wiredinUSA August 2018

Issue No. 86 - August 2018

www.wiredInUSA.com

America’s online magazine for wire and cable

wiredIn USA

Apple’s bite in funding renewables Page 9

Dunant connection. Page 10

Major new investment in rod. Page 27

Pacific cable launch. Page 33

EDITOR

The bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is about to get a little busier…with news that Google is building a new submarine cable, linking the US east coast with Europe. The 6,400km Dunant four fiber-pair cable system, named after Nobel peace prize winner Henri Dunant, will cross from Virginia Beach in the USA to the French Atlantic coast. It is expected to become available in late 2020. TE SubCom will build the system, the fourth that Google has invested in after the Havfrue, HK-G and JGA-S cables, as part of a consortium. More details on page 10. California’s sheriff department has staged its 25 th annual gun destruction event at the Gerdau steel mill in Ranch Cucamonga. Over the last 23 years, authorities have destroyed around 170,000 weapons, which recycles them for use in the production of rebar. The full story is on page 14.

AlliedWire &Cable has been recognised for its contribution to the expansion of US exports.

Co-owner and president Tim Flynn collected the Presidential E Star award from US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, one of only eight companies and organisations to receive the prestigious Presidential E Star award. For full details, turn to page 16.

David Bell Editor

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

August 2018 Issue No.86 CONTENTS

06 PAGE

Show Diary 2018/2019

09 PAGE

Making the News Industry news from the USA

26 PAGE

Europe news The latest news from Europe

32 PAGE

Asia & Africa News The latest news from Asia & Africa

38 PAGE

Products, Machines & Technology The latest news from machine industries

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wiredIn USA

© 2018 Intras Limited UK ISSN 2046 - 9497 Publishers of EuroWire and Wire & Cable ASIA magazines

INTRAS OFFICES Europe: 46 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 4HY, UK

Tel: +44 1926 334137 Fax: +44 1926 314755

Email: read@wiredinusa.com Website: www.wiredinusa.com

USA: Danbury Corporate Center, 107 Mill Plain Road, Danbury, CT 06811, USA Tel: +1 203 794 0444 Email: doug@intras.co.uk News Editor David Bell david@wiredinusa.com Features Editor (USA) Dorothy Fabian Features Editor (Europe) Gill Watson Publisher Caroline Sullens

Sales & Marketing (International) Sales Director Jason Smith jason@wiredinusa.com +44 1926 834 684 Accounts Manager Julie Case juliecase@intras.co.uk

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Diary Shows & Events 2018/2019

October 23-26 October 2018 EuroBLECH Hanover, Germany www.euroblech.com September 26-29 September 2018 wire China 2018 Shanghai, China www.wirechina.net february 28 February to 2 March 2019 Istanbul TEL Fair Istanbul, Turkey www.tel-fair.com

november 27-29 November 2018 wire India Mumbai, India www.wire-india.com march 5-7 March 2019 Cables 2019 Düsseldorf, Germany www.ami.international october 14-17 October 2018 IWCS 2018 Rhode Island, USA www.iwcs.org

For more info visit: www.wiredinusa.com/showinfo.php

wiredInUSA - August 2018

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8

Apple’s bite in funding renewables M A K I N G T H E NEWS

Apple has created a new investment fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. As part of Apple’s commitment to address climate change and increase the use of renewable energy within its supply chain, ten initial suppliers and Apple will jointly invest nearly $300 million into the China Clean Energy Fund over the next four years. The fund will invest in, and develop, clean energy projects in China totaling over 1GW. “At Apple we are proud to join with companies that are stepping up to address the climate challenge,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. “We’re thrilled so many of our suppliers are participating in the

fund and hope this model can be replicated globally to help businesses of all sizes make a significant positive impact on our planet.” Transitioning to clean energy can be complex, and this is especially true for smaller companies that may not have access to viable clean energy sources. By virtue of its size and scale, the fund will give its participants the advantage of greater purchasing power and the ability to attain more attractive and diverse clean energy solutions. The China Clean Energy Fund will be managed through a third party, DWS Group, which specializes in sustainable investments and will also invest in the fund.

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom

Dunant connection

Google is building a new submarine cable system to connect the US East Coast with Europe. TE SubCom has been selected to build the 6,400km Dunant four fiber-pair cable system. Named after Henri Dunant, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the cable will cross the Atlantic Ocean from Virginia Beach in the US to the French Atlantic coast, adding capacity to Google’s global network, and enabling interconnection to other subsea infrastructure in the region. It will use SubCom’s A1 cable family, which is optimized for projects compatible with higher DCR. Speaking of its appointment, Sanjay Chowbey, president of TE SubCom said: “We are proud to be working with Google

on this important cable system and to be helping to increase Internet performance for all.” The cable is expected to become available in late 2020. Google has invested in three other subsea cables, the Havfrue, HK-G and JGA-S cables, as part of a consortium.

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Learning opportunity

“The program has become so popular in recent years that we wanted to expand it by offering it regionally too, outside of the confines of WAI’s annual show and conference,” said WAI’s director of education, Marc Murray. The one-day program provides extensive instruction, by ten industry professionals, and networking opportunities. Plant tours to Encore Wire and Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp will be available the following day.

Wire Association International (WAI) will hold the first standalone regional edition of its “Fundamentals of wire manufacturing” course on 10 th October 2018 in McKinney, Texas. The concentrated introductory workshop provides a solid grounding in the essentials of wire and cable manufacturing, presented by experts in the field. It is WAI’s most successful training program and is a refresher course for new hires, sales teams, and operations personnel.

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Profile line doubles up

The new Davis-Standard dual-strand profile line The new Davis-Standard dual-strand profile line

results in terms of speed, equipment performance and ease of operation.”

Davis-Standard supplied all the line components, from extruder and controls to downstream equipment. Gregory Washington says he has particularly appreciated the intuitiveness of the DS-eVUE control system, as well as the dual-strand Y-tooling, accurate product dimensionality, cut quality, cooling tank capabilities, and the ability to isolate products with castoff equipment.

without requiring additional space.

The line processes dual-strand solid rod made of PP, PE, PA, acetal and PEEK materials. The Davis-Standard customized line has proved so successful that Intralox plans to replace other profile lines with similar dual- strand lines in the near future. “This new line is a game-changer in terms of production outputs, rod quality and innovation,” said Gregory Washington, extrusion supervisor at Intralox.

“While dual-strand profile technology is not new, it’s new for us. We’ve had great

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Guns to rebar

County authorities say that over the last 23 years they have destroyed around 170,000 weapons at the steel mill, which recycles scrap metal.

Los Angeles County’s Sheriff’s Department has held its 25 th annual gun destruction event at the Gerdau steel mill in Rancho Cucamonga. “Each illegal weapon removed from our streets significantly influences the community and citizens we serve,” said Chief Eric Parra in a statement. Handguns, rifles and automatic weapons collected in criminal investigations and probation seizures, as well as guns turned in by citizens, were melted at 3,000ºC for use in the production of rebar.

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Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross with Tim Flynn

Exports find recognition

States by boosting our exports.”

Tim Flynn, co-owner and co-president of Allied Wire & Cable, was presented with the Presidential “E Star” Award for exports on behalf of the company. The award is the highest recognition any US entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of US exports. “It’s an honor to receive the Presidential E Star Award for exports,” Flynn said. “Our company is marking our 30 th anniversary, and it’s remarkable to look back and consider that AlliedWire&Cablehasgrownfromabasement operation to not only a sizeable organization with sales and warehouse locations across the country but making an impact in international trade. I’m proud of our company all 250 team members strong for having helped grow the economy and provide more jobs in the United

US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, honored 43 US companies and organizations from across the country with the President’s E Award this year, with only eight companies and organizations receiving the prestigious Presidential E Star Award for exports. Companies and organizations are nominated for E Awards through the US commercial service, part of the department’s international trade administration. With offices across the US, and in embassies and consulates around the world, the International Trade Administration lends its expertise at every stage of the exporting process by promoting and facilitating exports and investment into the United States.

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Cable gains

complement our existing offerings to the MI market and we are excited for the future of Lava as an RHC brand.” It is intended that Lava Cable production and shipment will transition to RHC’s corporate manufacturing facilities with minimal delay. RHC will provide the full suite of Lava products, with enhanced customer service and a view to future expansion opportunities for the entire Lava Cable product line.

RapcoHorizon (RHC) has finalized itsacquisition of the assets of Lava Cable. The Lava Cable brand and products will be supported by RHC. Mark Stoddard of Lava Cable will be joining the RHC team as the Lava Cable product specialist, and will support all sales efforts for the product line. “We are thrilled to bring Lava Cable, an esteemed brand in our industry, under our umbrella of product offerings,” commented Darius Seabaugh, vice president of marketing for RHC Audio. “The company’s products

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

Photo by Oskars Sylwan on Unsplash

Cable takes to the lake

in particular with its potential to attract an enterprise-class data center, contributing to a smart and liveable 21 st century city. That’s why we’re pleased to support this initiative for Kingston.” The project, due for completion in late 2019, will offer a physically diverse route from existing systems and will supply commercially available dark fiber between Toronto and Montreal. Maple Leaf Fibre will own the cable system, which will be operated independently of the JV partners, with dark fiber strands made available for carriers, data center operators, ISPs, OTTs and others. This will be the third project for Crosslake Fibre. Crosslake’s first project, across Lake Ontario from Canada to the US, is already underway. The second Crosslake project will link New Jersey and Long Island along the shore of the Atlantic, bypassing Manhattan.

Maple Leaf Fibre, a joint venture between Metro Optic and Crosslake Fibre, is building a new fiber cable system between Montreal and Toronto, with a terrestrial segment connecting Montreal, Ottawa and Kingston, and a submarine section through LakeOntario linking Kingston to Toronto. Utilities Kingston will partner on the project as a strategic investor and development partner, and will use the cable system to boost its fiber optic services. Jim Keech, president and CEO of Utilities Kingston, said: “This project will provide new and existing businesses in Kingston with even faster and more reliable broadband connectivity – connecting them directly to centers in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa.

“Fiber access is at the heart of strengthening our community’s competitive advantage,

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Rod production gets underway

bending radius caster for 300mm, 450mm and 500mm round blooms.

Simec’s new minimill is now in full operation in Apizaco, Mexico, and will produce 600,000 tons per year of specialty steel, large round blooms, bars and wire rod for the automotive industry. In February 2018, 26 months after contract signing, the mill started forming wire rod coils, followed by the bar line startup in May 2018. Plant startup was completed recently with the melt shop, which operates a 90-t EAF, a twin LF, a twin VD and a three-strand, 14m multi-

Supplied as a greenfield project, Simec’s new minimill, in addition to the meltshop and rolling mill, includes fumeandwater treatment plants, an electrical substation and compressed air plant, product quality laboratories, cranes, electricals and automation featuring Danieli Automation Q3-Intelligence architecture. The plant also features a new, four-roll Danieli DSD drawer.

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Indiana facility

central location, established manufacturing industry, and skilled workforce.

Indiana state governor Eric Holcomb joined executives from Nippon Steel and Sumikin Cold Heading Wire Indiana Inc to cut the ribbon on the company’s new 150,000ft 2 facility in Shelbyville. The $50 million project is expected to create up to 70 jobs.

The new plant is NSSMC’s first in the US for its bar and wire rod unit, but marks its sixth investment in Indiana. Thecompany has facilities for other subsidiaries throughout the state, including Seymour, New Carlisle and South Bend.

The facility was first announced in June 2016, before Holcomb took office.

The company is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC) who selected Shelbyville for its

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360 Market Updates’ “Prestressed concrete wire and strand market report” informs on leading countries/regions, opportunities, size, trends and forecasts, divided by company, country and application/type. The report also provides key statistics on the market status of the manufacturers. Artificial compression stress applied to neutralize tensile stress deployed by exterior force is known as prestress. The structures are called prestressed concrete (PC) and the wire or strand used here is known as PCwire or strand. When force is applied to the concrete, prestressing is introduced to counter the stresses resulting from the applied load. PC wires and strands are used as a medium to attain a force that can neutralize external forces such as stress or compression. The design and manufacture of high quality PC wires and strands has been a priority in the market, forming an integral element of bridges and building constructions. Industry analysts have forecast the global PC wire and strand market to grow at a CAGR of 3.12 percent between 2017 and 2021.

PC market update

wiredInUSA - August 2018

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the tube & pi

July 2018 JULY 2018

-tpi.com

VOL 31 NO 4

US$33

ade magazine for tube and pipe products

New directors at tube and wire magazine publisher

the sales and marketing activities of the wire magazines.

David Bell has been appointed managing director of Intras Ltd, publisher of Tube & Pipe Technology, Tube Products INTERNATIONAL, EuroWire, Wire & Cable ASIA and wiredInUSA magazines. Additionally, David becomes a shareholder in the 34-year-old company, and will retain his position of editor of the wire titles. After nearly eight years with the company, Jason Smith has been promoted to sales director and will continue to be involved in

Caroline Sullens assumes the position of chairman of the Leamington Spa, UK-based business, and Mark Sullens will continue as a director. As part of the changes, the company also has a new logo, which will be rolled out on its websites and marketing material.

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e industries

EUROPE NEWS

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Wire rod being manufactured at British Steel in Scunthorpe

Major new investment in rod

British Steel has announced a significant investment to improve thequality and range of wire rod produced at the company’s headquarters in Scunthorpe, England. Said to cost $65.5million, the new facility will allow for a wider range of sizes up to 28mm, with tighter tolerances, and with improvements in surface condition and microstructural properties. British Steel’s expenditure comes eight months after it bought FNsteel, a premium wire rod manufacturer in The Netherlands. Paul Martin, British Steel deputy CEO, said: “This is a major investment in the future of our business, underpinning our commitment to providing customers with higher technical specifications of steel and a diverse, premium product range.

“Not only will this increase our ability to serve the domestic market, it will allow us to become a more competitive exporter, and accelerate the growth of British Steel in line with our company strategy.” The investment will see a new wire rod line designed and installed in the current mill by Primetals. Work is scheduled to start this summer and the newoperation is set to be commissioned in autumn 2019. New laboratories have been opened, ensuring the mill has world- class testing facilities. The existing wire rod business, which employs 300 people, will operate as normal throughout the installation.

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

New members for IWMA

New Serbian facility

The team at John Binns & Son Springs

Tomas Stålnert

IWMA has welcomed two new members to the ranks. Family-run JB Springs, established in 1895 as John Binns & Son (Springs) Ltd, produces springs and wireforms. The company’s investment in technology over recent years is testimony to the its commitment to stay at the forefront of spring manufacturing in the UK. Over the last 120 years JB Springs has established a reputation for quality in the manufacture of safety critical parts and is accredited to ISO 9001:2008. The second new member is Peddington Group, a producer of wire drawing lubricants and coating compounds. The company was founded in India in 1961 by DT Mahajan. Factories are located in Daman, Dombivli and Khopoli, manufacturinga range frompre-treatment chemicals to wire drawing lubricants. Peddington Group has received Tata Steel’s best supplier award.

Tomas Stålnert, CEO of Swedish wiring harness manufacturer Rimaster, has confirmed that the company is to open a factory in Paracin, in central Serbia. In a video posted on the YouTube channel of Paracin’s city government, Stålnert said the factory will produce electric systems for a special vehicle used in heavy industry. In a separate statement the Paracin city government said that the company will hire 50 employees during the first phase of the factory development, and up to 350 during the second phase, adding that Rimaster will consider expanding the production facility to a workforce of between 700 and 1,000 employees. “It is not possible to announce the exact amount of the investment in the first phase, but the value of the production unit to be developed in the second phase is about €2 million ($2.3 million), excluding the acquisition of equipment,” Stålnert explained in the video. Rimaster already operates in Sweden, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium and China.

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Established manufacturers change hands

Fine finish for rod producers

Lapo Vivarelli Colonna

Two wire rod producers, Arlenico SpA and Feralpi Siderurgica SpA, have ordered four-stand MEERdrive ® Plus finishing blocks from the SMS group. A press release said that both finishing blocks will be integrated in the companies’ existing plants. The technology, which includes a thermomechanical rolling process and a sophisticated water cooling line, will enable the production of wire rod to “the tightest tolerances ever produced”. MEERdrivePlus is a variant of SMS MEERdrive technology that uses individual drives with small, low voltage motors for each stand. All finished sizes are rolled in the block, reducing the otherwise required mill downtimes for size and ring changing. For both contracts, the finishing blocks (oval-round-round-round) will be installed beyond an existing ten-pass block. They are designed to roll wire rod from4.55mm to 27mm at speeds up to 120m per second, at a temperature as low as 750ºC. Tolerances down to 0.05mm and 50 percent ovality can be achieved. From left: Marco Giacomuzzi, SMS group vice president bar & wire rod mills; Nicola Redolfi, SMS group general manager sales; Maurizio Fusato, Feralpi plant manager; and Filippo Verlezza, SMS group sales manager.

Sampsistemi has acquired the French manufacturers Setic and Pourtier, and the C2S service division, previously companies of the Gauder Group. “Setic and Pourtier are an exciting opportunity for our group. We are confident that our joined forces will greatly strengthen and expand our product range in the wire and cable machinery industry,” said Lapo Vivarelli Colonna, CEO of Sampsistemi. “The acquisition supports our strategy aiming at leading the market and meeting the ongoing demand for a single-source provider capable of managing the clients’ process with cutting edge solutions.” He added that customers worldwide will benefit fromamore focused approach and a new technological boost inmachines and services, while a stronger organizational structure will bring the company “closer to its clients”. The existing Setic and Pourtier product portfolio will be maintained and enhanced, as well as the supply of original spare parts, updated technical drawings, and machine software.

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

Aurora on the horizon

Cabling for Hornsea Project Two

The Nexans Aurora. Image courtesy of MAATS

Image: www.nkt.com

Nexans Subsea Operations has announced contracts with Ulstein Verft and MAATS Tech for the construction of a new DP3 cable laying vessel, Nexans Aurora . The vessel will be outfitted for power cable laying, including bundle laying, cable jointing and repair and cable system protection and trenching. Designed by Skipsteknisk, Ålesund, the ST-297 CLV has been developed for operations in rough weather, with high maneuverability and station-keeping capabilities. The vessel will have a cable turntable with 10,000-tonne capacity – a concentric “carousel in a carousel” design, able to process two cables simultaneously – and a fiber optic basket holding 450 tonnes. The vessel is 31m wide, 149.9m long, with a deadweight of 17,000 tons, and accommodation for 90 people. Ulstein Group is a family-run company established in Norway in 1917, specialized in ship design, shipbuilding, systems and services for the maritime market. The ship design company Skipsteknisk was established in 1976 and designs specialized vessels with the emphasis on offshore, research and fisheries.

Danish group NKT A/S has been awarded a $169 million contract to supply export cabling for Ørsted’s 1,386MW Hornsea Project Two offshore wind farm. Under the deal, NKT will deliver 220kV high voltage cables with a total length of over 190km (118 miles). The cable system will include three far-shorecables that will cover about 50 percent of the entire project and will connect the wind park to the reactive power compensation platform to bring electricity to the mainland. Cables will be made in Karlskrona, Sweden, with production scheduled to begin this autumn. Installation works are not part of the contract. Hornsea Project Two will be located 89km from the UK’s Yorkshire coast and will become the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, exceeding the capacity of the 1,200MW Hornsea Project One currently under construction by Dong Energy. Project Two is due to be operational from 2022.

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Production move to Brazil

Baltic states to test desynchronization

Bekaert Group is to close its steel cord plant in Figline e Incisa Valdarno, Italy, and expand its joint venture in Brazil. A press release said that Bekaert has contacted the works council of the Figline site, the unions and authorities about the decision that will result in the loss of 318 jobs. The plant makes steel cord and bead wire for tires, wire for high pressure hoses and half-product wire for other steel cord plants. The release cited the significantly higher cost structure of the Italian plant, which it said “has not been able to generate a financially sustainable performance. ... The management regrets to implement this measure, but sees no other option to safeguard and strengthen its market share in the European rubber reinforcement markets.” A separate press release said that the management of Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda (BMB) a 55.5/44.5 percent joint venturebetweenArcelorMittal and Bekaert that has three plants in Brazil plans to invest $33 million to expand its Itaúna plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The expansion, planned over three years, includes construction and infrastructure works and the installation of machines designed and assembled by Bekaert Engineering.

Photo by Nick de Partee on Unsplash

Baltic states will test their planned desynchronization from the Russian- Belarussian power system (BRELL) next year, with full synchronization of the Baltic power grids with Europe planned for 2025. Janis Patmalnieks, deputy state secretary of the economics ministry, described the grid integration with the European Union as a strategic priority of the bloc’s energy policy. The test will consist of disconnecting the Baltic power grid from the Russian and Belarussian energy system. During the test, all necessary power will be provided by the Baltic states themselves and from the DC connections with Sweden, Finland and Poland. The Baltic states will ensure power balancing and frequency regulation. OncethethreeBaltictransmissionoperators Lithuania’s Litgrid, Latvia’s Augstsprieguma Tikls and Estonia’s Elering – have agreed on the best scenario and date for the test, the terms of the test will be agreed with other concerned parties, including transmission operators of other countries and power producers. Augstsprieguma Tikls holds operational control of the transmission system and ensures its stable operation.

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ASIA & AFRICA NEWS

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The new trans-Pacific submarine fiber optic cable, connecting Australia and New Zealand to the US mainland. Photograph courtesy of Hawaiki

Pacific cable launch

A new trans-Pacific submarine fiber optic cable, connecting Australia and New Zealand to the US mainland via Hawaii, has launched commercial operations. Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP, the independent consortium behind the $300 million project, said its 15,000km fiber optic cable represents a “new dawn” for digital communications in the region, delivering 43Tb of additional capacity. “This 25-year trans-oceanic infrastructure opens the door for unprecedented levels of economic, social and research collaboration right across the Pacific,” Hawaiki CEO Remi Galasso said in a statement. “Hawaiki is the fastest and largest cross-sectional capacity link between the US, Australia and New Zealand. It will significantly enhance our connectivity to the rest of theworld and, ultimately, improve the everyday lives of our communities.”

The project has attracted support from government entities and public companies. Its anchor customers include Amazon Web Services, Vodafone, American Samoa Telecommunications Authority and research, and Education Advanced Network New Zealand. The US territory of American Samoa will be connected fromdayone, and thecablehas several stubbed branching units to enable its future connection to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. Construction of the Hawaiki cable system, including the marine survey, design, manufacturing and cable laying, took 27 months, and was undertaken by New Jersey-based TE SubCom. In Hawaii, the consortium selected DRFortress as its landing and operating partner, with a cable landing station located in Kapolei.

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

HVDC certification

Pakistan-China link

LS Cable & System reports that it has received certification for its HVDC cable. The cable can now be exported without further tests. A press release confirmed that LS Cable & System completed a six-month reliability test of its 500kV DC cable, monitored by the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute that ultimately certified the HVDC cable technology. Only five companies, including LS Cable & System, have their own HVDC cable technology. The company began developing the technology in 2005 and won the contract to construct an HVDC electric power transmission systemoverland between North Dangjin and Godeok. The South Korean government has recently begun to pursue a new northern policy to developaneconomicbeltwithNorthKorea. Although South and North Korea have different voltage and current frequencies, LS Cable & System said its HVDC technology can transmit and receive power between the two.

Pakistan and China have inaugurated an optic fiber cable that provides a direct link between Pakistan, the Central Asia and East Asia. It is the first project under the Early Harvest program of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The cable connects Rawalpindi with Khunjerab on the Pakistan-China border at an altitude of 4,700m, thought to make it the highest fiber cable project in the world. Later, the cable will be extended to Gwadar to fully connect Pakistan and China. Total cost is estimated at $44 million. The project is owned by SCO (Special Communications Organization) with engineering,procurementandconstruction by Huawei. Construction work began in March 2016. Thecablecrosses 820km, with 26microwave transmission nodes between Rawalpindi and Karimabad and 171km of aerial fiber cable from Karimabad to Khunjerab as back-up. The optic fiber cable will provide a direct connection between Pakistan, the Central Asia and East Asia and minimize the risk of disruption to international traffic. It will also provide multiple international links with the new Gwadar landing station in order to reduce discontinuity issues.

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Jakarta plant venture

Balance of power

President and CEO Myung Roe-Hyun

ABB has received an order from Transpower New Zealand Ltd to upgrade the HVDC link that interconnects the transmission grids and acts as an energy-balancing system between the North and South islands. Demand for power on the North Island, which has a population of over three times the population of the South Island, is substantially higher and relies on power generated on the South Island. The 600km North-South HVDC interconnection enables power transmission to areas of high demand, and plays an important role in the New Zealand electricity market by allowing power trading between the two islands. The first New Zealand link was commissioned in 1965 by ABB (then ASEA) as one of the earliest HVDC transmission systems in the world. It was originally a bipolar 600MW link with mercury arc valves, until the original equipment was paralleled onto a single pole in 1992, and a new thyristor- based pole was commissioned to increase capacity to 1,040 MW. The first installation was decommissioned in 2012. The scope of the project includes a valve upgrade of pole 2 consisting of capacitors, fiber optics and valve control units based on the latest ABB Ability MACH control system.

LS Cable & System is to be part of a joint venture with the AG Group, which has a wide multi-sector presence in the Indonesian cable market. A press release said that LS signed an agreement with AG Group to jointly invest $40 million in the construction of cable plants near Jakarta, due for completion by 2019. The plants will produce overhead cables for infrastructure and low and medium voltage cables used for construction and plants, and are expected to generate around $100 million by 2025. LS Cable & System CEO Myung Roe- Hyun said the discussions with AG Group received “a boost” after South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in announced the new southern policy during a business forumwith Indonesia in November 2017. The AG Group is described as among Indonesia’s top ten companies, active in banking, hotels, construction and resorts.

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Polypropylene venture

Compound acquisitions

Borouge Plant

Japanese materials supplier Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) has announced plans to buy the Indonesian PVC compound producer PT ABC Plastindo. The acquisition will be completed in August. Plastindo supplies products for various applications including automotive components, electronic cables and electrical appliances. MCC has thermoplastic elastomer and PVC compound production sites in Thailand, operating its business mainly for automotive application. With the acquisition of Plastindo, MCC expects to accelerate its business expansion into the automotive and electronic cable segments in the growing ASEAN region. In late June the company announced its acquisition of the Mumbai-based PVC compounder Welset Plast Extrusions Pvt Ltd, aimed at increasing MCC’s footprint in the ASEAN medical market. MCC has stepped up its mergers and acquisitions activities in the performance polymer sector in recent months.

Maire Tecnimont SpA has been awarded an EPC contract by the Abu Dhabi Polymer Company (Borouge) for a new polypropylene unit in Abu Dhabi. Borouge is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Borealis, an Austrian manufacturer of petrochemical and plastic solutions. The scope of the work includes a new polypropylene unit and its attached structures, to be integrated into the existing Borouge 3 complex. The polypropylene unit will have a maximum capacity of 480,000 tons per year, and completion of the project is expected by the end of 2021. TheMaire Tecnimont Group has supported the development of the Abu Dhabi petrochemical value chain since the end of the 1990s, with the first Borouge complex of polyolefins (Borouge 1) completed in 2001. The group has completed two further expansion projects of the complex in 2007 and 2010 (Borouge 2 and Borouge 3).

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Chinese wind growth

Coral Sea crossing

Photo by Shaun Dakin on Unsplash

Vocus has signed an agreement with Nokia’s Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to roll out the Coral Sea Cable System to connect Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The Australian government announced in June that it had awarded Vocus a $136.6 million contract to build the new cable system. The4,000kmCoral SeaCableSystem is a key element of Australia’s development assistance program to the Pacific and will land at Port Moresby, Honiara and Sydney. Following completion in late 2019, PNG and the Solomon Islands will have 20Tb per second connections to Australia. Vocus is also delivering a domestic fiber network across the Solomon Islands. “Building this critical infrastructure on behalf of the Australian government will bring fast, reliable and affordable connectivity to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, together with the associated economic and social benefits,” said Vocus Group CEO Kevin Russell. The Coral Sea Cable System to connect Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Photograph courtesy of Vocus

Hengtong supply submarine cable to a 200MW offshore wind farm under construction by China Longyuan Power Group in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. A Hengtong Optic- Electric subsidiary, Jiangsu Hengtong HV Power Cable System, received the contract to supply 35kV submarine optic/electric composite cable and accessories. Another Hengtong Optic-Electric subsidiary recentlywon thebid for a2,800kmsubmarine cable project in Chile, so achieving a milestone of 10,000km of submarine optical cable construction. China is focused on developing onshore wind as a key contributor to its renewable energy target, with total renewable capacity at 75GW. TheChinese government has set a target of 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2015, and 30GW by 2020, thought to exceed that of any other country. Optic-Electric will

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Products, Machines & Technology

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New blender is weigh ahead

sequentially into the weigh bin, the LIW mix chamber offers accurate blend metering. The tight tolerance achievedby the blender (within ±0.1%) helps conserve raw material.

A new WXB™ weigh extrusion blender from Maguire Products Inc provides extrusion control based on batch precision and metering accuracy, and can be interfaced with a management system that controls the total production line.

The 4088 controller will communicate with other systems in an Industry 4.0 setting.

It enables the WXB blender to interface with the Maguire+Syncro™ supervisory system, which provides control of all segments of the production line from a single HMI control.

The system can be deployed for co- extrusion with multiple extruders.

The Maguire+Syncro brand is the product of a partnership between Maguire and Syncro Srl, that “…draws on Maguire’s experience in materials handling and blending systems and Syncro’s extensive range of control systems for extrusion applications,” explained Frank Kavanagh, Maguire vice president of sales and marketing. The Maguire+Syncro control display allows users to easily visualize single-layer and co- extrusion processes. Modes of extrusion control available include pounds or kilograms per hour; weight per length of extrudate; andproduct thickness inmicrons.

S S The new WXB™ weigh extrusion blender from Maguire Products

The blender is suitable for wire and cable applications.

It incorporates a gain-in-weight (GIW) weigh bin and a loss-in-weight (LIW) mix chamber in one machine with a Maguire 4088 controller.

Rugged HDMI products L-com Global Connectivity has introduced a new line of waterproof HDMI cable

While the GIW function precisely weighs batch ingredients as they are dosed

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

The VHC00023 features a standard female HDMI type-A connector on one side and PC tails on other side, for termination to wire or a PC board. “Our waterproof HDMI cables and coupler offer a perfect solution for our customers who require HDMI connectivity in harsh environments, often found in industrial computing and display applications,” said product manager Brian Gates. Make the best of what you have CableLabs has published two new specifications, said to “dramatically increase” the capacity of the fiber access network with point-to-point coherent optics technology and allowing for 100Gb/s per wavelength. Using amplitude, phase and polarization to enable higher fiber capacities, coherent optics can help to improve streaming, video conferencing, file uploads and downloads, and future usage needs for technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.

assemblies for use in industrial computing, digital signage, factory automation, medical and harsh environment A/V applications. The IP67-rated HDMI cables feature a waterproof coupling that allows the connectors to survive harsh environments by preventing the ingress of water and fine particulates, such as dust, that would typically debilitate standard HDMI connectors.

S S Waterproof HDMI cable assemblies from L-com Global Connectivity

The cables have rugged molded backshells and gold plated contacts to withstand repeated mating cycles. In addition to the new waterproof HDMI cables, L-com has released a new IP67 rated HDMI panel-mount coupler that can be used with the cable assemblies.

Gaining more capacity from existing fibers reduces the need to lay more.

The new specifications are designed to allow multiple system operators to use existing infrastructure to withstand growth in capacity demands and services for

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A Durit customer was concerned for microscopically small damages emerging at tungsten carbide drawing plugs during the production process. Analyses of the affected plugs showed that the small defects were caused by micro- adhesions of the shaped material at the binder, which subsequently pulled tungsten carbide particles out of the structure. Later, material filled the small defects. High pressure in the shaping process caused some small cracks to become bigger bursts and, so, develop into defects. After detailed surveys and tests, Durit found a way to reduce the tendency to burst by using hard grades of submicron grain with a low share of binder. Heinz-Achim Kordt, head of design at Durit, explained: “The advantage of these special tungsten carbide compounds is that the very small grain size makes the surface structure much finer and thus the binder is scattered more evenly. “Another positive effect: the adhesive tendency of the shaped material is minimized. Due to the good results we achieve with selected tungsten carbide grades in this complex field of application, the durability of the relevant tool can be considerably increased.”

residential and business subscribers, while enabling new services.

Phil McKinney, president and chief executive officer of CableLabs, commented: “This breakthrough not only increases the capacity of the existing fiber system by an order of magnitude, it opens upwavelength resources to improve network quality and reliability, enabling advancements in cellular and wireless services.” optics specification effort was introduced by CableLabs in 2017, as was the Full Duplex DOCSIS specification. The point-to-point coherent Eliminating bursts in the drawing process Durit Hartmetall GmbH has developed a method to ensure that base material and wire material are suitably matched when drawing non-ferrous metals.

A differentiated adjustment of the various grades of submicron grain to the individual

S S Durit Hartmetall has developed a method to ensure that base material and wire material are suitably matched

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conditions in the drawing process enables ideal service life for the deployed tool.

The new material was described as “lighter and cheaper,” by Yannick Assouad, CEO of Latécoère. The Toulouse-based supplier is also a specialist in aircraft wiring and harnesses through its Latécoère Interconnexion Systemes (LIS) business unit. Latécoère is currently investing in India, in a new electrical wiring facility located in Belagavi, Karnataka state, which should be operational later this year. The 4,000m 2 factory will assemble electrical harnesses for Dassault Aviation and Thales, representing an annual turnover of $29 million.

Flying wire and cable Airbus and Boeing’s French component supplier Latécoère used July’s Farnborough 2018 show to highlight a new product for wiring in severe environments. Latécoère’s high-resistance cables are mainly used in conjunction with an aircraft’s engine and landing gear, where enhanced insulation is often needed rather than composite materials such as kevlar.

S S Latécoère manufactures components for Boeing 787 doors in Prague, but ships them to its factory in Hermosillo, Mexico, for final assembly. The company is now also offering high-tech wiring harnesses. Photograph courtesy of Latécoère

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

EDITORIAL Index

360 Market Updates

22 35 35 42 16 31 29 31 31 31 42 27 36 40 18 12 41 31 29 29 10 33 37 12 24 9

IWMA

28 28 42 39 31 37 30 39 18 18 36 30 21 30 37 28 36 28 29 29 20 29 21 10 30 37

ABB

John Binns & Son (Springs) Ltd

AG Group

Latécoère

Airbus

L-com Global Connectivity

Allied Wire & Cable

Litgrid

Apple

Longyuan Power Group

ArcelorMittal Arlenico SpA

LS Cable & System

34, 35

MAATS Tech

Augstsprieguma Tikls

Maguire Products Inc

Bekaert Group

Maple Leaf Fibre

Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda

Metro Optic

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp

Boeing

Nexans

British Steel

Nippon Steel

BuddeComm

NKT A/S

CableLabs

Nokia

Crosslake Fibre Davis-Standard

Peddington Group PT ABC Plastindo

Durit Hartmetall GmbH

Rimaster

Elering

Sampsistemi

Feralpi Siderurgica SpA

Setic and Pourtier

Gauder Group

Simec

Google

SMS group

Hawaiki Submarine Cable LP Hengtong Optic-Electric

Sumikin Cold Heading Wire Indiana Inc

TE SubCom Ulstein Verft

Intralox Intras ltd

Vocus

wiredInUSA - August 2018

44

ADVERTISING Index

AIM Inc

25 21 11 17 14

Beta LaserMike (An NDC Technologies Brand)

Clinton Instrument Company

DeWAL

Electrical Cable Compounds Inc

IWCS

7

Madem

20

Messe Düsseldorf Paramount Die

8

23 13 19 15

Sikora

Windak Group

Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp

Zumbach Electronic

2

Marketing: Contact Jason Smith, wiredInUSA, Tel: +44 (0) 1926 834684 Email: jason@wiredinusa.com News: Contact David Bell, Editor, wiredInUSA, Tel: +44 (0) 1926 334137 Email: david@wiredinusa.com

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wiredInUSA - August 2018

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