EuroWire January 2022

Corporate News

Virtual conference yields healthy interest

The production also included the asso- ciation’s annual meeting, over which Mr Heberling presided to bestow congratula- tions to award winners, including David Hawker – the Donnellan Memorial Award; Oriol Guixà – the Mordica Memorial Award; and Bill Jarae – the President’s Award. TheWire Association International, Inc www.wirenet.org Mikrotek Machines Ltd Mikrotek has designed and launched a new wire-polishing machine for resizing and re-polishing super-fine size diamond dies. With the model WPF-1S, die/wire fixing and releasing are fast and easy. The machine is fitted with a ‘V-type’ self-centring and self-locking die holder, which helps work different case sizes. The top wire is fixed to a soft helical spring to blend and work on the die angles and bearing length. Read the full story in the March issue monitoring systems or even backup generators may not survive fire, water and direct impact. If this remains the case, building safety will remain a ticking time bomb.” Mr Williams says that mineral insulated copper cable (MICC) is the only fire performance cable that, in historical testing, has survived over 1,000°C while being subjected to direct hammer blows and a full water pressure test using a fire hose. Samples tested have beenmeasured at just 5.7mm in diameter and maintained circuit integrity for over three hours. He added, “We remain committed to raising industry standards, and the only way to achieve this is by introducing a higher classification for such products. The government’s review of current systems for testing construction products was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to ensure the safety of buildings. Regardless of size or construction, if a cable is required to function in the event of a fire, each single cable sample must have to pass a true fire scenario test, helping identify those which can survive, rather than simply resist fire. Ensuring that the tests which construction products are subjected to are relevant and can be relied upon is the only way we can make buildings truly safe.” WrexhamMineral Cables www.wrexhammineralcables.com

Each 25-minute segment included an opportunity for both a live chat with the speakers and a discussion area desig- nated for more interaction after sessions closed. “The Industry 4.0 Conference programme was just the right amount of theory and practical information on this broad and fast-moving subject,” said WAI’s 2021 president, Tom Heberling of Southwire Co LLC. “For those who participated, you truly understand the far-reaching impact of global digitisation and the influence on nearly all aspects of our businesses. This is an exciting period for wire and cable manufacturing.” Wrexham Mineral Cables believes this is putting lives at risk. Andy Roe, commissioner of the London Fire Brigade (LFB), has called for urgent change in the building industry, as the number of blocks of flats in London with fire safety failings is now more than 1,000. While the majority of the issues are due to cladding, the remainder have other fire safety defects, and in all of these buildings LFB has suspended its “stay put strategy”. Wrexham Mineral Cables commercial manager Steve Williams says that testing needs to be strengthened for all fire- resistant cables as part of the construction industry’s wider drive to improve building safety. He commented, “Enhanced fire- resistant cables play a fundamental role in ensuring that emergency and building critical systems are supported in the event of a fire. Not only do they provide early indication of a fire, they keep them safe whilst providing extended time for rescue services toevacuateoccupants andensure critical circuits remain functional for longer periods. This is particularly critical in high-rise buildings where evacuation times can be extensive or hindered due to the sheer size of the building. “The tests which construction products are subjected to need to be relevant and relied upon. It is extremely concerning that enhanced fire-resistant cables most commonly being used in fire alarms, emergency lighting, extraction systems,

The Wire Association International (WAI) reports that its Industry 4.0 Conference drew 550 attendees, who registered to hear 35 speakers in 28 sessions over the two-day airing in October. Top billing was shared by two keynote speakers: filmmaker Brett Culp, who presented “Superhero Leadership: How everyday people can have an extraordinary impact”; and Kathleen Edge, EVP operations, Southwire Company LLC, who discussed a “Connected – flexible operating system”. Conference topics included big data; IoT and Industrial IoT; process automation; smart factories, smart planning and smart integration; and virtual reality. Wrexham Mineral Cables, a manufacturer of fire-resistance cables, believes that building safety could remain a “ticking time bomb” if product testing for fire cables is not strengthened. For many years, the company has been calling for more stringent testing standards as it believes too many cables are classified as fire resistant yet are not fit for purpose in real-life fire scenarios. Under current standards, only fire- resistant cables greater than 20mm in diameter undergo testing for direct impacts to reflect falling debris, and water jet testing on a single test sample. For enhanced fire-resistant cables under 20mm, no direct impact test takes place and the water test is just a spray test, while different stages of each test are carried out on different samples of cable.

Building safety a “ticking time bomb” if fire cable testing not strengthened

WrexhamMineral Cables believes current testing standards are putting lives at risk

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January 2022