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Accent Wire Tie recently acquired Coastal Wire Company, a U.S. company founded in 1978 that specializes in fully annealed baling wire at its plant in Georgetown, South Carolina.

A press release said that Coastal Wire is the only U.S. entity that currently manufactures all baling wire products, including black-annealed coil wire, black-annealed box wire, high-tensile galvanized wire, galvanized bale tie wire, black-annealed bale ties, galvanized bale ties and the company’s proprietary product KleenGreen bale ties. The acquisition took place last December.

Based in Tomball, Texas, Accent Wire Tie notes at its website that it has the largest U.S. baling wire manufacturing and distribution network in the industry. The company has seven mills, and 21 distribution centers. Through its Wire-Tie division, Accent’s core offerings include baling wire distribution, bale tie manufacturing, wire-tier equipment manufacturing, and wire-tier parts and repair services to waste management providers, material recovery facilities, packaging companies and commercial customers throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Of note, Accent Wire Tire—along with two sister companies, itself was acquired last August by funds managed by Apollo, a deal that had been predicted by Joanna Reiss, partner and co-head of impact at Apollo. “We believe Accent is a critical supplier to the recycling industry poised for continued growth and impact, and we see several opportunities to help grow and develop the company.”

Minnesota Wire (MN Wire) announced that it is teaming up with Chamfr, which specializes in medical device components.

A press release said MN Wire, whose product lines include medical wire, is partnering with Chamfr “to revolutionize the medical device landscape by offering state-of-the-art solutions to meet the industry’s growing demands.” MN Wire noted that it has more than a half century of medical experience. “When it comes to sub-markets like defibrillation, patient monitoring, imaging, and wearable electronics among others, Minnesota Wire goes through extensive testing and prototyping on a variety of processes, including extrusion, molding, terminating, shielding, and many others.

Chamfr provides medical products for R&D projects. From nitinol parts to tubing, Chamfr gives engineers quick access to thousands of medical parts, equipment, and tools from 50+ suppliers for their medical device design and development projects. “This collaboration aims to enhance and streamline the development of medicine systems including carbon fiber, high-performance alloy conductors, and textiles, among others, giving a fresh perspective to engineers and developers in the healthcare sector.”

Prysmian has been selected to receive $4.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for a project that will see the company develop specialized equipment.

A press release said that the funding is part of the Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS) program, which aims to strengthen and modernize America’s aging power grid through the development of cost-effective, high-speed, and safe undergrounding technologies. “We know that by undergrounding our grid, we can create a more resilient and reliable U.S. power grid,” said Dr. Evelyn N. Wang, ARPA-E director.

Prysmian intends to develop a hands-free power cable splicing machine operating in underground vaults. The goal is to reduce the share of splicing-caused medium-voltage network failures from 60-80% to less than 5% and dramatically improve workforce safety by reducing the time the underground cable splicing crews spend in such vaults.

“This machine is envisioned to splice cable automatically using advanced technologies, which help humans to operate the machine remotely from a safer environment,” the release said. “If successful, performing cable splicing using this machine will increase the reliability of the network and reduce energy losses due to splice failures.”

“Our ground-breaking splicing machine represents a major step ahead in the cable undergrounding process, reinforcing our unwavering commitment to grid hardening, modernization, safety and reliability,” said Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Prysmian North America. “In addressing the aging U.S. power grid, Prysmian is prepared to offer solutions that propel us into the 21st century and beyond.”

Prysmian will collaborate with Con Edison and Exelon, two of the largest U.S. investor-owned utilities. “Prysmian remains steadfast in our commitment to investing in innovations that advance our industry. Equally, we value collaborative partnerships that contribute to building a resilient, sustainable grid ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges,” said Srinivas Siripurapu, Ph.D., chief innovation officer for Prysmian and principal investigator for the project.

Southwire reports that the company has made an investment in HData, a software company that automates regulatory data analysis.

A press release said that HData, based in Birmingham, Alabama, digitizes regulated energy industry data by automating access to critical analytics for electric, oil and gas companies and their regulators. “Our investment in HData gives us a valuable partnership in the rapidly developing world of AI for business intelligence,” said Charles Hume, managing director of Southwire Technology Ventures. “As a leading supplier to the utility industry, we are excited about the insights that our partnership with HData will provide into the industry.”

As a part of this investment, Southwire will join HData’s Advisory Board, represented by Donna Ward, gaining further insights into the utility industry. HData’s proprietary software can scan and extract insights from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reports, turning multi-thousand-page PDFs into actionable charts, comparisons and insights.

HData joins a portfolio of investments managed by the Southwire Technology Ventures team. This team collaborates with pioneering startups to build the future of smart power within the realms of smart buildings, electric mobility and the grid of the future.

Denmark’s NKT has been chosen to be the cable supplier for Sweden’s SR Energy, which is building a 15-turbine wind farm.

A press release said that Kanonaden Entreprenad, the project developer, will use NKT’s AXAL-TT PRO 3.0 and AXALJ-TT EQV 36 kV cables to connect the turbines to the grid. The wind farm will be built at a hilly location that is currently used for commercial forestry. The farm will consist of 15 wind turbines, each more than 200 meters tall.

NKT will deliver 40 kms of cable from its factory in Falun. The AXAL-TT PRO 3.0 cable connects each turbine to the cable station, while the AXALJ-TT EQV cable will connect the substation to the grid network.

The wind turbines themselves will be delivered in May 2024 and then installation will begin, to be completed in the fall of that year. Due to the height of the turbines, the weather will determine when the project can be fully completed.

NKT Key Account Manager Mikael Åkerlund said that AXAL-TT PRO 3.0 has a jacket that is up to four times stronger than usual for this type of cable. The jacket has deformation zones which neutralize the force of penetrating rocks and allows it to be laid and plowed in existing material, which is important in this setting in this part of Sweden.

A live action for equipment belonging to a custom electronic wire and cable manufacturer from Rochester, New York will be held later this month at a date to be determined.

An announcement said that Perfection Industrial Sales, Elk Grove, Illinois, is hosting the live auction. Also participating is Commission Brokers President Martin Kenner.

The equipment to be sold off includes a Kalmark 12+18 400 mm Planetary Cabler, new 2020; extrusion lines (4); Formulab/U.S. Machinery Spiral stripers (3); respooling; 36 in. S.T. rotating cablers (2); New England Wire Machinery 16 in. quadders (2); and Wardwell 16-C and 24-C braiders (3). Also, a DRI-AIR APD-11 desiccant dryer w/RH-600 Hopper; a 5 T chiller; a Nordson talc applicator; reels and spools; surplus bare and insulated wire, and much more.

All equipment is offered as-is, where-is, subject to prior sale. The auction is tentatively scheduled for late April, date to be finalized. For more details, go to the Perfection Industrial Sales website at www.perfectionmachinery.com or contact Kenner at tel. 401-943-3777 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,www.commissionbrokers.com.

Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co., Ltd. (Orient Cable NBO) has become part of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, an ambitious renewable energy initiative that will send wind and solar energy generated in Morocco to the U.K.

Per multiple news reports, Orient Cable NBO invested approximately £5 million on January 22. It joins existing investors in the project: Abu Dhabi Power Corporation-owned Al Maqam Energy Holding, UK-based Octopus Energy and TotalEnergies Renewables UK. Of note, Orient Cable NBO also announced that it planned to buy 8.5% of XLCC, a U.K.-based company that produces standardized 525 kV submarine cables, for £10 million. XLCC is developing the U.K.’s first HVDC cable factory, located in North Ayrshire, Scotland, which will deliver 3,800-km-long cables for the Morocco-UK Power Project. Last November, XLCC reported that it received a £9 million grant from Scottish Enterprise to further develop the North Ayrshire plant located in Hunterston.

“As we continue to work towards building a greener future for Scotland and the wider U.K. ... this grant (puts our new plant project) on the best footing,” said XLCC CEO Ian Douglas. “Green energy is the future, and we want to empower Scotland to be part of the transition.”

Work on the £1.4 billion Hunterston cable manufacturing facility will start this year, with cable production slated for 2026. The first order is for four 3,800-km-long cables for the Xlinks Morocco-UK power project, while additional Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been secured for domestic projects.

Prysmian reports that it has finalized a contract worth approximately €1.9 billion for Eastern Green Link 2 Limited (EGL2), a project that will deliver power generated in Scotland to England.

A press release said that the EGL2 connection— partners of the project—SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, the U.K. electricity transmission network owners—will form a vital electricity transmission link between Scotland and England. It is one of the first cable systems contracted in the U.K. that will use 525 kV HVDC technology with extruded XLPE insulation. Prysmian will design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system that will have a power transmission capacity of 2 GW.

“We are very proud to have the opportunity to play our role in the development of such a strategic infrastructure for U.K.,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Transmission BU, Prysmian. “Once completed, the electrical ‘superhighway’ cable link will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy for around two million homes in the U.K.”

The award follows the earlier selection of Prysmian last year as the exclusive preferred bidder, with a commitment made to assure its continued capacity availability for the project. The new connection is due to be operational in 2029. See p. 18 for related news item.

South Korea’s LS Cable has signed a preferred supply agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to supply offshore and onshore cables to Feng Miao 1, the company’s third offshore wind project in Taiwan.

A press release said that, under the agreement, LS Cable will supply offshore export cables, inter-array cables, and onshore export cables from their Korean manufacturing facility to the 500 MW Feng Miao 1 offshore wind project in Taiwan. This is the fourth cable supply collaboration between LS Cable and CIP’s offshore wind projects in Asia, following Changfang Xidao and Zhong Neng in Taiwan, and Jeonnam Offshore Wind 1 in Korea.

CIP was awarded Feng Miao 1 in the first round of Taiwan’s Round 3 Zonal Development Offshore Wind Auction in 2022. The offshore wind project is currently in the late development stage, finalizing design and procurement in preparation for financial close, said CIP.

The 500 MW Feng Miao 1 will be located approximately 35 km off the coast of Taichung in central Taiwan. The construction is planned to commence in 2025 and the project is expected to enter into commercial operation in 2027. CIP is also building two other offshore wind farms in Taiwan, the 589 MW Changfang and Xidao and the 298 MW Zhong Neng.

Last modified on April 9, 2024

India’s HFCL Limited (HFCL) announced that it plans to make a strategic expansion into Europe by setting up an optical fiber cable (OFC) manufacturing plant in Poland that will serve the increasing demand for OFC in European markets such as the U.K., Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, etc.

A press release said that HFCL aims to ramp up its share of exports in its OFC vertical revenue from the current 30% to 70% within the next four to five years. It noted that Europe has promising growth prospects as its OFC market is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.5% over the next five years with expected demand of 90 million fiber (mf) km by 2028. The FTTH Council estimates that some 308 million homes in the EU region will have FTTH connectivity by 2028, speeding up deployment by three to five years. “This signals a rapid expansion of FTTH networks in these areas which will lead to increased demand of OFC.”

Poland has become a favored European nation, primarily due to its attractive market access to other European nations for incentive programs and cost competitiveness. The country’s strong connectivity is further enhanced through its well-developed ports. The availability of specialized skills at relatively lower labor cost than other European nations further enhances its attractiveness of being a premier manufacturing destination.

HFCL’s plant in Poland will begin with a capacity of 3.25 mf km and be scalable up to 7 mf km, with an initial capital outlay up to about $22 million. This strategic move will enhance HFCL’s agility and reduce transit times by approximately six weeks, thereby enabling an increase in order fulfillment capacity. The operation will be incorporated via a new stepdown subsidiary in Poland under HFCL B.V.

Including its subsidiary, the company will have three modern manufacturing plants in India with annual capacity of 25 mf km. “With this strategic expansion, we are poised to align with Europe’s vision, which anticipates gigabit connectivity as a cornerstone of its future,” said HFLC Managing Director Mahendra Nahata. He noted that the venture “marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey toward global leadership in telecommunication solutions.”

Last modified on April 9, 2024

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