The Lithuanian-Swedish submarine power cable, NordBalt, was shut down for what is expected to be two and a half months for planned repairs.

A story in The Baltic Course said that the repairs include the replacement of onshore cable joints that have been identified as the cause of frequent failures. It said that Lithuanian power transmission system operator Litgrid reports that 31 failures have been registered since the launch of the 700 MW NordBalt power cable in February 2016, including 12 incidents linked to cable joints. The repair work, expected to be completed by the end of October, will see 22 cable joints replaced on the Lithuanian side and 98 in Sweden.

The cable was provided by ABB, which in March 2017 was acquired by NKT. In a press release at its website, ABB outlined the project, which was described as the world’s longest HVDC Light® underground and submarine cable. “The NordBalt HVDC Light link is a joint project of the Swedish and Lithuanian transmission system operators (TSOs), Svenska Kraftnät and LITGRID AB. HVDC Light is an ABB technology for connecting transmission systems using submarine and underground cables. It offers several compelling benefits, including ‘invisible’ power lines, highly compact AC-DC converter stations, low cable and converter losses, and black start capability (the ability to rapidly restore system operations in the event of a systemwide power outage).”

The NordBalt project included “a 2 x 40 km HVDC Light underground cable on the Swedish side, a 2 x 13 km HVDC Light underground cable on the Lithuanian side, and a 2 x 400 km HVDC Light submarine cable across the Baltic Sea,” the report said. The ABB HVDC Light solution has a power rating of 300 kV. It includes two converter stations, “one at Nybro in Sweden and the other at Klaipeda in Lithuania, where the power is converted from AC to DC for transfer in the HVDC Light cable system. The Swedish power grid has a rating of 400 kV AC and the Lithuanian grid a rating of 330 kV AC; the two grids are asynchronous.”

Contacted by WJI, an NKT spokeswoman said that the owner of Nordbalt “has previously communicated that the line will temporarily be shut down due to cable joint repair. We ... (cannot) comment on any contractual terms, including repair costs.”

Supporting the company’s growth strategy and strengthening its commitment to remain generationally sustainable, Southwire announced that it has acquired Garvin Industries, a 120-year-old man mufacturer of electrical, lighting and low voltage products based in Franklin Park, Illinois.

A press release said that Garvin Industries is widely recognized for designing innovative, labor-saving products that provide economical solutions to common installation problems. Its staff, which numbers about 30, can custom design and manufacture products to meet customer specifications.

“As a company, our goal is to grow 50% over the next five years,” said Rich Stinson, Southwire’s president and CEO. “To do so, we must be intentional about listening to our customers and creating solutions to meet their needs. The acquisition of Garvin helps us further expand our product offering and will give us a broader opportunity to provide custom solutions for our electrical customers.”

The acquisition includes the company’s manufacturing, distribution and corporate support functions and will add the Garvin employees to the Southwire family as a part of the company’s Tools and Assembled Products Business Unit.
“Garvin Industries, with its continued focus on customer service, value and innovation, is the perfect addition to our business, with products that are used every day with our core wire and cable products,” said Brandon Moss, Southwire’s president of Tools and Assembled Products Business Unit.

As of Aug. 23, copper scrap sent from the U.S. to China was to be hit with a 25% tariff, an action that would cause problems for U.S. scrap exporters that include one company whose parent operation is on the other side of the equation.

A report by Tom Daly in Reuters said that the David J. Joseph Company, which in 2006 became a subsidiary of Nucor Corp., was described as one of the major U.S. scrap exporters involved by the action. Nucor, which was one of the key companies pursuing the successful imposition of wire rod tariffs, was also a big supporter of the Section 232 remedies that were imposed by the U.S. that led to further such actions between it and China.

Per the Reuters story, last year the U.S. sold almost $6 billion worth of scrap commodities to China, and was the second-largest supplier of copper scrap behind Hong Kong, exporting 535,371 metric tons worth roughly $1.8 billion in 2017. Hong Kong sent 627,180 metric ton, according to Chinese customs data. In the first quarter of 2018 there were almost 2,200 cargoes of copper scrap per month sent to China from the U.S., with the average cargo about 20 metric tons.

The story said the copper scrap had not been on a draft list of retaliatory tariffs released by China in June but was present in the final list of $16 billion worth of U.S. goods.

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The International Fastener Machinery & Suppliers’ Association (IFMSA) announced that it is launching what it noted will be the only U.S. event with an exclusive focus on the manufacture of fasteners and precision-formed parts.

A press release said that the new event, called the International Fastener Manufacturing Exposition (IFME), will take place May 14-16, 2019, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The three-day event will be co-located with WAI’s biennial Interwire event.

“Although IFME is a new launch, we have been organizing successful exhibitions concentrating on the machinery aspect of the fastener industry for over 35 years,” said IFMSA Executive Director Ray Zirkle. “The name of this new event reflects our focus on and dedication to providing the machinery manufacturers a much higher profile than may be available elsewhere.”

With an unparalleled manufacturing renaissance and resurgence taking place across the U.S., domestic demand for fasteners and precision-formed parts is expected to increase dramatically, the IFMSA release said. As such, there is a need for a dedicated event for key suppliers of machinery, materials, tooling, controls, systems, and supplies to display and demonstrate their products, equipment and services to an active, buying audience of manufacturers.

Zirkle said that the decision to co-locate IFME with Interwire in Atlanta was based in large part on previous successful co-locations and the synergy between the fastener and wire industries.
One IFME exhibitor agreed. “The reunion of IFME with Interwire in Atlanta is an exciting development,” said Reed Machinery President Jim Flanagan. “The show will provide a needed and focused event for meeting with U.S. manufacturers of fasteners and precision formed parts.

For more information on IFME 2019, contact Ray Zirkle or Doug Zirkle, national sales director, at tel. 203-794-0444, and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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