WCA September 2020

Industry news

Ducab reflects on 40 th year

IWCS goes virtual The IWCS 2020 International Cable & Connectivity Symposium will be a virtual event, held entirely online in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans were already underway for such a possibility when the Rhode Island Convention Center, where the conference was to be located, was converted to a critical auxiliary hospital by the State of Rhode Island. For the 69 th year, IWCS will provide an interactive platform for the discussion and sharing of innovations in critical cabling infrastructure, with a full programme to provide opportunities for speakers, attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. The IWCS 2020 Virtual Edition will follow the basic outline of the in-person conferences, with precise logistics to be determined. IWCS, Inc www.iwcs.org

DUCAB Group, one of the UAE’s largest manufacturing businesses, has announced a five per cent climb in overall profitability in 2019, driven by gains in key areas of its cable and metal manufacturing portfolio. Commenting on the company’s performance in 2019, its 40 th anniversary of operations, chairman Dr Ahmad Bin Hassan Al Shaikh revealed the progress of Ducab-HV (DHV) towards its key strategic targets. Highlights have included the manufacture and delivery of DHV’s first 220 kV cable order to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC); achieving record monthly production volume (November 2019); energisation of the full turnkey 132 kV system for phase three of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park; completing a 220 kV system type test; and commencing the one-year pre-qualification test in a Europe-based test laboratory.

With six manufacturing facilities across four sites in the UAE, Ducab has a manufacturing capability of over 115,000 metal tonnes of high, medium and low-voltage cable types. Its upgraded production capacity of 175,000 tonnes of copper rod and wire per annum is complemented by 50,000 tonnes per annum of aluminium rod and overhead conductors. The company exports 60 per cent of its overall production. Ducab Group www.ducab.com ❍ Ducab has confirmed a 5 per cent rise in profitability

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2020