Citing current market forces and a surge in imported steel, Liberty Steel reported on April 19 that it is temporarily ceasing production of wire rod.

An announcement said that some 50 of the 79 employees at the facility in Georgetown, South Carolina would be laid off. The statement said that a flood of imports had led to decreased rod prices that made operations unprofitable. The company will continue to make steel mesh and welded steel products at the mill.

“Unfortunately, market forces are working against us in the rod market with the increase in imports and significant pressure on transportation costs,” declared Pieter Vanderwesthuizen, Liberty’s chief operating officer, in a written statement. “We fully intend to bring the rod mill back up as soon as it makes financial sense to do so. “We remain committed to the long-term viability of our Georgetown facility and continue to invest in the business,” he said.

Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CCI) announced that it has completed its $2 billion sale of its Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (CIT) unit to Amphenol Corporation, ending its direct activity in the wire and cable field.

A press release said that the sale of CIT “aligns with our Vision 2030 strategy and represents a significant milestone in our strategic pivot from a diversified industrial portfolio of businesses to a premier pure play building products company.”

Per the Carlisle website, the business started operations in Tarrytown, New York in 1940 as Tensolite, a name that it said stood for the finest in miniature insulated wire and cable. The first insulated wire product produced by the company was used to electrically heat the gloves and flight suits of World War II Air Force pilots. In 1959, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (then Tensolite) became part of Carlisle Companies Incorporated, which will focus on innovative building envelope products and solutions for more energy efficient buildings

TT Cables, based in Bosnia-Herzegovina, announced that it has launched a new factory to make low-voltage cables in Macedonia, that will be located at the IGM Industrial Park on Negotino.

A press release said that the company is investing some 20 million euros in the new factory, which covers 20,000 sq m and will have some 90 employees. The factory will have a capacity of approximately 30,000 tons of cables across 30 production lines. It will deploy cutting-edge, highly automated machinery and production lines, allowing for maximum efficiency and scalability.

The industrial park, located in North Macedonia near the highway, railway station and airport, will apply cutting-edge technology and sustainable manufacturing practices. The decision to build the plant stemmed from an assessment of the sales potential for the low-voltage cables (signal, control and instrumentation) in the region and throughout Europe as being significantly greater than our current production capabilities.

The factory will be part of the IT Cables Group, which has more than 400 employees and sells its products in more than 50 countries worldwide. The Group has a distribution network through its subsidiaries in Lithuania (TT Cables Nordic UAB), Austria (TT Cables GmbH Austria), Croatia (TT Kabeli doo Croatia), Serbia (TT Kabeli doo Serbia), Bosnia and Herzegovina (TT Kabeli doo Bosna and Herzegovina), and the next factory in North Macedonia (Kabeks Kables dooel - TT Kabeli Macedonia).

The TT Group, founded in 2007, is based in Široki Brijeg (Bosnia and Herzegovina) where its head office is located as well as its production facilities.

“We are looking forward to the opening of the new factory, which we believe will serve as a stepping-stone for our ambitious plans in the future,” the release said. It added that construction work and machine orders are already underway, and that the new factory is expected to open in the second half of this year, “ushering in a new chapter and era for the entire TT Cables Group.”

Mueller Industries has agreed to acquire Nehring Electrical Works Mueller Industries, Inc., (Nehring) and some of its affiliated firms, for approximately US$575 million. The deal is subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

A press release said that Nehring, based in DeKalb, Illinois, produces wire and cable solutions for the utility, telecom, electrical distribution and OEM markets. Operating through its three business units (Nehring Electrical Works Company, Conex Cable, LLC and Unified Wire & Cable, Inc.), Nehring supplies numerous utilities, REAs, municipalities, telecoms and electrical distribution companies throughout the U.S. For its last fiscal year, Nehring’s annual net sales were approximately US$400 million.

At Nehring’s website, the company notes that it is one of the few U.S.-based companies manufacturing both copper and aluminum conductors. Also, it “has been producing wire and cable products longer than any wire mill in the Midwest.” The company was founded in 1912 by Paul A. Nehring, who invented many of the machines used for covering copper with braided cotton. The family business was sold several times, including to Coleman Cable Company, and had been owned by a private partnership group since 1995.

“This acquisition provides a substantial platform for long-term growth in the electrical and power infrastructure space and complements the other critical infrastructure sectors we support,” said Mueller CEO Greg Christopher. “With its operational culture, which is well aligned with our own, the addition of Nehring leverages our deep expertise in metals, particularly copper and aluminum extrusion, and provides synergies to both companies.”

Based in Collierville, Tennessee, Mueller manufactures copper, brass, aluminum and plastic products. It operates locations throughout the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, South Korea, the Middle East and China.

Hitachi Energy reports that it has entered into a multi-year agreement to provide high-voltage cable for what will be a record-sized U.S. project.

A press release said that Hitachi Energy will suppy Pattern Energy for its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies for the SunZia Transmission Project. The link will connect the 3,515-megawatt (MW) SunZia Wind project in New Mexico to Arizona and Western states, which when completed will be one of the world’s largest transmission links delivering renewable energy.

Hitachi Energy will provide its HVDC Light® technology that is designed to efficiently transfer and integrate huge volumes of wind power. The project will stretch more than 885 km into the regional power grid. When complete, SunZia Wind will have a total power capacity of 3,515 MW, enough clean, renewable electricity to provide power to approximately three million Americans. The HVDC link will transmit up to 3,000 MW of this power to Arizona. The HVDC Light system will be the largest voltage source converter (VSC) installation in the United States.

Pattern Energy is one of the world’s largest privately owned developers and operators of renewable energy and transmission projects. Multi-year agreement provides service solutions to the SunZia Transmission Project, linking New Mexico’s wind farms to Arizona’s grid, increasing renewable energy to Western States.