Southwire Technician Specialist Bryan Cole was among the company volunteers from six states who helped communities in Florida that suffered widespread hurricane damage.

Southwire designates substantial funds every year to support a wide range of community programs that include lots of employee volunteers, but sometimes the unexpected happens, and then it is important to react to an unplanned emergency. Below, Southwire explains how it responded to such an event.

On Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwestern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, causing widespread damage and leaving millions without power.

In response, Southwire’s Project GIFT hosted disaster relief drives across several of the company’s Giving Back communities. Through this effort, nearly six tractor-trailers full of much-needed supplies were collected for those impacted by the devastating storm.

Volunteers from Project GIFT and Southwire’s agent, John Carter & Associates (JCA), were on site for the delivery and distribution efforts at Cape Christian Church in Cape Coral, Florida, thanks to a connection made from Southwire customer, Wesco Anixter. Because of the tremendous level of support from Southwire employees and communities across the country, an additional donation of over $9,000 was made to Second Harvest Food Bank, which provided meals to those affected by the storm.

“I have worked with Southwire for more than 30 years and know that they are the best at responding with resources to help customers get their power back on,” said JCA President Ed Hanner. “After participating as a volunteer with the Southwire folks that came to Florida and seeing and hearing from the storm victims that received our help, I now know it is more than just a great program: it is truly something special. It’s hard for me to put into words how thankful we all are for the gifts from the volunteers at Southwire.”

Southwire’s disaster relief drive was made possible by the generosity of community members, employees, volunteers and Project GIFT teams from West Georgia and Heflin, Alabama; Bremen, Indiana; Huntersville, North Carolina; Medford, New York; York, Pennsylvania; and Denton, Texas. They came together with the same passion for helping and ensuring that the supplies made it to the families affected by this tragedy.

“As a native Floridian, I have seen my fair share of hurricanes and the everlasting trails of destruction they leave behind,” said Kyle Tafelski, Southwire regional sales manager for tools, components and assembled solutions. “I am beyond grateful to have participated in the Project GIFT effort. The opportunity to provide just an ounce of hope and joy to the families of southwest Florida is something that I will never forget.”

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 14 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

(Left) Zach James Wagner thanked soldiers for their service at the company’s Annual Veterans Day on Nov. 11. (Right) Minnesota Wire supports the University of Minnesota’s Racing Team.

Minnesota Wire, a 54-year-old family-owned business that specializes in manufacturing wire for defense and medical markets, cites “community” as being a core value. Below, the company explains what that includes.

The Minnesota Wire Charitable Giving Fund, established in 2001, has donated over $750,000. Minnesota Wire founders Fred and Nora Wagner created the fund that over the years has donated to organizations from adoption agencies and the Special Olympics to veteran’s organizations and homeless shelters. The company has assisted hundreds of different organizations/charities within its communities.

Beyond direct company donations, Minnesota Wire invites employees to suggest charities, and encourages them to give back through donations and/or volunteer time. Those include individual and team volunteer involvement grants, matching donations and charity donations. That translates to support of MS Bike Rides, Polar Plunges, highway clean up projects and support of local youth sports teams. But the company’s largest hosted event continues to be its Annual Veterans Day celebration, which was celebrated on Nov. 11, 2022.

The event honors area veterans and their families and is open to the public. Minnesota Wire and its employees are dedicated to providing life saving connections to soldiers, veterans and their families. This year marks our 13th Annual Event. The company hosts and sponsors it while employees do the event planning, recruit sponsorships, create literature/promotion, procure raffle prizes, arrange booths for area Veteran Services available, provide a free lunch and beer, arrange inspirational speakers, local school bands/choirs to perform, display military or classic vehicles and provide same day event staff. Pre-pandemic, the event served up to 600 free meals and was long the only Veterans Day Celebration in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The company offers employees who are Veterans paid time off to attend. We like to say, “Come to Thank a Vet ~ Stay for the BBQ!”

Minnesota Wire is inclusive, employing people with a multitude of various disabilities, and providing them the accommodations so they can perform their jobs successfully. It starts from home, as company Chairman/CEO Paul J. Wagner named the Eau Claire building where this happens after his beloved son, Zachary James Wagner, who thrives daily regardless of his intellectual disability (ZJ Enterprises). Zach, an Eagle Scout, regularly participates in the Veterans Day event.

The extended Wagner family operates a farm in Wisconsin for people with developmental challenges called Community Homestead. There, some 40 people of all ages and abilities celebrate land and human sustainability, run an organic dairy farm, an organic biodiverse garden and CSA, a bakery and food processing kitchen, a woodshop and many crafts. Not only does the company financially donate to the farm, Zach enjoys volunteering his time on the farm as well.

Minnesota Wire believes in strong STEM programs. At Eau Claire, the company partners with area middle schools to help promote STEM opportunities within the manufacturing sector. It provides monthly factory tours, speakers and “hands on” activities. At our R&D facility in St. Paul, the company welcomed astronaut Duane “Digger” Carey (http://astronautbiker.com/) as a guest speaker at their 50th Anniversary Celebration. In honor of his participation, the company donated to the Farnsworth Aerospace Charter School in St. Paul which serves pre K-8 STEM and aerospace programs. The company enjoys a long history of sponsorship and engineering support for the University of Minnesota Racing Team (Gopher Motorsports). Paul J. Wagner also devotes his time to being a mentor/judge in area high school Robotics/STEM groups and university level Robotics competitions.

Charity and giving back is more than a special occasion for Minnesota Wire, it is an essential part of who we are.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 13 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

In 2021, the Prysmian Group donated about €1,705,000 to local communities around the world in cash, in kind and in the form of time as part of the Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy policy it adopted in 2019. Below, the company discusses one of its smaller donations.

Large donations draw a lot of attention, but sometimes a small one is equally important. In 2021, Prysmian supplied the cables required for developing a photovoltaic system at Hôpital Général de Référence d’Uvira. Prysmian’s solutions were used to ensure that the local population in the Democratic Republic of Congo enjoys access to a more reliable and effective hospital service.

The hospital is located in Uvira, one of the country’s major cities. Unfortunately, Congo is constantly plagued by ethnic conflicts and indiscriminate exploitation of underground resources, which place the health of the population at risk. With the participation of various organizations and businesses, the EIS project seeks to provide the hospital with energy independence from the city’s power plants to prevent constant power outages, of which there are an average of 10 a day. The multiple blackouts inevitably impact the hospital’s services, particularly in some wards, where electricity is fundamental to saving lives, such as neonatal care and surgery.

Prysmian Group contributed to the project by donating about four km of medium-voltage cables required to build up a photovoltaic system composed of 152 photovoltaic modules and 48 batteries that ensures that the hospital has access to a reliable power supply, based on renewable, sustainable sources.

The system’s storage capacity of 155 kWh helps the hospital to maintain a constant energy output, complementing the power supplied by the local public utility. This way, the system can provide reliable power not just for the most sensitive wards of the hospital but for the entire facility.

The Group’s support made it possible to develop a photovoltaic system that captures solar energy. Prysmian Group is proud to have contributed to this humanitarian initiative, in collaboration with a non-profit organization, Progetto Sorriso Nel Mondo, donating a new source of energy to the Uvira community thanks to its cables.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 12 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

Optimus Steel volunteers help out at Market to Hope, a cause that saw both employees and their children take part. Based in Beaumont, Texas, Optimus Steel produces wire rods, coiled rebar and billets, but it also gives back to its local community and beyond. Below, Ed Goettl and Daniela Pineda offer two different “giving back” efforts.

On a Saturday morning at 8 am, when most people are thinking of having a hot cup of coffee, the Optimus team assembled at Market to Hope, a partner agency of the Southeast Texas Food Bank, supported by Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. The activity for the day included filling hundreds of boxes full of food for those in need throughout the community.

The team had representatives from every level of our organization. We are especially proud that spouses and children were gladly able to make their contributions to the effort with us. Our youngest team members were 8 and 11 years old! The activity commenced with food items being packed into boxes, in a well-organized assembly line, then filling carts that were delivered to those waiting in line. The activity was well organized, the team worked hard and had fun. We finished early and without any safety incidents. The process didn’t end with distributing the food as it also included disposal of boxes and a 5S (Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain) of the warehouse.

This was an important local effort, but Optimus Steel continues to believe in giving back on another level for the greater good. That’s why since 2020, in the name of our customers, we have supported One Tree Planted (OTP). The non-profit association, dedicated to reforestation, is active in 43 countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Since 2014, it has planted more than 40 million new trees. We are proud to say that some of those were donated quarterly in the names of our individual customers. At last count, together we have provided more than 60,000.

Our desire for the future is to continue supporting our customers, our employees, their families, the local community and the wider world by these and other concrete and measurable actions. All of this has helped our team become more aware of our relationship with those we impact, which motivates them to challenge us to do more.

For more on OTP, go to www.onetreeplanted.org.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 11 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

A group photo of Fort Wayne Metals staff after wielding hammers and nails for a local Habitat for Humanity project.

Fort Wayne Metals specializes in making precision wire-based products that are used for critical applications. Below, the company notes how helping out in the community is part of its overall mission.

Supporting the Fort Wayne, Indiana, community is a hallmark of our organization. It begins with our Chairman and CEO, Scott Glaze, who cares deeply about not only reinvesting in his employees, but in a variety of local causes and charities that are close to his heart. Scott’s passion for giving back is reflected in our people. As dedicated as our employees are to making lives better through the work they do, they desire just as much to improve lives in our own community by volunteering their time and talents.

At Fort Wayne Metals, there are plenty of opportunities for our employees to demonstrate their kindness and generosity. Responding to the pressing need for affordable housing, we teamed up with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne. In September, more than 50 people equipped with hammers, nails, saws and plenty of muscle collectively answered the call to help with a panel build on our campus. Working in teams, they constructed the outer walls for a home that now stands in our community. Since 2020, more than 200 employees in all have contributed time and effort in four panel builds that were used to create several homes.

For many years, our people have volunteered their time by participating in the annual United Way Day of Caring. Employees assist in a variety of clean-up and beautification projects at area schools and non-profit organizations.

Assisting children in need is a cause our people hold dear. Our annual golf outing supports the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Wayne and employees have long volunteered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana lunch buddy program.

When it comes to giving back, there may not be a more tangible way than giving blood. The bimonthly visits from the American Red Cross to our campus have resulted in hundreds upon hundreds of blood donations, helping to save more than 1,500 lives.

Our people’s compassion for helping others doesn’t end there. It comes through in their support of the Community Harvest Food Bank, Toys for Tots, Arts United and United Way of Allen County. Our people care about making a difference both through their work and their support of our community.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 10 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?