Teknor Apex announced that the new CEO of the company is Donald Wiseman, who has a robust history within the plastics industry and a deep expertise in masterbatches and compounding. He most recently was CEO at Star Plastics, and prior to that he was president for Performance Products and Solutions at PolyOne, managing director and general manager in Taiwan for Cabot Microelectronics and a holder of various leadership roles at Americhem. He holds an ME degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He replaces Jonathan Fain, who for the past 51 years has led the organization. During his tenure, company revenue grew by more than 650%, and it expanded beyond North America to a global footprint, completing 11 acquisitions and having 13 manufacturing locations. He decided to step down as CEO and will remain a major stakeholder and continue serving as Chairman of the Board, a position he assumed from his father. Based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Teknor Apex is a private family-owned company that was founded by Jonathan’s grandfather, Alfred A. Fain, in 1924 as Apex Tire and Rubber Company. The company provides a range of compounds for multiple sectors, including wire and cable.

 Radix Wire & Cable has promoted Jeremy Tuttle to CEO. He joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing three years ago, and was instrumental in growing the product line as well as increasing revenue. Prior to Radix, he spent 14 years with ITW Powertrain Fastening, where he last served as the director of global sales and engineering, leading sales and engineering teams in the U.S., Europe and China. He holds a B.S. degree in Materials Science & Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He replaces retiring CEO Jeff Leone, who joined the company three years ago after the business was sold by High Road Capital Partners to Windjammer Capital. He will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors and provide guidance during the transition. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Radix is a leading manufacturer of high-performance electrical and communications wire and cable for extreme temperature, fire resistance and other harsh environment applications.

 Anjel Otto has joined Sequel Wire & Cable as director of sales and marketing. She has more than 30 years of experience in sales and new business development roles, working with global customers at all levels of the supply chain including direct to Tier 1, 2, and 3-level accounts as well as supporting distribution partners across the globe. She most recently served as the North American Sales Manager at the Prysmian Group, and prior to that she worked for more than 12 years for Leoni. Based in Argos, Indiana, Sequel Wire & Cable manufactures a range of electrical wire products.

 Friedrich Roithner has been named CFO of Leoni AG. He has served in management at the Austrian Pierer Group for more than 15 years. He has a degree in business administration, and broad expertise in the field of financial management in an industrial environment, especially in times of transformation. He succeeds Dr. Ulla Reisch, who is leaving the board. Roithner will be on the company’s Supervisory Board, joined by Josef Blazicek, Michaela Friepeß, Wolfgang Plasser and Rudolf Wiesbeck as well as Günther Apfalter and all six previous employee representatives. Based in Germany, the Leoni Group produces wire and cable, primarily for the automotive industry.

Plans are continuing to be finalized for the XI International WAI Poland Chapter Seminar, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 23-24, 2023.

Chapter President Jan Pilarczyk said that the seminar, to be held at the METALURGIA Hotel in Radomsko, is attracting more attention. Notices have gone out to private industry and academic institutions about the event, which will see presentations and a discussion panel and dinner the first day, and paper presentations the second day.

The event begins Thursday, Nov. 23, with lunch, followed by the opening of the seminar that includes a welcome by a city official. Scheduled presenters at this point include: Robert J. Glodowski, The Evolving Technology of Steel Rod Manufacturing- A Personal Perspective, from 1:30 pm to 1:55 pm; Tom Moran, Development of a high-carbon wire that could be drawn to ultra-high tensile strength 285, (a joint effort project by National Standard and Southwire), 1:55 pm to 2:20 pm; a presentation by Jan Krnac, Analysis of possibilities to improve the quality of drawn steel wires intended for the production of needles, 2:20 pm to 2:45 pm; then a session on coaching (business topic: leasing, business financing), from 3:15 pm to 3:45 pm.

A discussion panel—The condition of the steel industry in the era of political and economic destabilization in the post-Covid period and in the face of war in Ukraine—will be held from 3:45 pm to 6:30 pm. Subjects will include steel, raw materials, delivery, prices, media, photovoltaics, other RES, development prospects, creating new products, innovative economy, corporate social responsibility, industry 4.0, digitization /automation. Moderators will include Piotr Milewski, Adam Świerczyński and Piotr Pawlak (proposal of further moderators).

Dinner will follow at 7 pm, with awards presented to Krnac and Głodowski. On Friday, papers will be presented from 10 am to noon, followed by lunch. See the latest details at www.msc.wip.pcz.pl. Send questions to chapter secretary Agnieszka Gwiazdowicz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Taihan Cable & Solution has received an approval from KEM, a Dutch testing center, for its 525-kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cable that it said represents the first such one to be certified for a South Korean company.

In a press release, Taihan CEO Song Jong-min announced that the company’s 525kV VSC (Voltage Source Converter) HVDC land cable system was granted certification from KEM. This took place about eight months after the company’s successful development of the first 500kV LCC (Line Commutated Converter) system.

The company said that by increasing the cross-sectional area of the 3,000 sq mm conductor, it was able to raise the allowable conductor temperature to over 90° (194° F). That enables the cable to carry a greater amount of current, a big plus for large-scale power transmission.

The release said that the 525-kV cable is currently the highest voltage among commercialized cables, and that only a few companies in the world have achieved this level of technology. “We have secured unrivaled technological competitiveness in 525kV VSC HVDC cables,” an official from Taihan said. “As investment in power infrastructure expands worldwide, especially in developed markets such as the United States and Europe, we will be able to secure business opportunities in various HVDC projects.”

Once the company completes its submarine cable plant now under construction in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, it will accelerate the development and certification of submarine HVDC cable systems. “As the HVDC market continues to expand in the medium to long term, we are committed to ensuring our technological and business competitiveness.”

TenneT, the largest electric grid operator in the Netherlands and Germany, announced that it has awarded contracts approximately €1.5 billion to multiple companies building high-tension wires.

A press release said that TenneT has signed a multi-year contract (Corporate Framework Agreement) with the following eight contract partners following a tendering procedure: Brugg Kabel of Switzerland, LS Cable & System and Taihan of South Korea, NKT GmbH & Co KG and Suedkabel GmbH of Germany, Prysmian and TKF of the Netherlands, and TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Co., Ltd. of China.

These partners will supply and install the cables for the 110, 150, 220 and 380 kV onshore high-voltage AC connections in Germany and the Netherlands on behalf of TenneT. “In the coming years, we will construct some 900 km of high-voltage in Germany and TenneT will realize some 4,000 km of high-voltage in the Netherlands.”

TenneT intends to spend as much as 100 billion euros in the coming decade to build out electric grids onshore and offshore as electricity from renewable sources increasingly replaces fossil fuels. It also explained how the company is evolving. “TenneT realises that expanding the electricity grid involves a lot of work. That is one of the reasons for working intensively with these specialised companies. By focusing on long-term partnerships that create a stable collaboration, parties can focus more on innovation and adjust the production process and machinery. Specifically, we will see this reflected in improved materials and design optimisation in the coming years. And, more importantly, we see more opportunities to develop longer cables in one piece (depending on voltage level) up to 5,000 meters.

“Where we currently still work with cables of around 1,500 metres, within two years we will already be laying cables with a length of 3 to 3.5 kilometres. Lengths that can soon also be realised with drilling. And that really is a step forward in terms of burdening the environment during construction, but also in terms of failures, speed and so on.”