WCA March 2024

Industry News

wire China: exploring new paths for development Focusing on digital transformation and dual carbon goals, the wire and cable industry is entering an era of high-value development aimed at improving quality and efficiency. As Asia’s leading exhibition for the wire and cable industry, wire China is dedicated to showcasing innovative products, technologies and solutions within the industry. The event takes place, alongside Tube China, in Shanghai from 25 to 28 September. RMB 2.9 trillion. The national grid’s total investment is expected to be nearly RMB 3 trillion. In transportation, the scale of the railway network is expected to reach 165,000 km by 2025, with high-speed railways hitting 50,000 km. During wire China 2024, multiple technical seminars will be held. Industry leaders, scholars and technical experts will gather to discuss cutting-edge concepts, hot trends and innovative technologies with industry professionals. Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co, Ltd www.wirechina.net www.mds.cn One-year MBO anniversary draws to £17.9mn close By 2025, China’s total wind power instal lations are expected to exceed 400 GW. Five years later, nuclear power instal lations should reach 110 GW. By 2050, global installations of photovoltaic sys tems are expected to reach 18,200 GW. During China’s 14 th Five-Year Plan, the State Grid and Southern Power Grid plan to invest a total of more than Disruptive emerging industries repre- sented by the Internet of Things, “big data”, cloud computing and artificial intelligence are accelerating in-depth integration with rail transit, bringing more possibilities for the development of rail transportation. digital economy, construction of the 5G network, and upgrades to gigabit fibre optics continue to drive sustained market demand. From 2020 to 2025, China’s commercial use of 5G is The development of the expected to contribute a total economic output of RMB 10.6 trillion. The New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035) has developed a roadmap to establish the development of energy-saving and new energy vehicle industries as a national strategy. New energy vehicles, high voltage lines, charging cables and on-board communication cables are expected to see a favourable outlook.

MBO,” explained Mr Mander, who has worked in the business since July 2005. “One of the first things we wanted to do when we took over was extend the employee ownership model to every member of staff, meaning all of our 33-strong workforce at the time became shareholders in the business. “This really set the scene and ensured everyone knew we wanted to take them on the journey with us, and they have responded by producing a record year of £17.9mn sales.” Mr Mander continued, “There has been strong domestic growth, but that has been outstripped by demand from overseas, with AWI material now sent to more than 65 different countries – often beating off competition from low-cost rivals.” Alloy Wire International manufactures round, flat and profile wire in 60 exotic alloys, such as Inconel, Monel, Hastelloy, Nimonic and Waspaloy. It supplies 6,000 customers across 15 different market sectors. A £1mn investment drive will be completed this year to strengthen its market position, with the installation of new wet drawing and single-hole dry drawing machines, as well as an annealing line spooler. Alloy Wire International www.alloywire.com

director Andrew Du Plessis have put the expansion down to a resurgence in oil and gas and aerospace volumes returning since the pandemic, plus ongoing growth in automotive and new opportunities in R&D and space exploration. They have also underlined the growing importance of AWI’s commitment to a 400-tonne stockholding in material and its ability to supply a 60-strong range of exotic alloys in just three weeks. “The last year has surpassed all of our expectations and capped a tremendous twelve months since we completed the

Export successes, security of supply and making every member of the business a shareholder have been just some of the highlights of a record-breaking year for Alloy Wire International (AWI). The UK-based manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire has delivered £17.9mn of sales since a management buy-out (MBO) twelve months ago – a near £5mn rise on the same period in 2022 and £3mn above anticipated revenues. The senior management team of managing director Tom Mander, finance director Adam Shaw and technical

AWI’s factory

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March 2024