wiredinUSA January 2012
INDEX
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January 2012 issue - No 7
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See us at Wire Dusseldorf! Hall 9 I Booth F21
Three million square feet of space. Over twenty thousand machines.
We either built the world’s largest inventory, or one hell of a museum
Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. is the world’s leading reseller of high quality wire, cable, and optical fiber manufacturing equipment. We have the most comprehensive range of equipment on the planet and can provide on-demand or reconditioned solutions for any need whether it’s a single machine or an entire plant. We are also the largest procurer of surplus machinery for cash or trade. Visit wirandplastic.com , or contact us at info@wireandplastic.com.
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#07 EDITOR
I CANNOT start my column in this issue without wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year. 2012 will be, without doubt, an important year. wire 2012 in Düsseldorf looms rather large at the moment and with more than 1,000 companies already registered this promises to be an encouraging exhibition in the first three months of the year for the wire and cable industry. There is certainly no shortage of new orders and contracts being awarded. One of the most impressive reported on in this issue is the replacement of all 592 vertical suspender ropes on the George Washington Bridge in New York (see page 9). This is the first time that this has happened since 1931 when the bridge was opened to traffic. Equally impressive is the care being shown in protecting the sea bed breeding ground of lobsters from the Deepwater Wind Farm to Block Island on the US east coast (see page 18). Big business is going out of its way in protecting the lobsters while laying a 15-mile undersea cable, ensuring the protection of the delicate sea bed and wildlife and encouraging alternative power use. Also keep an eye out for the Boeing story on page 19 as they install a solar rooftop at the Boeing assembly plant – big enough to provide power for about 870 homes! David Bell Editor
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CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT
News Editor David Bell
Advertisement Coordinator Liz Hughes
USA: Editorial Dorothy Fabian
INDEX
Happy New Year R E A D
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January 2012 issue -No7
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Picture : Mike Gieson
06 Show Diary From the USA
24 Europe News The latest news from Europe 09 Making the News Industry news from the USA
30 Industry Trade Association Spotlight on awards, education and events
36 Asia & Africa News The latest news from Asia & Africa
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wiredInUSA - January 2012
DIARY SHOW EVENTS
2012 MARCH 6-8 March: AMI Cables Conference Cologne, Germany Conference
SEPTEMBER 10-12 Sept: International Manufacturing Technology Show McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA Exhibition www.imts.com
www.amiplastics.com 13-16 March: Cabex Moscow, Russia Conference www.cabex.ru 26-30 March: wire 2012 Düsseldorf, Germany Exhibition www.wire.de MAY
OCTOBER 3-5 Oct : Spring World 2012 Chicago, Illinois, USA Exhibition www.wireworld.com/events/ 2013 APRIL 23-25 Apr: Interwire 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, USA Exhibition www.wirenet.org MAY TBA: wire Russia 2013 Moscow, Russia Exhibition www.wire-russia.com
9-10 May: 2012 National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Exhibition www.expoproductionsinc.com/ wire_home.htm 21-22 May: AWPA Conference 22-23 May: Wire Expo Dallas, Texas, USA Exhibition www.wirenet.org
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MAKING THENEWS
New cables for Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is to undergo cleaning of its four main cables and, for the first time inhistory, have all of the 592 vertical suspender ropes replaced.
bridge’s main cables to the roadway, can be replaced at the same time without destabilizing the span. Each of the bridge’s suspender ropes weigh 1,500 to 10,000 pounds, depending on their length. The suspension wire will be replaced in stages and is expected to be completed in eight years. The next phase of repair planned for 2013 will be to clean up the massive anchorages tying down the bridge’s foundation as well as to replace broken wires and replace the dehumidifiers in the anchor chambers. The bridge’s main cables will be cleaned by removing their current zinc-paste wrapping and adding a type of dehumidifier to the main cables.
Spanning the river to link New York City and New Jersey, the George Washington Bridgewas designedbyOthmar Ammann in 1923, and opened to traffic in 1931. Port Authority officials said the repairs are long overdue as bridges would usually have their wires replaced every 70 years or so. According to the Port Authority, no more than three of the suspender ropes, each with 283 wires stretching from the
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Mega ships in Asia
Reuters Freightviews reported that one of Brazilian mining giant Vale’s huge iron ore carriers, the world’s biggest, was scheduled to arrive fully-loaded in Asia for the first time in mid-December, with a stop in Singapore. The 388,000-tonne Berge Everest, which has been leased to Vale, was expected to arrive in Singapore on 15 th December though its ultimate destination was unknown. Vale’s main market, China, has yet to give these ships access to domestic ports, forcing the world’s largest iron ore
producer to send its vessels instead to Italy, Oman and other destinations. The vessel’s arrival also comes amid rising safety concerns after a similar vessel, Vale Beijing, became disabled before setting sail on its maiden voyage. The Berge Everest, built by China’s Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, is one of six mega-bulk ships to be delivered to Vale in 2011. The company plans a fleet of up to 35 mega-bulk vessels to sharply cut the cost of delivering ore to China.
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New head for FTTH council
The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council, an organization dedicated to expanding the deployment of ultra-high speed all-fiber networks, has named telecommunica- tions executive Heather Burnett Gold to serve as its new full-time president. Gold, who has worked for more than 27 years in the telecom industry, was until recently senior vice president of external affairs for XO Communications, where for seven years she guided the $1.5 billion company’s regulatory and public policy strategy in Washington and in state capitals. She was also responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s cost of service strategy, including vendor selection and management for an approximately $600 million annual budget. Her previous experience includes five years as president for the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS) during the period surrounding the passage and implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
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Encore’s new plant Encore Wire Corporation is to build a 202,000ft 2 manufac- turing plant on its McKinney, Texas campus. The company projects expenditures for this project, including related upgrades of railroad and road access to Encore’s McKinney complex, to be around $25 million to $30 million. The majority of expenditure will be made in 2012. The plant expansion is part of the company’s capital expendi- ture plan for 2012 that will also include the purchase of manufacturing equipment to produce aluminum wire and cable. Thecompany estimates its total capital expenditures for 2012 to be between $33 million and $40 million. Commenting on the announcement, Daniel L Jones, president and CEO of Encore Wire Corporation, said, “Encore Wire has experienced steady growth throughout its history. In order to plan for our future and continue the long-term growth of the company we have continued
to to our existing customer base in the building wire category. In 2006, we opened a new armored cable plant, and in 2008, we opened a plant dedicated to the production of large tray cable. We believe broadening our product line with aluminum...gives us the
ability to gain sales on our existing products on orders that we may not have previously received because we did not sell aluminumwire. We continue to believe that copper will be the conductor of choice in most building wire applications, but we will offer aluminum to those customers who want it.”
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BC hydro power
The firm will be responsible for the design, materials procurement and overall construction of the 250km transmission line. The estimated project cost of the Interior to Lower Mainland Project is $709m with a planned in-service date of January 2015. The ILM Project will include construction of a new 500kV transmission line between the Nicola substation near Merritt and the Meridian Substation in Coquitlam; a new series capacitor station at Ruby Creek; and associated improvements at the Nicola and Meridian Substations. BC Hydro’s current transmission system needs to be upgraded to meet future demands for power, particularly during the winter months. Upon completion, the ILM Project will serve the population of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
A joint venture company, Flatiron-Graham, has been awarded a contract by BC Hydro
to design and build the transmission line
component of the Interior to Lower Mainland (ILM) Project in British Columbia, Canada.
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Energy in Peru
Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) reports a potential of exploitable geothermal energy capacity of 3,000MW. According to Makoto Nakao, representative of Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) the scope of work for the Master Plan for Development of Geothermal Energy in Peru, agreed between the Peruvian government and JICA and signed in late 2009, has been ratified. It is also “considered favorable” in the context of the priorities identified for the development of Peru. Makoto Nakao said that geothermal energy “has to be the only one that offers high utilization factors by providing stable power supply for 365 days a year.”
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Customers typically include major utilities, and Zimmerman said there is only one other manufacturer of the type of cable Brugg produces in the United States. “We are increasing the production area three fold from 5,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet, and we are investing in two very important machines,” Zimmerman said. “We will be more than doubling our production capacity.” In 2011 that is expected to amount to 3 million linear feet of cable. Brugg Cables is part of a family of businesses based in Switzerland. It is one of four Otto Suhner-controlled businesses in Rome, along with Suhner Manufacturing, Brugg Wire Rope and Brugg Pipesystems.
Brugg Cables to triple production Brugg Cables’ general manager, Karl Zimmerman, said the company is on target to produce its largest volume of fiber optic ground wire cable since production began at the plant in 1999.
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Testing time for multimode fibers
through the use of compact high density connectors (MPO) and future-proof OM4 fiber. “IEEE 802.3ba was approved last year but there is lack of knowledge about how to design, install and test a real 100Gbps communication system. Partnering with Xena Networks let us test and prove our OM4 MMF channel links by simulating a real network, and it was the first demonstration of this 100G application involving MMF fibers in Latin America,” says Fabio Kumasawa, manager of System Engineering of Furukawa. The 100 Gigabit Ethernet tests involved using a XenaCompact chassis equipped with a 100G Ethernet test module to demonstrate the performance of Furukawa’s advanced cabling solutions over long distances. Furukawa’s TeraLan HDMPO optical cabling is part of the Furukawa Cabling System (FCS), a set of solutions already available for networks from 100Mbps to 100GbE.
Furukawa, a cabling and optical networks manufacturer, recently conducted 100Gbps ethernet data transmission performance and inter-operability tests using Xena Networks test equipment. Conducted in the Furukawa laboratories in Curitiba, Brazil, the tests involved Furukawa’s TeraLAN HDMPO solution, which features its OM4 multimode optical fibers and MPO connectors, and Xena Networks’ 100Gbps test module. Now available from Furukawa, the TeraLAN HDMPO solution enables data centers and enterprises to expand their networks cost-effectively, with high speed communication
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Looking out for lobsters
A 15-mile undersea transmission line is to be built, connecting a 30MW wind farm at Block Island on the US east coast. The line will allow developer Deepwater Wind to connect the five turbine wind farm to the mainland grid at Narragansett, making use of the town’s pier to avoid disturbing the delicate sea bed breeding grounds of local lobsters. Deepwater’s chief administration officer, Jeffrey Grybkowski, said
the project was complex, with a risk of endangering sensitive habitats. “It’s very, very difficult to make that landing because of the geology and the ecology,” he said. In September, the company carried out surveys off the coast of Block Island, including mapping out the sea floor for cabling and turbine siting. Once complete, Deepwater will survey the route for onshore cables.
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Boeing opts for solar rooftop
United Solar, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices and manufacturer of Uni-Solar flexible and lightweight solar modules, has supplied photovoltaic laminates for a Boeing solar project. The 2.6 MW solar energy project is among the largest solar installations on rooftops in the USA. United Solar laminates were bonded to the membrane roof of the Boeing assembly plant. The energy generated is expected to exceed 3,950MWh annually, and will be sufficient Well done is better than well said BenjaminFranklin
to provide power for about 870 homes. The project is anticipated to offset a part of the 3,660 tons of carbon dioxide and the usage of the building. The Boeing plant commenced operations in July and its first 787 Dreamliner is expected to fly in 2012. The CEO of ECD, Julian Hawkins, stated that Uni-Solar PV laminates are ultra-light- weight, non-reflective and ideal for situations where low glare and low profile solar solutions are required.
Pioneer since more than 50 years of non-contact, in-line measurement, we stand for state-of-the art solutions for your extrusion process under tight control. And when we say control, we mean control. Our experience and success in this field are the corner stone for modern, price- performance-oriented measuring systems. When looking for impeccable control in all kinds of extruded cables, plastic/rubber tubing and hoses – Zumbach is your perfect partner. Our cost-effective ODAC ® / UMAC ® / WALLMASTER systems for OD / ID / WALL measurement and control are your optimum guarantee for best results.
Contact us – and get the future under control: askme@zumbach.ch
• Super high rate mode allows up to 15'000 measurements/s • Up to 8 layer measurement (depending upon materials) • Rapid die centring and production set-up
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26 -30March2012, Düsseldorf,Germany Booth11D43
Our technology, your vision
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3000 moves into Idaho and Utah FSP
Syringa Networks, an Idaho- based regional provider of fiber-optic services, has selected the modular optical transport platform FSP 3000 from ADVA Optical Networking to provide high-speed connectivity to southern Idaho and northern Utah businesses. Syringa Networks was created in 2002 to improve telecommu- nication and rural broadband services in Idaho. The carrier is a longstanding partner of ADVA. “We’re excited to partner with ADVA Optical Networking to offer flexible data transport solutions to Idaho businesses,” said Greg Lowe, president and CEO of Syringa Networks. “Cost-effective access to data-intensive services helps rural communities retain local businesses, attract new companies, and create jobs in their communities.” “This network means much more than just reliability, availability and increased bandwidth,” said John Scherzinger, ADVA’s senior vice president of sales in North America. “With always-on access to high-bandwidth applications, this network will have an enormous impact on businesses. “Telemedicine, distance learning, and video conferencing are just the beginning. This connectivity will expand economic capacity and commerce throughout southern Idaho.”
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Breyden says hello to Saylor
Breyden manufactures a complete line of Mil spec lacing tapes and cords, tapes and overbraiding yarns used in the wire harnessing industry, and lacing tapes, cords, and ropes used in the manufacture of electrical motors and transformers. The company has grown over the past five years, taking advantage of a strong distributor base and the acquisition of Gudebrod Inc, a competitor based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. “Our market portfolio focuses on wire harnessing products, sales of which are driven by military and transportation expenditures, and on electrical apparatus products which are driven by housing development and capital equipment purchases,” says Michael Zuber, Breyden’s VP of sales. “Our recent acquisitions have broadened our product base and have proven to be a natural fit with our existing distributors.” “The acquisition by Breyden will allow Saylor to improve on its foundation and take the company in a new direction,” says Saylor GM Greg Westhoven. “Saylor’s products and experience complement Breyden’s focus on the wire harnessing industry. Our two product lines combined will allow current and future customers a fuller range of choices for their wire protection needs.” Saylor’s manufacturing facility in Ohio will continue operation with all current employees.
Breyden Products of Indiana has purchased Saylor Products Corp of Grand Rapids, Ohio.
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Bench wire stripper
Eraser’s Model L1 bench wire stripper removes film insulations including enamel, Formvar, ML, armored poly-thermaleze and epoxy from round wires of 29AWG to 13AWG. A high-speed rotating insert strips insulation from the surface of the wire. Flush stripping to a coil body or bobbin is possible. Model L1 can also be used for other applications such as deflashing wires, cleaning the legs of electronic
components and cleaning pins on
transformers and coils, or to clean around pins on transformers, wire wrap sockets, DIP sockets and relay sockets. The L1 can also remove oxidation, flashing, epoxy, and even contaminated solder.
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wiredInUSA - January 2012
Picture : www.bigstockphoto.com ‘Spring’ Photographer - ‘ Rafal Steciuk’
EUROPE NEWS wiredInUSA - January 2012
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Specialized mine cables
Nexans has supplied power, control and instrumentation cables from its specialized Powermine ® range for Chinalco’s new Mount Toromocho open-cast copper mine in Peru. In cooperation with Anixter USA, the distribution partner for this project, Nexans provided over 1,200km of cables to the Aker/Jacobs Engineering turnkey EPC (engineering procurement and construction) contractor for the mine, scheduled to begin production in 2012. The Nexans facility in Canada will supply 1,000km of power, control and instrumentation cables of the type THNN, XHHW, Ultra-VN, Ultrex-XL and Firex. These cables comply with USA Type National Electric Code (NEC) specifications. Nexans Chile is supplying 200km of 5kV and 15kV medium-voltage (MV) flexible rubber jacketed power cables.
“The key to our success in the face of stiff competition was the excellent cooperation with Anixter, so that together we demonstrated our ability to provide the EPC with a complete, high quality, cost-effective solution that met all their needs for both the fixed and mobile cable requirements,” said Gilbert Guerrero, regional sales manager, cross-sales, Nexans North America. “A further advantage was the capability delivered by the Nexans teams based in Chile, since this project called for special packaging methods in order to ensure the secure and safe delivery of cables to a very remote site in good condition and ready to be installed and energized.” Delivery of Nexans cables to the Toromocho mine project began in August 2011 and was due to be completed by the end of the year.
EUROPE NEWS
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‘Split and Plug’ power cable
Continuity guaranteed
Nexans launched its Energyflex Be-Fast TM ‘split and plug’ photovoltaic power cable at December’s Energaïa 2011 in Montpellier. The new cable binds together two flexible rubber 1kV rated cables, allowing them to be reeled and handled as a single cable, but easily pulled apart for the connection of PV panels to array boxes or inverters. The traditional approach to cabling PV projects is to use either two single-core cables on individual spools, or co-extruded single-core cables that need to be separated using a sharp-bladed cutter. Easily separated with fingers, the two flexible rubber PV cables that comprise Energyflex Be-Fast are assembled with a soft binder for easy handling as a single cable. Nexans’ ‘split and plug’ design is said to reduce installation time by at least 30 percent, compared with using two separate cables, and over 50 percent compared with twin co-extruded single-core cables. The cables are designed to resist extreme temperatures (-40°C to +120°C), as well as exposure to ozone and UV, and are zero-halogen for enhanced fire security. They conform with relevant national and international standards.
The tradition of management continuity will be maintained by Medek & Schörner with a third generation of management. Manuel Lichtscheidl, the son of managing director Werner Lichtscheidl, recently joined the company, and will initially reinforce the research and development team. In recent years he was able to use his abilities successfully in a position with a world market leader in the field of mechanical engineering. Together with Rudolf Descovich – the son of Kurt Descovich – who has already worked effectively for the company for many years, this duo will not only determine the course of the company for years to come, but also ensure its continued existence and maintain the company tradition.
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Borealis is part of an alliance with 33 other concerned organizations calling for a single European electricity market. The Free Movement of Electricity alliance, whose members range from renewable energy associations to high-tech engineering companies, is urging European legislators to increase competition in the electricity sector, improve security of supply, help deliver climate goals and integrate modern technologies, including renewables. The alliance is calling on the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to bring freedom of movement and enhance cross-border trade in Europe’s electricity. It says these bodies need to simplify and better coordinate planning procedures for electricity infrastructure projects. They should also agree on new financing mechanisms to support the necessary electricity infrastructure projects and address, at an early stage, environmental concerns and social acceptance issues related Free Movement of Electricity campaign we want to see a simplification in permit procedures for extending the grid that will lead to increased installation efficiency as well as improved environmental aspects,” says Rudi Peters, Borealis value chain marketing manager. to the necessary grid extensions. “From a practical point of view,
Category 6A RJ45 modules
For the development of 10 gigabit- compatible copper networks Datwyler is offering new RJ45 Category 6A connection components with the “Plus” suffix. The KS-T Plus 1/8 module complies fully with international Standard IEC 60603-7-51 for Category 6A, and is GHMT certified; it can be used in mix-and-match installations to obtain Class EA permanent links (PM) with sufficient spare capacity. The “Plus” components carry Datwyler’s Class EA PM link-compliant 20 year system warranty, and also meet
the more stringent Standard requirements (to IEEE 802.3at) for Power over Ethernet Plus.
EUROPE NEWS
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Wire harness expansion
Sentral Group has acquired Junction City Wire Harness of Kansas, to broaden its manufacturing capabilities and locations. Junction City is a leading supplier of wire harnesses into the vehicle market, including trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles. The acquisition gives Sentral a second manufacturing location and an additional 85,000ft 2 of manufacturing and office space. When asked if the facility and equipment would be moved to the company’s Illinois headquarters, Sentral president Bill Schlitz replied, “we absolutely intend to
keep that facility open and right where it is. The whole point of this process is to expand geographically while adding new customer markets. It is our intention to support that facility in every way and grow it as much as we can.”
Sentral Assemblies is a manufacturer of custom wire harnesses, cable assemblies, tubing assemblies and electro-mechanical assemblies.
The Sentral Group, founded in 1990, now claims over 125,000ft 2 of manufacturing space in the US, and over 200 full-time employees.
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Pioneer in Indiana
Pioneer Transmission, a joint venture between American Electric Power and Duke Energy is to begin work on a 66-mile power transmission project in the US state of Indiana. The $245m line will connect between the existing Greentown substation and the new New Reynolds substation. Pioneer Transmission’s Greentown-New Reynolds project was designated as one of 17 multi-value projects included in the Midwest ISO transmission expansion plan. The engineering, permitting and siting activities for the transmission project are scheduled to begin in 2012.
Pioneer Transmission president Bob Bradish said the project aims to develop a new high-capacity, extra-high-voltage transmission system to meet evolving demand for energy and modernize the electric transmission infrastructure. The company will construct and own the 765kV New Reynolds substation to handle the interconnection of multiple power line voltages at this location. Greentown-New Reynolds is part of a larger, 240-mile transmission project in Indiana that would extend from Duke Energy’s Greentown substation and terminate at AEP’s Rockport substation near Evansville.
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IWMA monthly news wire China 2012 A key trade fair for the Chinese market appears for the fifth time in Shanghai from 25 th - 28 th September at the world class SNIEC exhibition center. This biennial exhibition has grown dramatically in size since the inaugural event in 2004 and every edition has been supported by the IWMA as industry partner. Apart from providing its traditional information booth at wire China 2012 the IWMA offers members and non-members alike the opportunity to book a space or a fully inclusive Dragon exhibitor package at cost price. Please contact the association to register an interest in being part of the IWMA exhibitor group. Wire & Cable India 2012 This key exhibition for the region will take place again next year in Mumbai from 30 th October to 1 st November in conjunction with Tube India 2012. The IWMA will be there with a support stand for members and will be offering special Maharaja exhibitor packages in good locations. If you are interested in a package for Wire & Cable India 2012 please contact the IWMA Secretariat. Prices are still being finalized but are likely to be very similar to 2010 levels. Notice is given to all IWMA member companies in North America that the association’s 41 st annual general meeting will take place on Tuesday 6 th March 2012 at the Mere Golf & Country Club in Knutsford, Cheshire, UK at 11am. The AGM will be followed by the IWMA’s industry lunch, where members and their customers and guests will enjoy an invaluable social and networking event. If North American members are unable to attend there will be a second excellent event during the wire Düsseldorf exhibition. Immediately after the end of the day’s exhibition on Tuesday 27 th March 2012 members can walk the short distance to the Congress Centre to attend the IWMA wire Düsseldorf Members’ Dinner. More than 200 representatives from member companies plus special guests from other industry associations attend this very popular event, which has become one of the highlights of the exhibition week. All members will be mailed information about both of the above events in the next two weeks or so.
2012 exhibitions Important
dates for IWMA members Important
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The 41 st annual general meeting of the IWMA is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 th March, when following advance nominations the association will see changes at the top. Colin Dawson, of Whitelegg Machinery Ltd, has served as chairman since 2 nd February 2011 and assumes the ceremonial position of president from 6 th March. The next IWMA chairman is Steve Rika, of Bar Products and Services Ltd. He was previously vice-chairman. Amanda Shehab, of Cimteq Ltd, is the new vice-chair- man. These officer positions are normally held for a period of three years. Advising and supporting the officers and executive board is the IWMA’s Executive Advisory Council (EAC), a panel of former chairmen of the association. Continuing as chairman of the EAC is Stephen Wood, and Terry Robinson remains honorary treasurer. There is much to look forward to next year with the main emphasis on wire Düsseldorf in March, an event that
is shaping up to be the best ever, despite the economic climate inmany markets. All visitors or exhibitors will be made very welcome at the IWMA booth in hall 11 number 11D26 with its brand new look and extensive range of support services. Following on from the co-organ- ized CabWire World conference in Düsseldorf in November the five associations involved, ACIMAF, CET, IWCEA, IWMA and the WAI, will begin formulating their plans for the next edition in 2013 as well as ensuring that an attractive supporting conference is organised on the eve of the Wire & Cable India 2012 exhibition on 29 th October. Such co-operation clearly demon- strates the high level of friendship that now exists amongst these key industry associations. The IWMA hopes that everyone in the wire and cable industry will enjoy a prosperous and peaceful 2012.
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Push pull pickle line
A new push pull pickle line (PPPL) has been installed at Severstal North America’s site in Columbus, Mississippi. The new line has a designed annual capacity of approximately 630,000 tonnes of pickled and oiled product. Capable of pickling 0.059″ to 0.500″ by 36″ to 74″ products, the PPPL will allow for an additional expansion within Severstal’s end-user markets with new, heavier gauge products. “The new line [has] provided our company with added pickled and oiled volume, enhanced operational efficiency and flexibility, and an expanded product mix,” commented Wilbur Winland, vice-president and general manager, Severstal Columbus. The $550 million Phase II expansion project at the Columbus plant, planned to be completed by the end of 2012, will increase annual steel production to 3.1 million tonnes and double the plant’s galvanizing capacity.
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800 mile transmission line in US
Energy Business Review reports that Fluor Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Plains and Eastern Clean Line (Clean Line) for a proposed 800 mile high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line. Under the MoU, Fluor will provide development support, preliminary engineering, procurement and construction services (EPC) for the transmission line. The line runs from Oklahoma to Tennessee and is currently in the development stages. Pike Electric Corporation has been appointed as the subcontractor to Fluor, under which it will provide initial permitting and development support services for the project. Fluor and Pike will provide the full EPC services for the transmission line project, upon receiving all all permits,
regulatory and financial approvals. The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will will deliver 3,500MW of power from Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas to the southeastern United States. Fluor’s Power Group president Dave Dunning said the company continues to play an important role in the renewables energy space. “We are excited to assist Clean Line Energy with the development of this unique transmission line project,” added Dunning. Completion of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project is expected to generate an estimated $7bn of new renewable energy projects. The project is expected to take several years to fully permit and could begin commercial operations as early as 2017.
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Room temperature superconductor claims
An inventor, Joe Eck, who runs the superconductors.org website, claims to have found a copper-oxide compound that is not only superconductive, but shows signs of superconductivity at room temperature - the potential “Holy Grail” of science, reports Pure Energy Systems News. Eck’s report states that the signs of a material going into a super conductive state are a sudden drop in resistance all the way to zero ohms, and strong diamagnetism (the Meissner effect) being exhibited at around the same temperature. Eck claims he was able to repeatedly achieve both of these signs of superconductivity using a small amount of the compound (Tl 5 Pb 2 ) Ba 2 Mg 2 Cu 9 O 17 + (a copper oxide with a magnesium atom added). He believes the results were clear and unambiguous.
The material was not cooled to obtain the superconducting effect. Instead of taking place at a very low temperature, it took place at 28.5° Celsius, or 83.3 ° Fahrenheit - an above-room-temperature superconductor, as room temperature is around 73ºF. This technology is not yet ready for commercialization as the “volume fraction” is very low, meaning that only some of the material in the sample being tested is superconducting. It is possible that there are impurities in the tested sample. Eck explains that a method of refinement would have to be developed for this compound to be commercialized.
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ASIA & AFRICA NEWS
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wiredInUSA - January 2012
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Do androids dream of elastic cables? Roboden, developed by Asahi Kasei Fibers, is believed to be the world’s first elastic electrical cable. Wiring on robots usually needs to be slack to allow for the robots, movement, such as parts twisting or movement backwards and forwards, but by using elastic electrical cables the wiring can perfectly match the robots, movement without being too tight or loose.
skin of humanoid robots. Those were the future applications we had in mind when we began development.” Roboden is available in various types for power and signal cables, including USB cables. It bends easily and has a long flexure life, so it can be used in many other situations as well. “When we talked to Professor Inaba at The University of Tokyo, he advised us that, for robots to be more like people, they’ll need to be soft, so they’ll need something akin to skin. And if you make skin, you’ll have wiring in the skin, so the wiring will need to follow the contours of the robot. Therefore, to make robots with a soft skin, it’s probably essential for wiring to be able to expand and contract.”
A spokesman from Asahi Kasei Fibers said: “We manufacture Spandex, an elastic textile, so we make fabrics that expand and contract to fit the human body. As a result, we know that human skin can stretch by a factor of 1.5. So we thought, if we can make a cable that stretches by a factor of 1.5, it could be used for wearable electronics, or for wiring the
ASIA / AFRICA NEWS
wiredInUSA - January 2012
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Saudi Cable Co signs major deals
Shangshang Cable to use Dow license
Saudi Cable Company has secured orders from two of Korea’s biggest construction firms, taking its total order values for December 2011 to over $266.6m. The Jeddah supplier of copper cables has orders from Doosan Company, a diversified firm covering construction and engineering among other sectors, and Hyundai Engineering. Both mandates will be supplied at the start of 2012. Saudi Cable Company manufactures and markets electrical power and telecommunications cables of varying voltages, and supplies services for power and telecom projects including design, engineering, installation and finance. In 2010 the company won its first contract for its highest voltage cables, 380kV, following an order from Saudi Electricity Company, the state-backed power provider.
Dow E&T, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, has signed a Dow Inside license agreement with Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group, a leading wire and cable products manufacturer in China. Under the terms of the Dow Inside agreement, Shangshang Cable will use Dow Endurance™ insulation, semi-conductive and jacketing materials to manufacture electronics wiring and/or medium and high voltage power cables. In addition, Shangshang Cable will be allowed to market its products with a logo comprising the “Dow diamond” followed by the word “Inside” when using Dow’s branded wire insulating and jacketing materials. Jiangsu Shangshang cable group was founded in 1967, and manufactures high voltage, medium voltage, low voltage, plastic and rubber cable.
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Joint ventures for the Chinese market
It has been reported in Indonesia that Japanese companies Marubeni Corp and Toshiba Corp have won an order to build a 55MW geothermal power plant for Indonesian PT Geo Dipa Energi. Japanese companies to build geothermal plant in Indonesia The plant is expected to begin operations in 2014. It is to be built at Bandung, in the southeast of the country’s capital Jakarta. Including this deal Toshiba has won three geothermal orders this year, in New Zealand, Kenya and now in Indonesia. The order is worth around $77 million.
Siemens and Shanghai Electric will establish two new joint ventures for the Chinese wind energy market. Siemens will hold a 49% stake and Shanghai Electric will hold the remaining 51% in each case. The joint ventures will focus on R&D and production of wind turbine equipment for the Chinese and global market, and in wind turbine equipment sales, marketing, project management and execution as well as service in China. Shanghai Electric chairman and CEO Xu Jianguo said the establishment of stra- tegic cooperation with Siemens will im- prove the manufacturing capability for the wind industry in China. “The wind market in China is entering into an integration phase, so the cooperation with Siemens for these two joint ventures will provide Shanghai Electric with new opportunities for development,” he said.
ASIA / AFRICA NEWS
wiredInUSA - January 2012
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Asahi Kasei Fibers .......................................................................................................................................................p37 BC Hydro power ..........................................................................................................................................................p14 Borealis ...........................................................................................................................................................................p27 Breyden ..........................................................................................................................................................................p22 Brugg Cable ..................................................................................................................................................................p16 Datwyler .........................................................................................................................................................................p27 Deepwater Wind .........................................................................................................................................................p18 Dow ..................................................................................................................................................................................p38 Encore Wire Corporation ..........................................................................................................................................p13 Energy Business Review / Fluor Corporation ....................................................................................................p33 Eraser............................................................................................................................................................................... p24 Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council .......................................................................................................................p12 Furukawa .......................................................................................................................................................................p17 IWMA ...............................................................................................................................................................................p30 Marubeni Corporation ..............................................................................................................................................p39 Medek & Schörner ......................................................................................................................................................p26 Ministry of Energy & Mines .....................................................................................................................................p15 Nexans ......................................................................................................................................................................p25,26 Pioneer Transmission .................................................................................................................................................p29 Port Authority .................................................................................................................................................................p9 Saudi Cable ...................................................................................................................................................................p38 Sentral Group .............................................................................................................................................................. p28 Severstal..........................................................................................................................................................................p32 Siemens / Shanghai Electric ....................................................................................................................................p39 Superconductors.com ...............................................................................................................................................p34 Syringa Networks ........................................................................................................................................................p20 United Solar ..................................................................................................................................................................p19 Vale ...................................................................................................................................................................................p11
INDEX EDITORIAL
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wiredInUSA - December 2011 wiredInUSA - January 2
INDEX
Amaral Automation .................................................................................................................. p15 Beta LaserMike............................................................................................................................... p8 Cemanco ....................................................................................................................................... p11 Inhol................................................................................................................................................. p10 Messe Düsseldorf (wire Düsseldorf ).......................................................................................p7 Wire and Plastic............................................................................................................................. p2 Zumbach........................................................................................................................................ p19
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