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WIRE JOURNAL JULY 2012

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Wrapup: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

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WIRE JOURNAL

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

CONTENTS

Volume 45 | Number 7 | July 2012

F EATURE

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Industry News . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Asian Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fiber Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fastener Update . . . . . . . . . . 29 WAI News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chapter Corner . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Technical Papers . . . . . . . 56-71 Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Career Opportunities . . . . . . . 77 Advertisers’ Index . . . . . . . . . 79

Wrapup: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 . . . . . .34 Dallas turned out to be a good venue for the WAI Operations Summitt & Wire Expo 2012, which offered presentations with a shop floor focus, a sold-out show floor, and lots of social and networking opportunities.

Industry Success Stories . . . . . . . .42 Why shouldn’t good news get its share of print space?

Five industry success stories were presented at Dallas, with three of those in this feature, the others to follow in future issues.

T ECHNIC AL PAPERS Reduction of residual stress of drawn wires Kazunari Yoshida and Ryoto Koyama . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Next issue August 2012 • Power Cables • Preview: wire China

Role of temperature and stretching force on the effectiveness of the stabilizing treatment of prestressing steel wires J.M. Atienza, J. Ruiz-Hervias, L. Caballero and M. Elices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 The ‘LEEDing’ edge of sustainable R&D Jason D. Gillen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Cover: The wire and cable industry tends to get little attention, but not only does the sector provide the essentials that society needs, many companies in it make sizeable investments to further technology, to be good environental stewards and to find new ways to succeed. This feature presents three such stories.

JULY 2012 | 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE SQUARE TALK AT DALLAS ROUNDTABLE . . .42

Derrick Stevens, general manager of Engineered Machinery Group, was one of industry “mavericks” who challenged (and survived!) a close encounter with the mechanical bull at the WAI’s reception at Eddie Deen’s.

Other attendees found glory racing armadillos, and everyone had a good time, a claim we insist is no bull.

Attendees at the Machinery Roundtable at the WAI Operations Summitt & Wire Expo 2012 in Dallas got to hear the perspectives of machinery suppliers as well as some of the wire and cable manufacturers on topics that ranged from what improvements are needed to the quality of some of the offshore machinery that is being sold.

CONTENTS

RIDING THE BULL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

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EDITORIAL WIRE JOURNAL

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EDITORIAL

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Following up on a good thing at Dallas Publisher | Steven J. Fetteroll

So what did we learn at the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012, held May 21-23 in Dallas, Texas? We saw that there is a lot of life in the wire and cable industry; that face-to-face exchanges are still the best type of contacts; that a new venue does spark interest; that if you offer an alternative program that focuses on topics of shop floor relevance, attendees really like it; that plant tours continue to be very popular; that the industry is better at riding a mechanical bull than anyone would have expected, and that given their druthers, armadillos are not inclined to run in a straight line, at least not at WAI receptions.

The Dallas experience was a good one, and that the focus now is building off of it for WAI’s 2014 event, to be held in another new venue: Indianapolis (see p. 30). We’re hoping that those of you who were either at Dallas or talked to someone who was there may want to contribute to the 2014 experience by letting us know what we can do to make the event even better. For instance, would you be interested in a pavillion for industry-related products such as hard hats, snippers, tow motors? Or more downstream services, such as scrap metal processing or import-export consultants? Or maybe more shop floor presentations on other topics, such as cross-training employees, how two competitors can both benefit by working together on a specific project or how a company can determine whether it is capable of exporting or entering in a foreign joint venture. What might you want to know? Send us an e-mail at sfetteroll@wirenet.org.

WAI Members: the roster goes beyond the numbers A non-profit organization, WAI has 2,000 members around the world, and as with any association, those numbers change each month as people retire from the industry and others join, but just who are the newcomers to the Association?

Starting with this issue, each month the WAI News section will list the new members, their companies and their titles. Some are industry veterans while others are new to wire and cable. Collectively, you will see that they represent a good slice of the industry, working for manufacturers, suppliers, service groups and others, and that is the way it should be. After all, the WAI may be based in Guilford, Connecticut, but it is owned by the membership. And by our count, it just grew this month by 20 members, to which we say to each and every one, “Welcome aboard!”

Steve Fetteroll WAI Executive Director

6 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Editor-in-Chief | Mark Marselli Senior Graphic Designer | Bill Branch Director of Sales | Robert Xeller Advertising Sales | Anna Bzowski Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications | Janice E. Swindells Graphic Artist | Adrienne E. Simpson Proofreader | Livia Jacobs Publications Advisory Board Ferruccio Bellina | TKT Group/President ACIMAF, Italy Malcolm Michael | AWIA Australia Don Schollin | Q-S Technologies, USA Ralph Skalleberg | Skaltek USA Dave Stackpole | Nutmeg Wire, USA Giulio Properzi | Continuus Properzi, Italy Robert Wild | Niehoff Endex North America, USA Technical Advisors John Drummond | Scotia Group R. M. Shemenski | RMS Consulting, Inc.

WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL (ISSN-0277-4275) published monthly by The Wire Journal, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Wire Association International, Inc., which is located at 1570 Boston Post Road, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA, and can be contacted at tel.

203-453-2777; fax 203-453-8384; Internet wirenet.org; e-mail mmarselli@wirenet.org. Address all correspondence concerning advertising production, editorial and circulation to the above address. WJI is printed in USA. Subscription rates: $110 per year, USA; $120 per year, Canada and Mexico; other countries, $140 per year (includes air mail). Back copies: $10 WAI members, $15 non-members. Periodicals postage paid at Guilford, CT 06437, USA, and at additional offices.

Wire Journal International grants photocopy permission to libraries and others registered with Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 21 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970, USA, for a fee of $0.50 per article. Payments should be sent directly to the CCC. Requests for bulk orders or reprints should be sent to the Wire Journal International, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA. © 2012 by Wire Journal, Inc. All rights reserved. The Publisher of WJI assumes no responsibility for the validity of manufacturers’ claims made herein. Back issues of WJI are on microfilm and available from University Microfilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. Phone: 313761-4700.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wire Journal International, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA.

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR Sept. 25-28, 2012: wire China 2012 Shanghai, China. To be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, fax 312-781-5188, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

sories, cable realignment, electrical insulation materials, equipment and machines. Contact: Esra Aydin, CNR Holding, tel. 90-0212-465-74-74/2-22, esra.aydin@cnr.net, www.cnrexpo.com or www.cnrcablewire.com.

Oct. 3-5, 2012: SpringWorld 2012 Rosemont, Illinois, USA. To be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Contact: Tom Renk, The Chicago Association of Spring Manufacturers, Inc. (CASMI), tel. 630-369-3466, fax 630-369-3773, info@casmi-springworld.org, www.casmi-springworld.org.

Nov. 15-18, 2012: Wire & Cable Asia 2012 Shanghai, China. This new event is being organized by U.k.-based Integer Research, www.integer-research.com.

Oct. 29, 2012: International Technical Conference (ITC) Mumbai, India. This multi-industry association event, to be led by U.K.-based International Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA) and supported by WAI, will be held in conjunction with the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 staging of Wire & Cable India in Mumbai, India. It will include technical papers, networking opportunities and more. Contact: WAI, sfetteroll@wirenet.org, IWMA, www.iwma.org.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2012: Wire & Cable India Mumbai, India. This event is organized by Messe Düsseldorf. Contact: see wire China 2012.

Nov. 11-14, 2012: 61st IWCS Conference™ Providence, Rhode Island, USA. To be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Contact: Pat Hudak, IWCS, www.iwcs.org, phudak@iwcs.org, tel. 732-389-0990.

Nov. 15-18, 2012: Cable & Wire Fair Istanbul, Turkey. To be held at the CNR Expo Center, this event, organized by CNR Holding, includes cable acces-

April 23-25, 2013: Interwire 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center to stage its trade show, technical programs and the Association’s 83rd Annual Convention.

May 2013: wire Russia 2013 Moscow, Russia. Contact: see wire China 2012.

Sept. 17-19, 2013: wire Southeast Asia Bangkok, Thailand. Contact: see wire China 2012.

Oct. 8-13, 2013: wire South America 2013 São Paulo, Brazil. Messe Düsseldorf and its partner Grupo Cipa will stage this new fair for the Brazilian market. The new event will be held in parallel with TUBOTECH at the Imigrantes Exposicoes Exhibition Centre in São Paulo. Contact: see wire China 2012.

April 7-11, 2014: wire Düsseldorf Düsseldorf, Germany. This biennial event will be held at the Messe fairgrounds. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

WIRE A SSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL EVENTS For more information, contact the WAI, USA. Tel. 001-203-453-2777; fax 001-203-453-8384; www.wirenet.org.

Aug. 2, 2012: Ohio Valley Chapter 10th annual golf tournament Solon, Ohio, USA. This event will be held at the Grantwood Golf Course.

Sept. 10, 2012: New England Chapter 18th annual golf tournament Ellington, Connecticut, USA. This event will be held at the Ellington Ridge Country Club.

Oct. 18, 2012: The Vannais Southeast Chapter 11th annual golf tournament

8 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Conover, North Carolina, USA. This event will be held at the Rock Barn Golf & Spa. Oct. 22, 2012: Western Chapter 12th annual “Wild West Shootout” golf outing Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA. This event will be held at the Los Verdes Golf Course.

April 23-25, 2013: Interwire 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center to stage its trade show, technical programs and its 83rd Annual Convention.

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS Niehoff opens new factory in China Germany’s Niehoff GmbH, which notes that it has been active in China since the early 1970s, reports that its subsidiary has opened a new factory in the Wujin Economic Development Zone in Changzhou, approximately 200 km west of Shanghai.

A press release said that the new plant opened by Niehoff Machinery Changzhou (NMC) Co., Ltd., is designed for the production of diverse drawing machines and double twist bunching machines as well as additional equipment like annealers, spoolers and coilers under Niehoff license for the Chinese market. The 3,600-sq-m plant includes space for manufacturing areas and offices, an exhibition area and a spare parts warehouse.

NMC, it said, already has a high order backAn inside view of the new Niehoff factory log for 2012 in China. and beyond.

The plant has approximately 30 staff members who gained their experience at both the Niehoff Shanghai Representative Office and at the Niehoff headquarters in Schwabach, Germany.

NMC also has a sales office in Shanghai.

The release said that one of the keys to the company’s success has been the Niehoff Service Center in Shanghai, which was founded in 1994, became the Niehoff Shanghai Representative Office in 2000 and was renamed as the NMC-Shanghai Sales Branch earlier this year. “With the help of its experienced Chinese engineers Niehoff has successfully introduced multiwire and super fine wire drawing technology to many wire and cable factories in China,” it said.

General Cable reports acquisition of Alcan Cable for $185 million General Cable announced that it has agreed to acquire Alcan Cable, the wire and cable business of Rio Tinto plc, for $185 million, a deal that it said it expected to close in the second half of 2012.

A press release said that Alcan Cable employs about 1,050 people in its aluminum cable manufacturing and distribution facilities that serve the energy and construction markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and

China. In 2011, it noted, Alcan Cable reported operating margins in the low single digit range. The acquisition, it said, is expected to contribute approximately $650-700 million a year in revenues at current metal prices. “Over a cycle, Alcan Cable’s operating margin profile is expected to be consistent with (General Cable’s) existing North American businesses as manufacturing, logistics, and purchasing synergies are realized. With these synergies, an improving North American market and an accelerating greenfield operation in China, the transaction is expected to create shareholder value in the near term.”

“I have long admired Alcan Cable and their singular and long standing focus on being superb at their craft. Alcan Cable’s STABILOY® and NUAL® brand names are the gold standard for quality, packaging, and service in the North American aluminum cable industry,” said General Cable President and CEO Gregory B. Kenny. “Alcan Cable’s rich history, like General Cable’s, exceeds 100 years. We look forward to sharing best practices and creating fresh career opportunities for the very dedicated and professional Alcan Cable team,” he said, adding that Alcan Cable is highly skilled in aluminum rod manufacturing and has a state-of-the art-facility in China that is successfully penetrating the domestic construction cable market.

“Alcan Cable China has a 430,000-sq-ft, vertically integrated manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China, and eight regional sales offices (and) is highly complementary to our two long standing partnerships in China, representing a new route to market for our full range of products,” said Mathias F. Sandoval, president and CEO, General Cable Rest of World. “The addition of Alcan Cable Mexico combined with our existing manufacturing capability in the country further enhances our ability to service the Mexican market.”

“The addition of aluminum construction cables further expands the range of products we offer to distributors serving electrical and industrial contractors and increases our capacity to efficiently serve our electric utility customers with transmission and distribution products,” said General Cable North America President and CEO Gregory J. Lampert.

Prysmian expands plant in Finland The Prysmian Group announced that it has expanded its plant in Finland, with a 40 million euro investment that will enable it to produce HV submarine cables at the Pikkala facility, which produces high-voltage cable.

A press release said that the Prysmian Group now has production facilities dedicated to submarine cables in Arco Felice (near Naples) in Italy, Pikkala in Finland and

Does your company have news that belongs here? E-mail it to the WJI at editorial@wirenet.org.

10 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

An overhead view of Prysmian’s expanded plant in Pikkala, Finland.

Drammen in Norway. “With this extended production footprint, Prysmian Group is able to present itself to the market as a reference partner for linking mainland grids to individual offshore wind turbine towers, with an offer ranging from medium voltage inter-array cables, to HVAC and HVDC export cables up to 320 kV.” The Pikkala plant has started producing transmission cables that use HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) technology allowing large amounts of energy to be transmitted over long distances, the release said. That technology. said Marcello Del Brenna, CEO of Prysmian PowerLink, is in great demand, especially from renewable energy development projects in Northern Europe, particularly in Germany.

Beyond the investment in Finland, the Prysmian Group is expanding production capacity at its Arco Felice plant in Italy, the Group’s center of excellence for submarine cables, following its being awarded the 800 million euro Western Link order to build a new submarine link between Scotland and England, the release said. It noted that the integration between Prysmian and Draka has further broadened the range of products and services offered also in the field of renewable energy. It added that the Group “has an ever-increasing track record of important offshore wind power connections, with projects either completed or on-going in Denmark, Holland and the U.K. as well as the HVDC connections to shore for the BorWin2, HelWin1, HelWin2 and SylWin1 mega wind farm hubs in Germany, forming part of the most important program for the development of renewable energy in Europe.”

Coleman Cable expands scope with Watteredge acquisition Coleman Cable, a manufacturer and innovator of electrical and electronic wire and cable products, further expanded the company’s range of customers with its acquisition of Watteredge, Inc., for approximately $35 million.

A press release said that Watteredge designs, manufac-

General Cable makes a majority investment of Procables in Colombia U.S.-based General Cable announced today that it has agreed to acquire a majority interest (60%) in Procables S.A (Procables) for total consideration of $45 million, in a deal that it said it expected to close in the second half of 2012.

A press release said that The Sredni Group, the parent company of Procables, will maintain a 40% interest in the business. It described Procables as a “well-established, privately owned manufacturer, Procables (that) through its two manufacturing facilities in Bogota and Barranquilla offers a broad range of wire and cable products, including low and medium voltage power cables, building wire, industrial, communications, and bare aluminum conductors as well as operating copper and aluminum rod mills.”

In 2011, it said, Procables reported revenues of US$120 million, is expected to be accretive in the first full year of operation.

“This transaction enables us to partner with a wellestablished company with a strong regional commercial strategy and extensive distribution network while at the same time applying General Cable’s technical and operational expertise as we further expand the product portfolio and the value proposition to customers throughout the Andean Region,” said Mathias F. Sandoval, president and CEO, General Cable Rest of World.

JULY 2012 | 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

tures and sells secondary power connectors, including electric arc furnace cables, resistance welding cables, industrial high-performance copper bus bars and accessories, and other high performance power conduction devices and accessories. Watteredge, it said, serves the steel, chemical, chlorine, power generation, fiberglass and automotive industries and sells its products and services worldwide.

“This acquisition immediately expands our product platform and allows us to provide an entirely new line of highly engineered industrial products across a number of end markets,” said Coleman Cable President and CEO Gary Yetman, “Furthermore, by aligning ourselves with Watteredge, we acquire a management team with a history of delivering consistently strong financial results and proven experience in providing value-added, engineered solutions to its customers both in the United States and internationally.”

Watteredge, which was first formed in 1949, has been family owned and operated for 30 years prior to the acquisition, and Coleman Cable plans to retain Watteredge’s workforce and continue all of its production at Watteredge’s current manufacturing plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, the release said. It noted that the company expects the acquisition to contribute approximately $6 million to $7.0 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and certain deal and related costs.

INDUSTRY NEWS

“This transaction greatly enhances our presence in this strategically important market in the Andean Region further solidifying our geographic coverage throughout the Americas which is one of the most extensive in the wire and cable industry,� said Gregory B. Kenny, President and CEO of General Cable. “With a population of 46 million and one of the largest economies in Latin America, Colombia represents a meaningful opportunity for growth. The Colombian economy is expected to continue to expand led by ongoing investments in housing and electrical infrastructure as well as developments in the oil and mining sectors all of which we expect will drive greater demand for wire and cable.�

Elgin Fastener expands into wire forming by Northern Wire acquisition U.S.-based Elgin Fastener Group, LLC (EFG) announced that it has acquired Northern Wire, a privately held wire forming company founded in 1970 and based in Merrill, Wisconsin.

Founded in 1970, Northern Wire supplies wire forms and wire products at its plant, which has been expanded to 100,000 sq ft. The ISO 9001:2008 certified company processes material from .080 in. to .750 in. in lengths

from six in. to 12 ft, and runs its own plating facility. It also has machining, cold heading and welding capabilities. “The acquisition of Northern Wire gives the Elgin Fastener Group a solid foothold in the wire form market and opens new doors to product lines that were previously closed to us,� EFG CEO Jeff Liter said in a press release. “We continue to add domestic manufacturing capabilities that expand our total range of specialty fastener options.�

An Elgin Fastener spokesman said that no changes are planned for the Merrill plant, which has 130 full-time and 19 part-time employees, and that all key company officials will continue. “Short-term and long-term plans include capital equipment investments to promote growth in existing markets. EFG also intends to capitalize on the advantageous geographical location of Northern Wire to develop intercompany opportunities with the other divisions,� he told WJI.

US DoC rules against steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of imports of steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam.

A press release said that DoC preliminarily determined that Vietnamese pro

ducers exporters have 210/.-0,+-*)('&0)&&'-0(%0$)+-0#('+1"!021/-+1"/)(1"! 0 -0,' !)&.- 0"0%'!!0," -0" *-+/)&- -1/0)10 received countervailable .) .0/.-0 +) - -+%(+ "1 -0(%0 "1( )-&0 "&0 ( ,"+- 0 )/.0/.-0 +) - -+%(+ "1 -0(%0/(,0 subsidies of 11.03% to '"!)/ 0 "1 )10 0 )-& 0 21.25%. It preliminarily determined that South East .)&0" *-+/)&- -1/0+-%-++- 0/(0 "1 )10 ' ) )"0 0 )-& 0 .) .0",,-"+&0/(0&' -&/0/."/0 Asia Hamico Export Joint ' )/( (0 (+,(+"/)(10 /.-0 "1'%" /'+-+0(%0/.-0 ' ) )" 0+"1 -0(%0 0 !"1 & 0)10&( -0 Stock Company (SEA " 0-1 (+&-&0 "1 )10 0 )-& 00 .)&0)&01(/0 (++- / 00 .-0 (++- /0 " 0/(0 -& +) -0 "1 )1 &0 Hamico), Nam A Hamico

0 )-&0)&0 "1 )1 &0+"1 -0(%0*-+ 0.) .0 '"!)/ 0 0 )-&0'&)1 0 ' ) )" 0 0 !"1 & 0 Export Joint Stock .-0" *-+/)&- -1/0"!&(0'&- 0"0,"+/) '!"+0 ' ) )" 0 0 !"1 0 ( - 00 &0 ' ) )" 0)&0&' .0"0 Company (Nam A), and %" ('&0,+( ' /0+"1 - 0/.)&0 ( -0)&0 ) -! 0 1( 10"&0"0 ' ) )" 0 ( - 0 .) .0 " 0."*-0 Linh Sa Hamico Company (1*- - 0/.-0) ,+-&&)(10/."/0 "1( )-&0 -+-0 -)1 0 ( ,"+- 0 )+- /! 0"1 0&,- )%) "!! 0 )/.0 Limited (Linh Sa) (collec ' ) )" 0 0 )-& 00 .)&0 "&01(/0('+0)1/-1/)(1 0 tively, the Hamico Companies) and Infinite .-0,'+,(&-0(%0 "1( )" (1 0 -+) " &0" *-+/)&- -1/0 "&0/(0 ( ,"+-0/.-0 Industrial Hanger Limited +) - -+%(+ "1 -0(%0 "1( )-&0 )/.0/.-0 +) - -+%(+ "1 -0(%0/(,0 '"!)/ 0 0 )-&0)10"0 (Infinite) and Supreme *-+ 0 -1-+"!0&-1&- 002/0)&0"0%" /0/."/0 "1 )1 &0%'!!0+"1 -0(%0/(,0 '"!)/ 0 0 )-&0)&0 Hanger Company Limited

"1'%" /'+- 0'&)1 0 ' ) )" 0 0 !"1 & 0 '/0/.)&0 "&01(/0/.-0 ")10,()1/0"1 0 -0",(!( ) -0 (Supreme) (collectively the )%0"1 0+-" -+0/(( 0"10'1)1/-1 - 0 -"1)1 0%+( 0/.-0" *-+/)&- -1/ 00$-0- /-1 0('+0",(!( 0/(0 Infinite Companies) ' )/( (0 (+,(+"/)(10 .( 0 -0.(! 0)10/.-0.) .-&/0+- "+ 0 received countervailable 0 subsidies of 21.25% and

+*+)('&&%$#&&"(!& # ( ! # & ( # (++ * ( (

12 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

(

++* * )((( ( * * *(

((( % & % & ( $ (((((( & % & (

(Section cont’d on p. 16.)

INTERWIRE 2013 | THE LARGEST WIRE AND CABLE MARKETPLACE IN THE AMERICAS.

April 23-25, 2013 | Georgia World Congress Center | Atlanta, Georgia, USA

INTERWIRE 2013 LEADING WIRE BUSINESSES IN THE AMERICAS. WHY INTERWIRE? When industry professionals look for new wire and cable technology they choose Interwire, the benchmark for wire business in the Americas.

Information is exchanged at Interwire. Machinery is debuted, reviewed, and sold at Interwire. And the promise of international networking on the Americas’ stage continues to excite visitors to this vital marketplace.

Location: Atlanta, Georgia.

Interwire returns to the city of its origin where it was introduced in 1981.

Compact: 3 full days of exhibits.

Interwire 2013 offers a concentrated show schedule.

Operating equipment.

Interwire is a machinery show. Visitors will see operating equipment.

Renewed energy.

Attendance at Interwire 2011 surged with a 19% uptick. Visitors came from 53 countries. More than 400 companies exhibited making Interwire the largest trade show of its kind in the Americas for the wire and cable industry.

Special industry theme days to be announced.

Look for presentations, technical papers, and executive discussions to orbit around three central themes related to operational excellence in the manufacture of wire and cable. Specific topics to be announced.

Fully supported.

Show management continues to work with allied organizations, supporting sponsors, and educational supporters to interest a growing number of international participants in the show. Event news is communicated to Wire Journal International readers in 108 countries worldwide.

Learn more about exhibiting and speaking opportunities at www.wirenet.org.

The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

EXHIBITING COMPANIES — As of June 2012 — Gem Gravure Co. Inc. Genca GMP Slovakia sro Guill Tool & Engineering Co. Hall Industries Handuk Ultrasonic Hangzhou JR Exhibition Co. Ltd. Heacock Metal & Machine Co. Inc. Heany Industries Inc. Hearl Heaton - Pentre Group Heatbath Corp.

Heritage Wire Die Inc. Howar Equipment Huestis Industrial ICE Wire Line Equipment Inc. IDEAL Welding Systems iim AG Measurement & Engineering INHOL LLC InnoVites Cable ERP Software International Wire & Cable Machinery Association (IWMA) InterWire Products Intras Ltd. IWG High Performance Conductors Inc. Joe Tools Inc. Keir Manufacturing Inc. KP America Inc. Lämneå Bruk AB LaserLinc Inc. Leggett & Platt Wire Group Leoni Wire Inc. Lesmo Machinery America Inc. Lloyd & Bouvier Inc. The Lubrizol Corp.

LUKAS Anlagenbau GmbH Magnetic Technologies Ltd. Maillefer SA Markem-Imaje USA Mathiasen Machinery Inc. Messe Düsseldorf North America MFL USA Service Corp. - Frigerio The MGS Group MGS Manufacturing Inc. Micro Products Co. Microdia USA Mid-South Wire Morgan-Koch Corp.

Niagara Composites International Niehoff Endex North America Inc. Northampton Machinery Co. (USA) Numalliance North America Oklahoma/Iowa Steel & Wire OMA USA Inc. OMCG North America Inc. Paramount Die Co. Parkway-Kew Corp.

Pave Automation Design Phifer Wire Inc. Plas-Ties Co. PolyOne Polytec Inc.

Precision Die Technologies Inc. PrintSafe Promostar srl Properzi International Inc. QED Wire Lines Inc. QUEINS Machines GmbH Radyne Corp.

Rainbow Rubber & Plastics Rautomead Ltd. Redex SA Reel Options by Vandor Corp.

Reel-O-Matic Inc. RG Attachments Ltd. RichardsApex Inc. Rosendahl Nextrom Technologies Roteq Machinery Inc. S&E Specialty Polymers SAMP USA Inc. Shanghai Pudong International Exhibition Co. SIKORA International Corp.

SIMPACKS Sivaco Wire Group Sjogren Industries Inc. Smeets SA Joe Snee Associates Inc. Sonoco Reels SPX Precision Components FENN Division Strecker USA T & T Marketing Inc. Talladega Machinery & Supply Taubensee Steel & Wire Co. Taymer International Inc. Tecnoherramental SA de CV Teknikor Teknor Apex Tensor Machinery Ltd. Traxit North America LLC Troester GmbH & Co. KG Tubular Products Co. Tulsa Power Inc. US Synthetic Wire Die Reel Options by Vandor Corp.

Vollmer America Inc. WAFIOS Machinery Corporation Stolberger Inc. dba Wardwell Braiding WCISA - Wire & Cable Industry Suppliers Association Web Industries Weber & Scher Mfg. Co. Inc. Windak Inc. Wire & Cable Technology International Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.

The Wire Association International, Inc. Wire Journal International Wire Lab Co. Wire Machine Systems Inc. WireCo WorldGroup Witels Albert USA Ltd. Woodburn Diamond Die Inc. Worth Steel & Machinery Inc. Zumbach Electronics Corp.

INTERWIRE 2013 | THE LARGEST WIRE AND CABLE MARKETPLACE IN THE AMERICAS.

Ace Metal Inc. AEB International Inc. AIM Inc. All Forming Machinery Inc. Amacoil Inc. Amaral Automation Associates American & Efird Inc. Anbao Wire & Mesh Co. Ltd. AXIS Computer Systems Inc. Aztech Lubricants LLC B&H Tool Co. Bartell Machinery Systems LLC Bekaert Corp.

Bergandi Machinery Co. Besel Basim San Tic Ltd. Sti Beta LaserMike Blachford Corp.

Bogimac Engineering Boxy SpA Breen Color Concentrates Inc. Butt Welders USA Caballe SA Cable Consultants Corp.

Canterbury Engineering Co. Carris Reels Inc. Cemanco LC Central Wire Industries Ltd. Cimteq Ltd. Clayton Industries Clinton Instrument Co. CM Furnaces Inc. CMEC International Exhibition Ltd. Collins & Jewell Co. Inc. Commission Brokers Inc. Condat CONDUCTIX WAMPFLER Conneaut Industries Inc. Cortinovis Machinery America Inc. Davis-Standard LLC Die Quip Corp.

Domeks Makine Ltd. Sti Ebner Furnaces Inc. Electron Beam Technologies Inc. Enercon Industries Engineered Machinery Group Inc. Er-Bakir Elektrolitik Bakir Mamulleri A.S. Esteves Group USA Etna Products Inc. George Evans Corp.

Evolution Products Fabritex Inc. Filtertech Inc. Fine International Corp.

Fisk Alloy Wire Inc. FMS USA Inc. Foerster Instruments Inc. Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc. Frontier Composites & Castings Inc. Fuhr GmbH & Co. KG Gauder Group Inc. GCR Eurodraw SpA

INDUSTRY NEWS

11.03%, respectively. All other Vietnamese producers exporters, it said, received a preliminary net subsidy rate of 16.14%.

For the purpose of CVD investigations, countervailable subsidies are financial assistance from foreign governments that benefit the production of goods from foreign companies and are limited to specific enterprises or industries, or are contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods. As a result of the preliminary affirmative determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit based on these preliminary rates.

The three U.S. petitioners for the investigation are M&B Metal Products Company, Inc.; Innovative Fabrication LLC/Indy Hanger; and US Hanger Company, LLC. The merchandise subject to this investigation is steel wire garment hangers, fabricated from carbon steel wire, whether or not galvanized or painted, whether or not coated with latex or epoxy or similar gripping materials, and or whether or not fashioned with paper covers or capes (with or without printing) and/or non-slip features such as saddles or tubes.

16 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Belden agrees to acquire related industry business for $357 million U.S.-based Belden, Inc., announced it has agreed to acquire Miranda Technologies, Inc., a Canadian company based in Montreal, Quebec, for US$357 million, in a deal that it said would increase Belden’s revenue from networking and connectivity products from 30% to 36%.

Miranda provides hardware and software solutions for the broadcast infrastructure industry, providing technology for TV broadcasters and content developers to create, manipulate, and distribute High Definition Video.

“As Hirschmann significantly enhanced our industrial portfolio, we expect Miranda to have a similar impact on our broadcast business,” said Belden President and CEO John Stroup.

CCCA joins STEP foundation The Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA) reports that it has joined the Sustainable Technology Environments Program™ (STEP) Foundation as a supporting member of its board of directors.

A press release said that the STEP Foundation address-

INDUSTRY NEWS

es issue related to the technology within a building, with a key goal being to eliminate or decrease the environmental harm caused by the production and consumption of goods. CCCA Chairman Bill Kloss, OFS, said that as a

supporting member, “CCCA can now participate directly in the development and organic evolution of STEP to include the building cabling infrastructure,” as well as to have closer ties with InfoComm, TIA, BICSI and Comp TIA. “Through these alliances, users can rely on best practices that are sustainable, science-based and industry ratified,” he said.

STEP fills a vital market need by establishing a rating system for technology projects, complementing rating systems such as LEED and Energy Star, the release said.

“STEP extends beyond certain LEED credits that focus on the shell and core of a building, by adding a rating system for the electronic systems that work within the building. The STEP rating system will evolve to include manufactured cabling and connectivity products in a flexible, user-friendly framework that is expected to appeal to major building segments striving to achieve sustainability goals.”

“We recognized the structured cabling industry had to be more proactive in giving what designers and building owners needed: a user-friendly solution for rating the sustainability of cable products and the processes that manufacture them,” said CCCA Executive Director Frank Peri.

News briefs General Cable reports that it has joined the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ as an Encompass™ Product Partner in the Americas region. By doing so, its customers will be able to quickly locate complementary products that are critical components or connectivity solutions that extend and enhance Rockwell Automation installations. The news “is a tremendous accomplishment” for the company,” said General Cable Vice President of Electrical Distribution Sales Tom Bisson.

He noted that General Cable was invited to join the program, which has a limited membership based on how each member’s products will complement and enhance Rockwell Automation solutions, “due to our expertise and innovation in wire and cable products and technolo-

18 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

gies.” ... C&M Corporation, a vertically integrated manufacturer of bulk cable, coil cords, and cable assemblies, won a 2012 Innovation Prize from the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc. C&M’s Gold Level Award was for the company’s submission, “Answering the U.S. Military’s COTS Initiatives in the Area of Interconnect Products,” which outlined the origin of the military’s MOTS (Military Off The Shelf) and COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf) programs and, in response, C&M’s development of their MMIP™ (Military Mold Improvement Platform) product family. The evaluation criteria used by the examiners, it said, is consistent with those used as part of the Malcolm Baldrige Award, which was created by public law in 1987, and is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a United States organization can receive. ...

U.S.-based Sonobond Ultrasonics reports that two of its ultrasonic metal welders survived the full force of the tornado that devastated parts of Rainsville, Alabama, in April 2011. “This was a catastrophic EF-5 level storm,” said Sonobond Vice President Melissa Alleman, who

One of two Sonobond welders that survived a tornado. noted that winds with gusts estimated at 200 miles-perhour or more directly hit SolaHD’s building. The company provided the following details. Nobody was hurt, but the winds lifted the roof, twisted it, and then collapsed it on to the production area. More than half of the plant structure was destroyed and the entire building was damaged. However, two Sonobond welders in the manufacturing facility were unscathed and able to put both machines back into operation almost immediately. One of the welders, a 2500-watt SpliceRite™ unit, was totally exposed to the wind and rain when that part of the roof was blown off, yet all it needed was a new foot switch.

That unit and the second machine, a 2500-watt SonoWeld® 1600 model, just had to be cleaned out, but other than that they were good to go. Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and perseverance of SolaHD employees, the factory was back in operation in less than a

INDUSTRY NEWS

month. “I’m sure the fact that the two Sonobond machines remained operational helped make this remarkable accomplishment possible,” Alleman said. ...

Germany’s Leoni AG reports that it has been appointed a “Core Supplier” by PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA), a nomination that the company notes represents an acknowledgement of almost 40 years of close cooperation as well as its efforts in supporting the globalization strategy of carmakers. “We are very proud to be awarded Core Supplier by PSA, who is our biggest customer groupwide,” said Uwe H. Lamann, who is in charge of the company’s Wiring Systems Division. A press release noted that Leoni has delivered harnesses and wiring systems to Peugeot and Citroën vehicles since 1975, shipping parts just-in-time to PSA locations in France, Spain, Austria, Russia and Slovakia. Leoni currently supplies PSA with wiring systems for 10 passenger car models and standard harnesses for engines and batteries, and has helped support its expansion into worldwide growth markets like China, Brazil and Russia. Leoni has built up new local engineering, purchasing, production and supply chain capacities. and will supply the Brazilian market in 2013 from its recently extended facility in Itú, shipping parts to PSA’s plant in Porto Real. Leoni will also devel-

E-mail: fukaseco@ja2.so-net.ne.jp http://www.fukase.co.jp

20 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

op and produce harnesses in its plant in Shanghai for PSA’s new joint venture with Chang’an and support the customer’s expansion in Russia, where the new Peugeot 408 will be equipped with complete wiring systems, produced in Naberezhnye Chelny. “Altogether the partnership between both companies is getting closer with the award and is being transferred to a worldwide level of cooperation,” it said. ... The Industrial Components and Equipment Division of Hitachi America, Ltd., is relocating its facility in Charlotte, North Carolina to a larger facility. A press release said that, while remaining in Charlotte, the new facility is 38,400 sq ft, which increased the company’s working space by 42%. The larger facility is needed to accommodate projected growth in sales of its include industrial air compressors and industrial ink jet printers. The relocation was scheduled for completion by the end of June 2012. “Our customer base in the Americas is spread out, spanning from Canada down to Argentina,” a press release said. “Over the past 10 years, our division’s business has experienced double-digit growth on a year-over-year basis, and we are anticipating further growth in the U.S. manufacturing industry as well as in Latin America.” The company has also expanded its staff and its product assembly and modification capabilities, it said.

Sk Bldg #1 2-10-10 Makuhari-Hongo, 2- 6 -1 Hamada Mihama -Ku Hanamigawa-Ku, Chiba, Chiba Bhiba-Ken 261-0025, Japan 262-0033 Japan Tel : +81-43-276-0630 FAX Fax :81-43-276-0463 +81-43-276-0463 TEL 81-43-276-0630

ASIAN FOCUS

ASIAN FOCUS Locating business in Asia requires a wide range of skills, knowledge Seven years ago, WJI did a Q&A with Chris Runckel, principal, U.S.-based Runckel & Associates, which guides clients through the obvious and not-so-obvious challenges that come with locating a business in Asia. The company has associates in three locations in China; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Bangkok, Rayong and Chang Mai in Thailand; Laos; Singapore/Malaysia and Korea, notes that its website, www.business-in-asia.com, which is recommended by many trade ministries and organizations, gets over a million hits a month. Below, Chris Runckel provides his update.

WJI: A lot has happened since our interview in July 1995: is Asia still the land of manufacturing opportunity?

Runckel: The global economy is certainly unsettling, and businesses like predictability and don’t like to be unsettled, but despite the global economic challenges opportunity certainly continues to exist in Asia, However, given the current conditions that means it’s more important than ever for a company seeking an Asia strategy to have a good plan, a great team and a willingness to adapt and change to meet the economic challenges out there. For example, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China are both great places to site a project but both have become relatively expensive in terms of labor, rents and other costs. Today you need to look farther afield in China and oftentimes outside China, say to Vietnam, Thailand or even perhaps soon Myanmar to find the right fit for a project. China is not one market, it is a series of provincial and often city markets that oftentimes are very different from each other and can take time to learn and master. Thailand, which can initially look more expensive is actually quite competitive when all cost factors are examined and compared. Vietnam is both low cost for manufacture and also has a fairly large population, with 90 million people, many of whom are very young and prospering, and thus can be a great retail market as well as a site for manufacture. Again, the important thing is what you are trying to accomplish by locating your business in Asia.

How can a company determine whether it would benefit by either manufacturing or entering a joint venture in Asia?

Runckel: Whether as a point for sourcing of product, manufacture, OEM production, sales and/or in some cases design end engineering, Asia offers a host of opportunities and challenges for companies in the U.S. and other countries. That said, we recommend going offshore only when there are no other options or as part of a long-term strategy for expanding a business. If your focus on Asia is strictly on reducing costs, you are missing out on a large part of the

Asian advantages of fast growth, the young population, the growing middle class and the large underserved markets there. The benefits of an Asian strategy apply to small and medium sized companies as much as to bigger corporations.

Companies with from $1 million to many hundreds of million (even billions) in sales have worked with us on projects in Asia, so the range of companies that can benefit in examining opportunities and challenges in Asia is considerable.

WJI: Does China’s ability to attract so many multinational OEMs mean that it should still be the place to go?

Runckel: One should put aside any pre-conceived notions like China is always the cheapest or best location because that can easily be wrong, depending on what one wants to do. Look at all the costs and look at them in detail. Pay attention to taxes, fees and expenses as they Chris Runckle in Vietnam. can either limit your profitability or doom your operation. Focus on not just the cost of shipping a 40ft container but all the incidental fees, times in clearance, etc.

Again, keep an open mind. For wire and cable, you might want to consider the Zhejiang province in China and Rayong, Thailand or Binh Duong province in Vietnam. For any sector, however, there are comparative advantages that cause like industries to co-locate there. It is a rare company that can choose a location and arrange for all the logistics on their own, so it is essential to go there with someone who is experienced in the country, thorough in their research and able to understand you and your company and your needs.

China was once the cheapest choice for some products but that time has largely passed. Chinese wages have grown up to 20% per year and often Vietnam, and in particular Binh Duong Province just outside of Ho Chi Minh City, is a much cheaper place to make high-quality products. China is great location to sell into the relatively large and growing China market, but Southeast Asia is also a great opportunity and allows a country to produce and sell into Southeast Asia, India, China, Australia and many other locations.

Have news that belongs here? If so, e-mail it to editorial@wirenet.org.

22 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

WJI: What factors might make other Asian countries a better location?

Runckel: China is a very good choice for some projects, but not the best solution for others. Costs are higher in many areas but it does offer close access to many city and provincial markets with large populations, although the lack of a convertible currency is a hindrance. The currency has appreciated but it is the cost of wages that has most strongly affected manufacturing in China. The weak rule of law and lack of predictability of commercial dispute resolution is more of a worry. China is a particularly bad choice if the project involves substantial intellectual property (IP) as the reality in China is that China’s continued performance in this area is very unsatisfactory.

In terms of other countries, Vietnam is generally one of the lowest cost places. The country is still building out its supply chain system and there are many opportunities for companies that offer goods or services that support manufacturing. Japan in particular is making big investments there now. Thailand is a great location for projects where a wide range of well trained and experienced suppliers are critical. Malaysia is a good choice although it is becoming a relatively higher cost location, so a project needs to have “value added” substance to justify being there. Indonesia is a low-cost country but we do not recommend many projects as the political and security situation there has become less predictable although currently things have been fairly quiet.

India can also be a good choice although it remains a very bureaucratic country that needs much more revision of procedures and laws. Singapore is a great location for a regional office or for entry into Asia by a company as it has significant rule of law and predictability. A company needs to compare various Asian locations in terms of what business costs, incentives for location there and long-term growth prospects they offer. Don’t take surface reality as given but do deeper due diligence on company information, employee background and other facts. In projecting further growth potential, don't only look in the past to analyze but look at the future, which you can determine by talking to experts on current trends. These are all services that we provide and have an edge in.

WJI: Is China on an unstoppable momentum roll for world manufacturing?

Runckel: The world economic outlook is very challenging and China is experiencing strong but somewhat different economic challenges now just like those that Europe and other areas have had to deal with. I am not as willing as some to count American business out of the competition.

China has strengths, but it also has lots of weaknesses. I believe the news stories are generally only seeing part of the picture. Yes, costs have been low.

The reality today, however, is that most of the manufacturing base in China was built on cheap credit, is running at less than 50 percent of capacity and that thousands of factory buildings and even whole factories have been built on “spec” without a reasonable business plan and without the sales and customers that would drive an investment decision in the west.

I believe many Chinese factories are not economically viable for the long term; that Chinese manufacturers have not sufficiently valued the importance of knowing their customers and developing a sales network. Many U.S. companies undervalue their own knowledge of customers and what will sell and what won’t and ultimately there will be a shakeout on both sides and American business will find opportunities to adapt and profit by being closer to the customer, more attuned to where the market is moving and ultimately more agile than the competitors.

In Asia, I believe the rush into China has mainly waned at this point. We still work with companies establishing projects in China but nowadays it is more projects looking to sell into the China market, not projects looking to export.

We also work with Chinese investors taking the money they have made in the real estate market and looking to expand into the U.S., Southeast Asia or elsewhere. Projects looking more to export tend to go elsewhere. Many go to Vietnam, some to Thailand, some to the Philippines or Indonesia.

The advent of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) that will bring the countries of Southeast Asia into a common market has already resulted in the cut of most custom duties and will lead to further cuts prior to 2015. We feel the AEC is something that many businesses should be looking at more seriously as it will create a market of over 600 million people with a middle class that is larger than that in China or many times larger than that in India. We feel the opportunities offered by Southeast Asia are really something most U.S., Canadian and other countries aren't sufficiently valuing and that more attention is needed here.

JULY 2012 | 23

ASIAN FOCUS

WJI: Can you give us an example of a few of the types of unexpected logistical problems that can happen?

Runckel: The changes in oil and other commodity prices have been a worldwide phenomenon. Plastic is derived from oil and the prices for plastic resins have often moved rapidly. Although all companies in Asia have born the brunt of higher oil-related costs, some have been less willing to pass the higher costs along, and this has affected selection or best sourcing and OEM partners. Shipping costs both inland freight and sea freight have also been affected for some countries to varying degrees. And governments throughout Asia have tried to change from more of an export-driven model to a more consumer-driven model, which has driven up wages sharply for labor intensive industries in countries like China, Thailand, Malaysia and others

PEOPLE

PEOPLE Teknor Apex Company has named three experienced professionals to sales and marketing management positions for the Thermoplastic Elastomer Division. Louis (Louie) Freitas is the market manager in charge of the distribution network in the Americas for the company’s TPE products. He has held engineering positions with DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers and Telles/Metabolix, and worked in distribution sales for EMS-

Louis (Louie) Freitas

Grivory America. He holds a B.S. degree in plastics engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Paul Kin is an automotive account manager. Based in the Detroit area, he has 22 years of plastics sales experience in the automotive industry at Phillips Plastics, then Chevron Phillips Chemical. He holds B.S. degrees in plastics engineering and in business from Ferris State University. Pat Pignataro is manager

Paul Kin

OBITUARIES Edgar Danciger, the founder of Florida Wire & Cable and the WAI’s 2005 Mordica Memorial Award winner, died April 15. The Florida resident was 84.

A native of Latvia, Danciger learned to sail on the Baltic Sea as a young man, and following mandatory service in the Latvian army, he left for work in international merchant shipping. He jumped ship in Boston Harbor in 1939 with neither money nor luggage. He initially found work as a lumberman and a dishwasher and returned to sea, serving as a chief gunner in the British merchant fleet, once evacuating British troops in the Battle of Dunkirk, as he fought off Nazi Stuka divebombers. Separated from his family by the Soviet occupation of Latvia in WWII, he returned to U.S. in 1941. He settled in New York City, pursued a formal engineering education at Pratt Institute of Technology and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944. In 1947, he returned to civilian life in the northeast to begin a long and notable career in the rigging, splicing and manufacturing of wire rope. By day, he worked full-time as a plant manager for Sunbury Wire Rope and later for Paulsen Wire Rope. By night he attended more At Interwire 2005, Mordica engineering classes, both Memorial Award winner at Bucknell and the Edgar Danciger, seated.

Polytechnic Institute of New

24 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

York University. Convinced of the profit opportunity for a new building material, pre-stressed concrete strand, he founded Florida Wire and Cable Company (FWC) in 1958, relocating to Jacksonville with his young family to start a business in a city he believed had many strategic advantages. He designed and built the plant’s original manufacturing equipment himself. FWC was a leading PC strand manufacturer for more than 20 years, and Danciger retired in 1988. In 2005, the Wire Association International honored him with the Mordica Memorial Award in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge base of the wire and cable industry.

He is survived by his wife, Agnes Ellis Danciger; sons, Gary and Daniel; stepchildren Margaret G. Barton and Quinn R. Barton, III; and grandchildren.

Joseph John Bartoszewic, known to the industry as “Joe Bart,” died May 15 at age 66 in Palm Harbor, Florida.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, he began his career in 1968 at General Cable Corporation’s power cable facility in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He continued on as corporate process engineer when General Cable sold the plant to Pirelli Cable and in 1982 he was hired by GENCA as application sales engineer, covering the entire Northeast region. In 1996, he moved back to New Jersey and worked for AlphaGary until rejoining GENCA in Florida in 1997. A Life Member of Wire Association International, he worked as a medical tubing line process engineer at Oscor in 2005 and returned to GENCA in 2006, where he remained until his retirement. He is survived by sons, James and Joseph Bartoszewic, and a granddaughter, Joseph John Madison, all of Palm Harbor, Florida.

Bartoszewic

Gibbs Wire & Steel Co., Inc., announced that Tom Nichols has joined its sales team, based in the Chicago area where he will be responsible for increasing strip sales in new and existing markets in the Midwest. He previously held positions with Ryerson, Inc., and Lafayette Steel & Aluminum as a general manager of sales and a district sales manager, respectively. Based in Southington, Connecticut, USA, Gibbs Wire & Steel Co., Inc., is a distributor and custom processor of steel wire and strip.

USA Wire & Cable named two inside sales team hires. Donnie Daniels will focus on electrical distributor accounts in Texas and the entire Gulf Coast Region. He has a 33-year career in industrial wire. Dee Wheatley will serve accounts in the Gulf Coast, North America and South America. He has 33 years of experience in industrial wire and cable, util- Donnie Daniels ity and data.

Company President Joe Navarro noted that he, Daniels and Wheatley started their cable careers together three decades ago, and that he respected their accomplishments. Based in Austin, Texas, USA, USA Wire & Cable supplies the power and industrial markets and offers cable management Dee Wheatley services.

Send People items to editorial@wirenet.org. You are welcome to include a photo (jpg, 175 kB to 1-2 MB).

JULY 2012 | 25

PEOPLE

Pat Pignataro

for consumer and industrial markets.

He has 13 years of plastics industry experience with Saint-Gobain, Lubrizol, PolyOne and Steris Corp.

He holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Cleveland State University. Based in Pawcatuck, Rhode Island, USA, Teknor Apex Company supplies compounds and insulation for wire and cable and other industry sectors.

FIBER WATCH

FIBER WATCH Fiber optics too slow for traders? Will microwaves offer telecom fast lane?

A recent article by Anton Troianovski in the Wall Street Journal observes that for all its performance capabilities, optical fiber may not be fast enough for some security traders. It reported that some traders are turning to oldfashioned microwave relay towers to speed deals between New York and Chicago because, hard though it may be for the average person to fathom, every millisecond can count for such business trading.

The story said that 10 companies have filed applications with the Federal Communications Commission to build such links. How could blinding-fast optical light technology be too slow? It noted that both light and micro-waves are electromagnetic waves, and should travel at the cosmic speed limit of about 300,000 km per second, able to make the 1,200 km “trip” from New York to Chicago in about 4 milliseconds. Microwaves can send the signal in 4.25 milliseconds while it takes 6.55 milliseconds for the optical fiber. It explained the differential as follows.

The reason for the “slower” optical fiber speed is that the universal speed limit occurs when electromagnetic waves move through a vacuum, and they travel more slowly through materials. Light signals travel through the glass core of an optical fiber at about 200,000 km per second. By contrast, microwaves go through air, which barely slows them down at all. Further, the microwaves are going in a straight line: signals shot in a straight line between microwave dishes within sight of each other don’t have to negotiate the mountains, buildings and other obstacles that lengthen the trip by cable.

Investing in faster technology is not cheap. That was illustrated in the story, which cited one company that in 2010 spent an estimated $300 million or more to bury a fiber-optic cable that shaved three-thousandths of a second off communications between New York and Chicago.

That investment may not seem so judicious given the latest results, it observed.

“It becomes something of a grim arms race, with each successive millisecond (of speed) costing more than the last,” said Richard Elliott, head of trans-Atlantic cable owner Apollo Submarine Cable System Ltd., which is sitting out the boom.

Study: optical preform market in China to be balanced in 2013 ResearchInChina has issued a new report, Global and China Optical Fiber Preform Industry Report, 2011-2012, the predicts the basic balance between supply and demand will be realized in 2013.

A press release noted that optical fiber preform is the upstream product of the optical fiber industry, contributing to 70% total profit of the entire industry chain. It requires high manufacturing technology, and manufacturers are mainly converged in Japan, Europe and America, while other countries mainly import optical fiber preform to produce optical fiber and cable, it said.

“The global optical fiber preform market sees the equilibrium of supply and demand, while China is experiencing the process from short supply to balanced supply and demand,” the release said. “With the capacity release of Chinese companies, it is expected that the basic balance between supply and demand will be realized in Chinese optical fiber preform market in 2013.”

In 2011, the global demand for optical fiber and cable reached 203 million core km, rising 10.92% from 2010; the corresponding demand for optical fiber performs got to 6,800 tons. In 2012, the global demand for optical fiber and cable will be 215 million core km, and the corresponding demand for optical fiber performs will amount to 7,100 tons, growing slightly.

For more details, contact ResearchInChina at tel. 86-10-8260-0828, report@researchinchina.com, www.researchinchina.com.

26 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

THANK YOU to our SPONSORS for their SUPPORT of CORPORATE SPONSORS Platinum Level

Gold Level

Silver Level

Bronze Level

ONSITE SPONSORS

The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

Wesco Aircraft to buy Interfast Inc. Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc., has agreed to acquire Interfast Inc., a Toronto-based distributor of specialty fasteners, for C$134 million in cash as it looks to expand its presence in North America and Asia.

A report in The Wall Street Journal noted that Interfast, which provides fasteners, fastening systems and production installation tooling to the aerospace, electronics and general industrial markets, has customers in the Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South America. At its website, Interfast notes that “it works with aerospace OEMs and their suppliers, airlines and the MRO sectors to deliver proactive and innovative fastener-based solutions for a broad base of applications from key aerospace fastener manufacturers. Interfast also has a strong presence in the industrial market with recognized branded products.� “We are excited about the acquisition of Interfast, which we believe will accelerate our growth across North America and Asia and strengthen our relationships with several strategic aerospace customers. This highly complementary acquisition will also allow us to broaden our product portfolio to include new lines such as specialty industrial products,� Wesco President and CEO Randy Snyder said in a statement.

Alcoa Fastening Systems wins improvement award from Airbus Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS) reports that it has received a Bronze Award from Airbus for outstanding performance in its Supplier Quality Improvement Program.

A press release said that the award, based on selections of Airbus’ top tier suppliers, recognizes supplier improvement, quality, on-time delivery and sustainability performance.

AFS provides Airbus with fasteners for all of their major programs including the A320, A330, A340, A350, A380 and A400M. “We are honored to receive this award from Airbus,� said Craig Brown, Vice President Global Aerospace Customers and Marketing for AFS. “This recognition shows that our customers appreciate the dedication of our manufacturing operations, as well as that of our quality, engineering, logistics and sales organizations. We strive to be the leader in providing superior operational, technical and quality support to the industry.�

Alcoa Fastening Systems, a business unit of Alcoa, is a global supplier of fastening systems that include specialty fasteners and more for aerospace and industrial applications.

53 (WY 3UITE s 0ARSIPPANY .* 4EL s 3ERVICE s &AX WWW SIMPACKS COM s SALES SIMPACKS COM

JULY 2012 | 29

FASTENER UPDATE

FASTENER UPDATE

WAI

NEWS

WAI NEWS

New WAI members Just who is joining the Wire Association International?

Starting with this issue, each month the WAI News section will list the new members. The boxed list on the opposite page includes both manufacturers and suppliers.

A call for more WAI members Citing the need for a full-fledged drive to increase membership, WAI 1st Vice President Richard Miller,

Southwire Company, urged the Member Relations Committee to make membership a priority, setting a very high goal as anything less would not be enough.

“We can’t be satisfied with a drive that just gets another 30 members,” Miller insisted, noting that reaching this goal will require lots of contact by board members with companies, both large and small, suppliers and manufacturers. He observed that it is easy to say that the numbers of people in the wire and industry cable industry has shrunk over the last decade or so, but that makes it even more important to reach out more to companies that should have representation in the Association.

Locations have been confirmed for WAI trade shows in 2014 and 2015

At the Membership Committee meeting, WAI 1st Vice President Richard Miller, Southwire Company, r, called for an aggressive campaign to increase membership.

The Wire Association International’s board of directors recently voted in favor of staging the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and to return to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, for Interwire 2015.

At the recent event in Dallas, the Exhibition Planning Committee (EPC) presented its recommendation for Indianapolis to the Executive Committee, which sent it to Board of Directors, which approved the choice. The event will held at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 6-7, 2014. The event will be

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David Pawloski Technical Manager Lubrimetal Corp

Michael V Vertente Process Engineer Monogram Metals

Daniel Ginsparg

Robert Priddy Superior Essex

Kenneth Vines Rod Cast Supervisor Asarco LLC

Zeferino Hernandez Condumex

The following individuals recently joined Wire Association International.

Jacques Blais, Sr. Production Supervisor Nexans Canada Inc David Campbell Engineer Monogram Metals

Ryan Leeth Fort Wayne Metals Research Austin Lucas Process Engineer Fort Wayne Metals Research Aidan Morrissey International Business Development Lubrimetal Corp

Alfonso Reynoso Engineering Manager Leoni Cable Carlos Romero General Director Carome Group John R. Rumpz Vice President Woodburn Diamond Die Inc

Stewart Walton President Sheaves Inc Thomas Weidl Illinois Tool Works Jason Workman Clear Trading Chris Whitehead Superior Essex

Alex Subler Mechanical Engineer Fort Wayne Metals Research

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JULY 2012 | 31

WAI NEWS

Giorgio Corso Vice President Lubrimetal Corp

WAI NEWS

co-located with the Association for Steel & Iron Technology (AIST) conference, which attracts some 5,000 attendees.

Board members discussed a number of venues for the event, but Indianapolis had a lot of support, both as a new venue as well as a location that would be very accommodating for attendees and exhibitors. More details will be provided in future issues in terms of hotels, exhibits and more.

Locations for WAI events in 2014 and 2015 were okayed

by WAI’s board of directors, (above) which met at Dallas.

The EPC also recommended to continue staging Interwire, which was first held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1981, at the Georgia World Congress Center. That recommendation was also approved, and the show will be held in Hall A, in late April, the dates to finalized at a later date.

WAI will consider other alternatives for Interwire, but at this time the return to Atlanta for the 2011 event went quite well and while plans already called for the return there in 2013, there was much interest in also locking in 2015.

Update: Interwire 2013 booth sales As of press time, nearly 80% of the available exhibit space for Interwire 2013 has been sold.

WAI Sales Director Robert Xeller said that he has received inquiries from both Italy and Austria to organize pavilion areas for their respective groups. “That’s a very welcome sign,” he said, noting that it has been a long time since there has been an Austrian contingent.

Xeller said that the show floor already has a Chinese pavilion, and that adding two more would bring the floor plan much closer to its capacity of 104,600 sq ft, which in turn could lead to an expansion of the floor plant. One of the pluses of being at the Georgia World Congress Center is that the facility has room for expansion if need be.

Total attendance at Interwire 2011 was 4,022, up 19% from the 2009 event in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. For more details on exhibiting at Interwire 2013, contact the WAI’s sales staff at sales@wirenet.org, or call tel. 203453-2777.

32 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

1 down, 4 more golf tourneys to go for WAI’s chapters in 2012 The August issue will have a wrapup on the WAI’s Midwest Chapter’s 10th Annual Golf Tournament, held June 22, but four chapter gold tournaments have yet to be played.

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Following the Midwest Chapter’s tourney will be the Ohio Valley Chapter’s 10th Annual Golf Tournament, to be held Aug. 2, 2012, in Solon, Ohio, USA, at the Grantwood Golf Course.

The Ohio Valley event will be followed by the New England Chapter’s 18th Annual Golf Tournament, to be held Sept. 10, 2012, in Ellington, Connecticut, USA, at the Ellington Ridge Country Club. For more details on this event, call WAI’s Anna Bzowski at tel. 203-453-2777, ext.

126, or e-mail her at abzowski@wirenet.org.

The New England event will be followed by The Vannais Southeast Chapter 11th Annual Golf Tournament, to be held Oct. 18, 2012, in Conover, North Carolina, USA, at the Rock Barn Golf & Spa. The final outing of the year will be the Western Chapter’s 12th Annual “Wild West Shootout” Golf Tournament, to be held Oct. 22, 2012, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA, at the Los Verdes Golf Course.

Each event offers a range of sponsorship opportunities for companies that would like to both support the event and get a bit of exposure. For more details on such opportunities, as well as the cost for playing and registration, e-mail WAI’s Steve Fetteroll at sfetteroll@wirenet.org or visit the individual chapter pages at www.wirenet.org.

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JULY 2012 | 33

CHAPTER CORNER

CHAPTER CORNER

EVENT WRAPUP The Machinery Roundtable saw panelists, which included both OEMs and manufacturers, discuss topics from the need to make technology even easier to use to the pluses and minuses of low-cost offshore equipment.

Strong showing for WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 A combination of a new technical program and a new venue helped contribute to a strong showing for WAI’s twoday Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012, held May 2223 at the Omni Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

The event drew nearly 1,200 participants, including people from 39 states and 29 countries who were able to share in networking activities, panel and roundtable discussions, and interaction on the exhibit floor. The exhibit floor was sold out, with 179 wire and cable makers and suppliers represented. There was a positive buzz, especially the first day, that was exceeded only by the 600-plus attendees who gathered that night for the reception at Eddie Deen’s Ranch.

“The investment of time by the speakers, exhibitors, visi-

tors, and Association volunteers is what made the format for this first-time Summit such a success,” said WAI President Nick Nickoletopoulos, Sivaco Wire Group and Ifastgroupe. “WAI set out to offer wire plant operators valuable content in a new format emphasizing Operational Excellence. Judging from the early feedback and the vibrant exchange of information, we met our goals.”

One of the goals had been to remake the WAI’s traveling road show into an event with its own identity, one that would not be seen as a smaller version of Interwire. To that end, the technical papers were replaced by the Operations Summit, where manufacturers and suppliers shared their expertise for subjects that were both practical and relevant.

WAI 1st V.P. Richard Miller, presented the Donnellan Memorial Award to Ron Reed, Lloyd & Bouvier.

Donning Texas-sized hats on the show floor were, l-r, Taubensee Steel & Wire Company’s Brett Sarver, David Westerbeck, Chris Loughman and Nancy Taubensee.

34 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

EVENT WRAPUP WAI President Nick Nickoletopolous presented the Mordica Memorial Award to Prof. Paul Van Houtte.

Scott Gibson, Paramount Die, discusses die evaluation at the Production Solutions session held on the show floor.

Topics that included machinery, commodities, safety, copper wire in renewable energy, process effectiveness, a Washington overview, utility penalties, alternative fuel options in material handling, UL mark for telecomm cable, intellectual property law developments, Encore Wire’s LEED Platinum R&D Center, workforce challenges for U.S. manufacturers; an employee involvement in sustainability roundtable; talent management; and operational excellence, which featured success stories by five manufacturers that Nickoletopoulos declared was especially appropriate. “As an industry, we are doing some pretty amazing things and to the extent that it is possible, we need to celebrate our accomplishments and share our experiences,” he said.

Three of the success stories are presented in the feature that begins on p. 42 while the other two will be published in future issues. Also, a presentation on Encore’s R&D Center starts on p. 62. Comments from the Machinery Roundtable will be included in the September equipment feature.

Another highlight was the presentation by keynote speaker Dr. Michael Cox, Director of the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, a research institute within Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. See p. 36.

Other popular activities were the production solutions demonstrations on wire break analysis and die evaluation; local plant tours to Encore Wire Corp. and Gerdau Corp.; and presentation of WAI’s highest honors at the WAI’s reformatted awards reception, held Monday, May 21.

Nickoletopoulos presented the Mordica Memorial Award to Prof. Paul Van Houtte, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Belgium, who presented his Mordica Lecture on Wednesday, May 23. WAI 1st Vice President Richard Miller, Southwire Company, presented the Donnellan Award to Ron Reed, a past WAI president who is a principal at Lloyd & Bouvier. The reception also saw the presentation of awards for the best technical papers in 2011, chosen by the WAI’s Paper Awards Committee from those presented at Interwire 2011 in Atlanta and the CabWire World

Attendees could meet with representatives from 179 companies on the show floor.

Prior to delivering his company’s Success Story, Encore Wire President Daniel Jones talks with Tom Maxwell, chairman of the Exhibition Planning Committee.

JULY 2012 | 35

EVENT WRAPUP From l-r at the board of directors meeting were: Gary Spence, Encore Wire Corporation; Richard Miller, Southwire Company; Nick Nickoletopoulos, Sivaco Wire Group and Ifastgroupe; WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll, William Avise, Leggett & Platt; Dominique Perroud, SAMP Shanghai; and Tom Maxwell, Jr., Die Quip Corporation.

Conference 2011 in Düsseldorf, which was co-sponsored by ACIMAF, CET, IWCEA, IWMA and WAI. The paper winners included the Ferrous Division: the Allan B. Dove Memorial Medal Award, Rüdiger Lux, Ulf Kletzin, and Peter Beyer, Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany, for “Manufacturing highly loadable helical springs through optimization of tempering processes

in both spring steel wire and spring production.” The Silver Certificate Award went to Jan W. Pilarczyk, Justyna Adamczyk, and Bogdan Golis, Czestochowa University of Technology, Poland, and Jan Krnac, Zelezarny a Dratowny Bohumin, Czech Republic, for “Analysis of influence of some parameters of conical die on properties of drawn carbon steel wire rope.”

Keynote speaker: the U.S. is evolving to the age of imagination dexterity and motor skills to analytic reasoning.

Keynote speaker Dr. Michael Cox, director of the “Now, the country is going through a stage where O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, a U.S. what is needed is imagination and creativity,” Cox said. research institute, presented a memorable perspective “What’s dear now is our ability to imagine what we can of the U.S. He observed that the country is not going do with the technology that we already through a recession but through an have.” What is needed, he said, are peoevolution, one that has happened ple skills and emotional intelligence, and several times before, each time the people at the top need this to motiaccompanied by high unemployment. vate people to work, he said. Other valAmerica has gone through several ues matter as this evolution occurs, Cox distinct ages, observed Cox, citing said. China has achieved much but it still has to learn the value of honesty, he said. the following. During the first, the In contrast, the U.S. has a diverse culture primitive age, there was no market and a willingness to accept others, and economy and people had to produce everything they needed for themwhile it is not without flaws, as a country it is good-hearted and people care, selves, and it was a very hard life. and there is a desire to want to do things That led to the agrarian age, where right, he said. people went to work on farms that Cox said that despite the sense of were far more efficient at producing Keynote speaker Dr. Michael Cox, uncertainty that is a reality for much food. That led to the industrial age, director of the O'Neil Center for of the world, he feels the elements exist where the country produced items, for continued U.S. growth and success, such as cars, washing machines and Global Markets and Freedom. including in some ways not yet imagtelephones, that soon seemed essenined. “The keys are that this is not just a tial. That led to the computer and the information age, and most recently to the use of robotics. recession. “We’re changing again, we’ve got to step up the hierarchy ladder, and we have to be global in thinking Simultaneously, the highest-valued capabilities during outside of the box.” those periods evolved from muscle power to manual

36 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

WAI acknowledges the following contributors to the

9

WAI OPERATIONS SUMMIT wire expo 2012 ~ a wire & cable industry solution center ~

The educational program at the Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 was the result of the combined efforts of dozens of experts, volunteers, and special guests. This year’s successful program would not have been possible without their dedication to the Wire Association International’s educational mission.

Authors/Speakers Justyna Adamczyk W. T. Bigbee Theresa Block Kevin Bodine David Brender Marek Burdek Marco Dell’Oro James “J. D.” Dodson Steven Galan Ron Garceau Larry Geiswite Scott Gipson John Golden Ken Gray Drew Greenblatt Mark Hoch Justin Honrath Artur Kawecki Grzegorz Kiesiewicz Tadeusz Knych Piotr Kustra Paweł Kwasniewski Daniel L. Jones Bruno Lioi Andrzej Mamala

Michael J. McCoy Jennifer McNelly Andriej Milenin Richard Miller Patricio G. Murga Omar S. Nashashibi Brian Parsons Dominique Perroud Bartłomiej Pikos Jan W. Pilarczyk Horace Pops Roberta Rocheleau Beata Smyrak Thomas Sondgeroth Robert L. Strauss Maciej Suliga Paul Van Houtte Greg Wells David E. Weslow Tom Whitcombe Nicole Yost German Zavala Moderators Lou Arcuri Bill Avise Richard Baker

Brian Bouvier Neville Crabbe C. Richard Gordon Erik Macs Tom Maxwell Jr. Patricio G. Murga Nick Nickoletopoulos Dale Olp Paul Pawlikowski José Ranc Bill Reichert Don Schollin Sheldon Scott Jan Sorige Gary Spence Mark Spencer Bhaskar Yalamanchili Course Instructors Doug Anton C. Richard Gordon Horace Pops Guest Speaker Dr. W. Michael Cox

The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

EVENT WRAPUP WAI President Nick Nickoletopoulos thanks 2011 WAI President Dominique Perroud, SAMP Shanghai.

WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll (standing) heard recommendations for future WAI event locations from the Exhibition Planning Committee.

The Nonferrous Division saw the Marshall V. Yokelson Memorial Medal Award go to Gil Baker and Tim Stahlhut, Confident Instruments Inc., and Horace Pops, Horace Pops Consulting Inc., USA, for “New Improvements for Surface Oxide Testing of Copper Rod.” The Silver Certificate award went to Tadeusz Knych, Andrzej Mamala, Beata Smyrak, and Monika Walkowicz, AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland, for “Dynamic recrystallization of continuous cast copper wire rod and the rapid tensile test.”

The Electrical Division saw the Urbain J. H. Malo Memorial Medal Award go to Horst Scheid, Siebe Engineering, Germany, for “Extended quality control of cable insulation by colour measurement during extrusion.”

The Silver Certificate Award went to Patrick De Bruyne and Gaël Mauron, AESA SA, Switzerland, for “Effects of contact resistances in multi-strand cables on linear resistance measurements.”

The General Division saw the Horace Pops Medal Award go to Zhang Wenhua, Guo Songshou, Shen Hesheng, and Zhang Zhiming, Shanghai Jiaoyou Diamond Coating Co.

Ltd., China; and Sun Fanghong, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, for “Preparation and application of nanocrystalline diamond composite coatings for wiredrawing dies.” The Silver Certificate Award went to Kazunari Yoshida and Ryoto Koyama, Tokai University, Japan, for “Reduction of residual stress of drawn wire.”

The WAI took care of its official business, including recognizing the new Life Members and 25-Year Members.

A lot of activity was compressed into a short time, with the Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course being held Monday, May 21, along with various committee and board meetings. The WAI’s Board of Directors discussed a range of topics, including the location of Wire Expo for 2014 (see p. 30), returning to Atlanta for Interwire in 2015 and the need for a full-fledged drive to increase membership. WAI 1st Vice President Richard Miller, Southwire Company, urged board members to make membership a priority, setting a very high goal as anything less would not be enough.

“We can’t be satisfied with a drive that just gets another 30 members,” he insisted, noting that will require lots of con-

During the luncheon on Tuesday at the WAI Operations Summit and Wire Expo 2012, individual companies that were event sponsors as well as those, such as Encore Wire and Gerdau, which held plant tours, were recognized for their contributions. See p. 28 for the sponsor list.

38 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Wafios Machinery Corp. President and CEO David Purcell, r, talks to Wire Expo attendees.

EVENT WRAPUP All Texas eyes were on the racing armadillos at Eddie Deen’s Ranch. You can’t see them, but the little guys proved to be difficult to coach, although there was much less potential “downside” from them than from the nearby mechanical bull. tact with companies, both large and small, suppliers and manufacturers.

Speaking of manufacturers, the two host companies for the plant tours both saw robust attendance. Encore Wire (about 100 attendees) and Gerdau Wire Products (65 attendees)

had both made extensive preparations that resulted in very good tours of their operations.

The following corporate and onsite sponsors (see p. 28) supported the Summit. Platinum level: ACIMAF and Sonoco; Gold level: Carris Reels Inc.; Continuus-Properzi

JULY 2012 | 39

EVENT WRAPUP

Event comments: Dallas gets a big ‘thumbs up’ I always look forward to returning to Texas (spent 18 years there, born in Midland). We were happy to see an impressive number of visitors from the region, other areas of our country, Mexico and South America. It was nice to see so many smiles at the show. From vendors to customers it was clear that the industry is picking up.

More people, more investments, these were all topics

Jeff Swinchatt, l, with the crew at the Sikora booth. of discussions, much in contrast to past years. We are happy we are on an up cycle and are somewhat comforted that it is slow growth rather than the meteoric rise that we know would be followed by a similar down cycle. Add to that the news of so many companies that are now “re-shoring” some elements of their manufacturing portfolio, our prospects for continued growth is exciting. Jeff Swinchatt, president, Sikora International Corp.

The event was very worthwhile. Dallas is a great city, the Omni is a spectacular hotel and the trade show offered a wide variety of organizations and ideas. I was at both the Operations Summit and the trade show and found both to be useful; thoughtful concepts at the summit and top notch organizations at the trade show. I was able to Andrew Schultz speak at length with one of our existing suppliers who had a booth at the show, and the results of that conversation could end up paying big dividends. I very much enjoyed the “Workforce Challenges Facing U.S. Manufacturers” conference session by Jennifer McNelly. It was an excellent opportunity to interact with people in our industry.

The trade show was a great place to meet new people.

Andrew Schultz, manufacturing supervisor, Pelican Wire Company.

40 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

My initial concern over the distant location and reduced number of attendees at an “off-year” show was proven to be unwarranted. The site/venue was ideal for exhibiting purposes, and we successfully made contact with all the customers and suppliers we had planned to.

Timothy Busching, vice president/marketing, Elgin Fastener Group.

“It was a nice change to attend a show in Texas. The Dallas location attracted numerous companies from Mexico, Texas, and other southwest states. This made Wire Expo a very productive event for T&T because representatives could meet with southwestern companies that rarely attend shows in other parts of the country. Craig Shell, account manager, T&T Marketing.

Craig Shell

Traffic at the Dallas Wire Expo was up compared with other recent Expo shows as was customer interest. The show provided an excellent opportunity to meet with existing customers and introduce new prospects to PWM’s cold welders. Several visitors came specifically to see the PWM line, including a customer looking to upgrade his existing welders. Joe Snee, principal, Joe Snee Associates.

Bob Flower

The Dallas venue was a fresh change. We met with many great customers from the area.

The turn out was great, and was also more upbeat than expected. Many customers noted that business was going well and were interested in up grading or adding new lines requiring more equipment. Bob Flower, general manager, Witels Albert USA, Ltd.

Sometimes the opening reception can be kind of stuffy.

It was pretty fun to get out to a relaxed atmosphere like Eddie Deen’s. I don’t know that it should be like that every time but it was nice for a change. Tracy Gooding, qualitymanager, Mar-Mac Wire.

Good event. Momentum is building up. Edmond Torbey, marketing manager, Niehoff Endex North America.

WAI President Nick Nickoletopoulos at the awards reception with his wife, Paula, and children Maria and Peter.

SpA; and Sikora International Inc.; Silver level: Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.; and Woodburn Diamond Die Inc.; Bronze level: Gold Metal Recyclers; and Red Kite

Imports, recovery dominate discussions at wire rod conference The below wrapup of the Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference, which was co-hosted by American Metals Market and the American Wire Producers Association, is

by Anne Riley, AMM. The event was co-located at the Dallas Omni Hotel along with the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012.

As delegates descended on Dallas last month for the Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference co-hosted by AMM and the American Wire Producers Association, one issue burned hot on everyone’s mind: the illegal import of unfairly-priced foreign material.

“The truth is, we have let our guard down when it comes to our trade policies. We are acting as if the world is full of free-traders like us, when in fact it is still filled with predators,” Nucor Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer John Ferriola warned attendees during his keynote address.

According to preliminary trade data that was provided from the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, 96,246 metric tons o f rebar was imported in April, up more than 12 percent year over year. Turkey and Mexico have traditionally been the largest importers to the U.S. market, but China appears to be back in the game for the first time since 2009, with large tonnages expected to hit shores this summer, conference attendees said.

Some of that imported product is being sold at fair ,

value and isn't an issue, but other material is being subsidized or manipulated by foreign governments, Ferriola said, creating an uneven playing field and threatening the viability of U.S. producers. “Our trading ‘partners’ have been happy to take advantage of our openness," he told the 168 traders, consumers, producers and third-party suppliers who attended the event.

Ferriola wasn’t alone in his concern. Amy DeArmond, a Leggett & Platt government policy and legal affairs strategist, told the conference her company was also watching the rising imports with a wary eye, particularly as trade law enforcement remains a major issue in Washington. “We’ve seen a rampant invasion of our (duty) orders go unchecked at our borders. We want to highlight and make enough noise to seek a solution,” she said.

The rise in imports might not be such a concern to the domestic wire rod sector of demand were stronger, but with the market not yet back to pre-recession levels, most conference attendees remain cautious. Nonetheless, early signs are starting to point to a recovery ahead, speakers at the conference said.

“We’re not close to where we were before, from a consumption standpoint,” Jim Kerkvliet, vice president of sales and marketing at Gerdau Long Steel North America, said during his presentation. “But things are getting better. We’ve come off the bottom and we’re moving toward a more stable, steady, slow growth rate.”

JULY 2012 | 41

EVENT WRAPUP

Management (USA) Ltd. Onsite: Amacoil Inc.; Baum’s Castorine Co. Inc.; Carris Reels Inc.; Commission Brokers Inc.; Davis-Standard LLC; Lloyd & Bouvier Inc.; Sikora International Inc.; and Woodburn Diamond Die Inc. Two attendees, Steven Valletta, Sandvik Corp. and Kerri Wallis, Sivaco, won IPods raffled off by Sonoco Reels at the company’s booth.

A good time was had by all at the WAI Reception, where attendees throughly enjoyed the western-style attractions, many taking on bull riding (the cushions were soft) and the armadillo racing (no performance-enhancing drugs were involved), all in a western setting with a western-size assortment of food and drink.

The host hotel, the Dallas Omni, a nearly new hotel, drew rave reviews for both its first-rate conditions as well as convenience as everything was held there aside from the reception at Eddie Deen’s. The Dallas event was also bolstered by visitor flow from the American Metal Market (AMM) & American Wire Producers Association (AWPA) Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference (SCC), which was held in conjunction with the Summit. See below.

The 2014 event will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 6-7, 2014. See p. 30.

FEATURE

Operational Excellence

E

nough already with gloomy news. One doesn’t have to look far to see that

there’s lots of positive industry news too, such as the below stories from Viakable, Gerdau Steel and Marlin Steel, which were presented at the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 in Dallas. Two other presentations, from Encore Wire and General Cable, will be presented in future issues.

Success Stories: Viakable Viakable, a world-class company based in Mexico, has been a leading manufacturer of electrical cables for more than 50 years. Part of the cable sector of Xignux, Viakable’s operations include Conductores Monterrey, Magnekon, CME Wire and Cable, and Sao Marco, among others. It has commercial activities throughout the entire American continent with factories in Mexico and Brazil that export to countries around the world. The company was founded in 1956 by an enthusiastic group of businessmen, and its leadership has maintained that capacity and vision to begin the ambitious project described below

by Patricio G. Murga, Director of Technology & Development, Viakable.

I would like to describe to you a project, one of the most dynamic in modern Mexican industry, that Viakable has undertaken: the establishing of itself as a manufacturer of 230 kV extra-high-voltage (EHV) cable. This achievement positions us as part of the small, exclusive and select group of cable companies that have developed their own technology to manufacture these cable systems.

Viakable has been a pioneer in the development of electrical cables in Mexico, being the first to offer conductors with extruded insulation for medium-voltage cables in the early 1970s, and it has also been a pioneer in developing the first 69 kV, 115 kV and 138 kV cables. This project, to develop 230 kV cable capabilities, furthers the story of Viakable, which has maintained its technical leadership by its development efforts and continuous commitment to

42 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

apply the most advanced technology to provide solutions to meet our clients’ needs.

The technology we have created was a process that took years to achieve. I am here to explain the technology development, the cable and process design, the testing area design and Patricio G. Murga, Viakable. construction, and the alliances with well-known international laboratories for the witnessing process of the 230 kV system from 2008 to 2011. This project included the development of an insulated power cable for 230 kV, 2,000 sq mm copper conductor. The 230 kV system was tested for more than a year in Viakable’s state-of-the-art EHV laboratory and has met the requirements of international specifications.

Before going into the particulars I would like to note that the hardest part of the project/process had to do with the cable design itself. There is no specific standard for this type of cable, so you must develop your own knowhow and knowledge. You have to make inquiries, read all

Technology development. In 2008, our engineering and research staff was given the assignment of analyzing and developing a solution for the increasing demand for electrical energy due to concentration and growth in metropolitan areas. The result was a 230 kV cable system with Kabeldon accessories from ABB, a company we selected to ally ourselves with for this development.

Based on our research and analysis and in consultation with our domestic clients, we developed a design for the 230 kV cable with a smooth, welded aluminum sheath that has advantages over lead and corrugated aluminum sheaths. Those include lighter weight per unit length, which allows for longer cable lengths; less environmental impact than the lead sheath design; and a smaller diameter than the corrugated sheath design. To comply with the requirements of our domestic clients, it was decided to use International European Standard IEC 62067 as the minimum requirement to govern the system design. Then, we proceeded to the design of the cable to determine the equipment and raw materials that would be required for project development and prototype manufacturing.

Cable design. Our research and engineering staff had to overcome various challenges during each phase of the project. The main challenges in the product design and the manufacturing process were: • To adapt our equipment to a totally new product, from our vertical vulcanization line to improving the design of our clean rooms to meet Class 1000. Clean rooms, where these compounds are stored before extrusion, assure the cleanliness that is required for the extrusion compounds used for EHV cables.

• To determine the time and optimal temperature of the degassing process, which is required for this type of cable. In this process, each reel is subjected to a temperature for a long period of time in which trapped gas in the insulation escapes to prevent major failure of cable insulation during operation.

• To master the design and process of applying the aluminum sheath, determining the optimal design that would meet short circuit specifications, and also to determine how much space there must be between the aluminum sheath and the cable core because of the expansion of the

FEATURE

the available material, conduct experiments at the lab and then, attempt to make a prototype. One big issue is that it takes more than a year to learn whether or not your design was good or not.

In terms of time, it is not easy to estimate how many work hours went into this project, but I can say that we began our development back in 2008 with our preliminary analysis. From there, stages of preparing the so-called “Type Test” and then the “Pre-Qualification Test” (PQT) took until January 2012. As I said before, for us, this project was a very long road that we had to take. We will begin our commercial activities in the next quarter and we are already quoting some projects. Below I have listed the stages and various steps of this effort.

Inside laboratory view of impulse generator doing a lightning voltage test. The 230 kV cable receives a very brief (milliseconds) exposure to 1050 kV voltage. product during operation.

• To research and develop a new continuous welding process for the aluminum sheath in an inert atmosphere.

• To build a new production area and purchase the necessary equipment for handling the product in its final stages, due to the dimensions of the final product. It is worth mentioning that each reel of this type of product weighs around 40 tons and measures more than four meters high.

• To train our production operators to avoid failures, and ensure that they have precise control of the machinery.

For this we have incorporated automation of the processes and trained operators to acquire necessary skills to handle large products.

• To determine the AEIC and ICEA standards followed by our clients in the U.S. and Canada.

Technological and commercial partnership. In a project which calls for high technology, we had to carefully consider who to associate ourselves with regarding the accessories needed for this type of system. These accessories are used to join or splice the sections of the cable and the terminal points where the cable is connected to the substation. At this level of voltage, the corresponding specifications call for testing the system, both cable and accessories. We needed to find a world-class company with high quality standards, having experience in high voltage, and a highly qualified staff to provide support for the installation of the accessories. Our research led us to

JULY 2012 | 43

FEATURE

and development of products which would be valuable ABB Kabeldon, which we found has the required characcontributions to our market. teristics as well as the willingness to fully participate in When the laboratory was ready, we presented the two this project. set-ups of the system required for approval from the System certification. Certification of the system was LAPEM and NEETRAC laboratories. an important challenge. Nevertheless, we had the support • The first set-up for the “Type Test” involved a minifrom two of the best laboratories in the world, the mum loop of 20 meters and a set of accessories. This test National Electric Energy Testing Research and took approximately 20 days.

Applications Center (NEETRAC) of Georgia Tech • The second set-up for the “Prequalification Test” in Atlanta and the Equipments and Materials Testing (PQT) involves a length greater than 100 meters and also Laboratory (LAPEM) of Mexico, which witnessed the a set of accessories. This test took one year. development of the tests for the European and American The test loops were finally approved by the laboratories standards in our own laboratory. and our domestic clients. Our engineers had two critical Initially, we had decided to certify the system in Europe challenges to overcome to perform because some of the main certification these tests and they achieved both laboratories are located there, but this of them. presented several disadvantages for our • The measurement of the temperacompany such as: ture of the conductor during the • The risk of damage to the compoheating and cooling cycles of the nents of the system while transporting tests was done without puncturing it to the laboratories in Europe from our the cable. We developed an algofactory in Mexico. rithm for measuring the temperature • Registering the system and awaiting in the conductor through the temperour turn because of the high demand ature reading of the aluminum for the facilities of these laboratories. sheath, eliminating the need to buy • Transporting qualified personnel to more equipment for a “Dummy Europe throughout the entire certificaLoop.” This was done with the State tion process; and University, “Universidad Autónoma • In case of a failure or a need for a de Nuevo León,” and LAPEM. modification in the system, it would be • To conduct the “Lightning necessary to start the process from the Impulse Voltage Test” in the PQT beginning due to high demand for the Test Loop under the IEC standard, facilities of these laboratories.

The outside prequalification test of the and to later continue with the tests So, we decided to look at other 230 kV system requires a full year of under the AEIC standard, we decidd options and found that NEETRAC and being under voltage. to buy an impulse generator that had LAPEM could witness these processes sufficient capacity. in the field. Our domestic clients were It should be mentioned that to perform the PQT under supportive and confident that we would be recognized as the AEIC standard, we had to submit the same loop for an a renowned global institution. This presented us with yet additional 90 days at a temperature and voltage greater another challenge to overcome, building our own testing than the IEC standard. The results were more than satislaboratory. factory in these tests, reaffirming the excellent quality of Extra-high-voltage laboratory. The high demand of the our system. product presented us with the necessity to build our own laboratory. This type of laboratory should have little, if any, electrical noise caused by running motors and other Conclusions electrical equipment as that might interfere with the This project was a major milestone for Viakable. Our measurement of partial discharges that are not allowed to engineering and research staff addressed all the chalexceed a minimum level. A “shielded room” of considerlenges we faced, developed the know-how where it was able dimensions has to be used to perform these measurerequired and, above all, are grateful for the support, confiments. However, due to the layout of the plant and the dence and recognition we received from major institumodifications that we would have to make to the facilitions like NEETRAC, LAPEM, and our associate, ABB ties, it was not viable. So, our engineering staff started Kabeldon, to develop an excellent world class 230 kV looking for alternatives. As a result, it was decided to System for our customers. make a study of the land adjacent to the plant to deterThis and other similar innovative projects that we have mine the optimal location where there would be no elecsuccessfully developed throughout our history give us the trical interference and where, in the end, we could build drive to go forward and excel, day after day, to offer our high-voltage testing laboratory. This laboratory would products that are real solutions and set the pace for the not only be for certification testing but also for innovation electrical energy industry.

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FEATURE

Success Stories: Gerdau Carrollton Wire Products Going green may not only be good for the environment, it can be good for the bottom line as well. Gerdau Carrollton Wire Products’ commitment to the environment is an extension of their overall philosophy of doing what is right: right for the environment, right for the community we work in, right for the safety and well being of our employees and ultimately right for the stakeholders in the company. The below presentation, Going Green: Interconnecting the Environment and the Shop Floor, was made by Tom Sondgeroth, sales manager, Carrollton Wire Products and Bruno Lioi, regional director of operations – wire, Gerdau Long Steel North America.

Gerdau’s Carrollton Wire Products division has received several awards from the city of Carrollton, Texas, for its commitment to environmental responsibility and safety in the work place. Most recently they were recognized by the City Council with the Environmental Distinction Award, which actively encourages industry partners towards environmental quality and sustainability. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality acknowledges it as being a “Noteworthy Program” that recognizes industries for their continued compliance and for sustaining environmental excellence.

Over the past five years Gerdau’s Carrollton facility has implemented numerous pollution prevention projects in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Below are a few of the projects.

Upgrade of all plant lighting. New energy efficient fluorescent bulbs and fixtures were installed throughout the plant as well as occupancy sensors in all non-critical areas of the facility, resulting in savings of 144 kw/h annually.

Power factor correction units. Two power factor correction units installed with switching capacitor banks significantly improve the efficiency of power consumption. The addition of these two units helped the plant realize a 14%

savings and an increase of 16% in efficiency.

High-efficiency air compressor. A highefficiency air compressor was purchased that adjusts its output to meet the demand of the plant. The unit runs at an average of 60% of capacity and throttles back to an energy-saving mode when the plant is at minimal operation, reducing the load by 28kW in electricity as compared to a fixed compressor.

Boiler economizer At the WAI Operations Summit and installation.

A boiler Wire Expo 2012, Tom Sondgeroth economizer was pur(l) and Bruno Lioi display a plaque chased and installed thanking the company for arrangthat uses the exhaust ing a tour of its wire products of the boiler to heat plant in Carrollton. the water prior to entering the boiler – resulting in a 50° to 60° increase in the temperature of the inbound water. The increased water temperature saves 8.46 MCF per day, or 2.115 MMCF per year.

Reduction in oil consumption. Rust preventative oil consumption was reduced by 36% utilizing an air-operated vacuum recovery system. Along with the reduction in oil came a significant reduction in “oil dry” absorbent, saving 14 tons from the land fill.

All of the above projects had cost-saving components as well as pollution prevention. The payback on some has

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been far greater than others, but all met the requirement of doing what is right.

The local community is another major focal point for every Gerdau facility. Beyond being good stewards of the environment, we have a responsibility to be active in the community in which we work. The Carrollton Wire Products facility has a very dynamic Community Action Team that organizes events in which all employees are encouraged to participate. Some of the events that have been supported include Adopt a Street, Toys for Tots, Meals on Wheels, One House at a Time, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Food WAI Operations Summit and Wire Expo 2012 attendees who went toured the Gerdau plant got to see some of the improvements cited in the company’s presentation.

Drive for the local food bank and Blood Drives in conjunction with Carter Blood Care. employees. We are very proud to note that nearly a milBut the true foundation of Gerdau’s commitment to lion employee hours over a seven-year period have been doing what is right is the safety and well being of their worked at the Carrollton facility without a lost-time acci-

FEATURE

committed company and its community can become. The dent. This ongoing accomplishment is the result of a very benefits to the company, the community and the employactive safety program that keeps safety on the forefront of ees speak for themselves. The company benefits on its each employee’s mind, with initiatives such as the safety bottom line, the community enjoys a good neighbor and tip of the day, a “fit for dutyâ€? exercise/stretching regiment the employees have a safe work environment in at the start of every shift which they can be proud. and the “Take 10â€? proGerdau is the leading gram that encourages producer of long steel employees to take the in the Americas and time to make sure their one of the largest supworkplace is safe. In pliers of special long addition, weekly safety meetings and monthly steel in the world. safety training takes place, and employees are It has over 45,000 tested upon completion of the training. employees and indusIn the end, this is all made possible by a trial operations in 14 commitment on several levels. The Gerdau countries with opera Group is extremely sensitive to the environment, the community in which it does business Tour attendees saw an operation that has been tions in the Americas, and the safety of all its employees. Regional a success while reducing its carbon footprint. Europe, and Asia, which together repreand local management have made the commitsent an installed capaciment to support the corporate initiatives but ty of over 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is none of this would be possible without the total cooperathe largest recycler in Latin America and around the tion of all the employees on the shop floor. There have world it transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into been several investments in time and equipment to realize steel every year. Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges these gains but without the total dedication, many of the of SĂŁo Paulo, New York, and Madrid and has approxiprograms would fall short of the corporate goals. mately 140,000 shareholders.

Gerdau is an example of what a partnership between a

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When Drew Greenblatt bought Marlin Steel Wire Products in the mid-1990s, the small company made steel wire baskets to hold bagels and the future looked promising. Business was good, but in a relatively short period the Atkins low-carb diet became gospel, and the bagel market went flat. However, what could easily have been an ugly story ending in bankruptcy instead led to stunning results. Below, Greenbelt shares his story and why he believes that others can also apply the mindset and methods that he used to make his success story possible.

After selling a small home-security systems supply business, I wanted to buy a company that made something that was tangible, a business-to-business operation. It took several years but in the mid-1990s I found a small company for sale in Brooklyn, New York, called Marlin Steel.

It made steel wire baskets to hold bagels. My timing couldn’t have been better. Within a year, bagels had become a national food fad. Bagel bakery chains were sprouting up everywhere. U.S. consumption nearly doubled. The future was bright, even though Marlin had many flaws that needed attention. The office was so anti-

quated it lacked even a fax machine.

The lights at times flickered in the factory because there was not enough electrical panels to carry the load. Several employees Marlin Steel Wire Products President were missing Drew Greenblatt. fingers and one had lost his eye because of unsafe conditions. Hundreds of pounds of steel had to be thrown out every week because of rodent infestation. Intellectual property was non-existent.

There were no drawings of any baskets ever made, so when the company got a reorder, it had to ask the client to send back a remaining basket so it could be replicated.

Before I could exhale over my long list of things to do,

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FEATURE

Success Stories: Marlin Steel Wire Products

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my timing turned from great to bad. The diet popularized

by Dr. Robert Atkins curtailed the sudden appetite for bagels almost overnight. Nearly 10% of Americans began eating low-carb. The bagel business tanked and so did new orders for bagel baskets. On top of that, Chinese companies began dumping bagel baskets into Manhattan cheaper than I could buy the steel. It was a perfect storm.

We began hemorrhaging cash. Our business could not endure for long. About that time, an engineer at a major aerospace company contacted me. He sought a wire container to hold an airplane part through the manufacturing process. He only needed a few, not the order of 2,000 or so I’d normally ship to a bagel chain. I told him I’d have to charge him double. He didn’t seem to care. Wow, I thought, $24 for a basket instead of $12? From that simple request sprung an epiphany.

Somewhere between desperation and inspiration, I began to wonder if we could make baskets for other things? The answer wasn’t as easy as it might seem. A basket to carry bagels does not need to be terribly precise. A vessel to Marlin Steel make hundreds of thouhold a jet comsands of wire and mesh baskets every ponent does. The year, exporting to 36 countries. transition didn’t happen overnight, but we eventually overhauled a factory that once barely had a tape measure. We transformed an operation that had been based on a worker bending wire forms by hand—making a bend roughly every 12 seconds, often hurting himself in the process—to one where that same worker can operate several robots totaling 20,000 bends in an hour, or about six bends every second. And despite the capital investment of millions of dollars in those machines, I’m able to pay that employee $24 an hour now rather than the $6 an hour when he was hand-bending.

We’re producing baskets 60 times faster than before and without an accident in three years. Our annual revenue is up six times from the era of bagel baskets. Meanwhile, our direct labor costs—the portion of our total costs devoted to labor—is about half as much as our competitors. And we don’t fear foreign competition. In fact, onequarter of our business is now in exports. We ship wire

50 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

gets objective and attainable and our people, in turn, are fully engaged. If you were in line for an extra $1,000 check for two weeks if you really put out, would you goof off? My workers now have “skin in the game.” By calculating the target every few weeks, the target is easier to focus on, to push towards. It becomes real. It’s not a quarterly target, not an annual goal. It’s a two-week number.

My employees are getting out more of our product per hour at a higher quality because they have a stake in it. As an entrepreneur, I’m motivated by money. Workers are no different. And neither are their spouses: one of the unintentional benefits of the bonus program is that spouses begin building that bonus into the family’s budget. When the worker doesn’t come home with it, the spouse wants to know what happened. That’s more of a motivating force that anything one can apply from management training.

If you were in line for an extra $1,000 check for two weeks if you really put out, would you goof off?

JULY 2012 | 51

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and steel products to three-dozen countries, including China. We are confident that we’ve found a niche and we are exploiting it. There are no accounting tricks or new management techniques. I believe that the principles applied in our turnaround are transferable and can make a difference at other plants in America. With job creation a top national oncern, we’ve been invited to the White House, to Capitol Hill, to the studios of national broadcasters dozens of times in recent years to recount our transformation. I believe that is because our story shatters dire notions we’ve come to presume about American manufacturing.

A few miles across Baltimore harbor from my wire and sheet metal plant is the Sparrows Point steel mill.

Formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel Corp., it was once the largest such facility in the world, employing a small city of over 30,000 steelworkers. Now less than 2,500 work there. On the other hand, Nucor Steel of North Carolina has been a more successful modern example of a steelmaker that is nimble and resilient. I read somewhere that Nucor’s theory is “hire five guys, pay them like eight and work them like 10.” If so, I believe our approach is similar. We pay outsized bonuses for specific goals achieved. In the process, we’ve created a company full of hungry entrepreneurs. I know that some people would look at our bonus system and say we’re wildly overpaying, but my people are so dedicated and quality-oriented, it’s a win-win. Competitors have twice as many people doing the same amount of work that we’re doing. The results speak for themselves. My employees are grouped in “cells,” like microorganisms.

Bonuses are tied specifically to the production of an employee or a small group.

I don’t believe in bonuses for companywide performance where an individual’s contribution is not directly connected to his bonus check. Each employee has a specific target. If they hit their number at the end of a two-week period, they get a cash bonus, and often a large cash bonus. For workers earning $18 an hour, the bonus has been as high as $1,500.

Remember, these are all blue-collar people. Not one of them graduated from college. People who once made minimum wage at Marlin now receive bonuses that exceed the entire paychecks of peer employees at our competitors. When I bought the company, I was the only employee with a car. Now all of my employees own cars—and sometimes complain as they jockey to find a parking space near our plant in Baltimore, where we relocated several years ago from Brooklyn. We make the bonus tar-

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We’re able to fund this approach by working faster and smarter, by investing in the latest automation and also by adopting lean management techniques that have been around for decades. Our adherence to “lean” principles has led us to reform numerous practices, such as greatly reducing raw inventory. We used to run tons of basket parts so we’d have them ready for a quick order. But keeping track of tractor-trailer loads of loose parts became untenable. Often, someone would pull out a part that looked like the right one and start machining it to fill an order, only to realize it was wrong. Or the parts in reserve would be slightly off of what we needed so we’d cut them down or manipulate them to fit. Our top people would spend hours debating whether to ask the client if the basket could be slightly off the size they ordered, and if so, who should do the asking. We “leaned out” our inventory to the point where we were building per order.

Recently, we’ve gone beyond that, buying steel on consignment. Giant coils of wire on our factory floor don’t belong to us. They belong to our vendor. The benefits are numerous. The vendor is the one responsible for managing the inventory now. We’re not spending time soliciting multiple bids for material and separate bids for shipping.

Whatever higher price we might pay by buying the raw steel at a fixed rate is offset by the manpower and cost saved by having one trailer load and one invoice a week.

A key to the company’s success has been the investment in cutting-edge technology that allows employees to be more productive.

My freight company is not very happy about this, but eventually halving inventory will free up hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be better used for a new marketing campaign or a new robot.

As significant as pay is in inspiring staff, it is not the only way to send a positive message. Safety is vitally

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FEATURE

important and not just to keep your plant running and your worker compensation costs down. Some of my staff previously worked in other factories where they would wave the garlic and cross when they see OSHA coming.

In contrast, we embrace them for their consultations. My employees see me unafraid of them. I acknowledge that I’m not an expert at safety procedures. The OSHA staff is. I may not be enamored of all of their suggestions, but on balance the approach has been very positive. And my employees see a safe workplace that puts their well-being over shaving a few bucks. It’s easier to demand efforts toward safety when you’re setting that vibe yourself. I asked the OSHA reps if they could recommend another example of a factory in town skilled at safety.

Interestingly, they recommended a window factory. Any operation with a lot of glass, sheet metal, band saws and welding machines singled out for safety must be doing something right, I figured. The manager there told me about several techniques he used to establish a “culture of safety.” One was assembling an advisory committee of workers to focus on the issue to “own it.” Another was holding celebrations to mark significant benchmarks such as 1,000 days without an accident, a milestone we reached a few months ago. To be sure, safety is not costfree. Just establishing a safety committee means devoting several of your best people a few hours a month to something other than your product line. And bringing antiquated machinery up to modern standards can cost significant dollars. But my workers compensation insurance premium is now less than half what it was just a few years ago because of our strong safety record, in spite of having a larger staff.

Creating a culture of safety and a culture of entrepreneurism begins with changing the culture. There’s no more important factor over time than in fine-tuning how you hire. You must choose only “A” people. You must replace anyone who leaves with someone better. I realize that no one ever sets out to make a bad or so-so hire. But I do think that a lot of hiring gets done under the premise, “We have an opening, get it filled as soon as possible.” You need to hire like you’re going to have a 20- or 30-year relationship with a prospective employee, even if such longevity is increasingly rare. When you hire with the pursuit of only “A’s, you feel you can give your new employees more responsibility more quickly. Subpar hires will become evident soon enough. When you’re in the process of interviewing candidates for a job, by the time you are to the round of finalists, most of them present themselves

FEATURE

well. How can you raise your “batting average” in making an excellent hire? Can you ensure you’ve got an “A”? I’m not certain of guarantees, but some signals exist that can help distinguish “A” potential. For example, if someone’s a “job hopper,” you at least have to question whether they have a mercurial personality that would reveal itself over time. As for a young person starting out who doesn’t have a long track record of work experience, if they completed four years of college on time without quitting it’s a good sign they can endure some challenge and rigor. The second thing I want to know in assessing a prospective hire: Why did they leave their last job? Third, what was their starting and ending pay? The A-players will move up the ladder, get some more money, get promoted, and will be given more responsibility, even during difficult economic times. Fourth, we drug test and check the criminal records of all new hires. It’s a sensitive area, but you’d rather not have the regret after you make the job offer. We encourage references from our employees. We even pay our employees a bonus that escalates up to $500 if their referral remains after six months on the job. Again, we want them to have “skin in the game” in our recruitment and retention. The cost has been well worth the investment by helping us make better hiring decisions and building a stronger company. I believe I have the best HR team in the world: It’s all my employees who are going to team up alongside these new co-workers.

We pay much better than competitors, but we demand more (remember the Nucor strategy). Among those demands is having an employee work on becoming more proficient in various skills. Our “skills matrix” board that hangs in our lunch room was prompted by an emergency years ago. We had a rush order that had to go out, but the person who normally handled our shipping was out of town. No one else knew how to process a shipping order.

It was a struggle, and an eye-opener. Soon after that, we created a large color-coded spreadsheet that illustrates who is trained to do what on our factory floor. Employees get training in various areas and move up the ladder.

Bonuses are tied to that progression as well. Every skill is graded. And everyone can see the progression of how to get to the next level. We update it every 90 days. It is very transparent and candid, and you get no points because you had a beer with the owner or played golf with the plant manager. I believe it’s a plus motivationally and operationally. If your employees are cross-trained really well, it helps the business navigate the peaks and valleys.

In the old days, you might lay off someone assigned to machine A if it had no jobs and give overtime to the worker on machine B if it was busy. If your staff is crosstrained, you can balance the load more easily. Layoffs can go away and unemployment insurance cost increases are held in check. You have to work at it, however. You have to rotate staff from time to time to ensure that the skills they learn don’t fade from lack of use. Lastly, the employees relish new challenges—learning new machines keeps it interesting.

54 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

The company’s wire-bending robots make parts that ship to Mexico, China, Ireland and Singapore.

Our transformation was evolutionary: 1% a day, learning and adjusting all the time. We didn’t originally plan to take a company that made wire bagel baskets and change it to one that doesn’t make a single bagel basket any longer. We didn’t aim to convert a staff that was largely low-skilled and minimum-wage to one that is now onefifth composed of mechanical engineers. Or to modify a sales force that only knew—and was only known by— bagel bakers to one schooled in working with customers in fields such as pharmaceuticals, automotive and aerospace. But we knew we couldn’t survive as a commodity play. We discovered there were clients who wanted great quality, who needed engineering help and who wanted it quick. We realized that was the niche on which we had to focus. Quality Engineered Quick (QEQ) became our mantra. I was influenced early in our transition by a book titled “The Goal.” Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, an Israeli physicist and management consultant who died too young last year, wrote it in the mid-1980s. His fictional account of a struggling plant manager was really an allegory about “leaning out” a manufacturing process. The author wrote about avoiding “red oceans,” where a fixation on being slightly cheaper than your competitor causes meager profit margins and hellish conditions, and striving for “blue oceans,” where the product is so superior the competition is marginalized (like the example of a certain tech company named for a fruit.) Goldratt asserted that the importance of culture, of employees feeling trust in their companies, is too often overlooked by employers.

If people feel a lot of uncertainty, you are less likely to engender bold execution and more likely to get people having ulterior motives and believing like they’ve got to cover their backsides. And if you have to do layoff after layoff, it’s hard to engender buy-in or to have your employees thinking positively about how to get you and them to that blue ocean. When we think about manufacturing, we need to think in terms not only how to improve lives for the shareholders but also for the employees. With that bent, the result will be successful and sustainable.

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Reduction of residual stress of drawn wires

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TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER

A W A Residual stresses on wire drawn by multi-stage drawing were measured by the slit method to determine the effect on mechancial properties.

By Kazunari Yoshida and Ryoto Koyama

Drawn wires are used for shafts, springs, construction materials, tire cords, saw wires and bonding wires. As exemplified by valve springs used in automobile engines, the residual stress in wires significantly affects the fatigue life and strength of wire products. Residual stress generated as a result of drawing acts as a large tensile stress at the surface of rods and wires and as a compressive stress at the center.

Tensile stress decreases the life of products; therefore, it is necessary to improve drawing conditions and develop methods of reducing tensile stress after drawing. Some researchers have already reported such methods.

In this study, the residual stress of wires formed by multipass drawing using the slit method was measured and the effect of total reduction (Rt) on residual stress was examined, as were the effect of the die angle, the reduction per pass (R/P), the skin pass in the final drawing and the tensile straightening. The residual stress of wires obtained by multipass drawing was also analyzed by the finite element method (FEM).

Fig. 1. Definitions of R/P and Rt in wiredrawing.

56 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Specimens and experimental methods Annealed stainless steel SUS304 (8.0 mm) was used as a mother wire. Teflon resin lubricant and carbide conical dies were used. The basic die used had a half-angle of Îą = 6o, and wires were drawn in multiple passes with different R/P values (10, 15 and 20%) to achieve an Rt of 94%. The residual stress of the drawn wires was measured by the slit method with wire electric discharge machining. Fig. 1 shows the definitions of R/P and Rt. Fig. 2 shows the slit method.

To examine changes in R/P caused by the residual stress of the drawn wires after tensile straightening, tensile strain was set at 0.3, 0.5, or 1% using a universal tensile tester, as shown in Fig. 3. Moreover, to examine the effectiveness of skin-pass drawing, which yields an R/P of 2-3%, drawn wires were further drawn with different values of R/P, i.e., 1, 3, and 5%. An FEM analysis was conducted and the results were compared to the experimental results. MARC, a commercially available FEM code, was used. Residual stress was calculated from values measured by the slit method using the equation in Fig. 2, although a few other equations have also been proposed.

Fig. 2. Slit method for measuring residual stress.

R

TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig. 3. Tensile straightening in drawn wire.

Fig. 4. Analytical drawing model for FEM.

Results and discussion

Figs. 7 and 8. Fig. 7 shows the distributions of axial residual stress in drawn wires, and Fig. 8 shows the residual stress along wire. These results reveal that the residual stress acts as a large tensile stress at the surface of the wire and as a compressive stress at the center. For smaller R/P, the difference in residual stress between the surface and the center becomes larger, and a greater tensile stress acts at the wire surface.

Reduction of residual stress by tensile straightening. In general, a large tensile stress remains at the surface of drawn wires. Because such a large residual tensile stress adversely affects the fatigue life of wire products, it is important to reduce the residual stress as much as possible. In this study, drawn wires were subjected to tensile straightening to examine its effects on not only improving straightness but also reducing residual stress. Tensile strains of 0.2, 0.5, and 1% were applied to the drawn wires, and their maximum axial residual stress was measured by the slit method, similarly to the previously described experiment. The results obtained for the wire drawn with an R/P of 20% to achieve an Rt of 38%

Effect of R/P on residual stress. Wires were drawn with R/P of 10, 15 and 20% to achieve an Rt of 94%, and changes were examined in the maximum axial residual stress of the drawn wires that was calculated from the amount of flexion of the wires. The stress was measured by forming a slit at the center of the wires using a wire electric discharge machine.

Fig. 5 shows photographs of wires with a slit that were drawn to obtain Rt of 40 and 90% as examples. Upon slitting, the wires bent outwards in opposite directions because of residual stress. The smaller the R/P, the greater the amount of flexion. Fig. 6 shows the relationship between the maximum axial residual stress calculated by the slit method and Rt. The symbols

in the figure represent the results obtained with R/P of 10, 15, and 20%, respectively.

For all values of R/P, the axial residual stress increases with increasing number of drawings, i.e., with increasing Rt. In addition, the smaller the R/P, the greater the axial residual stress. Next, the axial residual stress in the case of multipass drawing is analyzed by FEM, and the results are shown in

Fig. 5. Photographs of wires with slits that were drawn to obtain Rt of 40 and 90% as examples.

Fig. 6. Relationship between the maximum axial residual stress for different values of R/P by experiment.

JULY 2012 | 57

TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig. 7. Distributions of axial residual stress for Rt of 90% by FEM.

Fig. 8. Residual stress from center to surface of wires for Rt of 90% by FEM.

are shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 shows a photograph of the end of the wire with a slit, and Fig. 10 shows the relationship between the given tensile strain and the maximum axial residual stress.

These figures indicate that the residual stress can be reduced by applying an appropriate tensile strain. Note that an excessively large tensile strain may cause a variation in wire diameter, leading to defective products. In this experiment, even for the greatest strain of 1%, the diameter was reduced by only 2-3 Îźm, which was considered to be a negligible reduction.

The reason for the decrease in residual stress upon the application of tensile strain is considered to be the reduced variation of the internal strain generated by drawing.

Effectiveness of skin pass in the final pass. In order to reduce the residual stress of drawn wires, wires were drawn with a skin pass in the final pass, and the effectiveness of skin

pass and optimum conditions for skin pass were examined.

Wires with different skin pass reduction (Rf) values, such as 1, 3 and 5%, were prepared, and the maximum residual stress in axial direction of drawn wire was calculated by the slit method after the wires are drawn. Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 show the results of wires with different Rt values, such as 60, 80 and 93%, when R/P was 20%. Fig. 11 shows the picture of slitted wire end, and Fig. 12 shows the relation between every Rt and the maximum residual stress in axial direction which was calculated by slit method. FEM analysis was carried out using the same conditions. The results are shown in Fig. 13 and Fig. 15. The distribution of maximum residual stress in axial direction of drawn wire is shown in Fig. 13, and Fig. 14 shows the distribution of residual stress of wires which were skin-pass drawn with Rf of 1, 3 and 5%, after preparing drawn wires which were drawn under the conditions that die angle was 6 degrees and R/P was 20% to result in Rt of 93%.

Fig. 9. Photographs of wires with slits that were drawn to obtain Rt of 49 as examples.

Fig. 10. Relationship between the given tensile strain and the maximum axial residual stress.

58 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig. 11. Photographs of wires with slits that were drawn to obtain Rt of 60 and 93% as examples.

Fig. 12. Relationship between the maximum axial residual stress for of skin-passed wires to obtain Rt of 93% by experiment.

The most effective skin-pass reduction per pass Rf to reduce residual stress was 5%, as far as this experiment was carried out. Before the skin pass is applied, the inner part of the drawn wire, which is in the state of compressive residual stress, remains in elastic deformation. But once a skin pass is applied, there is a slight axial strain on the surface of drawn wire which is in the state of tensile residual stress, and simultaneously, small plastic deformations occur in the inner part and on the surface. Those small plastic deformations compensate for the difference of axial plastic strain between the inner part and the surface. Consequently, this brings the effect of residual stress decrease. Kuboki, et al. have reported that there is no effect of residual stress decrease when the plastic strain of inner part and surface of drawn wire becomes large.

There is an optimum range for reduction of final pass, though, and the value of Rf was 5%, as far as this experiment was carried out.

Conclusion The followings results were obtained by experiment and analysis on the effect of residual stress decrease.

• Residual stress increases, until Rt goes up to around 60%, and the smaller the R/P is, the larger is the residual stress that occurs.

• Tensile straightening improves the unevenness of internal stress, which can lead to the decrease of residual stress.

• Application of a skin pass compensates for the difference of plastic deformation between the inner part and the surface of drawn wire, and decreases residual stress. But there is an optimum range for reduction of final pass (Rf), and the value of Rf was 5% in this experiment.

References 1. K. Yoshida et al., “Basis of Plastic Working,” SangyoTosho Publishing, 1988, pp 55-72.

Fig. 13. Distribution of maximum axial residual stress of skin-passed wires to obtain Rt of 93% by FEM. JULY 2012 | 59

TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig. 14. Distribution of residual stress of wires which were skin-pass drawn with Rf of 1, 3 and 5% by FEM, after preparing drawn wires which were drawn under the conditions that die angle was 6 degrees and R/P was 20% to result in Rt of 93%.

5. H. Kometani, “Occurrence of the residual stress and measure,”Youkendou Publishing,1981, 2-17.

6. K. Kuboki et al., “About the method of decreasing the residual stress of drawn metal,” Plasticity and processing, Japan Society for Technology of Plasticity, 2009, pp. 81-87.

7. M. Asakawa et al. “Analysis of the Residual Stress Induced By Bar and Wire Drawing, Plasticity and processing,Japan Society for Technology of Plasticity, 1977, Vol. 38, No. 433, pp. 147-152.

8. K. Sato, “Tension:Straightening of a drawn superfine wire, Current Advances in Materials aud Processes, 2006, Vol. 19, pp. 338-339.

9. K. Kuboki et al. “Residual stress decrease in drawing pipe by skin passing method, The proceedings of the 2007 Japanese spring conference for the technology of plasticity, 2006, pp. 81-82.

2. J. M. Atienza et al., “Improved cold-drawn eutectoid steel wires based on residual stress measurement and simulation,” Wire Journal International, Nov. 2009, pp. 52-59.

3. H. Sato, “Tensile Staightening and Roller Straightening of Fine Drawn Wire,” Iron and steel, 2009, Vol. 95, No. 11, pp. 58-61.

4. H. Sudou, “Residual stress and Distortion,” Uchida Rokakuho Publishing, 1998, pp. 85-114.

Kazunari Yoshida is a professor of precision mechanics at the school of engineering at Tokai University, Japan. He researches wiredrawing, extrusion, and forging processes and has served as a member of the steering committee for Japanese Wire Drawing. He holds a Ph.D. degree in engineering. He authored a prize-winning paper for the Japan Society for Technology of Plasticity in 1984 and won medal awards from the WAI for the best paper in the nonferrous division in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004, and the best general paper for 2009. He also won the Association’s Mordica Memorial Award for 2011. Ryoto Koyama is a graduate student at Tokai University. This paper, which was presented at WAI’s 81st Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 2011, won the Silver Certificate Award in the general category.

60 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

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DISCOVER WAI. Some things you know as well as your name. Other times it takes a little searching to find—or learn— what you need, especially if you are new to the wire and cable industry or plan to keep pace with its innovative advances.

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TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER The ‘LEEDing’ edge of sustainable R&D Inspired by the desire to do right and the long-term outlook for more demanding “green” initiatives becoming requirements, Encore Wire Corporation decided that it would make its new R&D Center LEED Platinum, the highest possible rating. Here is its story.

By Jason D. Gillen and Ray Pahler

“Green” was once simply a color found in the electromagnetic spectrum with a wavelength of approximately 510 nm, but since the late 1990s it has been transformed by a “grass roots” movement into a seemingly unstoppable “green wave.” Its tide has carried in political and governmental initiatives, mandated regulations and new product designs and offerings. It has also affected corporate business strategies and infrastructure development while spawning “enviro-centric” industries. The collective impact has had an annual impact in the billions of dollars.

The environmental impact focus used to be on the most heavily regulated industries, such as power generation, petrochemical refining, smelting, etc., but awareness has now infiltrated into almost every business sector to some extent. Many consumers are driving both raw material suppliers and finished goods manufacturers to offer lower environmental impacting product portfolios, enough so that many R&D programs for industry are geared to cleaner, greener chemistries and sustainable product pipelines.

Further, eco-friendly and often incentivized protocols, now voluntary, could become codified standards of operation, governed by various regulatory commissions or federally mandated policies. The wire and cable industry has seen how quickly the real or perceived environmental impacts can alter a market, such as the demand for low-smoke, zero-halogen compounds, alternatives for phthalate plasticizers and RoHS/WEEE compliance. Suppliers of PVC and several other industry standard raw materials, such as borax, find themselves squarely in the crosshairs of EPA regulations, and are seen by consumers as enemies of the environment. It appears likely that such environmentally friendly initiatives and market trends will only continue to grow in popularity as well as translate into more expensive product lines. How much of the likely additional costs associated with “greener”

62 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

products the market will absorb, and how much producers will be forced to endure as simply the “cost of doing business” in these increasingly “green” markets, only time will tell. However, as chance favors the prepared, one cannot ignore the need to develop capabilities for these newly evolving consumables. Currently, the lack of an environmentally friendly product line may not significantly limit a company’s

Encore Wire Corporation’s LEED certified R&D center was the result of an extensive project that was initiated from the desire to be a good steward of the environment as well as to be well-positioned to meet ever-tightening “green” requirements.

opportunities, but given the tenacity of the “green” trend, it may in the future be exclude it from competing in the market.

The above considerations, coupled with a sense of responsibility to sound environmental stewardship, were what led Encore Wire Corporation (Encore) to commit to the design

The LEED program The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, like the majority of most governmental programs, has both its supporters and detractors. The LEED program in its most simplistic rendering becomes a standardized classification system for ranking a building’s environmental performance. Points awarded for satisfying certain specific green building criteria and showing improvements of building performance when compared to the ASHRAE 90.1 standards determine the compliance level of the building as certified, silver, gold or platinum.

The USGBC loosely defines its LEED program as a third party verification system, certifying that a building was designed and constructed utilizing strategies aimed at improving the building’s performance in metrics such as energy consumption, water efficiency, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, improved indoor air quality and sensitivity to resource management. The “whole building” approach of the

achievement of the desired number of cumulative points and the desired level of project certification. This built-in program flexibility allowed owners to abandon certain unrealistic points while pursuing others deemed more feasible, allowing for a higher chance of attainment.

Sustainable sites This LEED category focuses on the build site selection and preparation for construction activities and offers 14 available points to the project owner. As this category focuses on the site of the build rather than the structure itself, it can limit project owners in terms of potential available points. That was the case for the Encore project, which was to be located at a defined build site. That location resulted in the loss of three LEED points (brownfield remediation or redevelopment; community connectivity; and the utilization of alternative transportation in the form of public transit).

Encore actively pursued the remaining 11 points available in this project category, which included various construction strategies and the incorporation of the proper materials, methods and design concepts. By incorporating bicycle racks

Encore Wire Corporation tallied 54 out of 69 possible points to qualify for its Platinum rating.

LEED system is comprised of six categories; sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and innovation in design. The remainder of this paper briefly discusses practical examinations of some of the design and construction criteria that Encore Wire Corporation implemented during the recent completion of a new R&D Center with certification as a LEED v2.2 Platinum facility, the highest level awarded under the current LEED system.

Depending on multiple project variables, it was likely that all of the points made available by each of the six LEED categories might not be practical, cost effective or even possible to achieve by the project owner. Therefore, the inherent flexibility of the LEED system became paramount to the

outside the facility as well as showers and changing rooms inside the facility, alternative means of transportation are encouraged and the staff has the necessary facilities available to support these initiatives. LEED points awarded for such additions should be readily available on almost any project at relatively little additional cost and with minimal effort.

Careful consideration paid to the intended occupancy loading of the structure and attention to the local municipal parking requirements allowed a minimum number of parking spaces to be designed into the site. This afforded easy access to all doors while minimizing the amounts of poured concrete. Preferred parking spaces designated for low-emitting or fuel-efficient vehicles and car pool participants incorporated into this parking lot design provided additional benefits for

JULY 2012 | 63

TECHNICAL PAPERS

and construction of a LEED Platinum-certified Research and Development Center, a “green” building with a bright future.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

those able to use alternative transportation methods. By maximizing the site’s open space-to-building footprint ratio, limiting the site disturbance extending beyond the building perimeter and conserving the natural areas surrounding the site, the surveyed lot for this structure saw minimal trauma throughout the construction phase. Efforts to both protect and repair the native habitat throughout construction of the building resulted in further decreasing the impact of this project on the site itself and its surroundings.

Minimizing nonporous surfaces that lead to excessive precipitation runoff causing erosion and sediment deposition through efficient parking lot and sidewalk design, site elevation and the construction of a retention reservoir dramatically increased the amount of water infiltrating the ground, thus returning it to the water table rather than losing it to the municipal storm water system. The retention reservoir captures runoff from a far larger plot of land than the actual structure occupies, decreasing the inrush of water to downstream creeks and streams, benefiting a far greater square footage than the build site alone. Strategic handling of precipitation runoff generated by the parking lot, sidewalks, building roof and surrounding site all aid in limiting any disruptions in the natural hydrology of the site.

Site runoff is captured and stored in a 35,000-gallon underground containment vessel for re-use in irrigating the sites landscaping, reducing the site’s demand for potable water use. The conscientious design of the parking lot and sidewalks coupled with the use of high albedo (white) concrete dramatically decreases the heat island effects that, in turn, decrease the demand on the HVAC system of the entire building. The roof of this structure also incorporates a bright white .060-in. membrane that reflects much of the heat generated by solar radiation, further decreasing the building’s HVAC loads and contribution to heat island effects.

Water efficiency The second criterion addressed by LEED is the water efficiency of the structure and the site it rests on. The decision was made to pursue all five credits available in this category.

Captured rainwater that would simply be lost downstream in lieu of the aforementioned storage tank and wet well systems now irrigates the site’s landscaping, further decreasing the dependency on and consumption of potable water. Limiting the amount of the site covered in turf grasses and opting for larger bedding areas, replacing the standard Bermuda turf with native Buffalo grass as well as planting other drought tolerant vegetation translates into a dramatic reduction in the sites consumption of water for irrigation. Selecting species of trees that require less water to grow large canopies provide benefits such as water conservation, and the provided shade decreases evaporation and minimizes the heat-island effect by shading the site’s various hardscapes.

Rather than simply draining all HVAC condensate to the parking lot, installation of an innovative gray water reclamation system provided a productive use for this effluent water source. This system collects all HVAC condensate in a 400gallon storage vessel and injects the water with blue die to 64 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

indicate its nonpotable nature.

The system is then pressurized and the water is re-used to flush all the facility’s toilets, which are low-volume units that minimize the required water flow and operate with less than a pint of water per use, saving 88% more water than a standard toilet. All of the A “gray water” system is used to colmany chiller lect water from the HVAC coils for use units required in flushing toilets. by various pieces of laboratory equipment were outfitted with recirculation, air-cooled chillers rather than the once-through water cooled units, decreasing the amount of process water required as well as eliminating the discharge of used process water via facility drains.

Energy and atmosphere The LEED energy and atmosphere criteria become particularly significant in a laboratory setting due to the high equipment loadings and resulting plug densities as well as the demands placed on the HVAC systems by “once through” ventilation air, conditioned make-up air, chemical fume and particulate removal systems and the latent heat generated by the multiple pieces of equipment.

Given the multiple disciplines involved—such as construction design, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, lighting, interior design, landscaping, etc.—LEED has required that a third party commissioning authority be designated and utilized to acquire certain points. The enhanced commissioning criteria provide the necessary framework to ensure that the owner is receiving the maximum benefit and maximum efficiency of the applied systems and building as a whole.

Although the process can be long and somewhat tedious, commissioning does offer a level of assurance, confirming that the additional cost typically associated with these highperformance systems was not wasted, and that the performance benefits they can provide have actually been realized.

The last beneficiary of the enhanced commissioning of the project is the LEED program itself. The non-biased, thirdparty commissioning agent confirms that all of the criteria stated in the project’s LEED certification submittal were, in fact, followed through on and verified, decreasing the odds that a fraudulent LEED certification is obtained.

electromagnetic fields are particularly important to the proper function of certain analytical and optical equipment pieces and must be considered early on in the overall design of the laboratory, or these often extremely expensive pieces will not function properly and a retroactive solution to mitigate these factors is often very costly. It is insufficient to rely solely on the typical OEM-provided equipment specification sheet as most are far too generic and lack the necessary detail required to adequately direct the many groups involved in the design and construction of the laboratory.

Every single opportunity to optimize, reduce, re-use, reclaim, contain or eliminate requires exploration when the target is a LEED Platinum facility, simply due to the finite amount of room for error that exists while satisfying all of the required criteria. In this particular project, Encore actively pursued 10 of the available seventeen LEED energy and

Roof-mounted solar technology was part of the overall plan to save energy.

The main laboratory area may look simple but a lot of planning went into the design due to high equipment loadings and resulting plug densities as well as extensive HVAC demands.

competent PI becomes crucial to a successful project. The 17 points available in this energy and atmosphere group focus on building system efficiencies and optimizing the performance of these systems while working in concert. A baseline study of the building system’s performance is required to exceed the standards outlined in ASHRAE/IESNA 90.12004, establishing the minimum requirements for energyefficient building design. It is difficult to over-estimate the importance of providing exacting details on each piece of equipment slated for deployment in the laboratory, given the multitude of variables assigned to each and the many interactions each piece has on the building and its accompanying operational systems. The PI must thoroughly detail every piece of equipment to include required electrical power quality, latent heat production, any required process water and flow rates, any purge or process gases and their consumption volumes, exhaust or ventilation volumes, equipment footprint, weight and any other specific details that require management or impact the building and its systems.

Susceptibility to—or emission of—vibration energies and

atmosphere credits for their R&D Center. The utilization of and proper balancing of high performance individual building components, allowed system synergies that maximized the efficiencies of the overall building system to be realized.

Highly efficient, low solar gain, inert gas insulated windows capable of blocking UV radiation wrap the structure’s envelope providing ample exterior view without excessive heat gain or loss to the interior environment. All overhead lighting fixtures in the facility are ultra efficient fluorescents with photocells allowing them to turn themselves on and off in response to the amounts of sunlight entering through the windows. A sixty tube solar array for heating water reduces the electrical load for tempering facility sinks and showers. A roof mounted photovoltaic array lessens the buildings demand on grid supplied electrical power. Ancillary equipment such as oil free medical grade air compressors, backup emergency power generation in case of grid power failure and uninterruptable power sources for key long-term testing equipment chosen specifically for their energy efficient operation and included in the commissioning process also make

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Laboratory design success depends on the collaborative efforts of many multidisciplinary groups, and a solid Principle Investigator (PI) can help bridge the knowledge gap between these groups. The designation of an in-house PI to represent the owner’s interest in the laboratory structure, its equipment requirements, the desired laboratory workflow, the specific business objectives and research goals of the lab becomes key to the accurate translation of detailed requirements to the many other disciplines making up the design and construction team. Laboratory analytical equipment is complicated, highly specialized equipment, each with its own requirements and necessities for proper function.

Most architectural degree plans do not dwell sufficiently on analytical lab equipment analysis, as most biochemistry degrees do not incorporate municipal electrical codes into their curriculum, therefore a “go between” in the form of a

TECHNICAL PAPERS

contributions to efficient functioning of the building. A custom wet scrubber to neutralize and clean any products of combustion emitting from the laboratory’s three flame chambers maintains the effluent exhaust streams to the environment as chemically inert and particulate free as possible. By strategically placing high efficiency, low wattage lights in the parking lot and ultra efficient LEDs around the building envelope actuated by photocells, the site benefits from efficient and effective lighting, but does not contribute to excessive light pollution of the surrounding environment and community. Purchasing renewable energy credits for the remaining 35% of the facility’s actual electrical consumption further decreases the entire building’s carbon footprint and diminishes its impact on the environment. With the increasing numbers of equipment vendors producing green products and the numerous opportunities for creative and environmentally conscious laboratory owners to reduce the impact of their facilities, this LEED category provides design teams the necessary flexibility to custom build highly efficient and lowimpacting facilities.

Materials and resources The LEED materials and resources criteria provide the opportunity to acquire 13 points and like the previously cited categories, some will make more fiscal sense than others, or depending on the specific situation,they may be entirely unavailable to project owners. The Encore project actively pursued eight of the 13 points in this category. The amount of waste generated from active construction sites is substantial and the LEED system rewards owners who divert certain percentages of the generated construction waste from landfills.

This particular project, through the utilization of segregated waste containers, effectively diverted 75% of the generated construction waste from disposal in landfills. This criterion is yet another example of LEED points made readily available to all but the most remote build sites, and the relative cost associated with the implementation of the strategies and methods required to comply and earn these points are negligible.

The incorporation whenever feasible of materials that are high in recycled content and where no decrease in functionality is expected will assist the owner in fulfilling the bulk of criteria in this category. By utilizing recycled glass in a terrazzo floor, this project received a very durable, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing finish. All of the office furniture, laboratory casework and accent paneling are constructed of rapidly renewable bamboo rather than old growth lumber, providing a highly functional and eco-friendly alternative for interior design teams. The white epoxy counter tops for the casework reflect ambient light and are available in high-recycled content grades. Purchasing all wall-backing lumber or plywood from certified forests gains a LEED point for ensuring that they were produced using sustainable forestry practices regulated by governmental audits. This particular project also benefited from its geographic location in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs through the LEED points made available for procurement of regional

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The combination of using recycled glass in a terrazzo floor, renewable bamboo and white epoxy counter tops that reflect ambient light resulted in a very durable, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing look. materials defined by LEED as materials extracted, processed and manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the construction site. Here again are LEED points made available to all but the most specific material needs and most rural construction sites.

Interior designers as well as project owners are enjoying the increasing number of options they are being afforded by this “green” movement, and more suppliers are routinely offering products that comply with LEED criteria for interior design applications and building furnishings. A simple internet search brings a myriad of products and companies that offer ingenious green product solutions as alternatives to standard interiors, furniture, flooring, paneling, etc, and some at little or no additional cost and many with no noticeable loss in performance from traditional materials. The growth in the number of suppliers to this “green” construction material market is in direct response to the increasing demand, and it is these companies that are solvent due primarily to the growing popularity and mass adoption of these green initiatives.

Indoor environmental quality The LEED Indoor Environmental Quality criterion is of particular importance in a laboratory setting as opposed to an administrative office-building scenario. Indoor chemical and pollution source control are mandatory in most laboratories and a mitigated exhaust system or fume hood and its accompanying conditioned make-up air system are standard laboratory protocols. Standard operating procedures exist in most labs for monitoring flammable gases such as propane, methane or hydrogen used for combustion analysis, or asrequired carrier gases for certain analytical equipment platforms. Another standard practice of employing oxygen depletion monitors in areas utilizing inert gases or liquids such as nitrogen, argon and helium has also become mandatory in many laboratories.

The LEED program expands on the indoor air quality (IAQ) theme by incorporating point availability for the development and implementation of a Construction IAQ

Innovation and design process The final LEED category, which offers five credits, is intended to provide design teams and project owners incentives to gain points for exceptional performance above the requirements set by LEED or for innovative green building strategies not specifically addressed by the rating system. The points are typically awarded on a case-by-case basis and are subject to verification during the enhanced commissioning phase of the development.

Encore pursued all five points for its R&D center by doubling the required open space criteria for the building footprint-to-site size ratio, creating an environmentally unobtrusive structure. By surpassing the daylight views and ambient light infiltration criteria set be LEED and implementing a design that creates these conditions over 95% of the occupied floor space, an additional exemplary credit became available.

Another additional exemplary point was made available by pursuing systems and components that reduce the water consumption on the site by 40% rather the required 30%, and the purchase of additional renewable energy credits make another LEED point available to the project design team.

Under the LEED v2.2 rating system, a platinum rating shall be awarded for projects earning between 52 and 69 points.

The Encore Wire R&D Center is currently slated to receive 54 LEED points and certification as a LEED Platinum Research and Development facility.

Conclusion While these eco-friendly and low impacting initiatives are currently the self-imposed voluntary acts of environmentally responsible companies, it appears likely that these initiatives may soon become a governmentally mandated protocol required to invest in infrastructure and product development.

With proper research and planning, a sustainable and environmentally friendly laboratory is altogether possible and may soon be a codified requirement. In a volatile economy with few guaranteed investment opportunities, investing in sustainable infrastructure may be somewhat intimidating, however, it may very well be a proactive approach to a reactive market.

This presentation was made by Ray Pahler, R&D manger for Encore Wire Corporation, McKinney, Texas, USA, at the Global Continuous Casting Forum that was held in conjunction with Interwire 2011, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 2011.

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Management Plan. This plan focuses primarily on the reduction or elimination of chemical and particulate irritants and pollutants introduced into the building’s indoor environment by using alternative construction materials and practices. The IAQ sub-credits are related to adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, carpet systems and composite wood and agrifiber products. The materials have typically been produced by methods that create finished goods subject to substantial off gassing of compounds such as formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide and 4Phenylcyclohexene (4-PCH), all of which contribute to poor indoor air quality. By utilizing low-emitting materials, the overall air quality of the building is dramatically improved and in most cases, these alternative products deliver similar performances without the liberation of chemical pollutants.

Given all of the standard attention paid to laboratory air handling systems, these additional protocols during the construction phase of the project are of little inconvenience and negligible cost to the owner, making these LEED points available to almost every project.

A total of 15 points were available in this category, and Encore pursued them all. In addition to the previously cited requirements, the remainder of the available credits in this category centered on indoor temperature controls, ambient light infiltration throughout the space, and daylight views.

Given that 95% of the building envelope on this particular project is glass, daylight views and ambient light infiltration was not an issue. The addition of a glass clerestory on the roof provides additional ambient lighting with very little additional heat flux into the laboratory environment, allowing the staff to work the vast majority of the day bathed solely in natural lighting. Evidence shows designing such an open space infiltrated by vast amounts of ambient lighting and providing outside views for the majority of floor space also results in increased employee production and satisfaction.

Multiple studies have been published in many journals referencing enhanced employee attitudes and job satisfaction as well as increased production found in facilities that offer large amounts of ambient lighting and views to the outside world.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER Role of temperature and stretching force on the effectiveness of the stabilizing treatment of prestressing steel wires Mechanical properties of wires after five industrial stress-relieving treatments were evaluated, considering the influence of temperature and stretching force levels

By J.M. Atienza, J. Ruiz-Hervias, L. Caballero and M. Elices

In an effort to create a better value, manufacturers constantly strive to produce prestressing steel not only with high tensile strength but also with lower stress relaxation losses and improved durability. Advances in the performance of steel wire tensioning elements have contributed significantly to the development of both prestressed and post-tensioned concrete sections used in the construction industry. In this sense, the appearance of a special stress relieving treatment after drawing, called “stabilizing,” has been considered an authentic progress for prestressed concrete construction1.

Stabilizing is a thermomechanical stress-relieving treatment which consists of applying stretching while heating. It is well known that cold drawing generates considerable residual stresses, making it difficult to deal with the as-drawn wire2.

Wire manufacturers are familiar with the deleterious effects of residual stresses and have tried to reduce influence with stress-relieving treatments after drawing. At first, thermal treatments were used, like in other wire industries, but an important advance was achieved when producers realized that applying stretching during the thermal stress-relieving treatment, not only eliminated all “wildness” in the wires, but also produced a very significant additional bonus. That is to say, stretched stress relieved wires exhibited a higher proportional limit (elastic limit) in the stress-strain curve and, even

more importantly, highly improved the long-range stress relaxation properties.

However, stabilizing refers to a great variety of treatments, since the exact parameters (time, temperature and stretching) are, in general, protected by the companies. Stabilizing is the best tool to produce “low relaxation” wires, but changes in temperature or stretching during stabilizing can have a significant influence on the final properties of the wires.

The current challenge is to ascertain the role of temperature and stretching that allows one to choose the adequate parameters of the process in order to design wires with the desired properties. The object of this work is to provide original data on the possibilities of optimizing the properties of prestressing wires. To this end, five rod batches with different stabilizing treatments were specially produced for this research.

Residual stresses were measured by X-ray and neutron diffraction and tensile and hydrogen embrittlement tests performed to compare the properties of the final wires.

Materials and treatments

Commercially cold-drawn eutectoid steel wires were used in this research. Their chemical composition was: 0.815%C, 0.231%Si, 0.642%Mn, 0.012%P, 0.008%S, 0.044V, 0.221%Cr (wt.%). The initial rods (12 mm diameter) were subjected to six drawing passes to reach a final diameter of 7.0 mm; thus the accumulated true strain was 1.08. The drawing velocity was 44 m/min, and the temperature, which was monitored during the process, reached a maximum value of 197ºC on the wire surface at the exit of the last die.

After drawing, they were subjected to an industrial thermo-mechanical stress-relieving treatment. To ascertain the role of temperature and stretching in Table 1. Parameters of the stabilizing treatments and names of the stabilizing, five treatments were selected for this the resulting batches. research, combining three temperatures (330ºC, 68 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Experimental methods Residual stress measurements by X-ray diffraction.

Residual stresses were measured at the surface of the wires by X-ray diffraction. The α-Fe reflection under study was (2,1,1), which produces a Bragg peak at 2θ = 156,08º for the CrKα radiation employed (λ = 2.2909 A). The single crystal elastic constants for the (2,1,1) reflection of α-iron were used to calculate the residual stresses from the ferrite strains. More details about the method can be found elsewhere3.

Measurements were performed with a Rigaku Strainflex analyzer (30 kV and 8 mA). A special experimental setup was designed for the wires to improve measurement precision. It consists of an XY table (±0.01 mm precision) with two wire supports specially designed for turning the wire around its axis at 45º steps. This allows performing measurements in large samples without having to cut them into small pieces.

Samples were 550 mm in length, the needed size for standardized hydrogen embrittlement tests. Residual stresses were measured in four areas situated on the 0-90-180-270 degree orientations of the perimeter of the central cross section. The axial residual stress of the ferrite phase next to the surface was measured in two specimens per wire class.

Residual stress measurements by neutron diffraction. The neutron diffraction experiments were performed on the ENGIN-X Residual Stress Diffractometer, at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source (ISIS, CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, U.K.). Strain scanning was attempted in both phases of the rod, namely ferrite and cementite. However, cementite peaks could not be resolved in the patterns. Consequently, only ferrite peaks were indexed.

Samples with a length to diameter ratio of 12-1 were cut from the rods. Measurements were performed in the central crosssection of the samples where the residual stresses generated by cold drawing were unaffected by the cutting process3.

Ferrite lattice spacing was collected in the axial, radial and hoop directions of the samples, by measuring one point every 0.5 mm. The strain scanning was carried out along a whole diameter of each wire. To obtain the residual strains in ferrite, the measured ferrite lattice spacing should be compared with the unstressed lattice parameter. This last one was computed from special samples in which the stresses had been relieved.

To this end, several cuts were carried out by electro-discharge machining. Finally, the residual stresses were calculated from the residual strains using linear elasticity, taking into account the elastic constants for the (110) ferrite reflection of ferrite.

More details about the method can be found elsewhere4,5.

Tensile and hydrogen embrittlement tests. Standard mechanical properties were obtained from tensile tests on treated wire specimens of 20 cm gauge length at an

elongation rate of 3 mm min-1, per ISO 156306. A universal testing machine with a 100kN load cell and a 12.5 mm resistive extensometer were used for this purpose, and a minimum of three valid tests were carried out for each type of wire.

The International Federation for Prestressing (FIP) proposed in 1978 the ammonium thiocyanate test to control the susceptibility of such steels to hydrogen embrittlement.

Nowadays, there is general agreement that hydrogen embrittlement plays an important role in environmentally assisted cracking of cold drawn eutectoid steels. The FIP test, now assumed by an ISO standard6, ranks the wire susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement by the time to fracture of a steel wire loaded at a constant tensile force of 0.8Fm (where Fm is the maximum tensile load) and immersed in a NH4SCN solution (200 grams of NH4SCN in 800 ml of distilled water) at a constant temperature of 50±1˚C. The hydrogen susceptibility of the five batches of wires was measured following the FIP recommendations. Four to eight samples per batch were tested at each load level. The test setup and significance of test results are described in detail elsewhere7.

Results and discussion Residual stresses. The effect of the thermo-mechanical treatments on the residual stress at the surface of the wires as measured on the ferrite phase can be seen in Table 2. The residual stress at the surface seemed to follow a wavy variation along the perimeter. This asymmetry may be due to some coiling-straightening operation of the wires. That is the reason why the represented values are affected by a standard deviation ranging from 30 to 70 MPa. After the milder treatments, where load or temperature are low, the tensile residual stresses are still locally high. It is also very clear that these wires are not well straightened, keeping some “visible” curvature after the stabilizing. The axial residual stress in the surface is clearly reduced by the standard treatment, though more aggressive treatments in force or temperature, as HF and HT, are necessary to reach higher reductions or even compressive surface stresses.

The residual stresses in the ferrite phase in depth (through the cross section) measured by neutron diffraction are plotted in Fig. 1 as a function of the radial coordinate. The effect of

Table 2. Axial residual stresses at the surface of the wires: mean value and standard deviation (+ tensile, - compression).

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400ºC and 460ºC) and three stretching levels (38%, 50% and 64%) of the room temperature nominal maximum tensile stress σm (1860 MPa). The duration of the treatments are not precisely known, though it should be noted that it was a typical industrial practice time. These treatments and their notations are summarized in Table 1. The treatment S could be considered as a standard procedure in cold drawing industry.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

ence on proof stress, giving rise to systematic decrease as temperature increases; however, it has little influence on tensile strength except for 450ºC. This anomalous comportment of the material treated at 460ºC may be a consequence of changes in the microstructure, as the recovery and recrystalization of the cold worked ferrite or the spheroidization of the broken lamellas of cementite8,9. A more definite effect is detected on strain at maximum load, namely a continuous rising with the increase of the temperature of stabilization. It is worth remarkFig. 1. Axial residual stresses in ferrite measured by neutron diffraction ing that although the HT treatment is along a diameter of the wires: a) Effect of Force, b) Effect of Temperature. very effective in reducing residual stresses, changes in yield and tensile strength provide values of R0.2/Rmax unacceptthe stretching force during the post drawing thermomechaniable by some standards that require R0.2/Rmax > 0.8510. cal treatment is shown in Fig. 1. a, where the standard treatThe hydrogen embrittlement test results are also shown in ment (S) provides better results than the treatment with lower Table 3 in the form of mean time to failure as a function of force (LF). However, it seems that the residual stresses can be the treatment of stabilization. Time to failure seems to follow further reduced by increasing the stretching force (HF), as a linear dependence with the stretching load in the explored shown in the corresponding profile, which is almost flat. range. As for the temperature, the effect is moderately beneThe effect of temperature during the post drawing thermoficial up to 400ºC, though a sudden increase happens between mechanical treatment is shown in Fig. 1b, where the longituthat temperature and 460ºC. The rupture of stress relieved dinal residual stress profiles for the ferrite phase are compre-stressing wires in the FIP hydrogen embrittlement test pared. Clearly, the low-temperature (LT) treatment produces proceeds through the growth of a fissure on a slanting orienpoor results. It seems that the temperature is insufficient to tation to the wire axis and nucleated at the wire surface. It is noticeably reduce both the stresses and the wire curvature also known that increasing the stress applied to the wire (this may be the reason for the asymmetry of the profiles, as decreases the time to failure7,11,12. Such facts introduce the already mentioned). The standard treatment (S) appears satishypothesis that nucleation takes place at the surface point factory; however, if the temperature is increased (HT) the where the local stress is higher. Because of residual stresses, results are better and the differences between stresses at the the total local stress at the nucleation site—as the superposisurface and at the centre becomes almost negligible. tion of the residual and externally applied stresses—must be Tensile and hydrogen embrittlement tests. Table 3 shows the considered when analyzing these results. It is apparent that relevant mechanical parameters obtained in the tensile tests. the test ranked the environment resistance produced by the It can be appreciated from the S, LF and HF results that proof treatments in the order LF, LT, S, HF and HT, with the last stress R0.2, tensile strength Rm and strain at maximum load being the more resistant. This corresponds very well with the εm are not affected by the stretching level at 400ºC. maximum residual stresses at the surface of the wires (see The temperature of stabilization has an appreciable influTable 2) just with an additional comment regarding the HT treatment. The atypical behavior of the material treated at 460ºC may be a consequence of changes in the microstructure, as noted in the comments on the tensile test results, which bring other factors apart from residual stresses into consideration.

Conclusions

Table 3. Mechanical parameters obtained in the tensile and hydrogen embrittlement tests.

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In this work the effects of temperature and stretching level, in the range of the commercial stress-relieving treatments of prestressing steel wire, have been evaluated. From this research it can be concluded that: • Conventional thermomechanical treatments (S) are effective in relieving residual stresses generated by cold drawing, although these procedures can be improved by increasing the stretching force (HF) or increasing the heating temperature (HT).

Acknowledgements To Luis del Pozo and Luisa Villar from Emesa Trefilería, S.A. (Arteixo, La Coruña, Spain) for the supply of the steel wires, as well as for their useful comments.

References 1. E. Danciger. “Steel wire and strands for the prestressing of concrete,” Wire Journal International, Nov. 2005, pp. 7275.

2. J.M. Atienza, J. Ruiz-Hervías and M. Elices, “Improved cold-drawn eutectoid steel wires based on residual stress measurement and simulation: optimization and mechanical properties,” Wire Journal International, Nov. 2009, pp. 5259.

3. J. Ruiz, J.M. Atienza and M. Elices, “Residual stresses in wires: influence of wire length,” Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, Vol. 12, 2003, pp. 480-489.

4. J. Ruiz-Hervías, J.M. Atienza, M. Elices and E.C. Oliver,

“Optimisation of post-drawing treatments by means of neutron diffraction,” Materials Science and Engineering,” A 480, pp. 439-448, 2008.

5. M. Martinez-Perez, C.R. Borlado, F.J. Mompean, M. García-Hernandez, J. Gil-Sevillano, Ruiz-Hervías, J.M. Atienza, M. Elices, R.L. Peng and M.R. Daymond, “Residual stress profiling in the ferrite and cementite phases of colddrawn steel rods by synchrotron x-ray and neutron diffraction,” Acta Materialia, 53, 2005, pp. 4415-4425.

6. ISO Standard 15630-3, “Steel for reinforcement and prestressing of concrete. Test methods. Part 3: Prestressing steel” (Geneva, Switzerland: ISO, 2002).

7. M. Elices, L. Caballero, A. Valiente, J. Ruiz and A. Martin, “Hydrogen embrittlement of steels for prestressing concrete: the FIP and DIBt test,” Corrosion, 64, 2008, pp.

164-174.

8. Y. Yamada, “Static strain aging of eutectoid carbon steel wires,” Transactions ISIJ, 1976, 16 pp. 417-426.

9. C.E. Hinchliffe and G.D. W. Smith, “Strain aging of pearlitic steel wire during post-drawing heat treatments,” Mat. Sci. and Tech., 2001, 17, pp. 148-154.

10. J. M. Atienza and M. Elices. “Influence of residual stresses on the tensile test of cold drawn wires,” Materials and Structures, (2003, 36, pp. 548-552.

11. J.M. Atienza, M. Elices, J. Ruiz-Hervias, L. Caballero and A. Valiente, “Residual stresses and durability in cold drawn eutectoid steel wires,” Metals and Materials International, 2007, 13, pp. 139-143.

12. M. Elices, J. Ruiz and J.M. Atienza, “Influence of residual stresses on hydrogen embrittlement of cold drawn wires,” Materials and Structures, 2004, 37, pp. 315-310.

José Miguel Atienza teaches in the materials science department at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Spain. He holds a Ph.D. degree in civil engineering from UPM. Jesus Ruiz-Hervias is associate professor in the materials science department at UPM. He holds a Ph.D. degree in physics from Complutense University of Madrid. Luis Caballero is associate professor in the materials science department at Atienza Ruiz-Hervias Elices UPM. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Complutense University of Madrid. Manuel Elices is full professor of materials science sented at WAI’s 81st Annual Convention, Atlanta, and technology at UPM and dean of the faculty for Georgia, USA, May 2011. materials science and engineering. This paper was pre-

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• Increasing the stretching force (HF) during the stabilization procedure does not affect significantly the proof stress and the tensile strength of the wires, though it improves hydrogen resistance moderately.

• Increasing the temperature (HT) during the stabilization procedure decreases the tensile properties of the wires, especially the proof stress, while the strain at maximum load increases. The hydrogen resistance increases significantly above 400ºC, but the proof stress is reduced noticeably.

• Reduced values of force or heating temperature produce poor stabilizing treatments; residual stresses are still locally higher and a residual curvature is visible in the final wires.

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

PRODUCTS & MEDIA PRODUCTS System records die particulars, replaces need for die engraving At wire Düsseldorf, Eder Engineering-Austria introduced the EDDS-2 system, which the company describes as “a unique and practical invention for replacing the present number digit engraving [that will] end the hitherto necessary circumstantial and mainly manually done registration of important property and performance die-tool data.”

A press release said that the EDDS-2 can mark a small specific and continuously individual numeric alpha DataMatrix code firmly onto steel casings of the relevant die-tools in a couple of seconds and with high precision. The individual DataMatrix code, it said, “can easily get scanned, read-out and transferred to a special software, then referring to this specific individual die-tool only. The die’s property and performance data can be written into special software that can be accessed as needed, for information such as the die manufacturer, the fabrication number, material, geometry, initial bore-size, delivery date, first usage, tons of wire drawn, refurbishments, renewed use with a new bore-size, and more,” it said.

The EDDS-2 system, the release said, includes the software, which runs on modern standard PCs; hardware components like the DotPeening marking unit with the electrically-driven marking head with a high-precision, durable tungsten carbide stylus; the separate control board; and a take-up slide device for fixing the die-tools to be marked.

Contact: Dr. Kurt Eder, Eder Engineering GmbH, tel.

43-1-367-49-49, www.eder-eng.com.

Wire comes with steel-pulling grips U.S.-based Cerrowire has introduced a complete range of wire equipped with RectorSeal single-use steel pulling grips, a simple, reliable and durable single-use wire pulling tool that it said reduces set up time and allows one to pull up to four times more wire per day.

A press release said that the pulling grips eliminate waste, saving time and money, especially on larger commercial jobs. Rated for use on THHN and XHHN wire, these steel pulling grips reduce total set up time for a four-wire pull to less than five minutes. Eighteen sizes are available, ranging from 1 AWG to 750 MCM, it said. The pulling grips are made with an extremely durable steel body and are far less 72 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

likely to fail during an installation than a pulling grip made of aluminum, it said, noting that they also have a shorter body length, which allows them to corner better, further reducing failure risk compared to other pulling grips.

A contractor can receive the wire with all three or four wire lengths on a paralleled reel, ready to pull, the release said.

“At the end of each wire is a steel lanyard, used to pull the wire through the conduit; lanyards are of staggered lengths to stagger the heads, making entry into the conduit and through nineties easier. To complete the pull, a contractor simply attaches his rope to the lanyard. After the pull is complete, the grips are simply cut off and are disposable.”

“No more taking hours of expensive labor just to prepare to pull wire by preparing pulling ends,” said Rick McDonald, president of Cerrowire Electrical Distribution.

“Contractors using our pre-installed steel pulling grips will add significantly to their bottom line.”

Contact: Dale Crawford, Cerrowire LLC, tel. 256-7732522, dcrawford@cerrowire.com, www.cerrowire.com.

Measuring device can serve a dual role Germany’s Sikora AG, represented in the U.S. by Sikora International Corporation, has introduced the TIGER LASER 6010 XY, an innovative two-in-one measuring device that is designed to simultaneously measure diameter and surface of cables for lumps and neckdowns.

A press release said that the technology, based on two high-resolution image sensors, is suitable for product diameters from 0.004 in. to 0.39 in. (0.1 mm to 10 mm). “By means of these sensors the surface profile is inspected and faults are reliably detected,” it said, adding that the high measuring rate “guarantees the highest precision of the diameter measuring results.” Optionally, the TIGER LASER 6010 XY can be combined with a device of the ECOCONTROL-series for displaying the faults, allowing cable manufacturers to evaluate faults realistically without the need of rewinding. The images, it added, can be saved on

Flux-cored welding wire offers high deposition rates and flat bead look U.S.-based Lincoln Electric has introduced UltraCore® HD-M, a new gas-shielded, flux-cored welding wire for shipbuilding and general fabrication applications.

A press release said that UltraCore HD-M, which is 75% argon and 25% CO2 gas-shielded flux-cored (FCAW-G) wire, was designed to provide the high deposition rates and flat bead appearance required in many out-of-position applications. The welding wire, it said, offers premium arc performance, with key features including high-deposition rates, more than10 lb/hr. out-of-position; fast freezing slag for a flat bead shape and increased productivity in all positions, including vertical up and overhead; and a wide operating range allows operators to set the machine on a single setting and weld in all positions.

The welding wire, the release said, meets the most demanding requirements for shipbuilding and general fabrication industries. “With high deposition rates and a broad operating range, this flux-cored wire is capable of delivering a flat bead face when used in all positions.” The wire, it noted, conforms to AWS A5.20/A5.20M: E71T-1M / 9M-

H8 classification.

The wire, it said, is ABS approved to 3YSA H10, and is available in 15 lb, 33 lb and 50 lb packages in standard diameters of .045, .052 and 1/16 in.

Contact: Lincoln Electric Company, www.lincolnelectric.com.

Fluidized-bed technology can reduce energy use by up to 15% German’s Wire Körner GmbH reports that its new fluidized-bed furnaces for the heat treatment of wire have been shown to save wire producers as much as 15% in energy costs, which it noted for a typical unit could translate to more than 7,000 euros in savings a year.

A press release said that the company, which first introduced the technology at wire 2010, has since commissioned two systems, one at a customer’s site in Turkey, the second installed in Ecuador. “These innovative furnaces, which have no distributor pipes or tiles, afford the benefit of lower

JULY 2012 | 73

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

the ECOCONTROL process system.

Contact: Sikora International Corp., tel. 770-486-1233, sales@sikora-usa.com, www.sikora.net.

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

energy consumption by up to 15% and low investment and maintenance costs,” it said. It noted that its method of premixing the combustion gas outside the furnace results in uniform temperature distribution and reduced emissions as the new design achieves a uniform fuel-air mixing ratio throughout the fluidized bed and a homogeneous temperature distribution over the width and length.

“The patent-pending furnaces dispense with distributor elements as typically used in conventional designs,” the release said. This eliminates components that used to be thought indispensable, such as the fairly complex and expensive distributor tiles and perforated distribution pipes or stand-by blowers, it said. “The simplicity of the design has obviously convinced our customers,” said Peter Kordt, principal of Wire Körner. He said that the process also provides significant maintenance savings as the required blower capacity can be about 20% less than other designs.

Further, the new design no longer requires a stand-by blower, which was necessary in the past to provide cooling air to cool the steel structures in the event of a power failure.

Contact: Wire Körner GmbH, tel. 49- 2331-800-68-0, info@wirekoerner.com, www.wirekoerner.com.

Specialized LSFOH polymer was designed for South America market At wire Düsseldorf 2012, U.S.-based PolyOne Corporation introduced ECCOH™Solutions, a line of specialized LSFOH (low smoke and fume, non-halogen) products for the South American wire and cable market.

A press release described ECCOH as PolyOne’s global brand for its range of LSFOH materials, which are used in critical applications such as wire sheathing and insulation in homes and offices. ECCOH, which offers many advantages to alternative materials, provides ease of processing to help optimize line speeds, it said, adding that customers will be better able to meet applicable regulations for the region as a result of its flame-retardant properties and its limiting oxygen efficiency (LOI) close to 40. The ECCOH portfolio, it said, was designed to meet a range of stress crack conditions, depending on the application and process, and for LOI requirements ranging from 34 to over 40.

The products, the release said, enable manufacturers to meet the needs of a variety of applications while also meeting local, regional specification requirements around the world. It noted that wire and cable demand in South America is growing as an expanding middle class builds new homes, and as industry, business and government groups invest in new infrastructure. The market for fire-safe cables is strong because of the introduction of new standards and a heightened safety aware74 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

ness, it said, citing the FIFA World Cup in 2014 that will be hosted in Brazil, along with the Olympic Games in 2016.

“These high profile global events will require new infrastructure and buildings to be constructed according to the most stringent safety requirements.”

“The requirements placed on our customers in the region have become even more exacting, and we are pleased to offer this new solution to assist them in meeting the necessary standards for low-voltage wire and cable,” said Murielle Chuzeville, general manager, ECCOH™ highperformance solutions.

Contact: PolyOne Corporation, www.polyone.com.

New cable lines serve multiple markets Nexans has introduced the NEWSENSE™ range of cable solutions, which the company notes offers state-of-the-art customized solutions for medical imaging and invasive applications.

A press release said that Nexans introduced its NEWSENSE line of medical micro and composite power and data cables at MEDTEC Europe. “The new brand brings together Nexans’ well-established cables for medical imaging and invasive applications within a single coherent range of customized solutions developed to enable OEMs to build more convenience and intelligence into their investigative, diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.” The cables, it said, offer a wide range of microcable and composite cable solutions with full biocompatibility, ease of sterilization and flexibility for various devices used in obstetrics, gynecology, cardiology, dentistry, endoscopy and the veterinary sciences. “They provide high data capacity and multiconstructions in miniaturized format, with electro-magnetic shielding for safe clinical operation and surgery, and comply fully with EU and other international directives,” it said.

The cables are available in gauges AWG 28 to 48, with up to 14 conductors laid up in pairs, for applications such as catheters, the release said. Smaller cross-section cables can be developed to suit specific customer requirements, while for pacemakers they are offered in wire or coaxial cable, AWG 28 to 34, with a stainless steel conductor, it said. The NEWSENSE cable line includes flexible composite cables that incorporate various solutions, from micro-coax to a complete set of plastic fiber-optic cables, twisted pairs and tubes, it said, adding that for invasive applications, such as diagnostic cardiac catheters, sensors and pacemakers, the cables offer high durability when subjected to mechanical loads such as tension, torsion and bending.

Contact: Nexans, www.nexans.com.

Line can both strand and sheath power cables, ideal for low-voltage Austria’s Rosendahl AG has introduced a line for producing power cables that merges SZ stranding with sheathing.

A press release said that being able to go from single insulated conductors to a finished power cable offers a lot of advantages for the manufacturer. “Thanks to the SZ tech-

optimized manufacturing conditions: Low investment and reduced operating costs guarantee an efficient production of power cables.

Contact: Rosendahl AG, tel. 43-3113-5100-0, www.rosendahlaustria.com.

New fluoropolymer offers more possibilities for exacting cable uses The U.S. operations of DuPont have introduced ECCtreme™ ECA 3000, which is described as an “innovative new class of high-temperature perfluoropolymer” that expands the design possibilities for wire and cable used in new and demanding applications.

A press release said that the new material offers groundbreaking capability for high performance under extreme temperatures and conditions as the resin insulation has the potential to operate at 300°C with the same high-temperature properties of perfluoropolymers typically used in these applications, far surpassing the 260°C limit inherent in traditional perfluoropolymer insulating materials. “ECCtreme ECA 3000 allows energy industries to move beyond limitations that have hindered operation in harsh environments, thereby expanding the current available options for wire and cable,” a company spokesman said. He noted that the product was developed in response to the wire and cable indus-

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PRODUCTS & MEDIA

nology, where no heavy mass is in rotation, the working principle is the same as in conventional helical stranding systems. The payoffs and take-ups stands in the line are stationary reelers which need no special foundation. The nonrotating reeler also helps to improve the line efficiency due to a very fast and simple reel loading and unloading cycle,” it said.

The equipment, the release said, is ideal for low-voltage cable up to 1 kV with a cross section up to 240 mm² of each single conductor. The quality of the finished power cable can be observed on the take-up reel, it said, noting the following: “As the reel does not need to be transferred between the stranding and the sheathing process, time and space saving is guaranteed. There is also no limitation for the size of take-up which helps to get a long product length on bigger take-up reels. The advantage of non-rotating machinery allows a very safe working area for the operators and reduces the maintenance efforts. A perfect combination for

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

try’s demand for a high-temperature, melt-extrudable polymer that has characteristics similar to PTFE, in order to allow innovative uses and greater reliability.

The release said that the product is unique in how it responds to extremely high temperatures. When the polymer is heat-treated at temperatures greater than 280°C, the result is epitaxial co-crystallization (ECC), which actually improves the functionality of the polymer. This new capability offers options for high-temperature tolerance in: geothermal uses, electric submersible pumps (ESP), data-logging cables, other oil and gas applications, aerospace uses, automotive uses, heater cables and appliance wire, it said.

Contact: DuPont, www.dupont.com.

MEDIA World Steel in Figures 2012 offers a wealth of information about big steel The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has published the 2012 edition of World Steel in Figures, which the Brussel’s-based body notes is available at worldsteel.org.

76 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

The publication, a press release said, provides essential facts and statistics about the global steel industry. The book contains comprehensive information on crude steel production, apparent steel use, pig iron production, steel trade, iron ore production and trade, and scrap trade. It includes major steel-producing countries, top steel-producing companies, and top steel-consuming countries. It notes that the list of top steel-producing companies includes birth members and non-members of worldsteel, and that the tonnages are for all types of steel, including stainless, and that they are based on worldsteel reporting rules as regards part-owned steelworks.

Details about worldsteel member company ownership and tonnage calculations are also available, the release said.

Also, apparent steel use comprises the deliveries of steel to the marketplace from the domestic steel producers together with imports, which differs from real steel use, which takes into account steel delivered to or drawn from inventories, it said The release said that worldsteel represents approximately 180 steel producers (including 17 of the world’s 20 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members represent around 85% of world steel production.

Contact: World Steel Association, worldsteel.org.

WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS seeking positions are entitled to free “Position Wanted” classified ads. Limit: one ad per issue, three ads per year. This benefit is not transferable to nonmembers or to companies.

BLIND BOX INFO: Responses to Blind Box ads should be addressed to: Wire Journal International, Box number (as it appears in print or on-line), P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA.

CLASSIFIED AD RATES: • $1.30 per word for WJI and on-line classifieds at wirenet.org (20-word minimum). • Blind box numbers, add $25. • Boldface headlines, add $6 per line (up to 18 characters per line). Specify category.

PAYMENT POLICY: All ads must be pre-paid.

DEADLINES: Copy is due a full month in advance.

Contact: classified@wirenet.org for more details.

WANTED: AGENTS

WANTED: PRODUCT LINES

MANUFACTURER SALES REPRESENTATIVES. Established US Manufacturer of welded wire mesh products looking for sales agents in the following global regions, Africa, Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America. Must work with complementary product lines in marine, fencing, fence security, cage, construction, farming/agriculture or reinforcement mesh.

For more information, please contact: jobs@riverdale.com.

MANUFACTURER’S REPRESENTATIVE. The Metallo Sales Group is seeking additional lines to represent in the wire industry. Our current lines are; copper alloy, wire, strip, rod and bar.

We have extensive experience in manufacturing and sales in the ferrous and nonferrous wire industry. For more information please contact us at: metallosales@msn.com or you can call: 802.368.2555.

PERSONNEL SERVICES “LET OUR SUCCESS BE YOUR SUCCESS” Wire Resources is the

COMMISSION BROKERS, INC. EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS TO THE ELECTRICAL WIRE & CABLE INDUSTRY APPRAISERS • COMMISSION BROKERS • INDIVIDUAL PIECES OR ENTIRE PLANTS

FOR SALE

1 - NIEHOFF Model SPH801.1.G.E.A Automatic Spooler 1 - NEB 12-C #2 Braider, Long Legs, Motor 3 - TMW 24-Carrier Cable Braiders, 6” Horn Gears 1 - EDMANDS 18-Wire, 6+12, 16” Planetary Cabler Line 2 - NEB Model C62-2 12-Wire 8” Vertical Planetary Cablers, 1987 1 - PIONEER 50” Caterpuller Capstan, new belts 1 - DAVIS STANDARD 4.5” 24:1 L/D Extruders 1 - D/S 2.5” 24:1 L/D Hi-Temp Extruder 1 - D/S 2” 30:1 L/D Hi-Temp Extruder 1 - WAYNE 1.5” 24:1 L/D Extruder 1 - SKALTEK 1600mm Motorized Payoff, Model A16-4K 1 - HALL 40” Motorized Payoff w/Dancer 1 - REEL-O-MATIC Model PO-10 Payoff 1 - CLIPPER DF6 Dual Cone Flyer Payoff (24” Reels) w/Reel Jacks 1 - BARTELL 12-By B64 Tubular Strander 1 - ROSENDAHL 630mm Parallel Axis Dual Reel Take-up, never used 1 - NOKIA Model EKP50 Parallel Axis Dual Reel Take-up, 1997

1 - SPHEREX 18” Dual Reel Take-up, refurbished 1 - CLIPPER Model SP16 Dual Spooler 2 - AL-BE Model MS12 Respoolers, 12” Reels 1 - REEL-O-MATIC Model PRR1 Rim Drive Powered Reel Roller 1 - REEL-O-MATIC Model RD-5 Rim Drive Takeup w/Coiling Head 1 - REEL-O-MATIC Model RD-10 Rim Drive Take-up 1 - WEMCO 84” Take-up, Model 8284B, w/Mobility Package 1 - TEC Model DTC630 D.T. Twister 2 - ENTWISTLE 4-Wire 24” D.T. Twisters, Model 4WDT24 1 - FINE Preheater, Model IP4000-180-1, 2007 1 - EUBANKS Model 4000-04 Cut and Strip Machine 1 - GETTIG Tape and Labeling System 3 - CARPENTER Strippers, Model 70-B 1 - MICRODIA Crosshead, Model M9000/10XFL 1 - DCM Electronic Switching System, Model ES350PC 1 - FORMULABS ‘Codemaster 5’ Spiral Striper, 5’ Oven

Contact: Martin Kenner

COMMISSION BROKERS, INC.

foremost recruiting firm in the Wire & Cable Industry. Since 1967 we have partnered with industry manufacturers to secure the services of thousands of key individual contributors and managers.

Contacts: Peter Carino, pcarino@ wireresources.com or at www. linked in.com/in/petercarino1, or Jack Cutler, jcutler@wireresources.com.

Wire Resources Inc, 522 E Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830, tel. (203) 622-3000 or (800) 394-WIRE. Visit our website at www.wireresources. com.

DIES APOLLO DIA-CARB COMPANY Sells Natural/PCD diamond dies.

Fair prices/excellent lead times.

Contact Paulette, Owner/Sales Tel. # 1 (508) 226-1508 or 1 (508) 226-0946 E-mail: apollodie@comcast.net AJEX - WIRE & COMPACTING DIES. Ajex & Turner offers a wide range of Wire Drawing and Compacting Dies for any size in PCD, ND, Carbide and Nano at a very competitive price with a Conoptica Report.

We also make Extrusions Tools and machines for die polishing and regrinding and supply with die polishing accessories at free of cost. Kindly contact us by email: sales@ajexturner.com and visit our company’s website at: www.ajexturner.com.

MACHINERY WWW.URBANOASSOCIATES. COM. For New (Hakusan Heat Pressure Welders, Ferrous & Non-

P.O. Box 8456 • Cranston, RI 02920-0456 • Tel. (401) 943-3777 • Fax: (401) 943-3670 WEB: www.commissionbrokers.com • E-MAIL: marty137@aol.com

JULY 2012 | 77

CLASSIFIEDS

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WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFIED AD INFORMATION

CLASSIFIEDS

NAME _________________________________________________________________________TITLE _________________________________________________ COMPANY ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY ________________________________________STATE _______________POSTAL CODE _____________________COUNTRY _______________________ PHONE ______________________________FAX________________________________EMAIL _______________________________________________________ AD CATEGORY____________ ISSUE YOUR AD BEGINS___________E-mail_____________________________________ NUMBER OF ISSUES RUN _______LAST ISSUE ________________RUN TILL FURTHER NOTICE? YES____ NO ____ FULL RUN (WJI & ON-LINE) YES____ NO ____

BLIND BOX? YES____ NO ____

WAI MEMBER? YES____ NO ____ WAI MEMBERSHIP # ______________________ (Applies only to “Position Wanted”)

Ferrous; Marldon Rolling Ring Traverses) & Used Wire & Cable Equipment (buttwelders, coldwelders, color-o-meters and pointers). Tel: 727863-4700 or by e-mail, please send to urbassoc@verizon.net.

MEDIA THE ROEBLING LEGACY. This 288-page indexed book by Clifford W.

Zink presents a different perspective of the Roebling legacy. “But it’s all wire,” proclaimed a 1950s Roebling Company brochure about its product line, which included wire rope, copper magnet and electrical wire, screens and hardware cloth, aircord and aircraft strand, flat and braided wire, PC wire and strand, galvanized bridge wire, among others.

To maximize quality, the Roeblings started drawing their own wire in the

Please e-mail the requested information to: WAI’s Cindy Kirmss at ckirmss@wirenet.org.

For more details, you can call her at 203-453-2777, ext. 116.

1850s, rolling bars into rods in the 1870s, and making their own steel in the 1900s. Wire is the binding thread through 125 years of Roebling and American industrial history chronicled in The Roebling Legacy. The price is $75, $50 for WAI members, plus shipping. To purchase, go to wirenet.org and click on The WAI Bookstore.

RAISE RAISE YO UR YOUR ST TANDARDS. STANDARDS. Davis-Standard is a company with employees worldwide. We have manufacturing United manufacturing facilities facilities in the United United d States, Statess, Germany, Germany, and the United officces in Russia, France, Singapore, and Kingdom, as well as representative offices China. Davis-Standard, an internationall leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of extrusion systems has an opening for:

DESIGN EN ENGINEER NGINEER The Design Engineer will be responsibl responsible e for product engineering, product design improvement and value engine engineering eering of complete product line to include, Wire and Cable downstream components and extruders for all formulate product lines. We will look to you to for mulate and develop designs for the exxisting products as well as develop improvement and cost reduction of existing and d test new designs. d i Requires a minimum of 4 years of wire and cable downstream machinery knowledge design experience and working know wledge of Solidworks and Autocad. communication You must possess excellent communic cation skills and pay close attention equired. to detail. BS- Mechanical Engineering rrequired.

We offer excellent compensation, full benefits and talented professional e-mail colleagues. For consideration, please e-mail your resume to: resume@Davis-Standard.com.

www.davis-standard.com www.davis-st tandard.com Davis-Standard, LLC is an equal opportun opportunity ity employer & a drug free workplace.

78 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

Anbao Wire & Mesh Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

George Evans Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

August Strecker GmbH & Co KG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Howar Equipment Inc/ Metavan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Bergandi Machinery Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Huestis Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30, 52

Beta LaserMike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Keir Manufacturing Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Carris Reels Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4

Lesmo Machinery America Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Cemanco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Lesmo Machinery America Inc/ Appiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Commission Brokers Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Locton Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Conneaut Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Paramount Die Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Davis-Standard LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Parkway-Kew Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Esteves Group USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Pressure Welding Machines Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

T Fukase & Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Properzi International Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Fushi Copperweld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Queins Machines GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

GCR Eurodraw SpA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 2

REELEX Packaging Solutions Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Gem Gravure Co Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

SAMP USA Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Equipment Sales | Equipment Purchasing | Reconditioning Services www.wireandplastic.com | Info@wireandplastic.com

JULY 2012 | 79

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ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE Sheaves Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 SIKORA AG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Sept. 2012 WJI

Strecker USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

• Equipment • Preview: Wire & Cable India 2012

T Fukase & Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Advertising Deadline: Aug. 1, 2012

Simpacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Sjogren Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Talladega Machinery & Supply Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, 76 Teknor Apex Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Tubular Products Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 WAFIOS Machinery Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 3 Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Witels Albert USA Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Woodburn Diamond Die Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Wyrepak Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,48 Zumbach Electronics Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL ADS Interwire 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-15 WAI Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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Robert J. Xeller Anna Bzowski Wire Journal International 1570 Boston Post Road P.O. Box 578 Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA Tel: 203-453-2777 Fax: 203-453-8384 sales@wirenet.org

U.K., France, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Denmark & Scandinavia Jennie Franks David Franks & Co. 63 St. Andrew’s Road Cambridge CB4 1DH, England Tel/fax: 44-1223-360472 franksco@btopenworld.com

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SALES OFFICES ASIA/WAI INDIA OFFICE Germany, Austria, & Switzerland Dagmar Melcher Media Service International Spitzwegstraße 4 82402 Seeshaupt Germany Tel: 49-8801-914682 Fax: 49-8801-914683 dmelcher@t-online.de

India Wire & Cable Services Pvt. Ltd. (WCS) 501, Rainbow Plaza, S. No. 7 Pimple-Saudeagar Vil. Rahatani, Pune - 411017, India Huned Contractor mobile - +91 988 1084 202 hcontractor@wirenet.org