This photo of Hitachi Cable America staffers led to subsequent acts of goodwill.

Hitachi Cable America (HCA) will soon become Proterial Cable America, but under any name the business is supportive of giving back. Below, Marketing Director Rayne DuPaul shares how one charitable effort sparked a domino cascade of positive actions.

Food insecurity is a growing problem in the U.S., and families have been under even more pressure over the past two years with the global pandemic, and now food inflation. This summer we wanted to give back to our community by supporting the local food bank. Hitachi Cable America, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was able to donate 1,335 pounds of food and delivered approximately 1,113 meals. Dozens of HCA employees handled the logistics.

We happened to place the food donations as well as essential household goods in Teknor Apex Gaylord boxes. Through the power of social media, someone from Teknor saw our post on LinkedIn, and generously donated two boxes of compound back to us.

We were surprised by the unexpected single act of kindness. We did some research and saw that Teknor Apex hosts an annual toy drive for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We talked among ourselves and decided that we should pay this generosity forward, right back to Teknor Apex. We have started collecting unwrapped toys for children in need this holiday season at Hitachi. In the beginning of December, we plan to send a full Gaylord box of unwrapped toys (or more!) in partnership with Teknor Apex towards the Make-A-Wish Foundation this year.

Charity may begin at home, but it also can be found in the goodwill of companies.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 1 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.

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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?

NKT has signed a contract to supply the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) onshore power cable system for the Hertel-New York project, which is the Canadian transmission line in the U.S. that will connect to the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line.

A press release said that NKT will design and manufacture a 2 x 60 km 400 kV HVDC onshore cable system that has an estimated value of €90 million. The power cables will be produced in Karlskrona, Sweden, and are expected to be delivered in 2024.

As a part of the overall transmission of sustainable hydropower from Canada to New York City, Hertel-New York will facilitate the onshore power transmission from the Hertel substation in Quebec, Canada, to the submarine section that continues to the U.S. border, where it connects to the CHPE transmission line. Once completed, the transmission line, one of the largest infrastructure investments in the history of New York, will help the state meet its goals of having 70% of power generation and consumption come from renewable energy sources by 2030.

“I am very satisfied that we have been awarded the contract for Hertel-New York which further cements our position as a key partner in ensuring the transmission of renewable power to New York,” said NKT President & CEO Alexander Kara. “This is a key project for NKT, and we are looking forward to close collaboration with Hydro-Québec. We aspire to continue to expand our market presence in Canada and the U.S. where we expect the green transition to create additional growth opportunities.”

Italy's Prysmian has won a €60 million contract for laying submarine cables as part of the strategic HVDC transmission system for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) Lightning Project in the UAE.

A press release said that Prysmian secured a deal for the supply of power cables worth around €220 million in January. The contract was awarded under a limited notice to proceed by Samsung C&T as part of its EPC consortium with Jan De Nul, with an option open for an installation agreement. The project is set for completion in 2025.

ADNOC and TAQA announced the successful financial closure of their $3.8bn project to power and significantly decarbonize ADNOC’s offshore production operations in September. The main purpose of the new HVDC link is to replace ADNOC’s current offshore power with a renewable onshore power source, reducing its environmental impact and CO2 emissions.

Under the ADNOC Lightning Project, Prysmian will design, supply, assemble and test a symmetrical monopole system consisting of four HVDC 320 kV single-core cables with XLPE insulation, along with fiber optic cable systems, that will connect the Al Mirfa onshore converter station to Al Ghallan, an artificial offshore island in the Arabian Gulf, located off the Abu Dhabi coast.

The project comprises both a subsea route of approximately 134 km of submarine HVDC cables, and onshore routes located at Al Mirfa and Al Ghallan Island, totaling approximately 3.5 km of HVDC land cable route. Offshore installation operations will be performed by Prysmian’s Leonardo da Vinci, with the shallow water activities being performed by the cable-laying barge Ulisse.

JDR Cable Systems (JDR) announced signing a substantial subsea cable contract as well as the official beginning of construction of its new U.K. cable plant in in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland.

A press release said that the project—previously announced but now finalized with a signed contract—is for inter-array cables (IAC) for the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm, which is part of the Ocean Winds portfolio of U.K. projects. The cable will be manufactured at JDR’s Hartlepool facility.

The IACs will connect the wind turbines back to the offshore substation platforms (OSP) before exporting the power back to the onshore connection point at Blackhillock near Keith. The deal also includes an interconnector cable that will be buried in the seabed to connect the two OSPs. JDR will provide about 125 km of 66 kV subsea cables that will be installed by Seaway 7 ASA.

“Moray West has an essential role to play in the energy transition and as a U.K. manufacturer we are delighted to have won this contract to support the U.K. energy market,” said JDR Sales Director John Price, who noted that there were logistical advantages. “Transporting a cable of this size from overseas would have had large environmental and commercial costs involved.”

The release said that the latest contract confirms the need for JDR to open a new subsea cable manufacturing facility in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland. It is part of JDR’s plans to expand its product portfolio to support the growing global renewable energy market, adding high voltage export and long-length array cables to its existing capacity and product capabilities.

JDR’s 69,000-sq-m factory is expected to be operational by 2024. The £130 million project will deliver vital subsea cable manufacturing technology to the offshore wind market. The facility, to include a CCV line, will bet the only facility in the U.K. capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high voltage subsea cables for offshore wind farms to support the growing global renewable energy market.

“We’re delighted to be starting construction, it’s taken a lot of hard work from all stakeholders for spades to finally hit the ground today,” said JDR CEO Tomasz Nowak. “This region and the east coast of the U.K. has plans to connect an incredible amount of energy infrastructure in the coming years and we’re proud to be contributing to it in the midst of a growing offshore energy sector.