WAI Appoints Kurt Breischaft 2023 President

The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc., based in Madison, Connecticut, USA, has appointed Kurt F. Breischaft as its 70th president for a one‑year term beginning January 1, 2023. In this role, he chairs the WAI Board of Directors and helps guide the 93‑year‑old association’s strategy and education agenda.

Learn more about the association at WAI / wirenet.org.

WAI Appoints Kurt Breischaft 2023 President with Deep Industry Experience

WAI appoints Kurt Breischaft 2023 president after he built more than 30 years of experience in the copper industry. He currently serves as president of SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS, a copper rod and wire mill in New Haven, Indiana, a position he has held since November 2013. See more about the company at SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS.

Previously, he held roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president and general manager of Cerro Plumbing, part of Marmon Group/Berkshire Hathaway. He also worked as plant manager for Belden Americas – Nogales, Mexico and Belden/Thermax, and earlier served as process engineer, engineering manager, plant manager, and manufacturing manager at Essex Group, Inc./Superior Essex.

WAI Appoints Kurt Breischaft 2023 President After Long Service to the Association

An active WAI member since 2000, Breischaft received the WAI Wire Link Scholarship in 2006. Over the years, he has taken on multiple volunteer roles, including:

• Serving two terms on the WAI Board of Directors

• Contributing to the Executive Committee and Oversight Committee

• Chairing the Member Relations Committee

• Acting as Executive Committee liaison to the Finance, Memorial Awards, and Education Committees

During his term as WAI president in 2023, he also serves as Co‑Chair of the Conference Programming Committee, Chair of the Oversight Committee, and Executive Committee liaison to the Education Committee.

Commenting on his appointment, Breischaft said he looks forward to advancing WAI’s latest education initiative, developing multimedia training modules, and building on WAI’s legacy technical handbooks. He emphasized that these tools will support the next generation of engineers and operators in the wire and cable industry.

Education and Leadership Foundations

Breischaft holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Rose‑Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He also earned an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, USA. This mix of technical and business training underpins both his corporate and association leadership roles.

WAI Executive Committee and SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS Background

The Wire Association International relies on a global volunteer network. Joining Breischaft on the 2023 WAI Executive Committee are:

• First Vice President: Daniel Blais, Prysmian Group

• Second Vice President: Eric Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die

• Executive Committee Member: David Fisher, James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp.

• Immediate Past President: James R. York, Insteel Industries, Inc.

Breischaft’s company, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS, operates as a joint venture between Steel Dynamics, Inc. and La Farga Group. The business employs just over 120 people and uses a patented advanced refining process that melts environmentally friendly material along with established shaft furnace technology. These processes produce high‑purity cast and rolled 8 mm copper rod.

Steel Dynamics, Inc., headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, belongs to the S&P 500 and ranks among the largest metals recyclers and producers in North America. La Farga Group, based in Barcelona, Spain, has developed copper recycling solutions since 1808.

Learn more at Steel Dynamics and La Farga Group.

About The Wire Association International (WAI)

Founded in 1930, The Wire Association International, Inc. is a not‑for‑profit association with more than 2,000 individual members in 50 countries. WAI supports the wire and cable manufacturing industry with technical education, reference content, and networking opportunities.

The association organizes the Interwire Trade Exhibition and the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo. It also publishes Wire Journal International and the Wire Journal International Reference Guide, serving engineers, plant managers, and other professionals worldwide.

For additional details, visit wirenet.org.

Media contacts:

• Janice E. Swindells, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications – jswindells@wirenet.org, Tel: +1‑203‑453‑2777 x117

• Steven J. Fetteroll, Executive Director – sfetteroll@wirenet.org, Tel: +1‑203‑453‑1777

Author: WJI staff and wire services