EoW September 2007

feature

Sheathing, insulating, covering, marking & printing

??????????????????? When what you don’t see is what you get, it is essential that there be no nasty surprises. Wire and cable producers in the specialities under review here are well aware of this, and have made themselves masters of vigilance. They have to be, given the sheer number and variety of factors that contribute to the smooth functioning of a top-speed modern wire making operation. At an earlier period in the history of commerce, ‘Contents Are as Advertised Herein’ was a heartening thing to see stamped on a shipping manifest, and that stout assurance is no less essential in the hyper-competitive marketplaces of our own day. ▲ While at first glance these make for a logical grouping, on closer inspection they divide into (a) processes (sheathing, insulating, covering), and (b) identifiers (marking, printing). Look again, and the group is homogeneous, after all. Both sets carry the implicit guarantee that a product not readily examined will nonetheless deliver the quality expected of the manufacturer and paid for by the customer.

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EuroWire – September 2007