energy Products will earn up to $35 million by providing fittings, liners and feeder pipes for the first phase of the $13-billion refit of Candu reactors at the Bruce Power plant near Kincardine.

If the company meets budgets and deadlines for that project, president Chris Hughes said, it could earn up to $120 million for supplying later phases of the project.

Hughes told a gathering at the company's Landmark Road plant and office Friday the deal is the largest in Laker's history, will nearly double its 48-member workforce and keep his plants in Burlington and Oakville busy until 2020.

That's critical, he said, because the new deal comes just as an earlier contract ends.

"This eliminates the possibility of layoffs between these two orders," he said. "If we do this right, we will all be gainfully employed in this business for the foreseeable future.

"This deal will keep our people working for years to come," he added.

The refit project at the Bruce plant will include replacing the fuel channels that hold the uranium fuel for the reactor as well as the pipes running from the fuel channels to the steam generator, where electricity is produced.

The massive Bruce Power refit will see six of the company's eight reactors refurbished over 15 years, extending their useful life until 2060. In announcing the deal Thursday, Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli said it will help save $1.7 billion from the government's original plans.

It is all part of a new Ontario energy strategy that includes shutting down coal-fired generating stations and calling for wind and solar generation proposals.

Duncan Hawthorne, president of Bruce Power, said the size of the project will provide benefits across the province.

"This is going to make a massive difference to all of us in the short, medium and long terms," he said. "This will make a difference to people wanting to buy a house or propose to their girlfriends . or trying to decide what to spend for Christmas because they know their jobs are going to be secure."

He said Laker was chosen for the project because of the reputation it has established for quality work over its 20-year life.

"Laker has done some high-precision work for us in the past and we know the quality of work they do," he said. "These components are pretty important safety-related components, so the quality of workmanship, the high specification, is a very important feature."

While nuclear power remains an emotional issue for some people, Hawthorne and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said there's really no alternative if the province is to meet its emission-reduction goals.

"Most . understand that if we are going to tackle climate change, then we need to invest in emission-free energy," Hawthorne said. "People who are opposed to nuclear don't have a credible alternative."

Flynn, who represents Oakville, said while solar and wind generation will provide some of the power Ontario needs in the future, nuclear will be the mainstay of the system.

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"Given the climate-change imperative we are facing, we owe it to our kids and our grandkids to get this right; otherwise, they're not going to have a very good world to live in."

Hughes said Laker will hire as many as 32 more workers over the next year with an emphasis on machinists and machine operators.

Also Friday, Bruce Power announced a deal with Cambridge-based BWXT Canada Ltd. to supply 32 replacement steam generators for the plant worth up to $500 million. Filling that order is expected to fill 350,000 hours of work or 8,750 40-hour weeks.

Each of Bruce's eight reactors, the company said in a news release, is capable of powering a city the size of Hamilton for a year.