Compounds & Colorants

WIREE JOU JOURNAL JANUARY 2017

®

50 RS YEA 8-2017 196

INTERNATIONAL www.wirenet.org

COMPOUNDS & COLORANTS

Report to Members  2017 Officers 

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS

Volume 50 | Number 1 | January 2017

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

FEATURE

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Industry News. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Patent Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Asian Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fiber Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fastener Update . . . . . . . . . . 27 WAI News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Chapter Corner . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Technical Papers . . . . . . 58-74 Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Career Opportunities . . . . . . 85 Advertisers’ Index . . . . . . . . 87

Next issue:

February 2017 • Packaging

Report to Members . . . . . . . . . 32 A look at some of the Association’s activities in the past year and looking forward to new focuses in 2017.

Compounds and Colorants . . . . 44 This feature presents a range of thoughts from industry suppliers. The Products section includes entries from some of the suppliers, and the below technical papers all focus on compounds.

TECHNICAL PAPERS (ALL FROM IWCS) Development and qualification of a high performance zero halogen primary 90°C wet rated LV insulation system Mike E. Slevin, David G. Roberts, Allan P. Marconi and James Freestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Perfluorinated polymers with improved thermal performance Mehdi Emad, Mattia Bassi, Giambattista Besana, Pasqua Colaianna and Marco Mirenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Flame retardancy of wire and cable formulations - fact or fiction Todd M. Cooke and Rajeev S. Mathur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Cover: While nobody is encouraging cables to be laid like this, they do make for an artistic statement for the industry’s ultimate end use of compounds and colorants.

JANUARY 2017 | 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Proton Products International/U.K.

gauges, which it noted are saving cable manufacturers serious money every day around the world.

As cable manufacturers purchase raw materials by the ton and then sell by length, it’s extremely important to make sure that when you sell a reel of cable at 1000 ft, its is not 1003 ft or 1005 ft, essentially giving away 0.3% or 0.5% for free, which can be typical in many production facilities. The InteliSENS SL Series gauges are calibrated to 0.03%, and with no moving parts to wear and non-contact operation eliminating slippage, we are extremely proud to work with our customers and provide a gauge that truly helps save money and improve profitability.

The DGK Series of gauges have no moving parts and measure the diameter 10,000oftimes There was plenty to an seeamazing for attendees the per second, per axis.

Available as either a dualor triple-axis Nov. 9-10 Open House held by Niehoff Endex gauge, the SuperInc. Fast(NENA) Processing Technology North America, at its operationsanalyzes in up to 30,000 measurements perbiennial second to display Swedesboro, New Jersey. The event, firstand communicate ovality, lumps and neckdowns. held 20 years diameter, ago, saw representatives from 30 comThe company alsoofshowed a full range included of products panies.

The “star” the event—which a including spark testers, capacitance range of industry presentations and gauges, tabletoplump dis- and neck detectors, heaters, speed & length gauges and plays—was the pre company’s new generation multi-wire drawing line, type MMH 112 and RM 202.

Skaltek America introduced its new headquarters to customers and suppliers at its Dec. 8-9 Open House Grant Latimer, Proton Products. at the company’s 51,000-sq-ft building in Alpharetta, Georgia.

The site houses its U.S.exhibition staff and showcases It was without doubt our busiest and our full the company’s packaging technology welltoastake its care team of agents and employees were onashand rebuilding/upgrading services.

Company President of our customers.” Grant Latimer, managing director, Ralph Skalleberg said that the investment was made g.latimer@protonproducts.com. because it was important to show customers that Skaltek is committed to providing long-term support.

CONTENTS CONTENTS

At Interwire, Proton Products International showcased

4 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

FEATURE

‘new generation’ atSL Open 12 the company’s InteliSENS seriesHouse speed and length

the hugely popular combined Diameter and Flaw Detection Gage DGK SuperFast Series. ”We’d like to say a bigcustomer-inspired ‘thank you’ to all who visited (us) at Interwire 2015.

A endeavor 16

JUNE 2015 | 73

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL

New Year, new president, no controversy Every new year signals a chance to reflect on the past 12 months and set expectations for the coming year. As managers, and all of us that are managed, this is a management practice that precedes Lean Six Sigma and Covey’s Highly Effective Habits and even Deming’s Statistical Analysis. Frankly, this was an industry fabric well before the emergence of business schools and the industrial revolution. We could give credit to early farmers who used the winter months to enjoy the fall’s harvest and strategically planned to improve their yield for the next season.

For me, the New Year holds the excitement of being president of the Wire Association International, of which I have been a member since 1994. Yes, wire and cable has been my career, and I am very proud of my chosen profession. There is nothing comparable to the satisfaction of engineering solutions. Whether you hold positions in production, accounting, quality, engineering, purchasing, sales or maintenance, we are all charged with finding engineering solutions, which can be anything from new products and improved product performance to improved operational or administrative efficiency.

Of course, not every day is amazing. Unlike the farming sector, there is no off season as the challenges are endless. We are seemingly chasing perfection in the form of zero scrap, zero defects, no lead time, low cost and high-value designations, zero workplace injuries, no unscheduled downtime and zero staff turnover.

We all face such pressures. The key is that, while we are on this journey of continuous improvement, we take the time for an occasional deep breath. For me, that breath literally requires an oxygen tank as I go scuba diving at least once a year. For a very different reason, participating in WAI has provided me with a broader perspective on the industry, and I am convinced that the ROI has been significant relative to my day-to-day responsibilities.

I am grateful to my colleagues at Nexans for their support. I feel fortunate to work for a company that sees the value of the Association and its “rising tide” philosophy. I also look forward to working to support the Association’s continuous journey of providing value to the industry (see p. 32). We’re all in this together.

Thanks, IWCS The WAI is grateful to IWCS for allowing WJI to run technical papers that were presented at its 2016 annual event. WJI plans to run some of those papers, along with those from the Association’s Mexico ITC, and other sources/events, during 2017.

Dave Hawker Nexans Energy Cable North America WAI President

6 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

WIRE JOURNAL

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR May 8-10, 2017: Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This WAI event, to be co-located with Interwire 2017, focuses on ferrous rod and wire processes, www.wirenet.org.

Oct. 3-5, 2017: Wire South America São Paulo, Brazil. To be held at the Imigrantes Exhibition & Convention Center. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

May 9-11, 2017: Interwire 2017 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This WAI event, which will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, includes its trade show, technical programs and 87th Annual Convention, www.wirenet.org.

Oct. 8-11, 2017: 66th IWCS International Cable & Connectivity Symposium Orlando, Florida, USA. Contact: Pat Hudak, IWCS, tel. 717-993-9500, phudak@iwcs.org, www.iwcs.org.

May 12-15, 2017: wire Russia Moscow, Russia. To be held at the EXPOCENTRE in Krasnaya Presnya, this event is organized by Messe Düsseldorf. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

Nov. 7, 2017: CabWire World Conference 2017 Düsseldorf, Germany. To be held at the Congress Center, this event is organized by U.K.-based International Wire & Machinery Association.

Contact: IWMA, tel. 44-121-781-7367, info@iwma.org, www.iwma.org.

June 9-11, 2017: Wire & Cable Guangzhou 2017 Guangzhou, China. To be held at the China Import Export Fair Complex. Contact: Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co., tel. 86-20-38251558, wire@china. messefrankfurt.com, www.wire-cable-china.com.

Sept. 19-21, 2017: wire Southeast Asia 2017 Bangkok, Thailand. To be held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), this event is organized by Messe Düsseldorf. Contact: Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

May 15-16, 2018: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2018 Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This WAI event, to be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, includes the Association’s trade show, technical programs and 88th Annual Convention.

WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL EVENTS January 26, 2017: New England Chapter Annual Meeting See p. 41.

March 2-4, 2017: 7th International Conference on Drawing Zakopane, Poland. See p. 40.

May 8-10, 2017: Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium

8 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This WAI event, to be co-located with Interwire 2017, focuses on ferrous rod and wire processes. www.wirenet.org.

May 9-11, 2017: Interwire 2017 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This WAI event, to be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, includes its trade show,

technical programs and 87th Annual Convention, www.wirenet.org.

May 15-16, 2018: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2018 Nashville, Tennessee, USA. See main entry.

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS Alcatel-Lucent chosen by Vocus to build the Australia Singapore Cable Vocus Group Limited has chosen Nokia-owned Alcatel-Lucent to build the Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) subsea cable that will connect Perth in Western Australia with Singapore.

that by 2019, 30% of Australia’s overall international bandwidth will be connected to Asia.

“The investment case for ASC is underpinned by strong demand, the need for diversity and resilience for both the Australian and Asian markets, and the fact that ASC will connect Australia to Southeast Asia, India, and Europe at lower round-trip times, outperforming any other existing cable system,” the release said.

ASC also has partnering arrangements with XL Axiata Tbk5 that provide security of tenure, commercial arrangements and nation-wide coverage in Indonesia through XL’s 21,000-km domestic transmission network.

The cable will also connect to Indonesian telco XL Axiata Tbk, which owns a fiber network connecting 90% of the Indonesian population.

“ASC, combined with Nextgen’s trans-Australian fiber network and Vocus’ capacity on the Southern Cross cable to Los Angeles, provides a competitive alternative route for data traffic from the Indian Ocean region through to North America,” the release said. The existing cable, called SEA-ME-WE-3, was laid in 2000.

Alcatel-Lucent will supply the ASC subsea cable.

A press release said that the ASC cable system, approximately 4,600 km, will cost approximately $170 million.

The ASC system will be designed to provide a minimum of 40Tbps of capacity from Western Australia to South East Asia, with that capacity forecast to expand via technology advancements over the coming years. ASC is expected to take approximately 19 months to build, with completion targeted by August 2018. Its effective life is estimated to be a minimum of 25 years.

The release said that ASC was a key strategic consideration in Vocus’ decision to purchase Nextgen Networks, as it—in combination with Nextgen’s trans-Australian fiber network—creates a fully interconnected, high capacity fiber network owned by Vocus from the East Coast of Australia through to Singapore (via Perth), with direct connectivity into Indonesia, which has a population of more than 230 million people.

Prior to the acquisition of Nextgen Networks, ASC was a 50/50 joint venture project between Nextgen Networks and Vocus.

In a report commissioned on the ASC project in early 2016, telecom data market experts TeleGeography estimated that demand for bandwidth between Australia and Asia would exceed 50 Tbps by 2029. The report estimates ASC has the opportunity to capture a minimum of 15.5 Tbps of capacity sales by year-end 2029, resulting in expected revenues of at least US$550m over this period, by which time ASC will have been operating for only 40% of its effective life. TeleGeography estimates

Prysmian acquires Shen Huan Cable plant through a bankruptcy auction The Prysmian Group announced that it has won a bankruptcy auction for certain assets of a high-voltage Chinese cable plant in the city of Yixing, in the Wuxi municipality of the Jiamgsu Province, that was previously operated by Shen Huan Cable Technologies (SHCT).

A press release said that the acquisition, for approximately €42 million, is to be carried out by its holding company, Prysmian Technology Jiangsu Co. Ltd. (PTJ).

Per a condition of the agreement, Prysmian divested its 67% equity in Prysmian Baosheng Cable Co., Ltd. Baosheng HV Cable Co. The new company, Prysmian Technology Jiangsu, will primarily serve Chinese power utilities and grid operators as well as Asia Pacific and other developing and emerging markets, with a particular focus on high-tech projects. Once the acquisition is completed, PTJ will have facilities with more than 190,000 sq m and five production lines—two VCV lines up to 500 kV, one CCV line up to 220 kV and two CCV lines for MV cables— with a production capacity of over 20,000 tons per year.

PTJ will be able to offer products such as MV, HV and EHA cables as well as Fire Protection cables, from

Got news? E-mail it to the WJI at editor@wirenet.org.

10 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

SAMPSISTEMI reports acquisition of both Euroalpha and Euro Extrusion SAMPSISTEMI announced that it has acquired two Italian companies—Euroalpha and Euro Extrusion—in a deal that will strengthen its market presence and scope.

“The acquisitions are in line with the ... SAMPSISTEMI strategy to focus its activities in each one of the three market segments in which it operates: drawing, rotating and extrusion equipment for the wire and cable industry,” a press release said. “The combined resources will broaden the overall technical know-how, product range and service capabilities, and specialized teams will provide leading high value added solutions on a worldwide basis. Customers will benefit from a more focused approach, higher service level and a new technological boost able to reduce equipment total cost of ownership for wire and cable makers.”

Euroalpha, which includes the Euroalpha RM rotating machines division, was described as a highly experienced and respected manufacturer of wiredrawing and stranding machines for the nonferrous industry. “The company has developed a remarkable know-how which complements SAMPSISTEMI very well. Both companies’ product lines will benefit from development of enhancements, technologies and models due to the ability to leverage shared resources and cross-utilization of proven engineering designs. With an expanded and synergized global platform, the capability to serve global markets will be greatly increased.”

Euro Extrusion, with its vast experience in lines for coating electrical cables, tire tread extruders and fiber optic cables lines, will further bolster SAMPSISTEMI in the extrusion sector. All R&D and production activities related to extrusion applications have been moved to a brand new 7,500-sq-m technology center located in the Milan area.

Per the release, SAMPSISTEMI plans to strengthen the capability to market and service Euroalpha, Euroalpha RM

Wire & cable in the news A town wants to bury this (cable) issue The small town of Clayton, part of Jefferson County in New York, is very proud of its historic district. It also wants to bury power cables in that section, a change that its leaders say would make it safer and look even better.

Only, the question is, who should pick up the tab?

Per reports in the Watertown Daily Times, the village’s Board of Trustees wants to remove overhead wires for a construction project within the village’s Historic District and install underground cables. The goal is to eliminate “a safety hazard” as the overhead power cable lines are subject to going down.

To that end, the Village Board passed Local Law No. 2, which calls for the Village to pay for the underground infrastructure, but for National Grid (NG) to bury them at no cost to customers.

To no great surprise, NG A near picture-perfect image, finds that view shocking. but who should pay for a An NG spokesperson said cable-free historic view? that the company would be pleased to do the work, but that cost would have to go to customers via a “levied surcharge.”

The Village Board insists that potential winter weather and other issues related to the distance of some cable, create a safety hazard, which makes this the responsibility of NG. “We think we have a great case,” Mayor Norma Zimmer said.

NG responded that the overhead lines do not put anyone in danger, that the Village Board “mischaracterized” their cable infrastructure, and that the portrayal of the safety issue is “completely unfounded.”

Other power suppliers are also involved in the matter, which as might be expected, remains an electrifying topic. and Euro Extrusion product portfolio on a global basis, given the distinguishing, unique values of each product line and brand. “The above-mentioned strategic initiative follows the earlier acquisition of Cortinovis do Brasil, a well-known and trusted player in the Brazilian and South American market, which has further strengthened SAMPSISTEMI’s global platform by combining the companies’ decade-long experiences, and giving the distinctive ability to serve key markets with local support.” SAMPSISTEMI, Euroalpha and Euro Extrusion customers will now benefit from a wider global organization that will support its customers from its locations in Italy, China, Brazil and the U.S., it said.

JANUARY 2017 | 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

6 kV to 500 kV. The facility will be capable of producing all the main designs available in the HV systems sector.

“Prysmian Technology Jiangsu will offer the Group’s full range of HV technologies and become the HV Centre of Excellence in APAC,” said Prysmian Group China CEO Luigi Migliorini. “Thanks to this acquisition, Prysmian will significantly increase its competitiveness in the Chinese utilities market with greater operational flexibility, efficiency and technical developments.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS Superior Essex and Furukawa announce their plans to partner in a European JV Superior Essex Inc. and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Furukawa), announced that they plan to form a European joint venture that will produce high-voltage wire.

A press release said that the joint venture of Furukawa and Essex Magnet Wire, a division of Superior Essex Inc., will supply a new type of high-voltage winding wire, primarily for the automotive industry throughout the European economic area. The production will be used for electrical-driving motors, generators and reactors. The venture will pair the global resources and technical expertise of Essex with Furukawa’s European sales force and manufacturing operations as well as technology that will be licensed to the entity to supply the new wire to automotive customers in Europe.

To be based in Bad Arolsen, Germany, the joint venture will operate under the name Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire Europe. Essex Magnet Wire will be the majority shareholder of the joint venture, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017 “following the execution of definitive agreements and the receipt of required regulatory approvals.”

Plant was scheduled to soon be launched. Equipment foundations were being constructed, to be followed by equipment installation and commissioning.

Biennial Niehoff Open House continues tradition of celebration and information For the past two decades, Niehoff Endex North America, Inc. (NENA) has opened its doors to customers and partners for a biennial Open House, and the latest one, held Nov. 9-10, saw record attendance at the company’s operations in Swedesboro, New Jersey.

Niehoff reported approximately 65 customers from 30 different companies came for the event, which started the first day with a German style “Barnfest” with traditional music, a fun lead into the busy second day. The program included insight and information concerning Niehoff

Two aluminum companies enter into a joint venture to produce wire and cable Russia’s UC RUSAL, described as the world’s second largest aluminum producer, and ELKA-Cable, a cable manufacturer, signed an agreement to create Bogoslovsk Cable Plant, a jointly owned facility that will produce cables and wires.

A press release said that the partners will have an equal number of shares in the joint venture and the total investments are estimated at around US$19 million. The new facility will be set up within the site currently occupied by RUSAL’s Bogoslovsk aluminum smelter (BAZ). “Once the new plant reaches its full capacity, it will able to manufacture 4.3 thousand metric tons of aluminum products per year in terms of the metal used, including oil-submersible cables, flexible cables and displaceable wires and self-supporting insulated wires, all for Russia and the CIS market. In the future, the product range may be expanded,” it said.

“This joint venture will enhance our presence in the cable and wire sector, which is among the largest and fastest-growing aluminum consumption segments,” said Alexey Arnautov, director for new projects of UC RUSAL. “The new plant will also have a favorable socio-economic impact on Krasnoturyinks, which is essentially a single-industry town, creating around 100 new jobs.”

Per the Dec. 1 press release, the Bogoslovsk Cable

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Bernd Lohmueller explained the capabilities of Niehoff’s new multiwire drawing system at its Open House. machinery, processes and industry specific information.

Integer Research Senior Analyst Louisa Winnik spoke on the North American Wire and Cable Market, followed by an update by Niehoff Director of Engineering Stefan Nixdorf on new product development and innovation. NENA CEO Robert Wild spoke on aluminum multi-wire drawing and annealing. Schmidt GmbH Managing Director Holger Junkereit spoke on specialty drawing machines and wire industry equipment, followed by Reber Systematic GmbH Managing Director Klaus Eichelmann, who discussed filter media, which led in to a talk on use of oil versus emulsion for aluminum wiredrawing by Baum’s Castorine’s Tom Whitcombe, VP Sales/Marketing.

Attendees could inspect equipment at the NENA factory, which included a D632 double-twist buncher, two BMV braiders, one NPS double spooler, and a complete rod breakdown line for aluminum and copper, including an annealer. The star attraction, however, was a new generation multi-wire drawing line, type MMH 112 and RM 202. Before showing the line working under production conditions at a speed of 8000 fpm, Niehoff Executive V.P. Sales and Marketing Bernd Lohmueller explained the details to the audience. The line—which includes individually driven capstan modules, medium

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INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS 1st U.S. off-shore windfarm: a long time coming

The Block Island Windfarm represents the first step forward for the long anticipated deployment of offshore U.S. wind farms.

Last month, the Block Island Wind producing an annual total of 11.5 Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a Farm (BIW) officially became the gigawatts a year. “It is a surprise bipartisan bill ordering the state’s first U.S. offshore wind farm to begin (and frustration) to many that the utilities to develop contracts with offgenerating electricity, and while this facilities have not cropped up soonshore wind farms that would require is a story that took a long time arriver, considering the potential that off50 times the expected output of the ing, what matters is that it ushers in a shore wind has to reduce long-term BIW. The Department of Energy prenew direction, one that can be seen in dependence on fossil fuels—and to dicts that “many thousands of these a five-turbine farm three miles off the add new power options for coastal turbines may eventually ring the coast of Rhode Island. cities with limited real estate.”

United States coastline.”

To get a sense of how long the Analysts put the U.S. Wind farm All of which makes the BIW contested $300 million BIW project potential at more than 2,000 gigaimportant. At the official opentook, Deepwater Wind was named watts, which is almost double the ing, Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey the state’s offshore wind developer current electricity use in this counGrybowski said that it represents in 2008. In terms of size, the projtry. a key advance as states are trying ect is modest, aimed at providing Per The New York Times, offshore to figure out how to replace aging 30 megawatts of power, enough to wind farms have faced significant power plants. serve the needs of Block Island, opposition in the U.S. due to high In an interview with AP, Abigail with excess sent to Rhode Island via costs; complicated rules about who Ross Hopper, director of the Bureau a submarine cable from LS Cable. gets to build on the seafloor and of Ocean Energy Management, said Per Subsea World News, the project what they can build; and complaints the wind farm proves that offshore required some 20 miles of cabling, from people who do not want their wind can happen safely and efficientnearly five million pounds of subma- ocean view obstructed. It noted that ly. “We’ve gone from the theoretical rine cable.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has to the actual and you can’t replace To put the BIW project in conset a goal of getting 50% of the state’s that with any model,” she told The text, Scientific American notes power from renewable sources by Associated Press in a recent interview. that Europe—which has thousands 2030, and that the state will probably “To be able to go and see turbines of wind turbines—added 3,000 need large offshore wind farms to spinning in U.S. waters is incredible.”

Got news?

E-mail it to theInWJI at editor@wirenet.org. megawatts of wind power in 2015, help achieve that.

Massachusetts, 14 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

SACO AEI Polymer expansion will bolster R&D capacity and more Building on sustained annual growth, SACO AEI Polymers announced that it is increasing its presence in Wisconsin with a 20,000-sq-ft expansion.

A press release said that the new two-story corporate

INDUSTRY NEWS

frequency technology for the annealer, a modular design, and more—represents the latest state of development of Niehoff’s new generation multi-wire drawing machines.

It is now undergoing extensive field testing, Lohmueller reported.

There also were tabletop presentations that were done by representatives from Buehler Redex, Reber Systematic GmbH, and Schmidt Maschinenbau. Other partner suppliers invited this year were guests from Esteves Group USA, Baum’s Castorine Co., Inc., and Howar Equipment, Inc. “This year has been very special to us,” said NENA Executive Vice President and CEO Robert Wild. “We put a lot of effort and resources into this special Open House. Our reward is always to see so many customers, and to get such a positive feedback. We strongly believe that these kinds of events reveal our abilities, and help us display what NENA is all about. This event also is our way to show our appreciation to our customers for their continued trust in our organization and for investing time and effort to join our celebration.”

An artist’s likeness of the planned expansion of SACO AEI Polymer’s campus in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. office building, soon to be open, is colocated adjacent to the company’s 140,000-sq-ft manufacturing facilities in Sheboygan. The project will allow for expansion of the company’s R&D facilities as well as house offices for its rapidly growing sales and administrative personnel.

The expansion, the release said, is an outgrowth of a corporate decision to expand the business aggressively over the next five years. The investment will produce returns in vital industry metrics such as time-to-market, innovation and new product development across the global market, as well as benefit the local community.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS Skaltek America showcases its new headquarters at Open House Skaltek America held an Open House Dec. 7-9 for customers and suppliers to celebrate its new location in Alpharetta, Georgia, a spacious 51,000-sq-ft site that houses its U.S. staff and showcases the company’s packaging technology as well as its rebuilding/upgrading services. The building is more than a third larger than its prior location in Norcross, but it was also designed to be far more efficient. Below, Skaltek America President Ralph Skalleberg discusses the importance of the growing operation.

WJI: Your company has had a presence in the U.S. for some time: what made this the right time to build your new facility?

Skalleberg: Skaltek is about growing slow and organically. We never rush into situations because we always want to be able to take responsibility for what we do.

Today our products are on the highest level they have been in terms of quality and performance. That gives us the freedom to look forward and we are able to invest in the future. We bought this land in 1998. We have been in North America since 1976 and in Atlanta since 1981, and now was the time to show the customers just how serious we are about the market. It has been a very nervous year with the election and we focus on the plumb line and find security in that. The plumb line shows what is right and it is stable. We strive to live our lives accordingly and in this nervous time, we are very confident.

We are ready for growth, today and to come. Our building is meant for 40 people, and we have less than half that now.

WJI: Why did you choose this particular location?

Skalleberg: From here, we can reach about 60% of our business in a six-hour drive. This location is a very attractive area to live in for our employees. In terms of new talent, it also is a good area to pull from, and for finding good people, location is quite important.

WJI: How did you design what the customer experience will be when they come to visit?

Skalleberg: Our office is very much about transparency.

We want the customer to have 100% access to everything

Patrick Industries reports acquisition of Sigma Wire and KRA International Patrick Industries, Inc., announced it has invested about $25 million to acquire the business and certain assets of Sigma Wire International, LLC (Sigma), based in Elkhart, Indiana, and KRA International, LLC (KRA), based in Mishawaka, Indiana.

A press release said that the two companies both are ac-

16 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

An overhead view of the new Skaltek campus. and everyone when they come to visit. It is also important for the people that work at Skaltek that they have access to our customers. It makes their job more meaningful if they have direct contact. So to remove the wall, and keep it very open has been a big priority. Also, on the showroom, we have space to do a lot of R&D with the customers. It is important that they get a taste of a different environment so that they open their mind to Think Different.

WJI: It appears that there is lots of room at your site for future growth: any plans you can share at this time?

Skalleberg: We have plans to grow and to create a campus. We have now built the first building but there is room for a total of five buildings on the property. It is important not to grow faster than you can take responsibility for. In this new space, even though it is much larger than the old building, we believe that we can easily grow 100% without any problems.

WJI: Anything else you would like to share?

Skalleberg: We know from customer response that this was the right investment. Customers can buy equipment, but they need long-term support. Now that they see we have built a quality building, one with a lot of care in the details, they know that we are serious. We have several customers that have committed a lot of business to us, and we feel we had an obligation to do this.

The motto for this project was to create a conscious workplace. When you make a beautiful building, people tend to think beautiful thoughts. We are sure that the quality of our machines is a result of the people. If we have a good space, they will feel good, and what we do here to support it will well be worth all the cost and effort

tive in the recreational vehicle (RV) markets, with Sigma manufacturing a wide range of PVC insulated wire and cable products primarily for the RV and marine markets, and KRA manufacturing wire harnesses and associated assemblies, primarily for the RV and industrial markets, as well as commercial vehicles, lawn care equipment, marine products, the defense industry, and automotive aftermarket products. It projected that the combined 2016 revenues of Sigma and KRA to be about $21 million.

New name for Q-S Technologies Following its acquisition by OMERIN USA, Q-S Technologies has been renamed OMERIN USA, Inc./QS Technologies Division.

A press release said that the company has moved to its new headquarters on Research Parkway in Meriden, Connecticut, a location that is less than a mile from its other office. The OMERIN Group, it noted, is investing in the facility and equipment to expand both its production capabilities and product range as well as services.

Aurelien Paumier has been named general manger of the operation, which has a product range that includes heating cables, hi-temp cables, a range of commercial special wire and cables and pyrometry cables.

Huwaei Marine reports completion of Avassa submarine cable project China’s Huawei Marine Networks Co. Ltd. (Huawei Marine) announced that it has delivered the 260-km Avassa submarine cable system, which it noted is the company’s 10th submarine cable project in Africa.

A press release said that Comoros Telecom and Mayotte-based carrier STOI, signed the construction contract with Huawei Marine in January 2016 to provide connectivity between Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mayotte in the Comoros Islands. The Comoros Islands, located on the eastern coast of Africa, includes the islands of

A map of the completed Avassa submarine cable system.

Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan and Mayotte. The new submarine project connects two locations on Grande Comore to Anjouan to Mayotte. The cable, which provides further security as well as greatly increased international bandwidth, also enables the area to no longer have to rely on microwave technology, which has lower speed and limited capacity.

Huawei Marin Chief Executive Mike Constable said that the Avassa submarine cable system, which is upgradable to 100G and 400G, “will meet the next 10 to 15 years of business demands for Comoros Telecom.”

JANUARY 2017 | 17

PATENTS

Patent REPORT Technical advances are a necessity for any industry, and to that end, companies invest considerable resources in R&D. This monthly section will list the abstracts of recently approved U.S. patents. Most are direct to wire and cable while a few may be more indirect/downstream.

Arrangement for contacting a screen of an electrical high voltage cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,525,240 Patent date: Dec. 20, 2016 Filed: Nov. 18, 2014 Assignee: Nexans, France Inventor: Volker Aue An arrangement for contacting an electrical screen includes an armature that has at least two ring shaped contact elements, a first contact element, and a second contact element which, in the assembly position, are connected to each other by a screw connection. The first contact element has a conical outer surface which widens toward the end of the high voltage cable and surrounds the cable strand of the high voltage cable. The second contact element is attached to parts of the screw connection and has a conical inner surface which also widens toward the end of the high voltage cable and which extends in the assembly position parallel to the outer surface of the first contact element.

Cable structure for preventing tangling U.S. Patent No.: 9,524,810 Patent date: Dec. 20, 2016 Filed: Jan. 6, 2014 Assignee: Apple Inc., U.S. Inventors: Jonathan Aase, Cameron Frazier, Matthew Rohrbach, Peter RussellClarke, Dale Memering This is directed to a cable structure for use with an electronic device. The cable structure can include one or more conductors around which a sheath is provided.

To prevent the cable structure from tangling, the cable structure can include a core placed between the conductors and the sheath, where a stiffness of the core can be varied along different segments of the cable structure to facilitate or hinder bending of the cable structure in different areas. The size and distribution of the stiffer portions can be selected to prevent the cable from forming loops.

The resistance of the core to bending can be varied using different approaches including, for example, by varying the materials used in the core, varying a cross-section of portions of the core, or combinations of these.

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High temperature, zero fiber strain, fiber optic cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,523,832 Patent date: Dec. 20, 2016 Filed: March 25, 2013 Assignee: AFL Telecommunications LLC, U.S. Inventors: Craig Stratton, David Payne A cable including an outer metal tube and a first layer wire inside the outer metal tube, wherein the first layer wire has five inner elements surrounding a metallic center member and at least one of the inner elements is a metal tube containing an optical fiber. ‌ The invention provides an internal core structure that enhances the fatigue life of the cable and reduces the risk of the cable falling into the wellbore. Due to the helically stranded nature of the core, each element in the core will undergo less bend strain than that of the outer tube during deployment and retrieval over standard sheaves and bullwheels. This means the fatigue life of the core will exceed the fatigue life of the tube such that if the outer tube undergoes fatigue failure the core will still remain intact preventing the cable from dropping into the wellbore.

Machines and methods for removing screen from cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,520,700 Patent date: Dec. 13, 2016 Filed: Dec. 20, 2013 Assignee: Schleuniger Holding AG, Switzerland Inventors: Peter Stepan, Michael Jost Machines and methods for removing screens from cable, wherein screen surrounds at least one electrical or optical conductor (22). The screen may be a braided screen (21) from a cable (19) including at least one conductor (22), screen (21), and outer insulation (20). After baring screen (21) by removing outer insulation (20), a section is deformed and/or unbraided, and then the deformed section of the screen (21) is cut off. The step of deforming and/or unbraiding is accomplished by lifting-off the screen (21) from the inner conductor (22) on at least one end of the section of the screen (21) to be removed, at least over a part of the circumference of the cable. This step additionally includes or may be followed by pressing the parts of the screen (21), that have been lifted off onto an erection surface (28) before cutting them off, whereby preferably

Patent Facts

the parts of the screen (21) that have been lifted off are bent backwards in the direction of the yet undeformed screen (21).

Flame retardant twin axial cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,520,209 Patent date: Dec. 13, 2016 Filed: Feb. 20, 2013 Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company, U.S. Inventors: Chuang-Wei Chiu, Douglas Gundel, Haohao Lin, Mark Palmer, Eumi Pyun A cable includes a plurality of conductor sets. Each conductor set extending along a length of the cable and includes two or more insulated conductors, each insulated conductor including a central conductor surrounded by a dielectric material that includes polyolefin, a brominated flame retardant, and antimony trioxide. First and second conductive shielding films are disposed on opposite first and second sides of the conductor set, including cover portions and pinched portions arranged such that, in transverse cross section, the cover portions of the first and second shielding films in combination substantially surround the conductor set, and the pinched portions of the first and second shielding films in combination form pinched portions of the conductor set on each side of the conductor set. The cable includes an adhesive layer bonding the first shielding film to the second shielding film in the pinched portions of the conductor set.

Strain relief cable insert U.S. Patent No.: 9,515,415 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: July 29, 2015 Assignee: Tyco Electronics Corporation, U.S. Inventor: Zachary Lyon A connector assembly includes a connector housing, a cable, and a strain relief insert. The connector housing includes a clamp within an interior chamber. The cable extends into the interior chamber of the connector housing and is compressed by the clamp at a clamping region of the cable to secure the cable to the connector housing. The cable includes plural conductors and an outer jacket surrounding the conductors. Exposed segments of the conductors extend from an end of the outer jacket.

Last issue looked at China’s record number of more than one million filed patent applications.

Here, the focus is on industrial design applications (IDA). Below is an edited explanation from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

An IDA right protects only appearance or aesthetic features. In principle, an industrial design right does not protect a product’s technical or functional features, and while a patent should be the key defense, an IDA could also serve a purpose if something that has been produced appears to be a copy.

What qualifies? Depending on the applicable laws, independently created industrial designs must meet criteria for novelty/originality, but in general an industrial design is considered valid if it has not previously been disclosed to the public and/or it significantly differs from known designs or feature combinations.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry presents the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2016 at a press conference. WIPO photo.

Why should a company care? If you don’t protect your industrial design(s) you may not enjoy exclusive rights to them. A competitor may use your industrial design without your permission. If you lack an industrial design, you will have no legal means to fight them. Moreover, such copies often are sold at a lower price as competitors do not have to recoup the investments made in the creative process. This cab be harmful to your market share, your firm’s reputation and that of its products.

Of note, industrial design rights are territorial, with rights limited to the country (or region) where it is granted. An application for the registration of an industrial design or for the grant of a patent for an industrial design can be filed with the intellectual property (IP) office of the country (or region) in which protection is sought.

JANUARY 2017 | 19

PATENTS

Part 2: Industrial design applications

PATENTS

The strain relief insert includes a stalk that extends between the conductors into the outer jacket through the end of the outer jacket. The stalk aligns with the clamping region of the cable such that the clamp compresses the conductors into engagement with the stalk.

Inverter surge-resistant insulated wire and method of producing the same U.S. Patent No.: 9,514,863 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: Oct. 6, 2014 Assignee: Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Furukawa Magnet Wire Co., Japan Inventors: Hideo Fukuda, Daisuke Muto, Dai Fujiwara, Keiichi Tomizawa, Tsuneo Aoi An inverter surge-resistant insulated wire has a baked enamel layer(s) around the outer periphery of a conductor having a rectangular cross-section, an extrusion-coated resin layer(s) around the outer side thereof, and an adhesive layer having a thickness of 2-20 .mu.m between the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer. A cross-sectional shape of the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer in the cross-section of the wire is rectangular. In the cross-sectional shape formed by the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer surrounding the conductor in a cross-sectional view, at least a pair of two sides of two pairs of two sides opposing at the upper side and the downside or at the right side and the left side with respect to the conductor meet the conditions that a total thickness of the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer is 80 .mu.m or more.

Self-supporting cable and combination comprising a suspension arrangement and such self-supporting cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,514,861 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: Nov. 25, 2013 Assignee: NKT Cables Group A/S, Denmark Inventors: Lars Efraimsson, Bengt Strom A self-supporting cable including an outer portion and an inner portion is provided, as well as a combination of a self-supporting cable and a suspension arrangement. The inner portion includes at least one insulated conductor and the outer portion includes a first inner surface and an external surface. The external surface is arranged to engage with a suspension arrangement. The inner portion includes a first outer surface, the first outer surface abutting against the first inner surface. The outer portion includes an outer layer and a metal tape adhered to the outer layer.

The outer layer includes the external surface, and the metal tape includes the first inner surface. The first inner surface

20 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

being of metal and adapted for, during local load, frictional engagement with the material of the first outer surface increases the effectiveness of a functional grip between first outer surface and first inner surface.

Power transmission cable using non-halogen flame-retardant resin composition U.S. Patent No.: 9,514,860 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: July 30, 2015 Assignee: Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Japan Inventors: Ryutaro Kikuchi, Takayuki Tanaka A power transmission cable includes a conductor, an inner semiconductive layer around the conductor, an electrically insulating layer around the inner semiconductive layer, an outer semiconductive layer around the electrically insulating layer, a shielding layer around the outer semiconductive layer, a binder tape layer around the shielding layer, and a sheath layer around the binder tape layer. The power transmission cable having an outer diameter of not smaller than 30 mm and not greater than 60 mm. The sheath layer having a thickness from 2 mm to 4 mm is made of a non-halogen flame-retardant resin composition including a total of not lower than 100 parts and not higher than 180 parts of metal hydrate and silica per 100 parts of a base polymer, by mass, including an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer with a vinyl acetate content of not lower than 50 wt. %.

Heat resistant communications cable and cord U.S. Patent No.: 9,514,859 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: Nov. 3, 2014 Assignee: Whitney Blake, Co., U.S. Inventor: Timothy Scarpa In a test run to see how effective the cords or cables of this invention were resistant to high heat from a heat from fire, as opposed by standard material available on the market, a test procedure was set up. Cord was conditioned at this temperature for 5 minutes and then withdrawn

PATENTS

from the oven and permitted lie on a flat surface. A 500 volt DC potential was applied between all conductors to shield and then all conductors to each other. The cord representing this invention passed this test after each cycle. A similar test using a conventional coiled cord element designed for use with a portable, handheld land mobile radio. Two of these connectors were tested and both failed completely after the first cycle.

Optical fiber cable with protective translucent outer layer U.S. Patent No.: 9,513,449 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: Dec. 7, 2013 Assignee: Corning Cable Systems LLC, U.S. Inventors: B. Blazer, D. Chiasson, R. Roberts, S. McDowell, R. Roberts, David Smith, Randall Tuttle An optical communication cable is provided. The optical communications cable includes a cable body having an outer surface, an inner surface and a channel defined by the inner surface. An optical transmission element is located in the channel. The cable includes an ink layer positioned on the outer surface of the cable body, and the ink layer is formed from charged ink droplets adhered to the outer surface of the cable body.

The cable also includes a translucent layer coupled to the outer surface of the cable body over the ink layer such that the ink layer is located between the outer surface of the cable body and an inner surface of the translucent layer.

Composite cable for a vehicle U.S. Patent No.: 9,511,726 Patent date: Dec. 6, 2016 Filed: Nov. 13, 2015 Assignee: Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Japan Inventors: Yoshikazu Hayakawa A composite cable for a vehicle is configured to connect between a wheel-side device which is fixed on a wheel side via a suspension device with respect to a body of the vehicle and a body-side device disposed on a body side. The composite cable includes wires, each of which includes a center conductor and an insulation for coating the center conductor. The center conductor includes a stranded wire comprising a plurality of solid conductors stranded with each other, and a diameter of each solid conductor is 0.05 mm to 0.12 mm. The composite cable also includes a sheath collectively covering the wires; and a lubricating member interposed between the wires and the sheath for reducing a frictional resistance between the wires and the sheath. (section cont’d. on p. 80)

JANUARY 2017 | 21

ASIAN FOCUS

ASIAN FOCUS Higher copper prices represent a boon for wire and cable makers in India Metal prices can change at any moment, but a recent strong run in the price for copper was welcome news for wire and cable manufacturers in India.

Rising copper prices have been good news for wire and cable manufacturers in India.

Per a report in India’s Business Standard, wire and cable manufacturers were able to raise the prices for their products by more than 10% in a two-week period.

From a low of $4,619 a metric ton on the benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME), copper jumped to hit the recent high of $5,900 at one point in early December before pulling back some.

As copper can easily represent 60%, or more, of the raw material requirement for wire and cable manufacturers, the cost for it is closely watched, with cable manufacturers frequently revising the price for their products.

“The prices in metals have been rising on the LME. As per our normal practice, we pass on the increase or decrease in costs to our customers with a slight time lag. Similarly, for the increase in copper prices, we have passed on these costs by increasing our wire prices twice by 5% each in the last 15 days,” said Deepak Chhabria, managing director, Finolex Cables Ltd., one of India’s largest cable manufacturers.

Other Indian primary and secondary copper manufacturers—such as Hindustan Copper, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries—normally follow the LME price for selling their output to users, so the copper price is revised at the time of purchase by consumers. The recent upsurge in copper prices led to multiple price changes, “frequently without any lag for absorbing even the minor variations,” the article said. “In fact, many wire and cable manufacturers have decided to revise their products’ prices on a daily basis with the revision in the raw material prices.”

Meanwhile, data compiled by the global agency International Copper Study Group (ICSG) indicate that

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the copper market should remain essentially balanced.

While in 2017, ICSG forecasts a surplus of around 160,000 metric tons versus a deficit of some 55,000 metric tons for 2016, upward revisions have been made for both production and usage in view of better than expected actual growth so far this year.

Another factor Chhabria said could affect copper prices was the country’s demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the latter of which is worth about $14.74.

“Finolex Cables sells wire to the real estate sector through a retail network of channel partners and dealers as well as direct sales to builders in rural India. Hence, retail sales in the secondary market are slightly affected and any pressure on the real estate sector in future months will affect our wire demand.”

Owners of the Indian currency had from Nov. 10 to Dec. 30 to turn them in as part of efforts to curb concerns that include counterfeits, corruption and “black money.” The latter refers to money earned for which no income or other taxes have been paid. By some estimates, one story said, the amount stashed in Swiss banks is in the trillions of U.S. dollars.

Efforts to undercut “black money” in India are expected to have an impact on the country’s economy.

In what could be considered related news, at press time the Pakistan Senate passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the high denomination Rs 5,000 currency notes “in order to curb the flow of black money.” The resolution said that “the withdrawal of the notes should take place within three to five years to purge the markets of these notes.” Per one estimate, 1.02 trillion of the 3.4 trillion notes in circulation in Pakistan are of the Rs 5,000 denomination.

World Bank approves funding for new broadband cable to serve the Fiji area The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$5.95 million in funding for the Fiji Connectivity Project, a project aimed at reducing the

emerging ICT services sector with significant potential to provide more jobs to the country, as outlined in the World Bank’s ICT for Jobs in the Pacific report, which was released in 2015.

Asia Pacific Gateway cable system will offer Vietnam’s largest cable capacity The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) submarine fiber optic cable line will be operational this year in Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT).

A report by VNPT said that the APF network will increase international transmission capacity and reduce dependence on the Asia-America Gateway (AAG). The APG will have capacity of 54 terabytes per second (Tbps), making it the highest of any network in Asia, 20 times more than the AAG. The APG is a partnership between China Telecom and China Unicom (both China), Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan), KT Corp. (RoK), NTT Communications (Japan), PLDT (the Philippines), Telekom Malaysia (Malaysia) and VNPT (Vietnam). VNPT has also invested in an Asia Africa Euro (AAE) 1 cable system, connecting countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. It is expected to be operational in 2017.

JANUARY 2017 | 23

ASIAN FOCUS

cost and increasing the availability of internet services in the Pacific Island nation.

A press release said that the project will support the construction of a new broadband cable, which will link the existing Southern Cross Submarine Cable Network to Vanualevu Island, 150 km north of Suva. The project includes the design, supply and installation of a 95-km submarine fiber-optic cable; construction of the cable landing station in Savusavu; purchase of internet capacity; and technical assistance for the Fiji Commerce Commission. It is closely linked to the ongoing Samoa Connectivity Project, with the Savusavu cable connecting directly to the planned Tui Samoa cable supported by that project.

Fiji was described as a well-established submarine cable hub with connections to Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, the United States (Hawaii) and Vanuatu, with a growing technical skills base and talent pool, and an

PEOPLE

PEOPLE Aurelien Paumier has been named general manager of OMERIN USA, Inc./QS Technologies Division. By joining OMERIN Group, he will add his experience and valuable background in sales, marketing and business management positions in the advanced materials and specialty chemicals industries.

Based in Meriden, Connecticut, USA, the OMERIN USA, Inc./QS Technologies Division manufactures high-performance wire and cables.

reels. Based in Moline, Illinois, USA, The George Evans Corporation’s product lines include Toroidal metal cable reels.

Paumier

General Cable Corp. has named Matti Masanovich as the company’s new CFO and senior vice president, responsible for all aspects of the finance, investor relations and IT functions at the company while working to achieve strategic growth initiatives and reporting directly to president and CEO Michael McDonnell. He has more than 20 years of finance, accounting and operations experience, and recently was vice president of finance at Delphi Automotive PLC. Before that, he held executive roles across several financial areas at companies including Dura Automotive, Emcon Technologies, Collins & Aikman, Federal-Mogul and ProBuild Holdings. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and holds an MBA from the University of Windsor. Based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, USA, General Cable is a global manufacturer of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire.

Following the passing of its president (see obituary) The George Evans Corporation (GEC) reported two personnel announcements. Helenna Freeman, a long-time employee, has been promoted to president. She has a diverse background Lawrence and Freeman of administrative and procurement experience.

She began her career with the former Desaulniers Printing Company as a clerk typist, and in 2004 joined GEC as an assistant buyer. Over the next 12 years, her roles and responsibilities advanced, with a few of her accomplishments including implementing an ERP system, adding training programs and optimizing use of vendors. The company also reported the promotion of Kris Lawrence to reel planner and estimator. He started out 30 years ago as a laborer; and was promoted and worked in different departments where he learned the integrities of building

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Northwire Inc. has named two new staffers. Guillermo Villaseñor is the new Business Development Manager.

He has more than two decades of experience in the wire and cable industry, from mechanical engineering and sales to quality assurance. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering. Joining him in the company’s location in New Mexico as application engineer will be Carlos Aviles. He has experience as a product and design engineer in the wire and cable industry, and holds a B.S. degree in electromechanical engineering as well as a Master’s degree in manufacturing. Based in Osceola, Wisconsin, Northwire, Inc., manufactures a range of wire and cable products, including custom technical wire and cable, retractable cable, cable assemblies and more.

OBITUARIES Paul Browne, who founded an online industry publication, Wire and Tube News (WTN), died Dec. 7, 2016, from cancer at age 55. The U.K. native went to school in Liverpool, where he was born, until the age of 16, and went on to be in the British Army and the Israeli Army. He attended Liverpool Hope University and started his career in the industry in 1998 at Intras Ltd., where he worked for 12 years, and was group advertising manager.

Over the years, he gained the trust of many in the industry with his larger-than-life personality and his Browne straight-to-the-point attitude.

In 2011, Browne started WTN, an online publication for the industry. He later had health issues but continued to be an industry presence, including at wire Dusseldorf 2014, where he zipped about the floor show in his wheelchair, sharing his trademark sardonic wit. He retired in January 2016, when one of his two daughters, Elle Brown, took over the publication, which continues today. He is survived by his wife, Gillat Browne; a son, David Clayton; and daughters, Emma Browne and Elle Browne.

Observed WJI Editor Mark Marselli, “Paul had a unique sense of humor, and even when he unleashed a few barbs my way over the years, I couldn’t help but like him. He could laugh at himself as well as others, and it’s safe to say that there is one thing everyone who knew him would agree on: he was a person you wouldn’t forget.”

PEOPLE

David William Evans, the president of The George Evans Corporation (GEC) and the key to its success in manufacturing Toroidal metal reels and flanges, died from pancreatic cancer at age 60 on November 16, 2016.

In 1977, he started part-time at the U.S.-based, century-old company as a second-shift laborer-forklift operator making at $3.44 an hour while finishing his degree at Augustana College. He previously had worked janitorial parttime during his college years. His father, company President David R. Evans, did not give him special treatment, but he did offer his son the following advice: “To give orders, you must first learn how to take orders. ... Good luck! I will help you all that I can but a great deal of it is up to you.”

For 14 years, David W. Evans worked as a laborer, a supervisor, a manager, then as vice president and then, on Jan. 1, 1993, as president, the sixth Evans in four generations to hold that position. He was an excellent problem solver and good with people. Sales soon grew by $1 million, and over the years he invested upwards of $3 million dollars for new equipment and expanded the company facility. He ushered GEC into the computer age. The company had started by making car parts and farm products like horse troughs and buckets. During WWII it made metal parts for tanks. When metal was scarce it make kitchen baking tools from stainless steel and aluminum. Reels were added, and that was his passion. He was a math wiz who understood the integral

David William Evans design and structure of how to build a metal reel, and was the driving force behind the company’s toroidal metal reels and flanges.

He was active with the local rotary club, chamber of commerce, Jaycees and a choir member at the First Congregational Church in Moline. The former eagle scout saw his son, Dave Jr., also become one. He also won a 1976 New York Times History Contest, loved trains and was a sponge that absorbed interesting facts on just about any topic. He was a bright and creative gentleman, a man of integrity.

He is survived by his wife, Paula; two children, David Jr. and Kathleen; his mother, Margaret; and brothers Scott Evans and Michael Evans.

Innovation meets Tradition

THE buttwelding company since 1933!

www.strecker-limburg.de www.streckerusa.com JANURAY 2017 | 25

CHINA

FIBER WATCH

“the growth of any country is possible only if the number of employed persons grows” is satisfied, India will be the next territory that we must serve intensively with our Globaland company big plans forinfraequipment technology.has Of course, the basic an optical fibernot rollout in and thenotU.S. structures are presently sufficient adequate to permit the harmonious growth of this giant.

Carmelo Altice recently announced that it plans to skip DOCMaria Brocato, Continuus-Properzi.

SIS 3.1 technology and instead invest in a full fibre to the home (FTTH) deployment across its entire network China is and will remain BRICS footprint, a project that itthe saidmost couldimportant take five years to member country, despite slowing growth. Brazil is lookcomplete. ing more like India, mired in corruption scandals, while Per multiple media reports, the company, which was deIndia at this point under a new regime holds the most scribed as fourth largest cable operator in the U.S., plans promise.

Again, thetwo reforms promised by the to deploy fiberwhether to upgrade U.S. cable networks—Opnewtimum government in India lead to rapid growth remains and Suddenlink—that it bought at the end of 2015 to be seen. Russia will have problems it to deliver 10 Gbps to continue customers.to“Across the globe,and Altice willhas take severalheavily years in to building recover state-of-the-art from Western-imposed invested fiber-optic sanctions.

Not much haspleased been heard from Africa, networks, and we are to bring ourSouth expertise statethough it is now offi cially a member. side to drive fiber deeper into our infrastructure for the I think that are going toSuddenlink continue tocustomers,” be relevant. benefit ofthe ourBRICS U.S. Optimum and While the pace of GDP growth may slow for a few years said Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei. due toPer political and socio-economic factors or sanctions, a company statement, “Altice USA will extend fiber etc., these remain temporary roadblocks at best. As 40% deeper into its existing hybrid fiber coax network and of the world’s population resides in these countries, it is leverage cutting-edge and proprietary technologies develinevitable that at some point in the future they will produce oped by Altice Labs.” Under the project, which it is calland consume the majority of the world’s output. Rahul ing Generation GigaSpeed, the company expects to reach Sachdev, Wire & Plastic Machinery. “all of its Optimum footprint and most of its Suddenlink footprint during that (five-year) timeframe.”

Since Russia faced economic and political distresses in its 2014 acquisition of Suddenlink, followed by the acquisition but now the situation may be back to normal in a very of Optimum, formerly Cablevision, Altice has tripled internet

SOUTH AFRICA

short time. India is a huge country, a place with a multitude of relispeeds to gions/cultures, and from 300 Mbps an forindustrial residen- point of view it’s not possible to tial customgeneralize ers and 350into a single evaluation.

Mbps for What is certain is that India is a land business that has thousands of opcustomportunities, ers in the as does—to aOptimum lesser extent and all the differences considered areas. The company has also expanded 1 Gbps broadband —South Africa. CompaBellinaarea.” service” to nearly half of Suddenlink’s service nies in South African are The company’s five-year deployment schedule will befocusing on quality and innovation and our Group is laygin in 2017, and Altice expects to reach all of its Optimum ing the groundwork for a big market development there. footprint and most of its Suddenlink footprint during that Brazil, the world’s sixth largest economy—even though doubt about it, this is a major deployment ittimeframe. is very far“No from Italy and presents some customs clearas Altice USA currently 4.6 million customers ance and trade policies serves issues—is a market increasingly across 20 states.” important for our strategic framework.

Altice USAthought: is a subsidiary of Dutch conglomerate One other the BRICS acronym was originally Altice NV, which has deployed FTTH in by various interused to define countries characterized a developing national markets it serves.

Altice France is on track to popeconomic situation, a strong growth in GDP, a large reach 22 million fiber homes by the end of 2022, and ulation, a vast territory and abundant natural resources.

Altice Portugal (formerly Telecom) reach the In 2015, we can’t talk ofPortugal them any more aswill “developing milestone ofbut 5.3asmillion fiber homes by with the end countries” superpowers that,passed together theofG7 2020, making Portugal theworldwide first European country entirely countries, dominate the market.

Fabio Belliequipped fiber. na, TKT with Group.

26 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

MAY 2015 | 37

FEATURE

FIBER WATCH

DIA

FASTENER UPDATE

FASTENER UPDATE Würth Service Supply plans to add more jobs at new headquarters in Indiana Würth Service Supply, one of the world’s largest distributor of assembly and fastening products, is building a new, larger headquarters in Greenwood, Indiana.

In October, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers was among those at the official groundbreaking ceremony. The Germanowned company plans to spend $11.5 million to build and equip the 230,000-sq-ft facility in the Southpoint Business Park, creating up to 60 new jobs by 2020, according to a report in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

The company is part of Würth Industry North America (WINA) and owned by Germany-based Würth Group, which operates 400 companies in 80 countries. The building will serve as headquarters for Würth Service Supply and its divisional headquarters for WINA. WINA, which now operates 10 businesses, has acquired four companies in the last two years and has doubled in size since 2013. The company serves 85,000 OEM customers throughout the U.S. and Mexico, generating $700 million in sales.

“The Würth Group is very pleased to select Greenwood, Indiana, as its headquarters for Würth Service Supply and its divisional headquarters for Würth Industry North America,” said Marc Strandquist, executive vice president of Würth

There was no lack of shovels for the ground breaking.

Group. “This location enhances our logistics network and will enable us to aggressively grow the business.”

Currently, Würth Service Supply employs 100 full-time Indiana associates at its existing headquarters and operates more than 15 facilities across the U.S., the IBJ reported. Those employees and business operations will be relocated to the new headquarters.

The company expects the facility to be complete by September 2017 and it plans to begin hiring for warehouse and administrative positions next year, adding as many as 60 new positions by 2020.

JANURAY 2017 | 27

Introducing INTERWIRE 2017 -AND-

WAI’s 87th Annual Convention: May 8-11. Exhibits: May 9-11. Atlanta. Georgia. USA

Proof that wire & cable never looked so good after enduring so much.

Everyone wants something specific when it comes to ferrous, nonferrous, and electrical wire. And when it is about wire & cable manufacturing, it is all about ...the process.

So when you’ve been around wire and cable as long as we have, you know that short cuts don’t work. Except one: INTERWIRE. INTERWIRE represents decades of wire & cable making advancement bundled into one efficient package. It is the time-tested way your competitors stay relevant in this business. And the direct link between you and the solution to the process you call your own.

Maybe it’s technical know-how you seek. Or machinery to upgrade your plant.

Training for your team. Or finding contacts far and wide. Interwire delivers. It is an international wire & cable industry fair and the largest marketplace of its kind in the Americas—36+ years in refinement.

We’re in the process of planning Interwire 2017 for our followers who come from 50 countries to participate.

Follow developing details: www.interwire17.com.

Presentations. Production Solutions. Exhibits. Tours. Networking.

Sales. Purchasing. Product Review. Training. Speaking, exhibiting, and sponsorship opportunities.

The Wire Association International, Inc. | www.wirenet.org

ROLL ROLL TWIST TWIST COIL COIL BUNDLE BUNDLE BRAID BRAID INSULATE INSULATE GALVANIZE GALVANIZE COAT COAT PAINT PAINT ENAMEL ENAMEL TWIST TWIST PAIR PAIR SUBMERGE SUBMERGE BURY BURY WEATHER WEATHER SUSPEND SUSPEND DRAW DRAW BEND BEND SHAPE SHAPE BARB BARB SPRING SPRING ELECTRIFY ELECTRIFY CRIMP CRIMP CUT CUT STRIP STRIP SOURCE SOURCE ANNEAL ANNEAL QUENCH QUENCH CONNECT CONNECT TEST TEST CRATE CRATE SHIP SHIP DELIVER DELIVER

Wire.

Cable.

Supplies.

Equipment.

exhibitors A. Appiani Srl Accuracy Technical Services LLC Ace Metal Inc. ACM AB ADVARIS GmbH AESA S.A. AFI Systems LLC Agape Industry Inc. AIM Inc. AITMAC Inc. All Wire Forming Machinery Inc. Amacoil Inc. Amaral Automation Associates America Bybon Corp.

American & Efird, LLC American Kuhne Inc. Appleton Manufacturing ARM AW Machinery LLC AWT Machinery Inc Axjo Aztech Lubricants LLC B & H Tool Co. Inc. Balloffet Die Corp.

Baum’s Castorine Co. Inc. Beacon Reel Co. Bechem Lubrication Technology LLC Beijing Orient Pengsheng Tech Co. Ltd. Bekaert Beneke Wire Co. Bergandi Machinery Co. Beta LaserMike (An NDC Technologies Brand) Blachford Corp.

Black Sea Technology Inc. Bloom Engineering Co. Inc. BMS Birlesik Metal San.Ve Tic. As Boockmann GmbH/ The Slover Group Bow Technology Boxy SpA Breen Color Concentrates Inc. Buhler Redex Caballe Cable Consultants Corp.

Cabrol Group Calmec Precision Limited CardConnect Carris Reels Inc. Cavallero Plastics Ceeco Bartell Products, Bartell Machinery Systems Cemanco LC Ceramtech CERSA-MCI Chase Wire & Cable Materials Chemetall Chengdu Centran Industrial Co. Ltd. Chhaperia International Co. China Council for Int’l Trade Cimteq Clifford Machines & Technology Clinton Instrument Co. CM Furnaces Inc. CMEC International Exhibition Ltd.

CN Wire Corp.

Cobre Y Aleaciones Escocia SA Collari Srl Cometo Commission Brokers Inc. Condat Condat Lubricants Confex Technology Ltd. Conneaut Industries Inc. Continuus-Properzi SpA CTI CTS - Cincinnati Thermal Spray Inc. Custom Machining & Fabrications LLC Daloo Davis-Standard LLC DEM S.p.A. Die Quip Corp.

Dino-Lite Scopes (BigC) Domeks Makine Ltd. Sti Dongguan Dewei Wire Co. Dynamex Corp.

Ebner Furnaces Inc. Effegidi spa EJP Maschinen GmbH Elecomtape Global Inc. Electron Beam Technologies Inc. Electronic Drives & Controls Inc. Enercon Industries Enkotec Co. Inc. ERA Wire Inc. Er-Bakir Esteves Group USA Etna Products Inc. Eurowire Magazine George Evans Corp.

EVG Inc. Fabritex Inc. Facts Inc. Fastener Engineers - Lewis Machine Fenn LLC FIB Fil-Tec Inc. Filtertech Inc. Fine International Corp.

Finoptics Inc Fisk Alloy Inc. Flymca & Flyro FMS USA Inc. Foerster Instruments Inc. Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc. FSP-One Inc. Fuhr GmbH & Co. Kg Gauder Group Inc. Gem Gravure Co. Inc. GIMAX Srl W. Gillies Technologies LLC GMP Slovakia s.r.o Granite Falls Furnace Guill Tool & Engineering Co. Hafner & Krullmann GmbH Hangzhou Dongxing Telecommunication Material Co. Hangzhou JR Exhibition Co. Ltd. Hangzhou Juli Insualtion Co. Ltd. Heany Industries Inc. Heatbath Corp.

Henrich Maschinenfabrik Henrich GmbH HFSAB H Folke Sandelin AB Honta Houghton International Inc. Howar Equipment Inc. Huestis Industrial ICE Wire Line Equipment Inc. IDEAL Welding Systems iiM AG measurement + engineering INFLEX Inc. InnoVites Inosym Integrated Control Technologies International Wire & Cable Symposium (IWCS) International Wire Group Inc. International Wire & Cable Machinery Association IP Automation Inc. Iron Tiger Manufacturing Inc. Isabellenhutte Co. IWE Spools & Handling GmbH IWG/Bare Wire Division IWG/High Performance Conductors Jiangsu Kemaite Technology Development Co. Ltd. Jianyin Hygrade Electromechanical Technology Co. Ltd. Joe Snee Associates, Inc. Joe-Tools Jouhsen - Bundgens Inc. Jun-En Enterprise Corp.

Kablosan Turkey - FBC Yayincilik Ltd. sti Kabmak Muh. Ve Mak. San Kalmark Intergrated Systems Ltd. Kar-El Demir Tel San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti KEIR Manufacturing Inc. Keystone Steel & Wire Co. Kieselstein GmbH King Steel Corp.

Kinrei of America KMK Krollman Ernst Koch Albert Kren Lamnea Bruk AB LaserLinc Inc. Leggett & Platt Wire Group Leoni Wire Inc. Lisciani Lloyd & Bouvier Inc. LUKAS Anlagenbau GmbH M & M Industries Co. Ltd. M+E Madison Steel Inc. Magnetic Technologies Ltd. Maillefer Extrusion Oy Mathiasen Machinery Inc. Melos GmbH/Inhol B.V. The Meltech Co. Metal Link Inc. Metal Resource Solutions Inc. Metalloid Corp.

Metavan N V MFL Group The MGS Group - MGS Mfg.Hall Industries - Northampton Machinery Micro Products Co. Microdia USA Mid-South Wire Milacron Canterbury Engineering/Genca Mixer Compounds Morgan-Koch Corp.

Mossberg Associates Inc. Mossberg Industries Inc. Nano-Diamond America Inc. Nantong Yingjie Metal Products Co. Nation Grinding Inc. NDC Technologies Neptco Niagara Composites Industries Inc. Niehoff Endex North America Inc. Maschinenfabrik NIEHOFF GmbH & Co KG Nylene Canada Inc. Oden Technologies Inc. OM Frigerio spa OM Lesmo OMA USA Inc. OMCG North America Inc. Ozyasar Tel Ve Galvanizleme P & R Specialty Inc. P/A Industries Pampas - Baicheng Fujia Paramount Die Co. Parkway-Kew Corp.

Phifer Wire Inc. Pioneer Machinery USA Pittsfield Plastics Eng. Inc. Plas-Ties Co. Pourtier & Setic of America Precision Die Technologies Inc. Precision Process Inc. Premier Wire Die PrintSafe Progress Maschinen & Automation AG Promostar srl Properzi International Inc. Proton Products PWM Q8Oils QED Wire Lines Inc. Qual-Fab Inc. Queins Machines Raajratna Stainless Wire Inc. RAD-CON Inc. Radyne Corp.

Rainbow Rubber & Plastics Rautomead Ltd. REDEX Redex of America Reel Power Wire & Cable Refractron Technologies Corp.

RESY Filtration Systems RichardsApex Inc. Roblon A/S ~continued~

exhibitors

sponsors

~continued~

Rockford Manufacturing Group FELM Rosendahl Nextrom Roteq Machinery Inc. RSD Technik RTD Manufacturing S&E Specialty Polymers SACO AEI Polymers SAMP SpA SAMP USA Inc. SAMPSISTEMI Sanxin Wire Die Inc. SARK USA SARK Wire Sarkuysan SA Schlatter North America Schmidt Maschinenbau GmbH Schnell SpA Shanghai Dehong New Materials Co. Ltd. Shanghai EverSpring Ceramic Co. Ltd. Shanghai Hosn Machinery Technology Co. Ltd. Shenyang Jinggong Cable Material Co. Ltd. Sikora International Corp.

Simpacks Sirio Wire Sivaco Wire Group Sjogren Industries Inc. Skaltek Inc. SKET Verseilmaschinenbau GmbH Sonoco Reels Spirka Schnellflechter GmbH Star Materials Co. Ltd. Steel Cable Reels Stolberger Inc. DBA Wardwell Braiding Stolberger KMB-Maschinenfabrik GmbH August Strecker GmbH & Co KG Subec AB Supermac Industries Ltd. Sweed Machinery Inc. Sylvin Technologies Inc. T & T Marketing Inc. Takikawa Tantec Est Inc. Tapeformers Ltd. Taubensee Steel & Wire Co. Taymer International Inc.

Technical Development Corp.

Tecnofil SA TECVIL Teknikor Teknor Apex TEKTAPES Tensor Machinery Ltd. Thermoplastics Engineering Corp.

Tillos Group Trafco Tramev Traxit North America LLC Troester GmbH & Co. KG Tubular Products Co. Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals Inc. United Wire Co. Inc. Unitek Crossheads Upcast OY Vandor Corp.

Vinston US Corp.

Voge Composites vom Hagen & Funke WAFIOS Machinery Corp.

WCISA /Wire Forming Technology International Weber & Scher Mfg. Co. Inc. Windak Inc. Windmill Associates Wire & Cable Technology International Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. wire 2016/Messe Düsseldorf North America Wire Association International, Inc. Wire Journal International, Inc. Wire Lab Co. Wire Machine Systems Inc. wired up Wire World WiTechs Witels Albert USA Ltd. Woodburn Diamond Die Inc. WTM srl Wuxi Quantong Cable Materials Co. Ltd. X-Compound GmbH Yield Management Corp.

Zhejiang Baichuan Conductor Technology Co. Ltd. Zumbach Electronics Corp.

Platinum Level

Gold Level

Silver Level

Bronze Level

www.interwire17.com Wire.

Cable.

Supplies.

Equipment.

Supporting Sponsors

5(&,6,21 5((/ 3$<2))6

ADVANCE REGISTRATION FORM Convention: May 8-11, 2017 | Exhibits: May 9-11, 2017 Georgia World Congress Center | Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Register at: www.wirenet.org, or use the form below 1. COMPLETE & MAIL OR FAX THIS FORM TODAY

4. EVENT REGISTRATION (Required) *advance (on or before April 10, 2017) | *on-site (after April 10, 2017) *advance

LAST NAME

*on-site

FULL REGISTRATION PLUS NEW WAI MEMBERSHIP (BL/AEM) FIRST NAME

MIDDLE

Includes exhibits, welcome reception, technical sessions & online proceedings, production solutions, keynote, and one year WAI membership.

TITLE

New Member

$445 q

$545 q

Member

$395 q

$495 q

Non Member

$495 q

$595 q

$85 q

$110 q

$135 q

$160 q

FULL REGISTRATION (BL/AE)

COMPANY

Includes exhibits, welcome reception, technical sessions & online proceedings, production solutions and keynote.

STREET/MAILING ADDRESS

EXHIBITS ONLY (GD/CE)

2ND ADDRESS LINE IF NEEDED

Tuesday-Thursday, May 9-11, 2017 Includes exhibits and production solutions.

CITY

STATE/PROV.

POSTAL CODE

WELCOME RECEPTION ONLY (IE)

COUNTRY

Tuesday, May 9, 2017 Note: welcome reception is already included in full registration fees.

COUNTRY CODE TELEPHONE (include area code)

E-MAIL (Required) [

]

2. BUSINESS INFORMATION (Required)

FUNDAMENTALS OF WIRE MANUFACTURING (Includes Exhibits) (GDS) Monday, May 8, 2017 Includes program handouts, lunch, exhibits, and production solutions. q Ferrous Track (FT) q Nonferrous/Electrical Track (NT)

Member

$295 q

$395 q

Non Member

$395 q

$495 q

Member with Full Registration

$125 q

$225 q

Non Member with Full Registration

$145 q

$245 q

A. Which ONE of the following best describes your company’s type of business? CHECK ONLY ONE. WIRE MANUFACTURING 10 q Aluminum & Al. Alloys (Rod/Bar, Bare Wire) 20 q Copper & Copper Alloys (Rod/Bar, Bare Wire) 30 q Steel & Steel Alloys (Rod/Bar, Bare Wire) 40 q Other Metal (Rod/Bar, Bare Wire) 50 q Electrical (Insulated Wire) 53 q Communication (Insulated Wire) 55 q Fiber Optics FASTENERS, WIRE FORMING, FABRICATING 61 q Fastener Manufacture 62 q Four-Slide Forming 64 q Hot and/or Cold Forming and Heading 66 q Spring Manufacture 68 q Wire Cloth Mesh Screening 69 q Other Forming and Fabricating Please Specify ___________________________

SUPPLIERS TO THE WIRE INDUSTRY 72 q Machinery 74 q Process, Accessories, Materials WIRE END-USER 11 q Appliance 12 q Communications (Voice/Data) 13 q Computer 14 q Construction/Building 15 q Electrical (Equip./Components/Power) 16 q Transportation/Vehicular 17 q Wire Formed Durable Goods OTHER 80 q Service Cntrs, Distrib. & Warehouses 90 q Consultants 92 q Govt., Library, Others Allied to Field

B. Which ONE of the following best describes your primary job function? CHECK ONLY ONE. 10 q General & Administrative Management 20 q Engineering and/or Operations and/or Production 30 q Technical and/or Research & Development and/or Quality Control 40 q Purchasing 50 q Sales & Marketing 90 q Other Please Specify _____________________________________________________________

SOUTHWIRE TOUR (SR) Monday, May 8, 2017 Note: Space is limited and preference will be given to full conference registrants. Individual registrations subject to approval.

Member

$50 q

N/A

Non Member

$75 q

N/A

MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP (MMW) Thursday, May 11, 2017 Note: Space is limited and preference will be given to full conference registrants.

Member

$125 q

$175 q

Non Member

$175 q

$225 q

with Full Registration

$50 q

$75 q

$545 q

GLOBAL FERROUS ROD & WIRE SYMPOSIUM (FS) Monday-Wednesday, May 8-10, 2017 Includes Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium AND Interwire 2017 Exhibits, Full Technical Program, and Welcome Reception.

Member

$445 q

Non Member

$545 q

$645 q

New Member

$495 q

$595 q

5. TOTAL REGISTRATION FEES, U.S. $ 6. REGISTRATION FEE IS PAID BY:

3. SPECIAL OFFER

q Check enclosed payable to THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, INC. (Checks must be in U.S. dollars drawn on U.S. bank)

FREE Wire Journal International Subscription

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q Yes q Print Only q No thank you

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Cancellation Policy–Refund requests must be received in writing by these dates: On or before 3/31/17 – REFUND minus $25 handling fee • After 3/31/17 – NO REFUND

The Wire Association International, Inc. 71 Bradley Road | Suite 9 | Madison, CT 06443 USA | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | www.wirenet.org

REPORT

TO MEMBERS

REPORT

Volunteers serving our educational mission The following Report provides an update on the Wire Association International’s activities, including the newly introduced HardWIRED educational service as well as new membership and industry videos.

The commitment from nearly 100 volunteers that support the organization as well as the talented 12-person staff makes everything possible, but the synergy that exists between the two groups is the reason for our successes. This is certainly evident in the successful production of the recent International Technical Conference in Monterrey Mexico that received full support of Antonio Ayala, Patricio Murga and Eduardo Anaya.

Because each of them had managed earlier Conferences in Mexico, these gentlemen were highly efficient and extremely productive in everything from recruiting papers to securing the tour at KIA. Synergistic is also how I would describe the combined efforts that rallied to produce the highly regarded Operations Summit & Wire Expo, in June 2016, at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. While typically this event receives full support from nearly all of the standing committees, it was buoyed further by the power-

ful support of the New England Chapter. The event was so well received that we have agreed to return to Connecticut in 2020.

The same commitment that defines our volunteer efforts is the foundation of the new HardWIRED program that is detailed below. In the first three editions, you can see Past President Andy Steve Fetteroll Talbot jumping all in to WAI Executive Director the project as well as new President Dave Hawker providing the inaugural content.

I also want to recognize that my colleagues demonstrate a fantastic ability to manage the evolution of the operation. You see it clearly in the HardWIRED and video projects discussed below, but it is evident from my perspective nearly every day as they introduce new ideas to keep the momentum moving forward.

HardWIRED: designed by the industry for the industry The WAI Education Committee continues to support the educational needs of our membership through the recent launch of HardWIRED a monthly newsletter with web based media integration. HardWIRED will focus on specific educational topics with a short five minute educational video, which will serve to complement the Brian Parsons existing WAI webinars and Fundamentals courses. The format is intended to provide a visual education tool which can be included as part of an individual or team oriented program. The narrow subject scope and brevity will allow an organization to include as part of team “huddles,” or as a component of the continuous improvement efforts which focus on resource development. The program, when coupled with the webinars and coursework, may also be included as part of an organizations formal training program. With the format being web based, the media can be conveniently accessed from any device that has internet connectiv-

32 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

ity. These educational shorts will provide an introductory exposure to topics, allowing the member to utilize WAI webinars and live coursework for additional knowledge development. WAI is committed to expanding our product offerings for our members and their organizations, providing external expertise and support that will generate value through education. We welcome your feedback as WAI continues to build a convenient and effective library of educational materials.

Brian Parsons, Education Committee Chairman

An image from the HardWIRED Nexans extrusion video.

®

INTERNATIONAL

2016

www.wirenet.org

www.wirenet.org

&Filtration

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

WIREE JOU JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 2016

®

INTERNATIONAL

www.wirenet.org

www.wirenet.org

Preview OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

WIRE JOURNAL

APRIL 2016

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WHY ATTEND REASON #17

OR EXHIBIT?

n WAI event locatio This first-time explore up with folks, is ideal to meet and ideas, make new technology and ss clients, mingle contacts, impre to having lf without e-n-j-o-y yourse ere. cab it anywh

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

Phase I plan WAI re-launched and reimagined its e-mail newsletter to give it new life, a new focus, and greater timely relevance to today’s industry. Re-christened HardWIRED, the newsletter now focuses on education. A key feature of each issue is a short, original video on an educational or training topic with practical value that can translate directly to better performance on the shop floor.

The first few issues began arriving in in-boxes this past October, and continued in November and December. Our first topics included extrusion screw cleaning, cup and cone wire breaks, and wrap and torsion twist testing. The schedule calls for publishing the newsletter and videos 10 times a year.

While each issue features a single video on a key issue, we plan to produce enough additional videos to build up an archive. The aim is eventually to offer a comprehensive library that touches on all the most relevant wire- and cable-making topics. A group of these 5- to 10-minute videos on narrow, but related topics can quickly grow into a valuable series.

Some future topics already in the production or planning phase include die inspection, setting of cast and helix, set-up and operation of wire pullers, hand safety, mechanical descaling, and troubleshooting.

Please contact us with your ideas or suggestions for future videos. As a new product, the HardWIRED videos are starting with a blank canvas and have lots of ground to cover, so we have many opportunities for new topics.

I invite volunteers interested in hosting or presenting to contact me at mmurray@wirenet.org or tel. 203-4584044.

My colleague Director of Technology Chuck Szymaszek and I do the work of recording and collecting footage. We then edit, provide narration, and adjust or add graphics at WAI headquarters. Finally, we consult the presenter for updates before the final version is published.

I hope you find HardWIRED another valuable resource WAI can provide for you and your staff’s further education. And, if you feel inspired to help us put together a new video, we’d be happy to have you join us.

Marc Murray, Director of Education & Member Services

JANUARY 2017 | 33

REPORT

WIREE JOU JOURNAL

JANUARY 2016

WIRE W WI IR IR REE JOU JOURNAL MAY 2016

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4

REPORT

Wrapup

DIES:

WHERE S THE VALUE?

EQUIPMENT

rable experience?

Ready for a memo enance floor to the maint From the plant displays from tabletop department and ed by this event—design to networking, lots of volunteers—offers WAI industry on p. 60. starts e Updat content & value.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

Play, watch, share WAI con nues o ook for new ways o a rac new members and o f nd mean ngfu ways o engage w h s oya fo ow ng In 2016 par of h s evo u on mean addng v deos o s m x of rad ona forms of commun caon The reason was wofo d WAI’s membersh p comm ee members ed by Cha rman Jay Munsey ook o engage eng neer ng s uden s as hey beg n o en er he workforce And s nce bo h s uden s and a grow ng number of peop e urn o YouTube as a popu ar search eng ne he dec s on o n roduce a WAI v deo presence here was a ma er of course WAI’s f rs wo messages were carefu y craf ed o ass m a e n o he genre of n roduc ory and educa ona v deos on ne Bo h were br ef w h a p ay me of under 5 m nu es The f rs v deo en ed “You Rock” races he ourney of ore from s humb e beg nn ngs o f n shed w re and cab e I n roduces he w re ndus ry from a b rd’s-eye v ew ak ng myr ad produc on s eps n o accoun —for ferrous and nonferrous produc s— ha u ma e y serve dozens of v bran ndus r es Af er a w re s everywhere as s he heme of he second v deo “W re 360° ” Th s m n produc on ooks a he Assoc a on’s benef s hrough he unscr p ed narra on of severa of s ac ve members The v deo de vers he WAI brand ng and a so serves as a recru men oo

SEPTEMBER 2016

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V ew each v deo on YouTube on he W re Assoc a on p ay s or hrough he nks a he www w rene org home page and share w h your own ne work Jan ce Sw nde s D rector of Market ng and Corporate Commun cat ons

WJI: 50 years of service The Assoc a on s pos on ng se f for he d g a era wh ch s a we come and necessary advance A he same me I’d ke o sa u e he h s ory of wha has been done and h s WJI ssue s s gn f can n hose erms as s Vo 50 Issue 1 I be eve ha egacy–a ong w h he enhanced focus on d g a – w he p keep WAI on rack for he nex 50 years a hough I have o say ha even oday I ke he ook of he f rs -ever WJI cover shown on he nex page Andy Ta bot Immed ate Past Pres dent

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EVENT PREVIEWS:

W W OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

34 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

and ther no end

REPORT This year, WAI marks its 50th year of publishing Wire Journal International. Technically, the half-century mark is still a few months off, but as this issue is Vol. 50, Issue 1, January is a good time to salute this achievement. As an FYI, the scanned-in April 1968 cover, which includes the mailing address for D.R. James, shows that the original name was just Wire Journal. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until the April 1981 issue that the logo became Wire Journal International.

There will be more on WJIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50 years in future issues.

JANUARY 2017 | 35

WAI NEWS

WAI

NEWS

Dave Hawker to serve as WAI president in 2016 Dave Hawker, Nexans Energy Cables North America, will serve as WAI president for 2017, succeeding Andy Talbot, Mid-South Wire Company. The other 2017 officers are 1st Vice President Richard Wagner, Insteel Wire Products, 2nd Vice President W.T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corporation, WAI Executive Director/Secretary Steve Fetteroll and WAI Treasurer David LaValley.

The WAI officers are key to the direction and planning for events, products and services to serve the WAI’s more than 2,000 members.

President: Dave Hawker Dave Hawker is Vice President and General Manager of Nexans Energy Cables North America. With operations in both Canada and the U.S., the division manufactures a wide range of products that include residential, commercial, industrial and utility cables. He previously has served in engineering, manufacturing and commercial

roles at different Nexans cable plants. He attended the University of Waterloo where he earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering.

Hawker has been a member of the Wire Association International since 1994, and currently serves on the Board of Directors as well as the Conference Programming Committee and the Finance Committee.

1st Vice President: Richard Wagner Richard Wagner is Vice President and General Manager at Insteel Wire Products, the nation’s largest manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. He started with the company in 1992, and prior to that was Division Manager FWC Supply, for Florida Wire and Cable Company, where he worked from 1977 to 1992.

Wagner holds a BBA degree in management from the University of North Florida.

The WAI member is beginning a second term on the Board of Directors. He was a co-chair of the Member Relations Committee, and has served on the Conference Programming Committee since 2012.

2017 WAI organizational chart Following are the committees/boards and chairmen that will help direct the WAI’s activities this year.

Executive Committee President: David Hawker Nexans Energy Cables North America 1st V.P.: Richard Wagner Insteel Wire Products 2nd V.P.: W.T. Bigbee Encore Wire Corporation Member: Jan Sorige Enkotec Co., Inc. Immediate Past Pres.: Andy Talbot Mid-South Wire Co., Inc.

36 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Board of Directors Richard Baker, General Cable Corp.

Eric P. Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die, Inc. W.T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corporation Steven Bonnell David Ferraro, Carris Reels, Inc. Marco Gerardo, SAMP USA Dave Hawker, Nexans Energy Cables N. America Jason Jones, Bekaert Corp.

Richard R. Miller, Southwire Company George “Jay” Munsey, Mexichem Specialty Compounds Patricio G. Murga, Conductores Monterrey SA de CV Jan Sorige, Enkotec Co., Inc. Andy Talbot, Mid-South Wire Co., Inc. Mark Thackeray, General Cable Corp.

Richard Wagner, Insteel Industries Timothy Wampler, General Cable Corp.

James York, Leggett & Platt

W.T. Bigbee is Vice President Product and Research Development at Encore Wire Corporation.

His current role includes the oversight of technical and production operations and the development of new products and services. During his 19 year tenure at Encore, W.T. has held positions as Director of Technical Operations and Product Engineering, Plant Manager and Quality Control, and Process Engineering Manager. Before Joining Encore in 1997, W.T. worked at Capital Wire/General Cable for 10 years where he started his career in the wire and cable industry and worked his way into a Process Engineering position.

W.T. currently holds memberships and serves in key positions within the Aluminum Association, the Canadian Standards Association, the Copper Development Association, the National Armored Cable Manufacturers Association, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the National Fire Protection Association, the Wire Association International, and the NEMA-UL Technical Forum.

Bylaws Committee Paul Pawlikowski

Conference Programming Committee Dave Hawker, Nexans Energy Cables North America, and Richard Wagner, Insteel Wire Products

Education Committee Brian Parsons, Dekoro Wire & Cable

Exhibition Planning Committee Joe Snee, Joe Snee Associates

Finance Committee Richard Miller, Southwire Company

Memorial Awards Committee Tom Moran, National Standard Co.

Executive Committee and Board of Directors for 2016 This year, the WAI Executive Committee will consist of David Hawker, Nexans Energy Cables North America (President); Richard Wagner, Insteel Wire Products (1st Vice President); W.T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corporation (2nd Vice President); Andy Talbot, Mid-South Wire Co. (Immediate Past President); and member Jan Sorige, Enkotec Co., Inc. WAI’s full Board of Directors includes Richard Baker, General Cable Corp.; Eric P. Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die, Inc.; W.T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corporation; Steven Bonnell; Brian Burr, Sumiden Wire Products, Inc.; David Ferraro, Carris Reels, Inc.; Marco Gerardo, SAMP USA; Dave Hawker, Nexans Energy Cables North America; and Jason Jones, Bekaert Corp.

Also, Richard Miller, Southwire Company; George “Jay” Munsey, Mexichem Specialty Compounds; Patricio Murga, Conductores Monterrey SA de CV; Jan Sorige, Enkotec Co., Inc.; Andy Talbot, Mid-South Wire Co., Inc.; Richard Wagner, Insteel Wire Products; Timothy Wampler, General Cable Corp.; and James York, Leggett & Platt.

Member Relations Committee Jay Munsey, Mexichem Specialty Compounds

Nominating Committee Dane G. Armendariz, Chemetall

Oversight Committee Richard Wagner, Insteel Wire Products

Paper Awards Committee Bhaskar Yalamanchili, Gerdau Long Steel North America

Publications Committee Dane G. Armendariz, Chemetall

WAI Chapters India, Italy, Poland and U.S. (Mid-South, Midwest, New England, Ohio Valley, Southeast and Western)

JANUARY 2017 | 37

WAI NEWS

2nd Vice President: W.T. Bigbee

one focus.

MAY 8-10, 2017 AT INTERWIRE

STEEL.

one conference at Interwire 2017. sponsors STEEL LEVEL

HOT METAL...COOL STEEL. This first-time Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium covers all the technical steps in between and it’s conventiently held concurrently with Interwire 2017~The Americas’ wire & cable industry fair in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Take a closer look at:

GOLD LEVEL

> > > > > > >

mechanical properties measurement inspection & testing coil quality rod mill processes rod mill equipment sustainability & eco-solutions

The schedule includes time to tour the Interwire exposition hall, which features more than 400 exhibiting companies.

Registration is separate.

Symposium details at: SILVER LEVEL

www.interwire17.com.

Wire.

Cable.

Supplies.

Equipment.

The Wire Association International, Inc. | WWW.WIRENET.ORG

When Interwire returns to Atlanta on May 8-11, 2017, a new program highlight will be WAI’s first Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium (GFRWS), which includes cross-registration with the full Interwire program and time built into the schedule to visit the exhibit hall.

This first-time, discrete program focuses exclusively on topics of interest to the ferrous industry. The symposium schedule runs concurrently with Interwire like a dedicated program track. Technical presentation categories include rod mill equipment for quality rod; rod mill processes and procedures for quality rod; coil quality for the wire mill; wire rod inspection and testing; and sustainability and eco-solutions.

The event is being organized by volunteers from the steel wire industry, including former WAI Board of Directors members and Mordica Memorial Award winner Bhaskar Yalamanchili of Gerdau Long Steel North America.

Yalamanchili is being assisted on the organizing committee by Bruce Kiefer and Wade Krejdovksy of Primetals Technologies USA, and Peter Power, a retired metallurgical consultant who advises Gerdau.

The main Interwire conference program is focused on the nonferrous and electrical sectors, featuring some 20 technical and practical presentations on nonferrous and general topics.

A highlight of the Interwire program is a session examining Industry 4.0 (a German variation of the “Industrial Internet of Things”), which includes a panel discussion as

well as separate, related presentations. The panel includes three suppliers of Industry 4.0 solutions plus a fourth specialist in the field. The companies represented in this group are Cimteq, InnoVites, Oden Technologies and Wonderware. The group aims to take some of the mystery out of Industry 4.0 and show how it can provide value at the shop-floor level.

The conference is also designed to give attendees greater access to accomplished experts. It includes short workshops and some additional one-on-one time to get specific questions and challenges addressed.

Familiar elements returning to Interwire include the oneday Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing course. The course features 12 topics separated into ferrous and nonferrous tracks. The Production Solutions on-floor demonstrations return for practical information on getting the most out of various products and processes. The program also includes the return of the Manufacturing Management Workshop that debuted at Interwire 2015. This workshop provides tailored management instruction for operations managers and supervisors to pick up where on-the-job training leaves off.

Developing highlights include a Southwire plant tour, as well as the popular Welcome Reception. The convention will also feature awards presentations; a membership breakfast; keynote speaker; ample time for face-to-face meetings with suppliers, industry experts, and colleagues; and Association leadership meetings.

From the WAI Ferrous Wire Handbook With 36 chapters over 1,168 pages, the Ferrous Wire Handbook, published in 2008, remains the Association’s most-ever comprehensive literature project, written by three dozen wire industry experts and edited by former WAI President Robert M. Shemenski, an industry consultant and president of RMS Consulting, Inc. The book is a modern-day reference tool for those working directly in the steel wire or manufacturing, engineering and operations sectors of the industry. The chapters present straightforward explanations of different process, supported by charts and photos. The content covers a full spectrum of sectors, with individual chapters—from wire rod production and deformation in cold drawing to patenting and straightening and cutting wire—that explain the process in practical terms. A company that just wants one or two chapters need not pay for the entire book ($235/$195 for WAI members).

A PDF of a single chapter, from 4 through 36, can be ordered for $25, $20 for WAI members. Each order will include an additional free PDF with the first three chapters (A short history of the Ferrous Wire Industry, Evolution of Modern Steel Manufacture, and Modern Steel

Manufacturing), which serve as an industry introduction and overview.

To get the first three chapters for free, go to www.mywai.org. There you can see and order the other individual chapters. Future issues will present chapter summations here.

CHAPTER 9: Pickling and Coating SUMMARY: This chapter, 75 pages, discusses the subjects in the below subheads. It includes dozens of figures, charts, pictures and a bibliography.

ON SALE NOW!

Types of topics covered: • Descaling of Carbon Steel Rod and Wire • Pickling • Hydrogen Embrittlement • Rinsing • Coatings • Process Control and Analysis • Pickling and Coating Equipment • Continuous Pickling Systems • Fume Control • Pollution Control • Spent Coating Solutions • Dilute Effluent Systems, and more

JANUARY 2017 | 39

WAI NEWS

Interwire features packed program, ferrous ‘conference within conference’

CHAPTER CORNER

CHAPTER CORNER Update on Poland Chapter activity in March 2017 tech conference institutions (universities and research centers). The first As of press time, organizers of the 7th International day of the event is registration and a reception, the second Conference on Drawing, to be held March 2-4, 2017, at day has the technical sessions, with tableletops, followed the Antałówka Hotel in Zakopane, Poland, report that that evening by regional folk entertainment. The last day there are more than a hundred participants as well as a will include morning sessions and poster papers, followed strong showing for technical papers. by lunch and WAI’s Poland the conference Chapter and the closing. During Czestochowa the conference University of there will also be Technology tabletop displays.

(CUT) are among As of press time, the organizers of the following a biennial techcompanies were nical event. The registered: Ferconference theme, mot SA; Cloos “Modern technolPolska, Minova ogies and modelArnall (subsidiary ling of drawing from Australia), and manufacturing Energomontaż processes of metal products,” will be At the awards ceremony at the 2015 conference, Prof. Jose Atienza Riera, l, and Północ, Maskpol SA, Premco, reflected in techni- Prof. Jan W. Pilarczyk display their plaques. With them are, l-r, Prof. Janusz Sloan Industries, cal presentations Łuksza, Prof. Bogdan Golis, Prof. Jerzy Wysłocki, Prof. Eugeniusz Hadasik, Włomet, Vassena presented on steel Prof. Sylwia Wiewiorowska and Prof. Zbigniew Muskalski.

Srl, Lubrimetal wire and wire SpA, Traxit International GmbH, Heberlein GmbH - Parproducts, nonferrous wire and wire products, electrical amount Die Europe and Pan Chemicals SpA. wire, and special products.

The event will also see the awarding of the Schneider The conference is being headed by Prof. Sylwia WiewMemorial Award to two recipients. Pilarczyk said that the iórowska, Institute of Plastic Working and Safety EngiSchneider Memorial Award is Poland’s equivalent to the neering, a member of the faculty of Production EngineerWAI’s Mordica Memorial Award. “Prof. Marian Schneiing and Materials Technology at Czestochowa University der was known as ‘the father of the Poland wire drawing of Technology (CUT) in Poland. Joining Wiewiórowska industry,’ with the award granted for contribution for on the organizing committee are: Secretary: Dr. Ewa development of metal forming, especially wire drawing in Staniewska; and members Dr. Robert Kruzel, Dr. Bartosz Poland and abroad,” he said.

Koczurkiewicz; Manager Beata Nonas and Manager Piotr The first recipient is Romański.

Wojciech Misiołek, a highly This conference is organized under the patronage of regarded U.S. professor with Prof. Norbert Sczygiol, the newly elected rector of CUT, Polish roots, who is director who is supporting the cooperation of the university with of the Loewy Institute (forWire Association International, which wants to thank merly Metal Forming Instihim for allowing the Poland Chapter to be located at the tute) at Lehigh University. He university. completed his doctoral work “I am very pleased to report that we have had many in metallurgy and became papers submitted, with 34 accepted for presentation,” said a junior faculty member at Jan Pilarczyk, the long-time president of WAI’s Poland AGH/University of Science Chapter, who has retired as a CUT professor but continues and Technology in 1985, and to help out with the conference. He said that 24 of the spent the 1987/1988 academpapers will be published in a special issue of Hutnik-Wiic year as a Kosciuszko Feladomości Hutnicze and the other 10 in Gospodarka Matelow at Lehigh University. For riałowa & Logistyka. the next nine years, he was Registration for the event to date includes attendees Misiołek with the Materials Engineerfrom 30 industrial companies and eight educational

40 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

CHAPTER CO CORNER

ings, and a social program.  Visit

abzowski@wirenet.org.

us at wire Düsseldorf — stand 11 D52 

JANUARY 2017 | 41

50 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

MARCH 2016 JANUARY 2016| |37 25

CHAPTER PEOPLE CORNER

also received the WAI’s President’s Award in 2014 for extraordinary volunteer service. He served two terms on the Association’s board of directors, and is still a member of its education, member relations and paper awards committees. A former member of the board of directors of theFor New Chapter WAI, he served moreEngland details, contact Prof.ofWiewiórowska at as that wiewior@wip.pcz.pl or go to the event website at body’s president in 2000. He has also chaired the WAI’s www.konferencja.wip.pcz.pl.

Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing program since 2007, frequently serving as a course moderator and presenter.

Based in Connecticut, Wire & Full house is Bristol, expected for NewUSA, England Plastic Corp. is a major supplier of used wire and cable Chapter annual meeting equipment that operates locaThe final details are setout for of theeight WAI’swarehouse New England tions in North America, including the Northeast, North Chapter, with another large crowd expected for the annual OMCG America with the Resort It was a North magical time atPresident theJan. event...courtesy of a Sun magician Carolina and Texas. meeting when it is held 26 Bob at theSears Mohegan company’s CNC Minimalist 6 system. with a bagfull ofCenter. seemingly impossible card tricks.

Conference The casino complex should seem quite familiar to attendees WAGO as it recently hosted Wire Expo 2016. reported two personnel OMCG offers CNCMark systems forQuirk processing wire Parent, Color; Long, Wire Company; TheBreen reception willadditions. start at 5:30 pm, followed by dinner Juliano Matias was forms 0.040 in. toHarish 0.700Panchal, in. its unique, JimatStocking, Hitachi; Lloyd &ofBouvier; 7from pm. The program includes thewith introduction theand named national sales manager for standard, eccentric bend head.

Complementary options chapter’s new officers and boardResources, members for 2017.

There Mike Canterino, Fluoropolymer Inc.; Grant Canada.

He previously was nationavailable: welding, grooving,John cold heading, uated in 1965 from CUT’s also willrobots, be a raffle, a Corporation; key fundraiser for theRivers, chapter’s Campbell, Multi/Cable al marketing manager for Phoenix chamfering, threading, stamping and forming, assembly mechanical engineering decollege scholarship program.

One of the items that are up OMCG SpA Italy Fluorogistix LLC; and Pat Harper, Hueson Corp.

Contact, where he game. instrumental Erik A. Macs in has been named partment and started working a technology position in and for grabs is tickets to a Boston Red Sox Multislide operations.

For progressive strip forming At Interwire, OMCG NorthofAmerica “I am looking forward to $120 serving as the chapter presiin developing director sales forshowcased Wire producer and the of wire projects, Company Metalurgia S.A., a Radomsko Tickets for the event are chapter members, OMCG’s Servaxis andfor Multislide machines company’sand technology for wire, tube and strip forming dent$130 thisfor year,” said Fisher, who talked about the value regional dealPlasticDuring Machinery (WPM). wire products. his 20 Corp years there, he worked inhave WAI members and $140 all and others.

Sponsorblanking capacities up to 120forton strip width projects indifferent the forms of has systems with of the chapter’s scholarship program, and the return to positions.

He joined themodular company’s ships are available for the meeting, including Platinum er networks He more than 25 yearsServaxis ofboard in 2008to +80 mm. www.omcg.com. and Multislide capabilities that provide and informing 2016experience became president.

Heand has had a solumajor impact the ($500), GoldSun ($350), Silver Bronze ($250).

Mohegun infor June for($250) WAI’s Summitt a range of andOperations in wire cable tions to reduce critical to profi tability. on thecosts company’s development of technology as well as industrial machinery sales at previous & Wire Expo 2016. “Being thecomhost chapter, we are its typedisplayed of ownership.

He hasMinimalist modernized The company its CNC 6equipment, model. seen SAMP U.S. ponents sales and marketing positions hopingMatias forUSA, a greatInc. turnout to and showcase the talents and introduction of and cut manufacturing ItGem features a feed thatfor isnew veryproducts close to bend tools, which Gravure’s Derek Olsen with Erik Macs, who is all costs. SAMPSISTEMI The as well as the Progressive Machinery, Inc., Italyparticipants information of all theelectronics. event Close R&D cooperation with CUT led to a joint project reduces wirewinning torsionthe effect.

The which uses smiles after raffle for model, Red Sox ticketsand that were company also named Joe Stirpe Fine International Corp., function and great things WAI doesdivision for the of industry the SAMPSISTEMI Italy’s and allowing manufacturing of wires with a TRIP simple multi radii bend capability.

Theeffect. As asAtitsInterwire, donatedtooling,

by Gemhas Gravure. regional sales manager for including the Thermoplastics Board president, he continues Engineering the company focus on mod- SAMP its members.” exhibited several machines, CNC unit ernization was shown with CAD to to that, machine capability upstate York.

He has a diverse Corp.

Prior he had been and implementation of new innovations.

Macs Fisher New also thanked the following event sponDM80.2x8.22 (16 wire, 22 dies) multiwire line, the Group, which heprogramming noted were very gracious hosts, even that allows easy while the machine is Memorial in background in technical sales and Monroe ebeam23crosslinked Pilarczyk involved noted that with since 2006, Schneider BM-630-D + SV800 motorized pay-off, the latter will sors: Platinum: Carris Reels, James Wire & be allowing competitors toIGES its facility. production.

It also uses and STEP fi12 le WAI importStirpe Awards have been issued, including business development with Also aCable focus wire materials research atvisit Judd Wire; blown filmmembers: packin operation during the show. a single PVC horizontal Cable, MultiCable, Specialty and PolyOne; Past chapter recognized and the ing to machine and machine controllers, via the2016 “Easy Franz leaders Branders/2006; Prof.

Bogdan Golis/2006; on control andTE60-25 electricalforproducts aging manufacturing atwere Union Camp; extrusion and Dr. Rob- extruder model automotive Gold: Quirk Wire, T&T Marketing, Wireapplication & Plastic will be board, and officers, introduced.

In addition to Fisher, ert M. Shemenski/2007; Dr. Stanisław Księżarek/2008; Program” that creates the program and can simulate and applications.

Over the last several decades, he has injection molding processing at Dennison; and Teflonthe displayed.

Machinery, Fluorgistix and Chemours; Silver: Breen Prof.

Roger Wright/2009; Prof.

Kazunari Yoshida/2011; officers for 2016 include: Derek Olsen, Gem Gravure, forming 3D animation on the screen.

It can indicate held position in business development and film heatwith sealing and thermoforming research with The leadership DM80.2x8.22 represents the latest generation Eugeniusz Filipczyk/2011; Dr. Nicholas NickoletopouColor Concentrates, Fluoropolymer Resources and of vice RichHe Goyette, EIS Wire & Cable, Co., ifAmerican therepresident; is any interference between part and machine, At the chapter’s annual meeting on January 28, 2016, management at Siemens, Invensys Eurotherm and KJ Durafilm. has a degree in mechanical SAMP multiwire design toBronze: improve production versatilProf.

Tadeusz Knych/2012; Prof.

Paul S&E Specialty Polymers; Amarak Automation all part of los/2012; the simple and effective “WhatCollege. you see isVan treasurer; and Michael Crouchley, Champlain Cable, David FisherBased spoke about a good year toPennsylvania, come.

Electric Corp. in Germantown, engineering from Central New England A Houtte/2013; Prof. Jose Atienza Riera/2015; and Prof. Jan ity, increased output and reduced energy consumption.

Associates, NDC Technologies, James Monroe, Joe as what youof get” philosophy.

Other pluses include secretary.

Srubas is the past1991, president.

The board USA, WAGO spring pressure connection member WAI since he was theother 2013remote winW.the Pilarczyk/2015.

Some hotelsuppliers rooms have also been reserved for the The line offers increased energy effi ciency and with a internet diagnostics and controller program Associates; Mossberg Associates W. Gillies members are: Brian Holden, Carris Reels, Inc.; DavidVAT tax, Snee wellevent. as interconnect, interface and automation solutions ner of itsmachine Donnellan Memorial Award, which honors Registration for the event, 595 euros, includes To inquire about sponsorships orand lodging, contact power factor ≥ .95 enables the drawing line to have lower updating. n Braun, Teknor Apex; Nick Pittsfield Plastics; accommodations at Roth, thetohost hotel, a copy of the proceed- Technologies.

WAI’s Anna Bzowski, at tel. 203-453-2777 or by e-mail at technology. an individual’s contributions the Association.

HeLori

CHAPTER CORNER

This timely innovation will benefi t customEuropean household care busiers who high and complex parts, as he just the make money, shevolume said.

“It meant that people who had ness in Switzerland. In 2002 NUMALLIANCE is was the in sole CNC wire bending no obligation to believe me, did.”

It was as if, beyond Director Internal Audit of machine manufacturer ableand toshe offer aancomplete range family, friends and mentors, had additional sup- of P&G was appointed Director equipment from simple 2D feed and form and hard tool port team. “That’s really who (Europe, you are, and it made Treasury Middle East,a huge bending solution for Africa) wire, tube, spring flat-stock. impact on myDepartment life.” in 2004.

Heand joined Bekaert ing at Rensselaer There is no need to produce high volume and simple Polytechnic Institute in New The presentations wowed approximately attendas Chiefthe Financial Officer 130 and memshape parts at exotic destination.

Jobs are coming back, York.

From 1992 to 1997 he ber ofheartily the Bekaert Group Executive ees. They also applauded for 2015 President co-directed the RPI Alumiand multi-slide benders are the preferred solution. inMicrowave 2006, and took on additional Robert Srubas, Times System, who said it was numItaly Processing Program. now, OMCG, America had Nilson, for the Specialized aUntil pleasure to lead had theresponsibility chapter through a year that saw a During his 29 plus years of Germany had Biehler and France had Latour.

All those films activity platform.

As of highly successful tour of the Marmon Group R&D2013, as well Humblet work in the U.S., he held keycome cam-driven mechanical multi-slide with a major he combines his responsibilities as as yet another good chapter golf outing.

He introduced scientific positions, including drawback: set upoftime.

ThatDavid is whyFisher, NUMALLIANCE CFO with full those Regional Operations Management the 2016 chapter president, James Monroe professor and director of came with aLatin concept of servo driven camless multislide, ofWire Bekaert America.

Heatwho holds a commercial engithe Loewy Institute Lehigh & Cable Corporation, also thanked the Marmon able to harbor most of existing tooling in an all-electric University Chair Business of neering degree fromand the as Solvay School of the environment.

The NUMASLIDE is yours to discover. its Department Materials Brussels University.

TheofBridon Bekaert Ropes Group is www.nummalliance.com.

Science and Engineering. a joint venture between Bekaert and Ontario Teachers’ second recipient Pension PlanThe that combines theisropes and advanced Marek Siemiński, who gradcords businesses of Bekaert and Bridon.

Siemiński OMCG North America U.S.

CHAPTER CORNER

Scholarship submissions are now being accepted by 3 WAI chapters Three WAI chapters, in conjunction with the Wire Foundation, are seeking applications from the children, and in some cases, grandchildren, of chapter members in good standing for their 2017 scholarship awards.

Members of the New England, Midwest and Southeast chapters will soon receive letters inviting applications.

Submissions must be postmarked by Monday, March 31, 2017. The chapter scholarship program is bolstered by the Wire Foundation connection that allows donations to be tax deductible. For the New England and Midwest

chapters, eligible candidates for the awards are graduating high school seniors going to college. The Southeast and Midwest chapters also allow continuing college students to apply for scholarships.

Non-members of WAI who have students who would be eligible for the scholarships are welcome to join WAI and their respective chapter. The form can be accessed at the chapter pages at www.wirenet.org. For more details, contact Steve Fetteroll at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 115.

Southeast Chapter

You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win a chapter scholarship if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apply: these students did...how about yours?

New England Chapter

Endler

Ryman

Smith

The 2016 scholarship winners for the Southeast Chapter were Nicklas Endler, son of Dominik Endler, Bekaert Corp.; Landon Smith, grandson of Irv Baston, Technical Development Corp.; and Davis Ryman, son of Wade Ryman, RichardsApex.

Accorsi

Di Buono

Stephens

Midwest Chapter

Trahan

Swanson

Trautner

Tulloch

The 2016 scholarship winners for the Midwest Chapter were Tara Swanson, daughter of Todd Swanson, Taubensee Steel and Wire; Edward Trautner, son of David Trautner, Charter Steel; and Grace Tulloch, daughter of Bob Tulloch, Ivaco Rolling Mills.

42 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Wing

The 2016 scholarship winners for the New England Chapter were Amanda Accorsi, daughter of John Accorsi, T&T Marketing; Jackie Stephens, daughter of Elaine Stephens, Times Microwave Systems; Mary Di Buono, daughter of James Russo, MGS/Hall Industries; Maegan Wing, daughter of Susan Wing, Q-S Technologies; and Nicholas Trahan, son of David Trahan, EIS Wire & Cable.

FEATURE

COMPOUNDS&COLORANTS In this feature, suppliers of compounds and colorants discuss their given fields, covering a range of issues and product focuses. It also includes a closer look at colorant considerations, a reference to related tech papers, and more information in the Product section that begins on p. 75.

3N International 3N International started in 1995 as a global supplier of metals and chemicals with a focus on antimony products.

The main application of antimony is its oxide as flame retardant (FR) synergist for plastics, rubber, and textiles. Over the years, 3N has expanded product portfolios to include a wide variety of FRs—both halogenated and non-halogenated—and other additives for plastics and rubber. The cable and wire industry is one of the largest users of FRs and the other additives that 3N carries.

The antimony-halogenated FR system is well established and very effective in flame retardancy, but produces dense smoke and obnoxious gases. With the evolution of standards and emergence of environmental controversies, more and more customers have sought for replacement of antimony oxide. In response to these special needs, 3N introduced zinc stannate and zinc hydroxystannate under the trade names ZS-232 and ZS-286, respectively, as alternatives.

Peak Rate of Heat Release and Limiting Oxygen Index in many polymer systems. The results were so good that their applications in halogen-free formations have also been developed.

ZS-232 and ZS-286 are tin compounds that are non-toxic. They differ in temperature stability. ZS-232 is stable in temperatures up to 570°C yielding high processing temperatures. ZH-286 is stable in temperatures up to 200°C. They are compatible with a wide range of polymers including PVC, polyester resin, alkyd resin, epoxy resins and ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer, chlorinated rubber, and polyamides (Nylon 6 and Nylon 66).

Under the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, brominated flame retardants are being phased out in the electronics and cable manufacturing industries. These regulations have brought more attention to ZS-232 and ZS-286 for use in developing low-smoke, zero-halogen FR systems. FRs used in these systems are commonly alumina trihydrate (ATH) or magnesium hydroxide (MGH), which are inorganic fillers. However, high levels of these fillers are required, which can result in poor processing properties and poor mechanical, physical and electrical properties.

It has been shown that a partial substitution of filler with ZS-232 and ZS-286 improved flame retardancy and smoke suppression to pass more stringent tests in cables composed of polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, and ethylene ethyl acetate. In addition, as low levels of ZS-232 and ZS-286 are required, this reduced the filler levels and improved mechanical and processability properties. For more details, go to www.3ninc.com. Also, see p. 78.

3N’s David Li spread the “good word” at IWCS.

Cable Components Group (CCG)

ZS-232 and ZS-286 were used initially for halogen-containing polymer formulas, especially flexible PVC for wire and cable, and as a replacement of antimony oxide. Unlike antimony oxide, ZS-232 and ZS-286 act both in the condensed and vapor phases and this dual-phase action results in smoke suppression as well as flame retardancy. They act synergistically with other FRs to reduce the flammability of the matrix polymers and provide smoke suppression by reducing carbon monoxide formation and promoting char formation. They outperform the traditional system in

Cable Components Group (CCG) is focused on innovative new products for wire, cable and fiber topic applications. The investment into three new compounding lines gives CCG an opportunity to vertically integrate its formulations for fire retardancy and foaming of its core products, which are crosswebs, films, monofilaments and tubing products. Compounding also opens the door to broadening its commitment to highly thermally stable insulation and jacketing grades for both riser (CMR) and plenum (CMP) cable applications.

44 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Comparison of test results for solid versus FluoroFoam® materials for Limited Power test.

Don’t miss this tech (paper) trifecta!

This issue, courtesy of IWCS, there are three technical papers about compounds, one each from SACO (p. 58), Solvay (p. 62) and Ablemarle (p. 68). Of note, the last paper includes a “fact or fiction” element on flame retardancy of wire and cable formulations. how materials will be challenged to change. Based on the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) 192-bundled cable test for LP, 4-pair CMP cables will be tested to validate their thermal stability from .5 Amps to 1 Amp to gain the LP rating.

CCG has tested and has developed compounds specifically to meet this new standard for the most severe 1 Amp requirement and has experienced the lowest heat rise from the center of the bundle to the outer surface of 192 cables. The lower temperatures comparing foam vs. solid of the 4-pair cable during the LP test at .5 Amps and 1 Amp is shown in the chart. CCG can provide a complete overview of the results of LP testing of 4-pair designs of CMP plenum cables for .5 Amps to 1 Amp. For more details, contact: Cable Components Group at customerservice@cablecomponents. com or go to www. cablecomponents.com. Also, see p. 75. (continued on p. 48)

CCCA motion: an ‘artistic touch’ is not a plus for cable Sometimes it’s the simple things, stuff that almost goes without saying, that can cause problems.

Last year, compounds veteran Dave Kiddoo, the executive director of the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA), observed that the application of a foreign substance to an installed cable is a bad idea because cable jackets might absorb these contaminants and potentially alter their fire safety, transmission and physical performance. However, cabling is often installed before new construction is completed, and the cable may be either spray-painted or coated with foreign substances.

Kiddoo said that a cable’s performance characteristics could be compromised, and that a cable’s “legend” may be obscured, making it impossible for the code inspector or Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to verify that the cable is appropriately listed for the pathway or space in which it was installed.

To address that issue related to optical fiber cable, Kiddoo submitted a motion to add an Informational Note to the 2017 NFPA 70 NEC® Article 770.24 stating, “Paint, plaster, cleaners, abrasives, corrosive residues, or other contaminants may result in an undetermined alteration of optical fiber cable properties.”

That motion was accepted, which will ensure that the information within the NEC is consistent for all communications cable types (copper and optical fiber). Previously, NEC® Informational Notes were added to Article 800, Communications Circuits, and Article 820, Community Antenna Television and Radio Distribution Systems.

JANUARY 2017 | 45

FEATURE CHAPTER CORNER

In brief, compound development activity will be focused on lightweighting materials, enhancing fire retardancy for halogenated and non-halogenated materials and offering higher temperature-rated materials that are more thermally stable. Power over Ethernet (POE), which supports the internet of everything from lighting to security cameras to wireless access points, will require all of the aforementioned properties. Aerospace and automotive products will ask for the same.

The 2017 National Electric Code, which has adopted the new Limited Power (LP) Standard, is a classic example of

FEATURE

A rainbow of factors go into providing color concentrates U.S.-based Breen Color Concentrates has been providing custom color and additive concentrates to the plastics industry for over 30 years, with wire and cable a key focus. Below, Vice President Tom Taylor discusses what goes into supplying customers and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acquisition of Hudson Color.

WJI: To what degree is supplying color concentrates for wire and cable production a science versus an art?

Taylor: Making color was perceived as an art in the past. Colors were developed to identify their industry fit and application, such as automotive, building and telecom, and they evolved into standard industry colors. But now it has become a science. Formulation is now required to meet color and performance characteristics that work in a variety of compounds under different processing setups and in different environments. Today, 70% of all colors are custom, the reverse of 10 years ago, when standard colors were 70% of the mix. A key to our ability to do this is that we have one of the most sophisticated laboratories in the color industry. Our abilities include complex analysis of the polymer systems, from colors to compounds to processing.

We are a color solution provider, but we also address the broader performance needs in the application of color.

WJI: How is the percentage of color concentrates per cable weight determined?

Taylor: Measuring the amount of color in a cable starts by determining the letdown ratio: how much color concentrate is needed to meet the desired cable color. The rule of thumb is 1% to 2%, meaning one to two pounds of color concentrate per hundred pounds of compound, but that can vary up or down based on the color concentrate strength, the effect of a highly filled compound or from how the color is fed into the compound stream. For example, with color feeding, volumetric feeders are not effective in dosing color concentrate under 1% whereas a gravimetric feeder can be.

WJI: How do you do ensure that the right balance has been achieved?

Taylor: That is determined by the operator when they start a cable run. Color concentrate is fed independently of the compound into the extruder. The operator will measure the color versus a standard sample of that color. If the insulation or jacketing color is running too light or dark, the operator adjusts the letdown ratio of the color/compound.

You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add too much color concentrate as that can result in spark faults and affect the physical properties of the cable in bend radius or crush testing.

Once a run has begun, we monitor for dispersion and melt flow and test the electrical properties as all those are critical to the color integrating into the compound and performing as expected. If the color particle size is too large or inconsistent, this may result in an agglomerate in the insulation wall, causing a spark fault. Likewise, melt flow is important to uniformity in the color and surface appearance.

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Breen Color Concentrates has expanded from its location in New Jersey, via its 2016 acquisition of Hudson Color.

WJI: Are repeat orders essentially trouble-free?

Taylor: Most applications have a long life cycle, thus once the polymer system is established the color formulation remains unchanged. The color formulation and its processability are considered when the color is matched to the customer standard and in the compound. Sophisticated controls and multiple quality checks are done at various points in processing color, especially for applications where contaminats can result in spark faults or cable failure.

WJI: Have you had orders for a new design that were especially tricky?

Taylor: Specialty applications are a focus for us. We work with some customers that want special effect colors, such as pearlescent and fluorescent colors, or filled colors for surface effect applications. Bicolor applications that require processing and color control where two colors interface are also challenging and unique, and the results are trend setting. We also have to be well versed in specialty additives that improve performance, such as UV additives, antioxidants, foaming agents, antimicrobial and foaming agents.

WJI: How many different color combinations have you developed over the years?

Breen: Our color library contains over 8,000 colors, and that number continues to grow based on the conditions under which the color is used. It also grows from customers that want new colors desired by their customers to meet different specifications or to promote brand awareness.

WJI: Is there an industry standard for the tolerance range that is acceptable for a given cable for color and/or performance characteristics?

Taylor: Many industries have standards, and they can vary by country. Common ones are JSI and J1128 for automotive, Munsel for telecom and NEMA for a variety of applications. Standards have been modified to include environment standards, such as ROHS and REACH and LSFOH compliance.

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JANUARY 2017 | 47 APRIL 2015 | 61

FEATURE CHAPTER CORNER INTERWIRE PREVIEW

SAS Engineering and Planning Srl Exhibiting: Reinforcement processprocessing of ferrous and nonferrous Tel. 39-031-655593 ing machinery: automatic stirrup materials. www.sas.it benders, cutting/shaping machines, info@sas.it cage making/assembling machines, Schmale MachineryofUSA, LLC color offerWJI: How do you handle your raw materials?

Italy Booth 1962 straighteners, wire processing plants, Telephone: - 28but 24 they Taylor: The most critical time in manufacturing a color904 501ings, Exhibiting: SAS Engineering & ingredients also matched up is in the initial stage when all the are measured innovative software systems. www.schmale-machinery.com with us in terms and mixed.combined Raw materials, as with must be Planning’s drawing linesthe end color, Personnel: Simone Bruscia. walter.wieser@ of producing freepeeling of contaminants. used in a color formulation and lines meanPigments technologschmale-machinery.com quality products must also reliability meet color and coordinates. a colorBooth shift in52 ical value, ease of If there isUSA Shanghai Kaibo Compounds and providing a pigment—and this is not unusual—the color formulation use. The SAS combined drawing Co., Ltd. Exhibiting: If you want to speed strong custommust change to overcome this deviation.

Allupraw materials machine can be supplied with the Tel. 86-21-59122219 your wire bending process, come er service. It are centrally stored and each is sealed in a container to elimmost advanced accessories in order www.sh-kaibo.com along and have a look. Get an update also opens the inate airborne contamination. To ensure we are on the color totarget, obtainwea interrupt totally automated xs@sh-kaibo.com latestand developments swag- Hudson Color Concentrates will door to for several a run, take line: a sample for on labthe analysis payoff group, pre-straightening Chinato Booth ing, pressing, threading and bending operate1512/15-17 under its name. other markets of continue only if it is okay does the line restart. Also, every container device, bench, German builder. interest that will of colordraw produced in chamfering the run is sampled andfrom testeda to ensure machine machine, strapping, Bring your parts or drawings with our growth strategy. further underpin the colorbundle meets the standard.weighing and handling, etc. Everything is you and we will find a solution for WJI: What is the most important value from this deal?

WJI: How do you workThe withcomnew customers? managed automatically. your demand!

Taylor: Hudson Color’s culture is an excellent match Taylor: have a collaborative solution-focused ap- Walter Wieser. pany takes We customers through each Personnel: Exhibiting: Shanghai Kaibo with ours, and we will proudly continue to use that name in proach.

We process, work to understand customer needs and offer a stage of the while technical Compounds Co., founded in 1993, concert with ours.

This also provides us market diversificavalue proposition that addresses any issue that is important staff can provide instructions and Schnell SpA is a high-tech enterprise supportand broadens our range of resin to them, all thisworldwide. while being Thanks the lowest-costTel. supplier. solve problems 39-0721-878711tion into consumer products ed by the Shanghai Electric Cable platforms based on twin-screw technology. We also go from to its long years of experience, SAS www.schnell.it Institute. main having our one plant, inResearch Lambertville, New Its Jersey, to products three WJI: How did your company come to acquire Hudson? is an important partner for reaching sales@schnell.it include PE compounds, PVC plants, the Hudson plants in Leominster, Massachusetts,comand Taylor: We pursued Hudson Color for some time. We top manufacturing targets the Italy Booth 2152 Chicago, Illinois. pounds, silane cross-linkable PE knew they would add new in technology and expand our range

(continued from p. 45)

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Dow Elastomers, Electrical & Telecommunications Quality materials matter when it comes to the construction and overall long-term reliability of power cables. Cable manufacturers require certainty that compounds delivered by material suppliers are clean, will meet processing and extrusion parameters on industry-standard equipment and will ultimately result in cables that will meet or exceed stringent requirements for reliability and long-service life.

To that end, compounders must continue to invest in manufacturing improvements comprised of end-to-end quality control,from delivery of polymer to shipping of finished compounds.

Dow has not only embraced that challenge, it has made ongoing investments in North America to further improve its world-class manufacturing processes that help ensure cleanliness and consistency in its DOW ENDURANCE™ family of insulation, semiconductive and jacketing compounds for medium voltage (MV), high voltage (HV) and extra-high voltage (EHV) cable applications (see related story on page 77). Reinforcing its commitment to the industry, recent enhancements at the Seadrift facility in Dow’s Texas Operations comprise new leading-edge technology and enhanced capabilities to produce SuperClean (SC) compounds. These measures are especially crucial for compounds utilized for transmission cable applications. Other investments have covered all aspects of: • Material production – utilizing fully-integrated, dedicated production operations – from the polymer production through compound manufacture • Process control and product quality assessment – using state-of-the-art technologies • Product cleanliness – from raw materials, through production, packaging and logistics – we employ continuous testing throughout the compounding process • Technical support – our Technology and Materials Processing Skill Center has the scientists, engineers, equipment and expertise to provide a high level of customer-focused technology, testing, training and troubleshooting services.

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A Dow focus is providing SuperClean compounds for HV and EHV voltages.

Product quality doesn’t stop with finished compounds.

Packaging and logistics practices must close the loop to attain true end-to-end quality control. Packaging operations, warehousing and customer receiving and unloading practices all need to be considered to help ensure the material cleanliness that results in reliable, quality cables.

For more information on Dow manufacturing, packaging and logistics practices for high quality power cable compounds, visit dow.com/electrical.

Inhol B.V./Melos GmbH Will bedding compounds allow the cable industry to meet stricter European requirements to improve fire performance properties and to contribute to cost reductions at the same time? Inhol and Melos has focused on making sure that it has the answers for its customers.

In many cases, the need to introduce new cable designs will be unavoidable to meet such new regulations such as

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those called for by the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). Per Ron Goethals and Marcus Hohlweck, cooperation partners at Inhol B.V. and Melos GmbH, many cable manufacturers will have to reconsider the constructions of copper and optical fiber cables while keeping control of their total costs. As a global expert, Melos is committed to support the cable industry. Based on 30 years of experience providing easy-to-extrude flame retardants packages, the company has ongoing developments and trials to prove the positive impact of its new designed HFFR-LS bedding compounds. These materials meet the needs for issues such

as: burning properties in terms of heat release and flame propagation; reducing emission of toxic gases, while being halogen-free and eco-friendly; and reducing manufacturing and material costs as a result of easier and faster processing.

These products, priced lower for standard LSOH sheathing compounds, include a range of compounds for two-step and tandem (in-line) extrusion. They have excellent filling of gaps between insulation and outer sheathing.

New product regulations prioritize containing a blaze and reducing the damage in case of fire in a building. Cables certainly play an important part in this process. Remarkable results were obtained recently by cable factories in the U.S. and Europe with specific bedding compounds that contain a high degree of HFFR-LS mineral materials. Test results with ceramifiable material as inner jackets have generally not reached the performance and price level of competitive priced, highly flame-retarded bedding compounds.

These test results can be studied in a technical paper “Improvements of cable burning behavior by using bedding compounds,” issued by Melos and Inhol. Four different tests have been performed: improvement of cable burning behavior according to CSA FT-4, UL 1685 and UL 1277 on vertical tray cables; improvement of cable burning behavior according to IEC 60332-3-24 on optical fiber cables; CPR tests on European Standard Power Cables (NHXMH); and CPR tests on optical fiber cables.

Melos’s Hohlweck believes that in the coming decades, matters like heat release, flame propagation, toxic gases, low smoke and halogen-free will be key issues for the design of new cable constructions world-wide. Many solutions are available to improve the flame retardancy properties of copper and fiber optic cables to meet the new regulations. Goethals notes that the Inhol team has 50 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

the experience to guide customers through the new specifications and processing issues. “We are always available to assist our customers to ease the transition to these new requirements and materials by in-house presentations and technical support during trial production runs with beddingand specialty HFFR-LS sheathing compounds.” For more information, go to www.melos.com, www.inhol.com and www.cablecompoundfinder.com. Also, see entry on p. 76.

Mexichem Specialty Compounds Mexichem Specialty Compounds (MSC), which has expanded its industry presence (see p. 79) reports that a thorough understanding of compounds is essential for a supplier to be able to work with customers to solve any technical challenges that may arise. MSC Wire and Cable Development Manager Tanya Artingstall cited cracks that occur in the outer layer of a cable from thermal stress cracking (TSC) as one such example, below outlining the problem and the company’s solution: the development of its MEGOLON® S382 and S384 grades.

TSCR (thermal stress cracking resistance) can be minimized or eliminated by resistance by carefully choosing the polymer compound formulation and extrusion conditions.

A certain polymer compound might need to pass a certain flame test, but physical property requirements might call for a slightly different formulation. If wire or cable is exposed to elevated temperatures—sometimes even as little as two days at 100°C—polymer compounds can experience degradation or polymer reordering that result in a loss of tear strength. TSC can happen when a wire or cable is melted, extruded and then cooled too quickly, resulting in stresses “frozen in.” When a polymer is exposed to elevated temperatures close to its melting point and above its glass transition temperature, the polymer chains begin to move or reorder crystalline sites from their frozen-in position (in the amorphous state) back to their equilibrium (crystalline) state, which results in shrinkage of the polymer. When the shrinkage exceeds the tensile strength of the polymer, a crack is formed. Cracking may also result from reduced tear strength seen at elevated temperatures. A tear can also be stem from defects on the internal cable surface from the use of tapes or armor, propagate along the cable and be seen as a crack. TSC occurs more frequently with LSHF polymer compounds, which often have high levels of minerals in polyolefins like PE, EMA, EVA and TPE. It is easier to “freeze” stresses into these semicrystalline polymers than into amorphous PVC. They can also enhance crack formation by increasing the tensile pressure on the polymers.

The conditions used to extrude the wire or cable affect TSCR. The higher the equilibrium crystallinity of the polymer, the slower the cooling rate needs to be. Cables with a thicker wall will need slower cooling, which typically means slower line speeds. Gradient cooling can help prevent cracking while maintaining line speeds.

Tests can be done to compare polymer compounds, but they do not take processing effects into account as samples are molded rather than extruded. MSC developed a lab test

creased with Automation, XLPE being preferred.

Recently, Ultimate Ltd. U.K.we are seeing

aAtrenewed interest in EPDM based MV insulations in the Interwire, Ultimate Automation displayed the latest global market due to the unmatched performance in cables version of the company’s ULTIMAT UMW-100, 2D lifetime for long-term applications (greater than 20 years).

U.S.-based Carris Reels, Inc., has purchased the wire forming and welding machine, which incorpoSince 1996, Mixer Spa has produced MV insulation remaining interest in J. Hamelin Industries, a Canadian rates faster drives and control systems. compounds based on EPDM and EPDM/LDPE blends: our reel company that it has worked closely with since it The UMW can be combined with the UCW-100 strategy is to offer innovative and competitive materials to bought half of business in 2008. model to create an integrated forming and welding the cable market, believing that the continuous improveA press release said that addition of J. Hamelin, cell for the production of shelving products. The ment of materials will give a new life to rubber cables for which has been serving wire and cable customers frames are produced on the UMW-100 and then special applications. The first step of this approach was throughout Canada and northeast U.S. for 77 years, transferred into the where the frame sup-were the development of UCW-100, lead free EPDM solutions, which is a major plus for both companies. “We welcome port/brace wire is fed direct from coil, and welded presented in 2012 and are now commercially available. Due J. Hamelin to the Carris family, and look forward to into thefact frame. include stations to the that Further lead saltsoptions are insoluble in press water and therefore future growth and operating at a ‘best of industry’ for post-forming and secondary bend heads for J. Hamelin’s Harold Stotland, l, with Carris Reels CEO not contributing to any leakage current through theforminsula(level),” said Carris Reels CEO David Ferraro. ing loops and eyes.

Dave Ferraro. tion layer, lead oxide is one of the most effective additive Comparisontoofmanufacturing new and traditional formulas. reels, J.Dean Hamelin operAtIntheaddition Shanghai HOSN booth at Interwire, Zhang, l, in our MV geographic insulation compounds.

In Mixer, we have successing footprint across North America. ates extensive recycling and Edison repair Qin, network chief an of North American sales, and chief throughof South fully replaced lead with an inorganic ion scavenger system Hamelin has a track record of delivering value toCanada, predict thermal stress cracking resistance on extruded out with facilities in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta American sales, point to machines sold to the Americas. enhanced packaging programs through innovation in made under offering various extrusion conditions thatrepair/ gives andparts Saskatchewan wood and steel reel process, automation and reel tracking systems. We have more immediate than field testing and is a good recycling, said theresults release, noting the following.

J. preWith its specifi c personnel servicing the U.S. and an exciting future as we leverage our shared experience dictor of cracking, ableassembly to help determine Hamelin also has U.S. facilitiesthe in optimal Marion,rate to other markets in theefficiently, Americanbut continent, HOSN is and knowledge to drive profitable growth. As part of cool the extrudate not freeze in stress.

Indiana, and Enfield, Connecticut. In 2010, the compacommitted to research, supplyingimproved high-effiTSCR ciencyformulas drawingMSC’s and the negotiation, Harold will have an equity position in From this ny launched a ®significant investment and now operates stranding equipment to the wire anddeveloped. cable industry in Carris, further aligning our future objectives.”

MEGOLON S382 and S384 were They offer a highly efficient and automated nailed wood reel plant theimproved Americas.

Stotland described the deal as win-win for both partear strength at elevated temperatures compared in St. Jerome. In addition to automated production At Interwire, HOSN displayed photos of itsIndex JLK(LOI) ties. “We saw an opportunity to better align our comto an existing grade with a Limiting Oxygen lines, unique material handling practices® have been capable immobilizing succeeding in the he production series rigid stranding machine with bottomS386, loading or panies to of achieve shared ions, growth objectives,” said. of 35.

MSC then developed MEGOLON employed, yielding a state-of-the-art facility. which has of EPDM based lead free MV insulation compounds with side loading system.

This unique machine is suitable “Together we are stronger and can leverage new oppora LOI of 40 and excellent TSCR compared to a standard Ferraro said that J. Hamelin CEO Harold Stotland superior thermal and electrical stability. From this starting for producing large-length, Al/Cuof the tunities.” withactively LOI of 40.

Tablecompact/round 1inabove shows bare the results willgrade remain engaged the organization, both point, we have developed a new fully thermoplastic TPV wire, and aluminum alloy wire. The one machine is Carris Reels, based in Proctor, Vermont, manufacnewACSR formula compared to the conventional at a range as a stakeholder in Carris Reels and as vice president ofof Ultimate Sales Director Martin Smith by a free for MVAutomation insulation dynamically crosslinking our lead driven by individual motors for the rotating cage and the tures plywood, nailed wood, wood/metal, plastic, and temperatures from 60 to 100°C, using the laboratory thermal manufacturing for three Carris nailed wood manufacUMW-100 modelcompound in a PP matrix. In this work, we MV insulation stress crack and BS EN freely.

60811 jig.

For more details, stranding pitchtest can bethe adjusted Another featured stamped metal reels and spools, with 550 employees in turing sites (St. Jerome, Quebec; Enfield, Connecticut; present three upgrades of MV TPV compounds towards a go to www.mexichem.com.

Also, see entry on p.used 79. for product was an aluminum breakdown machine 12 locations in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. material to pass thermomechanical testing for 90°C and Madera, California. He noted that Stotland, who Ultimat able manufactures the UMW 2D wire forming & drawing aluminum alloy, and all kinds of shaped wires and 105°C continuous operation temperature and 250°C has been active on the Carris Board of Directors for the welding machines, UTW Automatic Ring Machines Mixer SpA from 9.5 mm down to 1.8-5.0 mm. Many customers also General Cable lands largest portion short circuit emergency, according to has the Italian normtoCEI past six years, “will continue in that governing role.” and UCW T-Welders.

The company a machine showed strong interests in HOSN’s drum twister which Some 20 ago, both XLPE- and EPDM-based 20-86.

“Harold andyears his teams complement our talented insula- of suit everyone’s requirement from the manufacture 3-year Canadian cable contractof is used for cabling low, medium high power tion systems wereas used many and partsexperience of thevoltage worldand for MV novel MV TPV compounds were fully analyzed employee-owners, ourincollective will POPThe displays, lampshades, supermarket shelving and Canada’s Hydro-Québec hasmechanical named General Cable as cables and for applying armoring and screening wires. cablewe applications.

North remains a very active and characterized to determine and electrical assure are meeting ourAmerica customers’ needs for custom automotive components, etc. www.ultimat.com. itsproperties. main cable the next three years, awardwww.hosnglobe.com. market for EPDM based MV insulations, while acquisiin other Oursupplier ability tofor control the production process packaging and solutions,” Ferraro said. “This ing it a contract valued at an estimated $108 million. parts of the world the market for EPDM insulations has deof such compounds is demonstrated by the systematic imtion strengthens our competitive position by expand-

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JANUARY 2016 | 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

FEATURE FEATURE

Carris Reels buys remaining interest in Canada’s J. Hamelin Industries

provement of the performance of the MV TPV compounds by an appropriate selection of the starting materials and production parameters. We were able to obtain a fully thermoplastic MV TPV compound (TP79 C) with mechanical characteristics and rheology similar to those of the standard crosslinkable insulation compound. TP79 C was tested for mechanical properties before and after heat ageing at 150°C, showing TS and EB retained ≥ 70% after 21 days.

Furthermore, loss factor (Tanδ), dielectric constant (εr) and volume resistivity display excellent stability between 20°C and 90°C in dry conditions, as well as after immersing the compounds in water at 90°C up to 28 days. These features bring the promise of a new class of fully thermoplastic insulation compounds for MV applications, which do not need curing lines and with the advantage of being fully recyclable, while maintaining the same properties of standard MV insulation compounds.

PolyOne Corporation To be a leader, PolyOne Corporation believes a company has to be able to respond to challenges. That capability can be seen in the following case story.

A leading wire and cable polymer formulator faced significant business risk in late 2013 due to a global supply disruption of the linear 810 alcohol used to produce 810TM, a specialty trimellitate plasticizer offered by numerous plasticizer manufacturers. Without that access, the formulator was struggling to achieve the necessary flexible PVC performance properties at both elevated and low temperatures.

PolyOne has developed a new plasticizer for wire and cable.

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SIEBE COLOR MATCH

Without an adequate plasticizer substitute, the formulator was barely able to supply its existing customer base and could not pursue new business opportunities. Aware of this problem, PolyOne’s cross-functional Synthetic Esters team proactively began developing a replacement plasticizer.

When the formulator contacted PolyOne, it had a solution.

PolyOne worked with the customer to understand the indepth requirements of this application and quickly delivered samples and preliminary performance data for the new L9TM plasticizer, made with linear 9 alcohol, for initial evaluation. The customer did further testing specific to the rigorous demands of their wire and cable applications,

JANUARY 2017 | 53

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and the results were favorable. PolyOne’s manufacturing flexibility and agility enabled rapid scale-up, production and delivery of the new L9TM within a week of receiving a purchase order, enabled the customer to begin agency re-qualification trials with lightning-fast speed.

Despite a global supply shortage, PolyOne provided an innovative solution to the PVC formulator, which was able to deliver high-performance products on time and under budget, establishing a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The customer was able to grow market share during the global shortage as competitors still relied on the scarce 810TM plasticizer. See entry on p. 76.

Collaboration with PolyOne’s experienced team helped to remove supply restrictions for the customer and enabled quick scale-up and initial small-volume production of an alternative solution at a better cost position than the original 810TM plasticizer. For more, go to www.polyone.com.

SACO AEI Polymers SACO AEI Polymers (SACO), a global supplier of products that include compounds for wire and cable, reported a trifecta of related industry news: a UL product approval, a new source for materials and the completion of a global brand merger by its parent company.

PEXIDAN® X/T UV-2 System is now qualified under UL 4703 as insulation for all sizes of copper and aluminum photovoltaic and solar wire and cable. SACO’s Dean Jenne, a global product manager, said that the PEXIDAN Moisture Cure XLPE compound brand is “a more cost-effective solution” for the fast-growing market. “This PV recognition adds to the extensive list of approved applications which already includes UL 44 types XHHW-2, RHW-2, SIS, and UL 854 type USE-2, making it suitable for a wide variety of Industrial cable applications. It is rated for 90C Wet and Dry Locations and is UL Sunlight Resistant in all sizes and for use in all colors.”

The certification, Jenne said, is SACO’s response to the need for a more cost-effective solution for the fast-growing Photovoltaic/Solar Wire & Cable Market in North America. PEXIDAN® X/T UV-2 has been formulated for high performance and superior service life in harsh environments, resisting the effects of sunlight and thermal aging while maintaining a high level of electrical and physical properties. “It offers very cost effective solutions … as it eliminates the need for costly and capital-intensive CV or e-beam cure systems.”

SACO also noted that it will represent Italy’s Mixer Compounds range of EKOPREN EPR, EPDM rubber amd CPE compounds in the NAFTA market. “The combined technology and sales organizations of the two companies will (target the introduction of) innovative and cost effective solutions for medium voltage, automotive and heavy industrial wire and cable market applications. They will conduct extensive R&D for new innovative solutions and custom compound solutions for unique customer applications. SACO will inventory Mixer products at its principle sales/service center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for immediate

54 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

SACO products are used for wire and cable applications from solar to photovoltaic. delivery and manufacture under license, specific grades of Mixer products in its Aurora Ohio compounding facility.”

Finally, SACO’s parent company, AESSE Investments, Ltd., has completed the global merger of its polymer group holdings and will leverage the SACO brand to spearhead growth in this industry. Per Luca Saggese, Director Sales & Marketing, “The merger, which included SACO Polymers Inc., NWP Inc., SACO Macromeric and SACO AEI Compounds, delivers tremendous benefits to current and future customers, as it advances their understanding of our offerings, leverages the group technology and opens up innovative ways to speed entry to new markets and new products.”

SACO will synergistically service the polymers industry by developing, manufacturing and delivering a full range of thermoplastic and thermoset compounds, as well as additives and masterbatches for a multitude of industries that include wire and cable. SACO has locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia, China and India. Its global headquarters is located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. AESSE Investments, a private holding company, provides integrated upper management and financial supervision to its group of companies. For more about SACO, contact sales@sacoaei.com or go to www.sacoaei.com. Also, see our tech paper on p. 58.

T&T Marketing, Inc. A few years ago, a key customer was growing their photovoltaic business activity and wanted to improve the sunlight resistance of their materials. They approached T&T Marketing with this need for their LLDPE jacketing systems, said Paul Lorigan. The tried-and-true approach for that requirement is a good carbon black dispersed in the jacketing.

Digging deeper with the customer it became clear that this solution was not going to work because the customer needed to produce cables with different colored jackets.

T&T went to work in its lab, screening various technical solutions and commercially available masterbatches. Commercially available grades were found to be lacking for this application. We reached out to our UV additive suppliers

FEATURE

for new technology that might be tailored for the cable constructions and material types we were supplying, specifically broad molecular weight linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and ethylene vinyl silane (EVS) copolymer. The new additive technologies were mixed into the LLDPE and EVS materials that we currently supply and condition in an accelerated UV exposure device known as a Weather-o-meter. A Ci65 Xenon Arc Weather-o-meter was used per UL 1581 testing protocol. This device also simulates exposure to precipitation. Exposure time was 1,000 hours with a cycle of 102 minutes of light and 18 minutes of water spray.

Looking at the retention of mechanical integrity after the UV exposure, some excellent candidates were found. Once viable technology was identified, a second round of compounds were made to optimize additive level and economics for the customer. This round produced the formulation with the current TT 102 UV. Once we completed the retention of properties after exposure, we evaluated the effects on other important customer-desired properties, such as processability and thermal aging. Laboratory testing confirmed positive or neutral effects on all required properties, and we were ready to recommend customer cable evaluations.

The customer needed to complete confirmation testing on the cable. Several additional variables were then considered. Does the product mix well in existing equipment?

TT 102 UV is designed to be added at 2% to fit in existing masterbatch feeder or pre-blend. Does the product continue to be effective after seeing the temperatures normal of a temperatures of jacketing extrusion? TT102 UV is formulated in a low molecular weight LLDPE carrier to provide compatibility with polyolefin resins. And does it work with each color? The final proof of the success comes with testing at the customer. All four colors were found to be successful by the customer, the ultimate decider of success! Since many variables are involved in procurement to manufacturing to cable production, we like to see a few successful runs and a couple of successful customers before considering a product commercial. That is where we are today: TT102 UV has been shown to work in LLDPE jacket and insulation compounds, moisture crosslinkable systems, TPEs, PP, TPOs, EPRs can work in peroxide and e-beam crosslinkable systems. Various flame retardant technologies have also been found compatible with TT102 UV including halogens, non-halogens and intumescents. Unlike many traditional UV absorbers TT 102 UV is halogen free. For more details, go to www.ttmarketing.inc.com. See p. 76.

Teknor Apex Teknor Apex has an established portfolio of over 3,000 wire and cable compounds, many of which are bulletinized for UL requirements, making it unnecessary in many cases for customers to submit cables for extensive materials test-

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ing. In addition to these standard grades, we are committed, as a custom compounder, to develop new compounds for specific customer requirements or for emerging new applications. Much of our current product development focuses on applications that present special challenges.

David Braun, wire and cable industry manager for the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex Company, reports that for low smoke, halogen-free flame retardant (LS-HFFR) compounds, the company’s R&D has yielded compounds that provide high-temperature physical performance, low post-extrusion shrinkage, excellent processability, and other key properties. Teknor Apex has created a diversi-

An ethernet cable installation that employed compounds from Teknor-Apex. fied portfolio of such compounds. Seven of our LS-HFFR compounds have obtain UL recognition as “halogen-free” in accordance with a new assessment program.. See p. 75.

Another area of development Braun identified is the use of compounds for “Power over Ethernet” (PoE) applications, involving copper or hybrid copper-fiber data cable that transmits both data and electrical power for applications such as LED lights, WIFI antennas, security sensors, switches and cameras, or other devices. Because of heat generation in bundled POE cables, higher temperature jackets are required. To meet such needs, the company has developed Fireguard® compounds for PoE cabling used in Plenums spaces and Apex® compounds for Riser applications.

Braun said that a third stream of development work at Teknor Apex involves a diverse range of jacket requirements for alternative energy applications—electric vehicle chargers and wind turbines. In almost all cases these require compounds that perform well over broad ranges in temperature and upon exposure to harsh environments. “We have commercial compounds for such uses in our Apex and Flexalloy PVC Elastomer range and continue our work to develop more.”

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What you see depends on what you look for.

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If you’re up for a quick look at everyday wire and cable manufacturing processes, we have just the medium for you: HardWIRED. This new educational e-newsletter and companion website from the Wire Association is the fastest way to learn manufacturing specifics without moving from your computer.

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TECHNOLOGY Low-smoke compounds have earned a ‘halogen-free’ assessment from UL Teknor Apex Company reports that UL has recognized seven Halguard® low-smoke, halogen-free flame retardant (LS-HFFR) compounds for wire and cable as “halogen-free” in accordance with a new assessment program.

Also listed as in compliance are 14 halogen-free color concentrates from the company’s Color Division.

used with the EVA or polyolefin-based halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR) compounds currently available.

“The Halguard LS-HFFR product line addresses a wide range of application requirements, including physical properties, flexibility, processability, flame retardance, post-extrusion shrinkage, and cost,” said Mike Patel, director of marketing and business development for the Vinyl Division.

Contact: Teknor Apex Company, www.teknorapex.com.

FluoroFoam® Masterbatch technology is now available for cable customers

Inaugurated last year, the UL program certifies cable components as halogen-free in accordance with combustion tests to determine acid gas content, acidity, and conductivity. Compliance is listed in UL AATJ2.GuideInfo.

The seven Halguard LS-HFFR products listed thus far include five high-performance 58000-58300 Series compounds. These compounds exhibit a higher level of flame retardance than other high-performance HFFR materials without compromising physical or electrical properties.

They are recommended for data center cables, control cables, energy cables, and other demanding applications where low smoke generation and minimal flame spread are key. The UL certified grades include Halguard 58100, 58205, 58210, 58215, and 58350. The last two exhibit low post-extrusion shrinkage for fiber optic applications.

Halguard LS-HFFR compounds are designed for general-purpose jacketing applications and are more economical than premium compounds while incurring little compromise in performance properties. The series includes grades with enhanced flame retardance as well as lower post-extrusion shrinkage. Halguard 58600 Series compounds are suitable for cables used in subway, mass transit, cell tower, data center, and infrastructure applications, as well as internal wiring in electrical and electronic equipment. The grades certified as halogen-free by UL include Halguard 58600 and 58610.

The UL certification for Teknor Color applies to 14 concentrates supplied in pellet form, using EVA and PE polymers as carrier resins. These new concentrates can be

For the wire and cable market, a chemically foamable Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) and Methylfluoroalkoxy (MFA) is now available from Cable Components Group (CCG).

Initially launched for manufacturing foamed cable fillers such as tapes and crosswebs, the masterbatch is sold in pellet form for blending with FEP or MFA. The FluoroFoam masterbatch can be used as an insulation and is especially suited for Cat. 5e, 6, 6e, 6A and the newest Cat. 8 standard for plenum cable insulations. Both FluoroFoam FEP and MFA used as plenum insulation exhibit consistently low levels of flame spread (<1.5 ft.) on a 4-pair plenum (CMP) cable, as well as negligible smoke generation <.15 peak and <.07 average. These results are consistent with all of the typically sold low smoke PVC plenum grades as the jacketing materials.

The major cost benefit is that the Fluorofoam masterbatch can be blended in a one-part FluoroFoam masterbatch with three parts FEP or MFA with a resulting foaming rate of 35% when extruded as a .006 in. to .010 in. insulation thickness. The beneficial aspects include enhanced electricals, excellent crush resistance/physical properties accruing from the foam cell structure of less than .001” on average. FluoroFoam chemically foamable masterbatch blends provide unique processibility for a foam vs. physical foam wherein running speed of 1200 to 1500 feet per minute can be readily attained on a .008 in.

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insulation thickness for CMP, CL2-P and FPLP cables.

With the advent of the new National Electric Code Standard for Limited Power or the new LP rating up to 1 amp, higher thermal stability of jacketing material will be required. An all-FluoroFoam design has been tested to this standard and can meet the 1 amp requirement when used as insulation, crossweb and jacket. CCG can also provide more details on FluoroFoam masterbatches (CC30126CM-51 3P for FEP; CC302-26CM-51 3P for MFA), plenum test information, or Limited Power information.

Contact: Cable Components Group, tel. 877-526-2286, customerservice@cablecomponents.com, or cablecomponents.com.

Jacketing compounds are now also available in a char-forming version

Melos GmbH and Inhol B.V. report a rapidly expanding business, thanks to the synergy effects of their cooperation that has seen the introduction of two char-forming jacketing compounds.

New LSZH products can be used for multiple end-use applications T&T Marketing reports that during the commercialization of TT 102 UV (pellets pictured), the company found the same technology to be helpful in building a final commercial formulation for low-smoke zero halogen option for 5595, called TPE 5595 LSZH. This grade has been made several times in commercial quantities. The product meets the short term protocol for 125⁰C rating with an LOI of 38, a low temperature brittle point of -35⁰C and a specific gravity of 1.07. T&T Marketing’s technical priority is to continue to improve the cost/performance of LSZH materials.

This led to new developmental grades that range in LOI from 40 to 70: TPE 2575 LSZH with an LOI of 40, excellent physical properties (1950 psi tensile, 602 elongation), excellent flexibility (Flex Modulus 15,173), and solid VW-1 performance and TPE 2650 LSZH with a 50 LOI and robust mechanical properties (1560 psi tensile, 618% elongation and -35⁰C brittle point) while achieving 105⁰C heat-aging performance, at a 1.15 specific gravity and TPE 5970 LSZH with a 70 LOI having a 70 LOI and 1.36 specific gravity with 760 psi tensile strength, 213% elongation and a 105⁰C temperature rating.

TPE 5187 LSZH easily meets Oil Res I & II requirements with an LOI of 40 and -25⁰C Cold Impact capability.

Contact: T&T Marketing, www.ttmarketinginc.com.

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These “firefighting” compounds represent a new class of flame retardancy formulations with great thermal stability. The compounds are based on two existing and well proven halogen-free compound formulations, which are now also available in a char-forming version. “These new versions of compound Mecoline S TP 1006 F char and 1021 F char show an improved fire behavior proven

by Cone Calorimeter tests according to DIN EN 50339 (CPR),” said Sebastian Kahmann, Melos R&D manager.

He noted that the heat release has been reduced by 20% and the flame spread has reduced significantly as well.

Moreover, no burning droplets were detected within 20 minutes after starting the tests.

Inhol Director Ron Goethals said that the reduced fire index growth rate (FIGRA) and the reduction of flame spread of these halogen-free compounds will contribute to the safety of the human being and reduce the damage in case of a fire. For even more severe requirements and specifications, these compounds form a perfect combination with our range of non-halogen, highly flame-retarded bedding compounds. Bedding compound can be considered as a package with a high degree of halogen-free extrudable flame retardants. To find out more about the Mecoline compound range, go to www.cablecompoundfinder.com.

Contact: Melos GmbH, www.melos-gmbh.com, or Inhol B.V., www.inhol.com.

High-performing plasticizer is a superb alternative to flexible PVC

PolyOne Corporation announced the commercial availability of SynPlast™ L9TM plasticizer, containing equivalent performance characteristics to 810TM linear plasticizer.

Flexible PVC compounders have traditionally relied on

TR-XLPE compound is an award-winner 810TM to achieve critical performance properties at both elevated and low temperatures. When 810 alcohol became scarce in 2013, a global supply shortage of 810TM plasticizer spurred a need for alternatives. In cooperation with a leading wire and cable PVC compounder, PolyOne’s cross-functional Synthetic Esters team proactively began developing another option. The result, SynPlast L9TM plasticizer, relies on linear 9 alcohol to achieve the same performance properties as 810TM, but with abundant supply availability.

“The 810TM shortage could have spelled disaster for our wire and cable compounding customers,” said Don Wiseman, general manager, Performance Products and Solutions at PolyOne. “The foresight and expertise of PolyOne’s Synthetic Esters team, combined with PolyOne’s manufacturing agility, enabled rapid development, production and delivery of a cost-effective alternative.”

The new SynPlast option for flexible PVC also features supply stability to help counteract historic supply chain disruptions of 810TM, and is formulated for use in wire and

PATENT PENDING

Huestis Down Draft™ Air Wipe

Since 1983, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, a business operating unit of The Dow Chemical Company, has provided enough TR-XLPE compound to produce MV cables that circle the earth more than 80 times. This longevity in the market is due to exceptional formulation and manufacturing processes (see related story p. 48) that have earned the trust of our customers and the industry.

Our latest TR-XLPE, DOW ENDURANCE™ HFDC4202 EC, was an R&D 100 winner in 2015. It was recognized for its technology enabling improved performance through extended cable life and enhanced reliability, while reducing total life-cycle cost.

The new insulation for medium-voltage underground cables offers: enhanced electrical performance, including direct-buried underground applications through enhanced TR technology (projected longer cable life predicted through accelerated wet electrical aging tests); improved heat resistance that meets 105°C cable rating; and enhanced robustness during cable manufacturing through improved extrusion and crosslinking capabilities that

Our bottom-draining design allows back-to-back coupling of multiple air wipes in line, while maintaining drier product between them. Additionally, the performance of the unit is enhanced as a stand-alone wipe over our original Air Miser™ Air Wipe.

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Air Wipes, Pay-offs, Take-ups, Buncher Pay-offs, Accumulators, Spoolers, Cable Jacket Strippers, Custom Machinery 2C_BW_HUESTIS_DownDraftAirWipe_WJI_halfHoriz_v7_02122016_press.indd 1

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cable and automotive slush molding PVC applications.

PolyOne also provides a broad plasticizer portfolio that includes bio-based, non-phthalate, high-performance linear chemistries and customizable solutions for a variety of applications.

Contact: PolyOne Corporation, www.polyone.com.

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

requirements for cables rated up to 46 kV. It also meets the Russian GOST R 55025 and European CENELEC standards, as well as enhanced German VDE requirements.

Contact: Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, www. dow.com/electrical.

Chlorinated polyethylene for cable jackets used in harsh environments

demonstrate. These characteristics provide superior scorch retardance that enables improved cable quality, optimized cure performance to ensure consistent processing, extrusion characteristics compatible with existing equipment and lower total costs over the lifetime of the system Cables insulated with DOW ENDURANCE™ HFDC4202 EC meet—and even exceed—certification requirements in many countries, including: the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies (AEIC), the Insulated Cable Engineers Association (ICEA), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and Normas Mexicanas (NMX)

3N International, a U.S. based raw materials supplier, recently introduced a line of chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) products that is available in both the cost-efficient thermoplastic, and the melt-resistant thermoset versions.

Per the company, its CPE polymers traditionally were used in the industrial hose and automotive industries as they excelled at withstanding heat and weathering, as well as resisting oil and chemicals. Those properties have proven to be beneficial in producing cable jackets for use in harsh industrial settings.

CPE combines the resilience of PVC (polyvinylchloride) with the flexibility of TPE/TPR (thermoplastic elastomer/ rubber). Similar to PVC, the chlorine incorporated in CPE results in its resistance to flame, chemical, and oil. CPE’s amorphous structure grants it with elastomeric properties comparable to TPE/TPR. Finally, the saturated molecular backbone of the CPE polymer allows it to withstand heat, UV, weather, and oxidation.

Through the adjustment of the manufacturing process, 3N International has formulated several grades of CPE products for meeting the various needs of cable manufactures. The specialty CPE products offered by 3N International include high processability grades, high mechanical strength and heat resistance grades, low temperature flexibility grades, and grades with additional resistance to oil, chemical, and fire. As a result of the versatility of the CPE polymer, cable jackets produced from CPE are ideal in a large range of industrial settings that demand mechanical strength, flexibility, heat resistance, and chemical resistance.

Contact: David Li, 3N International, tel. 330-665-3821, info@3ninc.com, www.3ninc.com.

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Expanded to offer more to customers Mexichem announced that it has acquired Vinyl Compounds Holdings Ltd. (VCHL), a leading U.K.-based technical PVC compounds manufacturer serving a broad range of industries including: building and construction, pipe and profile manufacturers, footwear and consumer goods. Based in Derbyshire, VCHL has annualized revenues of approximately US$40 million.

Mexichem will consolidate VCHL under its Compounds Business Unit, a leading supplier of PVC compound solutions serving the global market and part of the company’s Vinyl Business Group. This business produces PVC compounds that incorporate the additives needed to process the vinyl resins that Mexichem delivers and obtain the functional properties required for every application, so this polymer can be turned into end-use products.

The addition will expand Mexichem’s ability to meet global PVC compound demand and will enable further vertical integration of its Compounds Business Unit (CBU) operations through VCHL’s stabilizer technologies and recycled PVC capabilities. VCHL’s key raw materials are PVC resin and plasticizers, which should bring additional synergies to Mexichem’s Vinyl operations.

“This transaction is aligned with Mexichem’s strategy of completing bolt-on acquisitions that provide us with access to new geographies and end markets, expand our

portfolio of specialty products and serve as a platform for future growth, while enhancing returns on invested capital,” said CBU President Sameer S. Bharadwaj.

Mexichem is one of the world’s largest chemical and petrochemical companies, with operations in over 30 countries worldwide and more than 18,000 employees.

The company notes that it has also made significant investment in a range of environmental control projects, primarily in energy optimization and saving activities, wastewater treatment systems, protection against chemical spills, noise reduction and industrial waste management. See p. 50 for more product details.

Contact: Mexichem, www.mexichem.com.

ISO9001 REGISTERED

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS OF PAYOFF & TENSION CONTROL EQUIPMENT FOR WIRE & CABLE

Wyrepak Industries has long recognized the value of making a quality product — cost-effective manufacturing applications, backed by a solid guarantee and excellent customer service — Wyrepak has it all!

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Interwire 2015 update: companies have facturing where a small scratch or nick space can be an unactaken nearly 90% of the exhibit

Patent Update ceptable The result the WAI’s Surfacestaging Inspector, which More than defect. nine months out is from of Interwire

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

Air-cooled Thank extruder you to ourprovides sponsorsquality for flowtheir of insulation support offor vulcanizing line

Nimsco L Northamp Ohio Rod Oklahoma OM Frige OM Lesm OMCG N Omnisour OTECH C Otomec S P & R Sp Paramoun ParkwayPenn Mac Phifer Wi Pioneer M Pittsfield PKG Equ Plas-Ties

comes in two exhibitors models, theatSI3100 and have SI4100.

2015 in Atlanta, last count now accounted (Cont’d. from p.

21) The Surface Inspector provides the operator with for nearly 90% of the floor plan’s 106,100 sq ft at the Georgia At wire Düsseldorf, Maillefer presented an air-cooled up-to-the-second digital image feedback of the current World Congress Center. WAI Sales staff reports that a total of extruder, model MXI 150, that provides 300 kg/h output with a low melt temperature. jacket, baroforfloor water soluble tape quality on any produc93,300 sq ft space have been taken.

Communication patch cord having plugtime with Peelable superconductive conductor, production tion line. This continuous stream ofareal informaatinum Level Sponsor “At this blades time, we’re ahead of where we were years contact connected conductors ofthe atwo cable method of peelableP lsuperconductive conductor, tion–especially the failureto images–allows operator ago,” U.S. saidPatent WAI Sales Director Bob Xeller.

“There’s a lot of and repair method for superconducting wire No.: of 9,509,107 to isolate causes jacket imperfections and water solpositive momentum.”

At this point, all of the larger booths Patent date:This Nov. 29, 2016 Filed: 11, 2015the U.S. Patent No.: 9,508,469 uble tape folds. result allows youMay to identify Gold Level Sponsors have been taken, withCommScope, the largest available sizes now being Assignee: Inc., U.S. Patent date: Nov. 1, 2016 Filed: Feb. 5, 2014 causes of surface defects and prevents customer com400 sq ft (20 x 20).

If demand continues to stream in, it may Inventor: Assignee: Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Japan plaints or rejects. Richard Schumacher be possible to expand the floor plan, he said.

Silver Level Sponsors Inventors: Yuko Okuno, Yoshikazu Okuno, Using the Surfaceplugs Inspector, you can capture Communications are provided which images include ofa Yoshinori Nagasu, Masaru Higuchi your printed theaimages to disk and printconthem printed circuit cable, board save having plurality of elongated Aductive wide range of sponsorships exists for out to include in your quality reporting both internally traces and a plurality of plug blades. Each plug A peelable superconductive conductor comprising a and to customers.

Surface the 2015 ofThe Interwire in Atlanta blade hasyour astaging first section that extends Inspector’s along a topdisplay surface superconductive conductor including a substrate and a Bronze Level Sponsors it easy for engineering and production ofalso themakes printed circuit board andat aInterwire second which isAssociates formed on Companies seeking recognition 2015 have MFLsection Groupsuper . .that . . .a . . . .superconducting . . . . . . . . . . . 529 layerMossberg Inc one . . . . principal . . . . . 444 visors to examine the defect. extends along a front edge of the printed circuit board. surface of the substrate.

The peelable superconductive conwide range of WAI sponsorship opportunities at the Georgia MGS Manufacturing Inc . . . . . . . . . . 103 Mossberg Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . 421 Supported by: Defect locations can also be recorded, this will allow Additionally, each plug blade may have a thickness that ductor can further comprise a peelable carrier body, which World Congress Center, from the full event to individual eleProducts Co . . .is . . formed . . . . . . . on . . 132 Nextrom (USA)ofIncthe . . .superconductive . . . . . . . . . . . 333 further analysis of defects on.Micro Theconductive Surface is for at least twice the thickness of thelater elongated a principal surface ments that are offered onthe a first-come, first-served basis.

Inspector will catch theprofile wires before they reach Wire . . . . . .conductor . . . . . . . . . on . . 110 Nextrom . . . .surface . . . . . . .on . . which . . . . . . the 333 traces.

The plug bladesdefects may beonlow plug blades that an opposite side Oy of the Four levels of corporate sponsorships areMid-South available to help your customers fail in the field. are manufactured separately from the printed circuit board. is formed.

Morgan-Koch Corp . . .superconducting . . . . . . . . . . . 127 layerNiehoff Endex North America Inc . . . 317 companies promoteor their organization in connection with The unit ensures good medium-voltage cable durability Contact: Girdwood, Taymer International, Inc., Interwire andCraig WAI’s 85th Annual Convention, to be held due to the homogenous melt, resulting in high insulation tel.

905-479-2614, ext.

232, craig.girdwood@taymer.com, April 28-30 in Atlanta, Georgia. All the corporate sponsorquality. The MXI 150, which is easy to operate and www.taymer.com.

Visit us at Wire Expo Visit us at Wire Expo bo has low maintenance needs, is booth # 531 part of the company’s medium voltage catenary continuous vulcanizing line, EPL 30/Enter.

EPL 30/Enter is a compact quality solution for more sustainable production. It offers affordable investment that is easy to start and maintain in different production environments.

The Maillefer medium-voltage catenary vulcanizing line is designed for continuous insulation of XLPE insulated cable cores. The conductor is insulated by proven XLPE extruders and triple crossheads. The combination of the advanced Autocure line control system, triple crosshead and X-ray dimensional measurement provides the possibility to minimize start-up scrap and material over-consumption during your cable production run.

Contact: Jorma Leppänen, Maillefer, tel. 358-40-504 8308, jorma.leppanen@maillefer.net, www.maillefernet. n

WAI OPERATIONS SUMMIT & WIRE EXPO 2014

WAI NEWS PATENTS & MEDIA PRODUCTS

HAIW13Sponsors_Layout 1 3/21/2013 11:14 AM Page 1

AMERICAN WIRE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

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

80 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 3252 | WIRE JOURNAL | WIRE JOURNALINTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL 40 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

PATENTS EVENT WRAPUP

Cable for integrated data transmission and power supply U.S. Patent No.: 9,508,467 Patent date: Nov. 1, 2016 Filed: Jan. 30, 2015 Assignee: YFC-Boneagle Electric Co., Ltd., Taiwan Inventors: Wen-Fu Pon, Ying-Ming Ku A cable for integrated data transmission and power supply includes an insulative tube having a hollow chamber; an outer knitted shield disposed on an inner wall surface of the insulative tube; a first signal wire arranged inside the hollow chamber and including a plurality of first signal core lines and an inner knitted shield covering an outer thereof; a second signal wire penetrating through the hollow chamber and using the first signal wire as a center to be arranged one side of thewere firstmade signalinwire; and a power A total of 22atpresentations two tracks. wire penetrating through the hollow chamber and using the first companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. the signal wire as a center to be arranged at another Probst reported that wire electrical systems from for vehicles side of the first signal and opposite the second have evolved to support new features demanded by signal wire. customers. Today, the wiring system for the average vehicle includes 3,000 meters, with 1,500 single cables and 3,000 contacts. Those products, he said, represent a labor-intensive assembly business, and as result, they now have 70,000 employees in 82 plants worldwide.

The ferrous track was a collection of outstanding, com-

High-frequency electric wire, manufacturing method thereof, and wire harness U.S. Patent No.: 9,508,466 Patent date: Nov. 29, 2016 Filed: Jan. 15, 2016 Assignee: Yazaki Corporation, Japan Inventor: Hiroki Kondo A high-frequency electric wire is provided with a conductor which formed by compressing multiple wire strands, each of which is obtained by coating an outside of a wire rod made of insulating resin with a metal layer, and a sheath provided on the conductor. Each of the wire strands of the conductor is compressed in such a way CabWire offered a combination of education and marketing opportunities in a congenial setting.

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PATENTS

that a deformation ratio of the wire strand exceeds 0% and is 20% or less. The compression is performed, for example, during bundling and sheathing of the multiple wire strands.

Polymeric overcoated anodized wire U.S. Patent No.: 9,508,461 Patent date: Nov. 29, 2016 Filed: Oct. 18, 2012 Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, U.S. Inventors: Larry Elie, Allan Gale, John Ginder, Clay Maranville An insulated electric conductor and method for making such a conductor are disclosed. The conductor comprises a copper core, a layer of aluminum formed over the copper core, an aluminum oxide dielectric layer formed over the layer of aluminum, and a thin polymeric layer formed over the aluminum oxide dielectric layer. The thin polymeric layer is preferably between about 30 microns (0.001’’) and about 500 microns (0.02’’) and is more pref-

82 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

erably between about 45 microns (0.0015’’) and about 250 microns (0.01’’). The polymeric layer may be any polymeric material selected from the group consisting of acrylic resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, and silicone resins. Other polymeric materials may be used. The polymeric layer may be formed by a variety of methods including, but not limited to, spraying, brushing, dipping, and powder coating.

Electric cable U.S. Patent No.: Patent date: Assignee: Inventors:

9,502,871 Nov. 22, 2016 Filed: Sept. 26, 2014 Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Japan

Hirotaka Eshima, Fumihito Oka, Nobuyuki Yamashita, Yoshikazu Hayakawa, Tomonori Shibata An electric cable includes a wire section that includes an electric wire including a conductor and a braided shield layer covering an outer periphery of the conductor and including a plurality of metal wires braided, and a cylindrical outer layer section covering an outer periphery of the wire section and including a cylindrical sheath and a braided reinforcement layer that covers an inner surface of the sheath and includes a plurality of fibers braided. The wire section is arranged inside the cylindrical outer layer section. The outer layer section is constructed such that a permissible region is formed in the cylindrical outer layer section that allows a displacement of the wire section with respect to the outer layer section in a direction orthogonal to a length direction of the wire section.

Arrangement having a superconducting cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,496,072 Patent date: Nov. 15, 2016 Filed: Nov. 23, 2009 Assignees: Nexans, France.

Inventors: Rainer Soika, Mark Stemmle

An arrangement is specified having a superconducting cable (SK) which comprises a superconducting conductor (1) and a superconducting screen (3) which concentrically surrounds the same with the interposition of a dielectric (2). The cable (SK) is surrounded by a cryostat (KR) enclosing a free space (FR) for a coolant to be passed through, which cryostat (KR) which cryostat comprises two metallic tubes (4, 5) which are arranged concentrically with respect to one another and between which vacuum insulation is arranged. The screen (3) is composed of

a superconducting material whose electrical resistance value in the normally conductive state is greater by a factor of at least 50 than the electrical resistance value of the material used for the conductor (1) in the normally conductive state.

Fiber optic cable packaging arrangement U.S. Patent No.: 9,494,757 Patent date: Nov. 15, 2016 Filed: Aug. 28, 2014 Assignees: ADC Telecommunications, Inc., Commscope Technologies LLC, both U.S. Inventors: Michael Schomisch, Dennis Wells,

Scott Kowalczyk, Mark Hodapp A fiber optic enclosure assembly is disclosed herein.

The assembly includes a fiber optic enclosure defining connection locations, a fiber optic cable extending from the connection locations of the fiber optic enclosure, and a covering defining a first axial end and a second axial end, the covering defining a throughhole extending from the first axial end to the second axial end, the throughhole extending along a central longitudinal axis of the covering, the covering defining a first cavity for receiving the fiber optic enclosure. A port extends from the first cavity to an outer surface of the covering, wherein the fiber optic cable extending from the connection locations can extend from the first cavity to the outer surface of the covering for wrapping around the outer surface of the covering.

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PATENTS

Tool and method for extracting wires from a cable U.S. Patent No.: 9,502,869 Patent date: Nov. 22, 2016 Filed: Dec. 13, 2011 Assignee: ABB Technology, Ltd., Switzerland Inventor: Bjorn Zettervall A tool for extracting armour wires from a cable having an armouring layer includes a curved beak for grasping an armour wire, and an elongated body having a bottom surface provided with a protruding tip for separating two neighboring armour wires. The tip is protrudes away from the bottom surface and is elongated in a direction parallel to the bottom surface.

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

CAREER OPPORTUNITY SERVICE ENGINEER. MorganKoch Corp seeks Service Engineer for its Worcester, MA location. Job duties incl: travel to various customer sites within the US to assess client needs for complex wire drawing machinery. Req’d: Bach in Elctrcl Engnrng, Elctrncs Engnnrng or rel fld +5yrs of srvc engnrng exper wrkng w auto running machnry w high vltg AC Drvs incl 3yrs of PLC prgrmng exper wrkng w Siemen’s prgrmgn tools. Employee will work in various locations throughout North America that cannot be anticipated at this time. Substantial travel

PROCESS ENGINEER. Hitachi Cable America seeks an experienced Process Engineer for our Manchester, NH location. Responsibilities include developing, documenting, implementing and supporting processes for our broad portfolio of copper and optical cable products.

Design production processes to deliver cost savings, improve quality, and new product introduction supported by statistical techniques which yield optimized solutions. Develop experimental test plans to fully establish process capability. Lead equipment/ process improvement projects utilizing sound project mgt techniques.

Develop and maintain process training and certification documentation to ensure that operators clearly understand equipment operation and process conditions. Liaison with suppliers of materials, equipment and services to execute projects, resolve problems and improve processes.

Select, design and modify tooling, fixtures and equipment as necessary

BLIND BOX INFO: Address responses to Blind Box to: WJI, Box number (as it appears in print or on-line), 71 Bradley Road, Suite 9, Madison, CT 06443-2662 USA. PAYMENT POLICY: All ads must be pre-paid.

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Contact: classified@wirenet.org for more details.

throughout US, Canada and Mexico required. Mail resumes to: HR Dept, Morgan-Koch Corporation, 330 Tacoma Street, Suite 6A, Worcester, MA 01605.

You must reference job number “KKFT-18898.0012” for your resume to be considered.

managers, and thousands of key individual contributors. Contact: Peter Carino, pcarino@ wireresources.com or online at www.linkedin.com/in/petercarino1/ Wire Resources Inc., PO Box 593, Riverside, CT 06878, tel. 203-6223000. www.wireresources.com.

PERSONNEL SERVICES

MACHINERY

“LET OUR SUCCESS BE YOUR SUCCESS” Wire Resources is the foremost recruiting firm in the Wire & Cable Industry. Since 1967 we have partnered with industry Manufacturers to secure the services of executives,

to improve safety, quality, throughput and productivity.

Job Requirements: • BS in Mechanical or Polymer Engineering • Thorough understanding of polymer extrusion, including tooling and screw design, with experience processing a variety of thermoplastics.

• +5 yrs of Process Engineering experience in the Wire and Cable industry.

• Excellent writing, verbal and interpersonal skills.

• Expd with MS-Project, either Minitab or JMP desired.

• Knowledge of Methodologies.

Six

Sigma

To apply for this job, contact: Hitachi Cable America Inc., tel. 603-669-4347, Ext. 395, Fax 603-634-4174, Email HR.NH@hca.hitachi-cable.com.

WWW.URBANOASSOCIATES. COM. For New (Hakusan Heat Pressure Welders, Ferrous & NonFerrous; Marldon Rolling Ring Traverses) & Used Wire & Cable Equipment (buttwelders, coldwelders, ers and pointers). Tel: 727-863-4700 or by e-mail, please send to urbassoc@ verizon.net.

AA Enterprise. México. Soldadoras Eléctricas y manuales; Impresoras y discos; Cilindros, Bandas y Anillos para recocedores, Bobinas y Carretes de plástico y Acero; Carretes p/enmalladoras; Bandas para Caterpillar; Conos/ Anillos de Cerámica y Tungsteno p/ estiradoras; Maquinaria p/producción; Cabezas de extrusión, etc. ayala1953@ gmail.com.

FOR SALE: 1 off year of mfg 1999 Pittini (Italy) LTM/DO 11 pass wire drawing machine in very good working order, rotating die boxes with rotodie coiler able to draw down from 5.50mm to 1.30mm Spring wires. It includes two of hydraulic pay off systems, mechanical descaler, brush unit (stationary & rotating), coating and drying unit, two of butt welders, point machine, compressor, 3 off water chillers, strapping station complete for export capability.

JANUARY 2017 | 85

CLASSIFIEDS

WAI MEMBERS seeking positions are entitled to free “Position Wanted” classified ads.

C LASSIFIEDS Revolutionary Revolutionaryby bydesign design CLASSIFIEDS

ly in the steel wire or manufacturing, THE ROEBLING LEGACY. This engineering, or operations sectors of 288-page indexed book by Clifford the industry. The publication includes W. Zink presents a different perspec36 chapters on a broad range of toptive of the Roebling legacy. “But it’s all wire,” proclaimed a 1950s ics including many of the equipment Roebling Company brochure about types, processes, and specialty applicaits product line, which included wire tions of steel wire manufacturing.

The SERVICES rope, copper magnet and electrical book begins with a history of the steel NEED PROCESS HELP? Control wire, screens and hardware cloth, industry and its evolution, followed system retrofits, repair, and troubleaircord and aircraft strand, flat and by details on: continuous casting; shooting for steel wire equipment. controlled rod cooling; rod defects; braided wire, PC wire and strand, galMesh welders, wire cutting lines, etc. vanized bridge wire, among others. pickling and coating; mechanical desJim at Teknutronics LLC, tel. 724To maximize quality, the Roeblings caling; deformation in cold drawing; 880-7601. started drawing their own wire in the wiredrawing theory, machinery, and 1850s, rolling bars into rods in the finishing equipment; lubrication; heat 1870s, and making their own steel in treatment; stress relief; annealing; oil MEDIA the 1900s. Wire is the binding thread tempering; patenting; corrosion; galvanizing; statistical process control; through 125 years of Roebling and FERROUS WIRE HANDBOOK. bridge rope and strand; nails, barbed American industrial history chronWritten

by WAI members and edited W IWRIE R ES TSRTARIAGIHGTHETNEENRESR S• •S TSRTARIAGIHGTHETNEENRE RR ORLOLLSL S• •W IWRIER EP UPLULLELRESR S/ W / E WDEGDEG EG RGIRPISP S wire, mechanical springs.

The price icled in The Roebling Legacy. The

by Dr. Robert M. Shemenski, this is $235, $195 for WAI members.

To price is $75, $50 for WAI mem1,168 page, hard-cover, indexed publipurchase, go to wirenet.org and click bers, plus shipping.

To purchase, cation is a definitive industry resource on The WAI Store. go to wirenet.org and click on The for ferrous wire. It is a modern-day WAI Store. reference tool for those working directIf you require any further information please email david@aussiebedproducts.com.au or phone Australian mobile +61418511241

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86 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

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Because itsits grooved rolls turn onon thethe bearing’s inner race, your line Because grooved rolls turn bearing’s inner race, your line speed could improve asADVERTISER much as as +30%.

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PAGE ............................

PAGE opening assembly radically cutcut changeover downtime. opening assembly radically changeover downtime.

Anbao Wire & Mesh Co Ltd ..............................78

Mexichem Specialty Compounds Inc .... Cover 2

Black Sea Technology Inc ................................55 Niehoff GmbH & Coin.............................................1 Sjogren innovation puts the impossible reach.

Sjogren innovation puts the impossible in reach.

Breen Color Concentrates ................................27

Paramount Die Co ...............................................4

Cable Components Group ..................................5

Proton Products International Ltd .............26, 81

Cable Consultants Corp....................................53

Queins Machines GmbH ...................................21

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

Rainbow Rubber & Plastics Inc..........................2

DRUIDS Process Technology SL .....................48

SACO AEI Polymers ............................................9

Esteves Group USA...........................................47 SJO CO S JGORGERNE. N . CM OM

Sanxin Wire Die Inc ...........................................13

George Evans Corp ...........................................80

SIKORA AG ..........................................................7

Huestis Industrial ..............................................77

Sjogren Industries Inc ................................. 82-83

WInosym I RIER EG Ltd UG IUD C LCUL T SE S /• Tektapes ITNI GN G& &H AHNA DN LDILNI GN G W I EDSE S • • M A MGANG ENTEITCI CB RBARK52 AEKSE S& & UCTHC EHReel • T ETSETS..............................51 Steel Cable ...................................................41,

KEIR Manufacturing Inc ....................................80

August Strecker GmbH & Co KG .....................25

Locton Limited ...................................................80

Teknor Apex Co .................................................43

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supplies equipment equipment machinery machinery products products companies companies contacts contacts supplies INSIGHT trade names names driving driving directions directions social social media media links links INSIGHT trade The Wire Association International, Inc. | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | www.wirenet.org The Wire Association International, Inc. | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | www.wirenet.org JANUARY 2017 | 87

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX PEOPLE

ADVERTISER ............................ PAGE UL International Ltd...........................................57 WAFIOS Machinery Corp ........................ Cover 3 Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp ........................15 Woodburn Diamond Die Inc .............................17 Wyrepak........................................................23, 79 Zumbach Electronics Corp ...............................49

March 2017 WJI Previews • Interwire 2017 • Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium

WIRE ASSOCIATION INT’L ADS Global Ferrous Rod & Wire Symposium .........38 Interwire 2017............................................... 28-31 WAI HardWIRED.................................................67 WAI Membership................................................84 WAI Industry Search.................................... 86-87

WIRE JOURNAL

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

SALES OFFICES NORTH AMERICA

Robert J. Xeller/Anna Bzowski Wire Journal International Tel: 203-453-2777 Fax: 203-453-8384 sales@wirenet.org

ASIA/WAI

India Office Wire & Cable Services Pvt. Ltd. Rahatani, Pune - 411017, India Huned Contractor mobile - +91 988 1084 202 hcontractor@wirenet.org China Office Zhuang (Frank) zhilu Shanghai, China 200331 mobile - 0086-18018681117 zzs12151116@163.com

EUROPE

U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Denmark & Scandinavia Jennie Franks David Franks & Co. Tel/fax: 44-1223-360472 franksco @btopenworld.com Germany, Austria, & Switzerland Dagmar Melcher Media Service Int. Tel: 49-8801-914682 Fax: 49-8801-914683 dmelcher@t-online.de

88 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Advertising Deadline: February 1

Precision Wire Straightening and Cutting Technology R Series

Reinforcing Steel Working Range RB 45

4.00 - 10.00 mm ø .157 - .394 in ø

RB 53

6.00 - 14.00 mm ø .236 - .551 in ø

RB 63

8.00 - 16.00 mm ø .315 - .630 in ø

Round Wire Working Range R 13

0.65 - 2.50 mm ø .026 - .098 in ø

R 23

1.00 - 4.00 mm ø .039 - .157 in ø

R 36

1.50 - 8.00 mm ø .059 - .315 in ø

R 45

R 53

3.00 - 12.00 mm ø 5.60 - 15.00 mm ø .118 - .472 in ø .220 - .591 in ø

Working range and output dependent upon wire properties and machine execution

• Basic execution includes 4 CNC area • Push and pull rollers for efficient wire feeding • High-performance CNC cutting system

• Fixed stop for short lengths • Compact straightening system for intermittent

engineered for reduced noise and wear • Intuitive and convenient user interface

• 120 years of WAFIOS quality assures the

or continuous operation highest output and longest service life

Economical • Versatile • Profitable Engineered for What’s Next Spring Coiling & Forming Machines

WAFIOS Machinery Corporation 27 NE Industrial Road, Branford, CT 06405 USA Phone: 203-481-5555 / Fax: 203-481-9854 A Subsidiary of WAFIOS AG Precision Machinery for Wire, Tube and Formed Parts

Wire Bending & Forming Machines

Wire Straightening, Cutting & End Working Machines

Tube Bending & Forming Nail, Fastener & Chain Machines Machines

WAFIOS Midwest Technical Center 9830 W. 190th Street, Mokena, IL 60448 USA USA www.wafios.us sales@wafios.us Canada www.wafios.ca sales@wafios.ca

Visit our stand #1350 at Interwire 2015