AMSC’s former largest customer, China’s Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. (Sinovel) has agreed to pay it $57.5 million in two installments to settle a dispute over stealing its technology. It was also fined $1.5 million by a federal judge on July 9, concluding a key stage in a long-fought case of IT theft that stems back as far as 2011.

The story of what happened to AMSC, formerly known as American Superconductor Inc., is staggering in scope. While it made high-temp superconductor wire, AMSC’s biggest focus was its proprietary technology to control wind turbines. The company had a $16 million profit for fiscal 2010, at which time it had some 700 employees and was on an international growth path. In early 2011, its stock traded as high as $260 a share, but later that year, Sinovel, its largest customer, refused to accept a shipment. It was later shown at trial that Sinovel, through an AMSC employee, had stolen its technology. The subsequent losses were later said to be more than $800 million.

The company cut its workforce in 2011 by 150 people, a 30% reduction, with further cuts made over the following years. A lengthy and expensive international legal battle was fought by AMSC in Chinese courts, and in 2013, the Justice Department announced charges against Sinovel. In the last 12 months, AMSC’s stock price dropped to below $3 a share, but bolstered by sales of its collective energy solutions products—and a key court victory on Jan. 24, 2018, where a U.S. jury found in favor of AMSC—and hopes of a significant settlement by Sinovel, it had risen to as much as $8 a share, only to fall under $6 a share when news of the settlement and the judge’s sentence was made on July 9.

AMSC President and CEO Daniel P. McGahn, who following the Jan. 24 jury finding declared that the outcome was “a victory for the rule of law,” said that the resolution it had reached with Sinovel prior to the sentencing was an important step. “We valued the past cooperation between Sinovel and AMSC which was heralded as the example of Sino-U.S. cooperation in the new energy area. Through Sinovel’s and AMSC’s joint efforts, we have signed a settlement agreement to resolve the previous disputes in a constructive manner that we believe will enable us to move on with our respective businesses. This closes a challenging chapter for AMSC.”.

NEC Corporation has signed an agreement with a coalition of marque businesses to build a nearly 16,000-km-long optical submarine cable.

A press release said that NEC was selected by The Bay to Bay Express Cable System (BtoBE) coalition composed of China Mobile International, Facebook and Amazon Web Services. Its mandate is to build a high- performance submarine cable connecting Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. “NEC is honored to be selected by the BtoBE consortium as the turnkey system supplier for this world record-breaking optical fiber submarine cable system that covers the longest distance without regeneration,” it said.

The BtoBE system, scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2020, will feature “multiple pairs of optical fibre that enable high-capacity transmission of data across the Pacific Ocean with round-trip latency of less than 130 milliseconds.” It added that the BtoBE “will further enhance and contribute to the much-needed expansion of communications networks between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Singapore.”

The cable will be built with the most advanced optical submarine transmission equipment, thereby improving network redundancy, flexibility and ensuring highly reliable communications, the release said. The BtoBE, landing at three locations spanning across the Pacific Ocean, is designed so that once completed, it can carry at least 18Tbs of capacity per fiber pair, said Toru Kawauchi, general manager of the Submarine Network Division at NEC Corporation. “The BtoBE will provide seamless connectivity and network diversity ... and complement other Asia-Pacific submarine cables, among others.”

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The Wire Association International will stage its first-ever standalone regional edition of its long-running and content-refined Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing course on October 10, 2018, at the Sheraton McKinney Hotel in McKinney, Texas, USA.

This concentrated introductory workshop provides a solid grounding in the essentials of wire and cable manufacturing presented by experts in the field. It is WAI’s most successful training program and refresher course for new hires, sales teams and operations personnel. The curriculum includes: mechanics of wiredrawing, drawing dies, wiredrawing lubricants, wire breaks & surface damage, stranding cable, cleaning & coating of rod & wire, extrusion, basics of electrical testing, ferrous heat treatment, used machinery, manufacturing problem solving, testing & properties and ferrous metallurgy.

“The program has become so popular in recent years that we wanted to expand it by offering it regionally too, outside of the confines of WAI’s annual show and conference,” said WAI Director of Education Marc Murray. “We know there’s a strong demand for this type of instruction, not just for new employees but for veterans brushing up on their knowledge who want to learn something new. We want to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to get this kind of education. Moving it physically closer to the audience is an effective way to do that.”

This one-day program provides extensive instruction by 10 industry professionals and networking opportunities pertinent to the ever-evolving wire industry.

The registration fee is $195 for WAI members and $295 for nonmembers. Registration includes classroom materials and lunch. On October 11, 2018, WAI offers participants a choice of one or both plant tours to Encore Wire and Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. at $25 each.

Click here to see the program schedule and here to register. 

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Sampsistemi, a business of Italy’s SAMP Group, announced that it plans to expand the operations of its China-based subsidiary Sampsistemi (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.

A press release said that as a result of the recent acquisition of Setic and Pourtier—two well-known French companies that were part of the Gauder Group—Sampsistemi has decided to expand and strengthen its existing Chinese footprint. The plan is to expand the Setic plant in Changzhou with a significant investment in infrastructure, and to enlarge the production area.

The Setic plant, located in the Xinbei District, covers an area of 6,400 sq m, and it is currently dedicated to manufacturing rotating machines and related equipment for the wire and cable industry, the release said. The expansion plan will increase the manufacturing area up to 10,000 sq m, plus 2.600 sq m dedicated to office space. The unit will be equipped with state of the art assembly lines for wire and cable machinery and an enhanced R&D center with a test lab. Each space will meet the highest safety and quality standards. “The consolidation of the production capacity into one location will allow us to fully synergize the combined know-how and technologies, while providing greater value to our customers.”

“With the acquisition of Setic and Pourtier, Sampsistemi has completed a three-year strategic initiative aimed at strengthening its leading position in the market and meeting the ongoing demand for a single source-provider, capable of supporting the clients with cutting edge solutions,” said SAMP CEO Lapo Vivarelli Colonna. “The new organization will enhance our capability to provide products and services in China, the largest wire & cable market in the world.”

Sampsistemi is a company of the Maccaferri Industrial Group, an international entity active in seven main sectors, with 58 production plants, 4,600 employees worldwide and annual revenues of 1.2 billion euros.