JDR Cable Systems (JDR) announced signing a substantial subsea cable contract as well as the official beginning of construction of its new U.K. cable plant in in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland.

A press release said that the project—previously announced but now finalized with a signed contract—is for inter-array cables (IAC) for the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm, which is part of the Ocean Winds portfolio of U.K. projects. The cable will be manufactured at JDR’s Hartlepool facility.

The IACs will connect the wind turbines back to the offshore substation platforms (OSP) before exporting the power back to the onshore connection point at Blackhillock near Keith. The deal also includes an interconnector cable that will be buried in the seabed to connect the two OSPs. JDR will provide about 125 km of 66 kV subsea cables that will be installed by Seaway 7 ASA.

“Moray West has an essential role to play in the energy transition and as a U.K. manufacturer we are delighted to have won this contract to support the U.K. energy market,” said JDR Sales Director John Price, who noted that there were logistical advantages. “Transporting a cable of this size from overseas would have had large environmental and commercial costs involved.”

The release said that the latest contract confirms the need for JDR to open a new subsea cable manufacturing facility in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland. It is part of JDR’s plans to expand its product portfolio to support the growing global renewable energy market, adding high voltage export and long-length array cables to its existing capacity and product capabilities.

JDR’s 69,000-sq-m factory is expected to be operational by 2024. The £130 million project will deliver vital subsea cable manufacturing technology to the offshore wind market. The facility, to include a CCV line, will bet the only facility in the U.K. capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high voltage subsea cables for offshore wind farms to support the growing global renewable energy market.

“We’re delighted to be starting construction, it’s taken a lot of hard work from all stakeholders for spades to finally hit the ground today,” said JDR CEO Tomasz Nowak. “This region and the east coast of the U.K. has plans to connect an incredible amount of energy infrastructure in the coming years and we’re proud to be contributing to it in the midst of a growing offshore energy sector.

LS Cable & System President & CEO Myung Roe-Hyun announced that the company has opened a new cable plant in Poland, its first production base in Europe.

A press release said that the plant is the first such one for a South Korean company in Europe, “the home of cable.” The plant produces parts for electric vehicle batteries and optical cables for communication. More than 100 people, including Cha-Yup Koo, chairman of LS Cable & System; Roe-Hyun; Lee Dong-Wook, CEO of LS C & S Poland; Dariusz Kucharski, mayor of Dzierzoniow; and Mira Sun, Korean ambassador to Poland, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“LS C & S is pushing ahead with its localization and regional base strategy,” Roe-Hyun said. “The Polish plant will serve as the key base for advancing into Europe, and transform the company into a total cable company by adding the power cable business.”
The release said that Poland has very roads and power grids, and the Polish government is known to fully support investment of foreign capital with various tax incentives. Also, the company said that the nation’s geographic location is favorable to export to other European countries and its excellent workforce availability are important reasons for selecting Poland.

LS C & S established a subsidiary that produces parts for electric vehicle batteries (LSEVP) in Poland in November 2017. LSEVP can produce parts for 300,000 electric vehicles annually, and is planning to increase supplies to European automakers starting with LG Chem in nearby Wroclaw at the end of this year.

LS C & S established its optical cable production subsidiary (LSCP) next to its LSEVP plant in February 2018 as the European optical cable market has grown rapidly. It is the third optical cable plant of LS C & S, following the plants it built in Gumi, Korea and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

LSCP began production last April and has proven that it can produce three million fiber km a year—about 7% of the European market—and has since been supplying its products to key European carriers in Italy, France, etc. With the completion of the Polish plant, LS C & S now has a total of 19 business sites at home and abroad, including nine overseas in Vietnam, China and the U.S.