wiredInUSA June 2018

Winding wire in eastern Europe

Connectivity boost for Pacific region

Image: hawaikicable.co.nz

LS Group is to establish a production operation in Serbia to take advantage of the European winding wire market. Superior Essex, LS Group’s US cable making company, broke ground for the project to build a winding wire plant in Zrehanin, about 90km north of Belgrade, in March. Superior Essex plans to build 42 production lines, each capable of producing 12,000 tons per year of winding wire, by the end of 2018 with production beginning next year. At the ground breaking ceremony Serbia’s president Vučić extended thanks to LS Group’s investments, adding that Serbia will provide full support to create an environment suitable for foreign companies’ investment. LS Group chairman Christopher Koo, said LS will establish a production operation in eastern Europe, which is emerging as a new route into the European market. Koo added that it is hoped to make Serbia an eastern European winding wire production hub. In 2017 LS Cable and System set up an EV part production operation in Poland and a sales operation in France.

Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP and TE SubCom have announced that the final splice of the Hawaiki cable has been made, with the system on schedule to be in service in June 2018. With the final splice and all cable station installations complete, the Hawaiki system has end-to-endconnectivity and is entering its final system testing phase. The 15,000km cable connects Sydney, Australia; Mangawhai Heads, New Zealand; Tafuna, American Samoa; Kapolei, Hawaii; and Pacific City, Oregon, including stubbed branching units to facilitate future connections to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. “The TE SubCom and Hawaiki teams have worked well together to complete the Hawaiki cable system,” said Sanjay Chowbey, president, TE SubCom. “We look forward to this system being completed on time.”

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wiredInUSA - June 2018