9/8/21 -- LS Cable & System (LSC&S) announced that the South Korean company will expand its submarine cable capacity at its campus in Donghae City, Gangwon-do.

A press release said that LSC&S will build an additional submarine cable plant in Building No. 2 of the Donghae City campus, which is in the Gangwon Province. The site now has three plants. The fourth plant will feature the tallest power cable production tower in South Korea. When completed, the vertical continuous extraction system tower will be as tall as a 63-story apartment, the tallest structure in Donghae City. Construction will start this October and is expected to be completed by the end of April 2023. The project, estimated to cost more than $161 million, will increase LSC&S’s submarine cable production capacity more than 1.5 times. The 172-m-tall tower is expected to improve cable insulation quality and increase productivity.

LSC&S built Korea’s first submarine cable plant in Donghae City in 2008, and has invested about US$296 million to date. The existing plant, which has a total floor area of 84,000 sq m, will get an additional 31,000 sq m.

“As countries around the world are increasing investments in renewable energy to become carbon neutral, the submarine cable market is also growing,” said LSC&S President & CEO Myung Roe-Hyun. “We will contribute to the national economy by expanding domestic investments.”

9/8/21 -- Eastern Wire Products, Inc., has bought property in Jacksonville, Florida, and plans to invest $1.5 million in renovating it to produce steel wire and other products.

The company, founded in 1972, has operated elsewhere in the city in a leased multitenant building, and it is buying a 78,000-sq-ft structure that needs to be upgraded. Of that space, some 21,000 sq ft is leased to another company, and the goal is to use that space as well until the lease either expires or is terminated.
Eastern Wire Products specializes in baling wire as well as straight-and-cut wire. The family-owned company has 42 full-time employees, and expects that the expansion will eventually result in another 10 jobs.

The total project is expected to cost about $4.4 million, which includes about $3 million for the site acquisition and demolition, $500,000 for infrastructure improvements; $650,000 in building renovations; and $240,000 in machinery and equipment purchases.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to establish a home for our third-generation, wire fabrication company,” said company President Mark Yates. “My father and grandfather were both WAI lifetime members, and this is the culmination of their longtime desire to create a space for us to fabricate our products for generations to come.”

Yates said that, with the aid of grants from the city of Jacksonville, Eastern Wire will be able to create a modern facility that includes state of the art bale tie manufacturing equipment. “This should enable us to be more efficient and effective and allow us to better serve our customers.” 

9/8/21 – When you think of data transmission, your first thought might be of optical fiber, but a team of Chinese researchers thinks there may be an even better medium: ice.

 In the journal Science, researchers Peizhen Xu of Zhejiang University and colleagues discussed how they have studied the use of ice to transmit light. They want to transition ice from a normal state to Ice II, which is a highly ordered rhombohedral crystalline structure. The key is the creation of ice “hairs” can be created that have high optical quality because they are extraordinarily clear and can allow efficient light transmission. The nearly perfect ice hairs are devoid of imperfections, like cracks, that cause ice to break.

 The researchers used a needle with an electrical charge to attract water vapor and freeze it. At cryotemperatures between –70° and –150°C, strands of single-crystal ice microfibers (IMFs) ranging from 10 micrometers to less than 800 nanometers could bend or curve up to 11% and then spring back to their original shape. They can transmit whispering-gallery light waves, which are able to travel around a concave surface. Those waves can be used in evaluating material properties, such as viruses from infected samples; lasers; cooling; sensing; and astronomy.

 Theoretically, using ice as a transmission mode can provide low-loss optical waveguiding, which guides light on integrated circuits for optical communication. And yes, if it pans out, it could be an alternative to optical fiber made from glass. So, ice could someday be the “next-gen” for industry, but for now one can still appreciate it for how well it sits in a gin and tonic.

9/8/21 – Ludicrous speed! new wiring positioning a key for 

 There’s Q*Bert, the long-nosed video game character, and Qbot, the malware. Now there’s qubit (short for quantum bit), the exceptionally fast encoding system used in quantum computers.

Whereas traditional digital computers use only 0 and 1, qubits use 0, 1 or a combination of both, making faster computations and more complex modeling. The reason quantum computing today can’t use more than 100 to 1000 qubits is because large-scale use of millions of qubits is hampered by wires that take up too much space and generate too much heat. The wires used for the magnetic fields that control the spin of electrons in qubits are usually positioned right next to the qubit, requiring ever more wires for more qubits. Also, these magnetic fields drop off with distance, and heat can interfere with performance. 

Now, scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have devised a way to efficiently position wires that may lead to better development of quantum computers using qubit technology. To get more control of electron spin, less space, and less heat, they placed the wires above the qubits, and also used a dielectric resonator crystal that shrinks the wavelength of the microwaves down to one millimeter. With both these advances, qubits can use less power and less heat, and there’s a shorter distance for the wires. 

Pretty soon quantum computing will reach ludicrous speeds using millions of qubits to calculate complex chemistry simulations for more effective drugs, crack encryptions for better cybersecurity, develop artificial intelligence, and create predictive modeling for financial services, traffic patterns, and weather forecasting. Smoke if you got ‘em.

9/8/21 -

It is with deepest regret that we announce the passing of Ali Shehab, president of Cimteq, on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, following a battle with cancer.
Ali was a well-known and much-respected individual within the wire and cable industry, and we are certain that his friends and colleagues from across the industry will join the Cimteq family in mourning his loss and extending heartfelt sympathies to Ali's wife Amanda and his wider family. Ali founded Cimteq in 1998 and helped some of the world’s largest wire and cable manufacturers through his dedication, expert knowledge and desire to make a difference in the industry. Ali’s fascination with electricity and his passion for innovation was evident throughout his career. Alongside Amanda, Ali drove Cimteq forward, developing a business that has become one of the industry’s leading suppliers.
Ali will be sorely missed. Those wishing to pay their respects are invited to email their thoughts to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All messages will be warmly received and will be forwarded to Amanda. The family would prefer not to receive flowers but would rather a donation be made to RNLI (Royal National Lifeboad Institution) A JustGiving page has been set up in memory of Ali. https://www.justgiving.com/a-shehab

Albert “Al” Bavosi, a pioneer in the marking and coding field, died July 13 at age 78.
Bavosi was the co-founder and owner of Wachusett Marking Co., started in 1976, which was later sold to Gem Gravure in the early 2000s. The Massachusetts native was a Vietnam Veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam. He returned home to West Boylston, and in 1976, he and his uncle Joe Bacchiocchi and brother Donny started Wachusett Marking Company. He was known for exceptional mechanical skills and strong work ethic in developing and manufacturing metal-marking wheels. Thirty-three years later, he sold the company to a big competitor, Gem Gravure, but even after the sale he continued to work for the company until he retired a few years ago. Gem Gravure Executive Vice President Paul Gemelli said that Bavosi “was a terrific guy with a strong work ethic, a great sense of humor, and an outgoing personality. ... My father (the late David Gemelli) and Al always had a very close relationship. In particular, my father always respected Al for starting and building up his own business, and like everyone he just enjoyed being around him.”
Bavosi is survived by his wife of 52 years, Kathleen Ann (Villnave) Bavosi; four children, Michele DeVillers, Amie Moore, Timothy Bavosi and Jennifer Cadwallader; a brother, Donald Bavosi; 11 grandchildren; and 13 nieces and nephews.

9/8/21 - Molly Hackman has been promoted to new business development manager for Minnesota Wire & Cable. She joined the company five years ago, and has held several different positions, most recently as executive assistant to the president. She holds a degree in communications disorders from the University of Minnesota. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota Wire & Cable specializes in manufacturing wire for sectors that include medical, defense, aerospace and industrial.

Cimteq has promoted James Concannon from technical account manager to commercial account manager, responsible for the company’s European and U.K. sales regions. He joined the company in 2018, and previously worked for Thomson Reuters for more than five years as a client services manager and as the client liaison team lead. He also worked for more than five years for Avox Limited. He holds a degree from Yale College Wrexham. Based in Wrexham, U.K., Cimteq supplies software and services designed to help wire and cable manufacturers optimize their processes.

David Galas was promoted to president of OMCG Inc. He joined the company in 2019 as national sales manager. Prior to OMCG, he served most recently as a regional sales manager for WAFIOS Machinery for five years. Before that, he was a U.S. business development manager for Numalliance North America. Other employers included Pro-Tech Machine Tool, Inc., Ellison Technology and PCC Airfoils, SMP. He holds a B.S. degree in applied science in manufacturing engineering from Miami University. Part of Italy’s OMCG Srl, and based in Bensenville, Illinois, USA, OMCG Inc. supplies wire, tube and strip forming equipment.

Joe Guigli has been promoted to vice president, aftermarket sales–North America for Davis-Standard LLC. He has held various leadership roles in his 13 years with the company, including regional sales manager, inside aftermarket sales and product manager. He will build and manage an expanded aftermarket field sales team. Based in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Davis-Standard LLC is a global leader in extrusion and converting technology.

Steel industry veteran William “Bill” Jarae retired earlier this year after a career that spanned a half century. His career started at United States Steel Corporation (USS), where he worked for 16 years, holding quality department positions at its Gary Works in steelmaking, and was general supervisor for the bar mills, and the bar rod, wire and semi-finish product metallurgy group. At the USS Lorain Cuyahoga Works, he was the quality superintendent for the primary mills, billet conditioning and bar mills. He later became vice president of quality assurance, technology and customer technical services at Georgetown Steel, where he worked for 24 years. He then went to Charter Steel, where he served as a technical services engineer. His travels took him to many plants, including one in the Ukraine. The WAI Life Member (joined in 1986) authored multiple steelmaking and rod rolling chapters for the WAI Ferrous Wire Handbook, presented various technical papers and technical courses, helped update the Ferrous Wire Pocket Guide and moderated technical sessions and the Wire Fundamental Course. He served on the Board of Directors, the Education Committee and the Ferrous Wire Committee, which he also chaired. He was also active in ASM and AIST. Of note, Jarae was named the recipient of the 2021 WAI President’s Award.