wiredinUSA May 2014

INDEX

Nikoa Gruevski

Cables plant in Macedonia

Copper progress

A falling copper price and improving economy in Europe is expected to lift 2014 sales volumes of copper wire for European smelter and producer Aurubis. “The European economy has developed well andwe haveabigexposure to Europe, so our product sales went up,” said Stefan Boel, a member of Aurubis's executive board. Mr Boel estimates overall growth in wire rod sales volumes in Europe this year at three percent to five percent. “But our volumes? Double digits,” he said, declining to give an exact figure. “I cannot go more into detail. Last year we had no growth.” Mr Boel anticipates a balanced copper market in 2014. In the first three months of its financial year, commencing 1 st October, Aurubis's wire rod output rose 23 percent to 156,000 tons. Aurubis’s copper end users include the electrical engineering, automotive, mechanical engineering, telecommunications and construction industries.

The Macedonian prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, has announced that German cable andwiremanufacturer ODWElektrik is planning a new production facility in Macedonia’s Ohrid-Struga free economic zone. Macedonia’s government and the company completed negotiations in mid-April. Under the plan, ODW Elektrik will build its first Macedonian plant on a 10,000m 2 site. The factory is expected to be operational by the end of 2014, creating up to 1,000 new jobs. Based in Steinau an der Straße, the manufacturer operates three production facilities in Germany, Ukraine and Hungary, using various plastics, including PA and PTFE. Ludwig Bathon, chief executive of ODW Elektrik, said that Macedonia’s labor force and the support provided by state institutions were among the reasons why the manufacturer chose to launch its greenfield investment in Macedonia. ODW Elektrik is forecasting revenues of €75.2m for 2014, an increase of 3.4 percent from €72.75m a year earlier. The project in Macedonia is estimated to be worth about €15m.

EUROPE NEWS

wiredInUSA - May 2014

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