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Wire Journal News

Starting this year, the Association will work closely with each chapter to develop a regional education program.

Currently, only the New England Chapter and Ohio Valley Chapter offer an education program. The plan is to have the other chapters (starting with Midwest and Southeast) establish an education component, in keeping with the Association’s educational mission. This will provide another attractive member benefit on the Chapter level. More details will follow as the Chapter Boards and Association work together on this.

“We’ve seen a lot of success from educational programs, and once members have a chance to go to them, it proves to be very worthwhile,” said WAI’s John Markowski, manager, membership & social media. He explained that while it does take work, the volunteers seem quite pleased with the results.

Last modified on February 6, 2023

Kevin Dancy was promoted to executive vice president-operations at Roteq Machinery, Inc. He joined the company as a sales engineer in 2014, and was promoted to sales manager in 2018. Prior to that he worked for 10 years at Southwire Company, including five years as a plant manager. He also worked in engineering and managerial positions at Rexan Circuits, Tyco Thermal Controls, General Cable and Nortel. He holds a BASc degree in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University and is a licensed professional engineer. Kevin has served as an instructor for WAI’s Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing course for several years. Based in Ontario, Canada, Roteq manufacturers rotating equipment for sectors that include the wire and cable industry. 

Shawn Mahle is director of sales-energy at Marmon Industrial Energy & Infrastructure. He most recently was director of sales-oil rig and industrial products for RSCC Wire & Cable LLC, where over seven years he was also national sales manager and sales & marketing manager. He worked in managerial positions prior to that for 11 years for companies that included Spike Electric Controls, Crawford Electric Supply, Oakwell Inc. and Amphenol ECOSystem. A division of Marmon Electrical, Marmon Industrial Energy & Infrastructure produces wire and cable for industrial, energy and infrastructure markets. 

National Standard has promoted Tom Wehner to vice president of sales and marketing. He joined the company in 2012 as a regional sales manager and was promoted to director of sales in 2020. He previously worked in sales and managing positions going back to 1999 for Pelican Products, LPS Laboratories, Praxair Distribution and ESAB. Based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and part of the Heico Wire Group, National Standard manufacturers welding wire, tire bead wire, industrial wire and ACSR wire.

The American Wire Group appointed Scott Moore as vice president renewables, Eastern Region. He most recently was director of energy at Cameron Connect. Prior to that, he worked for six years for Prysmian, including one year as market manager, North American Renewable Energy, five years as a technical sales engineer/manager; and before that, 10 years for Draka USA. Based in Miami, Florida, American Wire Group offers a range of wire, cable and accessories for utility and renewable energy applications. 

Rob Caillet has been named vice president, corporate EHS & sustainability director, for Encore Wire. He leads both the EHS and training teams at Encore, where he has more than 25 years of experience building and sustaining successful EHS programs. He also serves as an advisor to the Lone Star Manufacturing Workforce Commission and the Collin County Local Emergency Planning Committee. Based in McKinney, Texas, Encore Wire is a leading manufacturer of copper and aluminum for residential, commercial and industrial wire.

Tom Artinian has been named president of Proterial Cable America, Inc. (formerly known as Hitachi Cable America Inc.). He will oversee the strategic direction of all North American facilities (performance cable systems and materials, high-performance medical solutions and automotive products). He has three decades of experience with both privately held and publicly traded companies. He joined HCA in 2020, and quickly progressed from executive vice president to COO of the Performance Cable Systems and Materials (PCSM) Division, a role he will continue to serve. He succeeds Lynne Humenik, who previously announced her departure from HCA. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Proterial Cable America, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of copper and fiber optic communication cables for the telecom industry.

Manner Polymers recently named Tom Allen as national account manager. The retired electronic technician senior chief for the Navy most recently worked for more than 10 years at Southwire as a senior buyer/commodity manager. Prior to that, he worked for more than four years at Magna International, and another three years at Bradley Morris and OFS. He holds a B.A.Sc degree from Southern Illinois University, Carondale. Based in McKinney, Texas, Manner Plastics is one of the largest U.S. suppliers of PVC compounds

Obituary
Robert E. Delp, 85, of York, Pennsylvania, died Jan. 19, 2023, at York Hospital. Per WCMA and his posted obituary, Delp was the president and CEO of First Capitol Wire and Cable until the company was sold to Coleman Cable in 2011. His career began in 1956 and spanned six decades, during which he held executive level positions at Monroe Wire & Cable and Laribee Wire, as well as technical positions with Anaconda, BICC, Coleman Cable and Southwire. Most recently he continued working as the technical director for Frasier Campbell Wire & Cable, which is run by his son, Dan Delp. He was a WAI Life Member and a 2003 recipient of the Charles Scott Lifetime Achievement Award. Other survivors include his wife, Mildred, who runs York Wire & Cable along with his stepson, Robert Wilson; a second son, Robert Delp; and two sisters, Pat Godrey and Jean Orr.

Last modified on February 6, 2023

Messe Düsseldorf has extended its family of trade shows for the wire and cable industry with its newest addition being wire Middle East Africa and Tube Middle East Africa.

A press release from Germany’s Messe Düsseldorf—which is one of the world’s 10 largest such organizers—said that wire Egypt will be held Sept. 2-4 at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo, joined by Tube Egypt, and two other metal events: GIFA Middle East Africa, METEC Middle East Africa.

The wire and Tube events will be held in a designated location within the overall event. METAL & STEEL has been organized by AGEX (Arabian German Exhibitions & Publishing Ltd), has presented a wide range of machinery, equipment and products from the steel and metal industries for the Near and Middle East since 2010.

AGEX, a leading Egyptian organizer, has staged trade fairs and conferences in the region since 2004, specializing in the industrial sector. “We are very much looking forward to the partnership with AGEX and are confident that our metal trade fair quartet offers profitable synergies for all parties involved,” said Daniel Ryfisch and Malte Seifert, directors of the wire, Tube, GIFA and METEC trade fairs at the Düsseldorf, Germany location.

Registration for the wire MEA and Tube MEA events contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.mdna.com.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

Microsoft has acquired Lumenisity® Limited, a start-up based in the U.K. that provides hollow-core fiber (HCF) with a proprietary design said to offer multiple advantages over traditional solid core fiber.

Per the company’s website, Lumenisity was formed in 2017 as a spinoff from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton to commercialize breakthroughs in the development of hollow-core optical fiber. In 2021 and 2022, it won the Best Fibre Component Product for its NANF® CoreSmart® HCF cable in the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) Exhibition Industry Awards.

A press release said that Microsoft plans to use Lumenisity’s technology and experts to accelerate innovations in networking and infrastructure. It noted that light that propagates in an air core has significant advantages over traditional cable built with a solid core of glass, including increased overall speed and lower latency as light travels through HCF 47% faster than standard silica glass. For further details on Lumenisity’s technology, see the company’s presentations at www.lumenisity.com.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

Hellenic Cables is one of 13 parties from eight countries that are part of a coalition working to further the design and deployment of a 6 MW floating wind prototype in the French Mediterranean.

A press release said that the pan-European project, launched in Paris, seeks to accelerate the roll out of the next generation of floating wind technology for a competitive, more scalable and industrial deployment. Other participants include: X1Wind, Naturgy, 2B Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Hydro, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Schwartz Hautmont, Ocas, Tersan Shipyard, Ocean Ecostructures and Cybernetix.

Backed by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe program with public funding of €16 million, the project is anticipated to run until 2027. It will lead to the deployment of a 6 MW floating wind prototype to demonstrate at a relevant scale an innovative integrated downwind floating platform design, while advancing in parallel on the industrialization and scaling-up of the integrated solution up to 20MW+ scale, in preparation of commercial floating wind farms under development in Europe.

This project builds upon previous European Projects such as the PivotBuoy which recently led to the installation of a part-scale prototype in the Canary Islands to validate the technology. Design work for the initial 6MW system is currently underway and scheduled to be finalized in 2023. Construction is due in 2023 and 2024, ahead of installation in 2025.

Floating wind is considered one of the lowest carbon electricity generation systems to meet the energy demand in a sustainable way while inducing better competitiveness, less noise and visual pollution, and less interaction with the users of the maritime domain. The NextFloat Project represents a unique opportunity to test a novel and disruptive version of this technology at full scale, driving cost curve reductions in order to deliver industrial-scale projects at the earliest possible stage”.

“After the successful deployment and validation of our innovative low-cost solution in the Canary Islands (PivotBuoy project), the goal now is to scale-up and industrialize the technology in advance of large commercial floating wind projects which will come online at the end of the decade across European, Asian and U.S. waters,” said X1 Wind Founder and CEO Alex Raventos. “Wind will allow us time to drive substantial improvements in the competitiveness of floating wind as we prepare for long-term mass deployment.”

Last modified on January 10, 2023

Germany’s Leoni AG reports that the May 21 announced sale of its Business Group Automotive Cable Solutions business to Thailand’s STARK Corporation Public Company Limited (STARK) has been upended.

A press release said that the buyer, STARK, “unexpectedly demanded very significant amendments to the purchase agreement.” It added, “Despite willingness to compromise on the side of Leoni, STARK refused to agree and will not perform the closing.”

Leoni said that it sees the actions as a breach of the contract, and will “take all measures to enforce its rights against STARK.” It noted that the sale was important as it is the basis for the financing of the Leoni Group until the end of 2025. Leoni has signed a comprehensive contractual documentation of the refinancing plan with its syndicate banks and borrower’s note holders on the basis of the agreement in principle reached in July 2022. An essential prerequisite for its implementation, however, is a partial repayment of financial liabilities with proceeds from the sale. As a result of the non-performance of the contract by STARK, the refinancing plan cannot be implemented for the time being.

The release did not state what changes STARK requested. STARK is a private organization which focuses on investment in manufacturing and services in the industrial sector. It has been registered as a public organization since 2019 and mainly runs the business of Phelps Dodge International (Thailand) Limited. In 2020, it partnered with Thai Cable International, a leading manufacturer and distributor of copper and aluminum conductors in Thailand, and Thinh Phat Electric Cable Joint Stock Company, a major wire and cable manufacturer from Vietnam.

STARK did not respond to a WJI request for comment.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

NKT reports that the company is ready to design, produce and install a 1 kV cable using low-carbon aluminum and polyolefins in the Swedish power grid.

A press release said that the initiative will reduce the carbon footprint of the power cable significantly and is part of NKT’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions company. The cable has been developed in close cooperation with the Swedish power grid company Ellevio, which will also be the first customer to use it. Below, NKT spells out how the cable will achieve that goal.

The conductor is made from Hydro REDUXA low-carbon aluminum with 4.0 kg CO2e per kg of aluminum, less than a quarter of the global average. For insulation and jacketing, the company is using Bornewables™ material from Borealis that has -0.5 kg CO2 eq/kg. per kg of polyethylene (PE), which represents a reduction of at least 130% compared to conventional fossil-based polyethylene. Finally, the cable will be made with lean production processes that use 100% renewable electricity.

The cables will be manufactured with low-carbon aluminum and polyolefins at the NKT factory in Falun, Sweden, which is running on 100% renewable electricity. For NKT, the project is yet another important step in reducing the carbon footprint of its power cable solutions after also having announced the production of the world’s first HVDC power cable using low-carbon copper.

“This is a game changer in the development of an energy infrastructure built with innovative, low-carbon solutions,” said NKT Executive Vice President and Head of Applications Will Hendrikx. “We see a growing market demand for more environmentally friendly products and solutions and are proud to be among the first to deliver an innovative low voltage cable after a close collaboration with our customers and suppliers.”

Karolina Viksten, sustainability manager at Ellevio, said that cables and overhead lines account for some 60% of their emissions, and this new cable will be a big help.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

Italian carrier Unidata has chosen Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to supply a new subsea cable system, Unitirreno, that will connect Sicily with two cities on the Italian mainland, Rome and Genoa.

A press release said that the project will be the first 24-fiber pair open cable system in the Mediterranean region. There will also be a 16-fiber pair from a branch to Fiumicino near Rome, where Unidata is building a green data center hub. Cable performance will be capable of 20 Terabit/sec x fp -> 480 Terabit/sec. The layout represents the shortest, quickest path to Northern Europe from Sicily via Genoa/Milan: 9 msec. Latency will be half that or less than alternative domestic terrestrial backbone solutions.

Unitirreno will be 890 km long. It will connect Mazara del Vallo on the western tip of Sicily with Genoa on the mainland, and it will include a junction point near Rome. It will include stubbed branching units to allow future landings in Sardinia and/or Palermo.

“ASN will design, manufacture, and deliver the Unitirreno system with the state-of-the-art technology that has made ASN a leader in the telecommunications submarine industry,” said Paul Gabla, ASN’s chief sales and marketing officer.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

Vattenfall has awarded the export cable contract for the Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farm in the U.K. to preferred supplier LS Cable & System (LS C&S).

A press release said that LS C&S is part of a consortium with DEME Offshore that includes design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing and testing of around 180 km of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) export cables for the onshore route and around 320 km for the offshore route for the whole of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone, and the connection to the national transmission electricity grid.

Located 47 km off the Norfolk coast in the U.K., Vattenfall’s Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone will produce clean energy for more than four million households. The project will be executed in 2027 and 2028, and will involve a cable installation vessel, a trailing suction hopper dredger and a fallpipe vessel from the DEME fleet.

“We are pleased to announce the 320 kV offshore cable being supplied by LS Cable & System will be manufactured solely using renewable energy which is also certified by LS’s Environmental Product Declaration Certification,” said LS C&S Executive Hyungwon Kim.

“We’re delighted to have taken the next step with LS Cable & System and DEME Group who will provide the export cables for the whole Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone,” said Catrin Jung, head of Offshore Wind at Vattenfall. “This is a big milestone for the project which is vital to deliver fossil-free living within a generation.”

The news for LS C&S follows a recent contract award to provide export cables for the Norfolk Boreas Wind Farm. The contract includes the design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing and testing, of around 360 HVDC.

Of note, last November Vattenfall’s Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone won the National Infrastructure Planning Association’s (NIPA) Best Project award.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

The Prysmian Group announced that it has seen its “B” rating improve to an “A-” in terms of its CDP (carbon disclosure project) ranking for a covered period (2021 versus 2019) the company saw its Scope 1 & 2 emissions decrease by more than 22%.

A press release said that the improvements cited in its score for the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) stemmed from reduced consumption, electrification and the use of renewable energy. In 2021, Prysmian recorded a 3% reduction despite the acquisition of four new production sites through focused actions (e.g., LED lights, biomass boilers and replacement of old machinery versus more efficient ones). It also installed several solar farms in its factories and aims to expand the amount of self-generated energy with renewables significantly in the coming years.

“Climate is the most urgent pillar of sustainability and we must deliver results quickly in order to guarantee a better future for next generations,” said Maria Cristina Bifulco, who is the chief sustainability officer and investor relations vice president for the Prysmian Group. “The A- ranking in the CDP Questionnaire confirms that we are on the right path in the decarbonization process and that our commitments are solid and recognized. The recent confirmation of Prysmian in the DJ World Index and the excellent results achieved further confirms how sustainability represents a key priority for the group.”

In 2021, the Prysmian Group launched its Climate Change and Social Ambition in 2021, which aims “to make the Group one of the leading technological players in the transition to low carbon energy and decarbonize its operation by 2035 (Scope 1 and 2) and be net-zero across the whole value chain by 2050 (Scope 3).”

In related news, Prysmian Australia has been awarded NBN’s ‘Protected Environment’ Award for 2022. Prysmian has had a longstanding partnership with NBN Co., locally manufacturing and supplying the optical ribbon cable integral to NBN’s national network as well as being its exclusive supplier of copper cable. All NBN cables are manufactured in Prysmian’s Dee Why, Sydney plant.

Prysmian’s ability to innovate saw the optimization of the 12-fiber stranded feeder cable to NBN. The local team worked closely with NBN’s engineering design team to challenge the existing cable design and develop a smaller and lighter cable without compromise to the mechanical, environmental and optical performance. After several iterations of prototyping and testing, the final design was a reduction in weight of 21% (which is mostly plastic material), a 27% reduction in size and a doubling of cable length on the existing size drum, with no change to the cable performance characteristics or handling methods.

In 12 months, there were significant benefits to material usage and carbon emissions, namely, it reduced: use of plastics by 129 metric tons; use of timber by 87 metric tons (1400 wooden drums) due to ability to supply longer lengths of cable on the same drum; carbon emissions by 1,175 metric tons; and emissions from logistics as 1400+ drums were taken off the road.

“We are delighted that our long-term strategy to manufacture locally, with a commitment to innovation and sustainability, continues to be of significant value to our customers” said Prysmian Oceania CEO Hama Shroff.

Last modified on January 10, 2023

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