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Wire Journal News

February 2018

Vodafone Germany reports that the company has completed the first stage of upgrades to its hybrid fiber-cable network that serves 12.7 million households.

A press release said that the company plans to invest more than two billion euros by the end of 2021 to roll out gigabit broadband services. The investment will include a combination of FTTP and upgrading its cable network.
The biggest part of the additional capital expenditure, about 1.5 billion euros, will go to connecting businesses. The remainder will be spent on delivering gigabit speeds across Vodafone’s 12.6 million cable homes.
Last July, Vodafone launched the new top speed of 500 Mbps on its cable network, which already reaches over a fifth of the footprint. The company said it decided to accelerate the roll-out of Docsis 3.1—an option to use existing copper cable instead of placing new optical fiber—from four years to two years under the new investment plan. That timetable would mean that the first big cities should get gigabit cable broadband this year.

One target for the initiative is for optical fiber to be provided to approximately 100,000 companies in around 2,000 business parks. This effort will be deployed in co-operation with partners such as Deutsche Glasfaser and standalone. A minimum take-up of 40% will be required for the roll-outs to go ahead.

To date, Vodafone said it has upgraded over 500,000 households with connections delivering internet speeds up to 500 Mbps, including cities such as Passau, Hassfurt, Nordhausen and Ingolstadt. The company said it is planning to upgrade its entire cable network to provide speeds of 1 Gbps by the end of 2020.

Cable customers that have already opted for Vodafone’s current 200 Mbps, 400 Mbps or 500 Mbps packages will automatically be able to benefit from these gigabit-upgrades upon request, Vodafone reported. The news come as there has been increased calls in Germany for more investment in full fiber networks. Rival Deutsche Telekom has focused more on VDSL, but recently gave into pressure and launched its first gigabit broadband subscription over FTTH.

Published in Industry News

The president of Ube Industries, a Japanese chemical company whose products include polyethylene products used for some cables, admitted that his company has provided doctored reports to customers.


Per an on-line report in The Japan Times, Yuzuru Yamamoto said that the company has skipped quality-control checks for some of its low-density polyethylene products since the 1990s at its plant in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture. The products, used to insulate power and telecommunications cables, were sold by Ube-Maruzen Polyethylene Co., a joint venture with Maruzen Petrochemical Co., to 50 clients that included wire makers.

The company admitted to not doing the required reports and providing bogus inspection reports to customers that needed them for their reporting requirement. After detecting the problem last December, the company said it conducted checkups to make sure there were no problems in product quality before briefing the clients.

Ube Industries said it has set up a panel of lawyers and outside directors to investigate the matter. “We deeply apologize for causing great inconvenience to those concerned,” Yamamoto said.

Published in Industry News
Madem-Moorecraft Reels USA, Inc., reports that it expects to begin manufacturing in April at its new plant in Tarboro, North Carolina.

A press release said that the plant will be the Group’s fourth such site, and by far the most modern.  The new lines at the plant were made in Brazil by the Madem Machinery Division that was created seven years ago, said Leandro Mazzoccato, corporate sales director for Madem Group and president of Madem-Moorecraft Reels USA. He said that the lines are fully automatic and embody Industry 4.0. “The system is linked by internet with sensors that can detect any small problem, if one happens, in seconds. The set-up allows us lines to be changed far quicker and requires 40% less labor to run the machinery. The automatic ink jet system can also apply any design/color (except white), he said.

“In addition to our manufacturing operations, we intend to establish assembly and distribution warehouses throughout the U.S.,” said Stephen Redhage, vice president and general manager of Madem-Moorecraft Reels USA.

The release said that the combined operations of Madem Group supply more than 120 cable companies in 40 countries.
Published in Industry News
TE SubCom and the Samoa Submarine Cable Company (SSCC) announced that a new submarine cable depot will be built in the Port of Apia, Samoa, to service and maintain some 20 cable systems in the South Pacific region.

In 2017, TE SubCom was awarded the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA), a five-year agreement between it and 15 regional cable operators, a press release said. The new depot, to be owned by TE SubCom, will help support and maintain more than 51,000 km of telecom and power cable systems in the area, as well as support regional installation activities. The SPMMA area covers the South Pacific region from Singapore in the west to Tahiti in the east and from the southernmost point of New Zealand to Hawaii in the north.
Published in Industry News

  The details at this point are sparse, but the EU has approved €578 million in funding for a power cable that will cross the Bay of Biscay, connecting Spain and France, a distance of some run for 230 miles.

   A report in Spain’s Olive Press said that the power cable to carry renewable energy is needed to ease one of Europe’s worst network bottlenecks. The contract, described as the highest ever, will transmit excess renewable energy between the two countries. The goal is to double current power capacity to 5,000 megawatts.

  “Only a fully interconnected market will improve Europe’s security of supply, ending the dependence of single suppliers, and give consumers more choice,” said Europe Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, who was cited in the report. In it, he said that the project would “end the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula and boost interconnectivity between the bloc. “Only a fully interconnected market will improve Europe’s security of supply, ending the dependence of single suppliers, and give consumers more choice.”

  The EU hopes the link will stave off dependency on Russian oil, increase renewable energy output and help meet climate goals.

Published in Industry News

Chase Corporation announced that it has acquired Stewart Superabsorbents (SSA), LLC, an advanced superabsorbent polymer (SAP) formulator and solutions provider, with operations located in Hickory and McLeansville, North Carolina.

  A press release said that for its most recently completed calendar year, SSA and its recently acquired Zappa-Tec business (collectively “Zappa Stewart”) had combined revenue in excess of $24 million. Zappa Stewart’s products include materials for diverse markets that include wire and cable, for which it provides direct application of swellable powder, liquid, or hot melt adhesives for substrates such as non-wovens, yarns, strength members and shielding tapes.

  The business, the release said, was acquired for $71,382,000, net of cash acquired, pending any working capital adjustments and excluding acquisition-related costs. As part of the deal, Chase acquired the business equity and entered into multiyear leases at both locations.  

“This is a highly complementary acquisition for Chase Corporation which leverages our existing channels to industrial markets and allows us to deliver more value to our customers,” said Chase President and CEO Adam P. Chase. “Zappa Stewart’s proven protective materials technology is a great fit with our core strategy and extends our reach into growing medical and consumer applications. Their North Carolina operations will broaden our capabilities, and will add two facilities near the three we already have in the region. The new technologies and additional management talent will enhance our cross-functional operating model, creating logical synergies and value-creation opportunities.”

  Chase Corporation will continue to manufacture and market under the Zappa Stewart brands and locations, with plans to integrate Zappa Stewart into its ERP platform in the coming months to further enhance existing operational, development and engineering expertise.

Published in Industry News

U.S.-based Banker Wire, reports that it has bought property just two miles from its current location in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, where it will build a new, larger plant.

  A press release said that the company, which manufactures woven and welded wire mesh for architectural and industrial applications, had to take action for its future. “As we’ve grown and evolved, we reached a point where we had to decide whether we should add on to our current facility or build a new one,” said Banker Wire President Dave Stout. “In the end, we decided to push forward into a new facility. My goal is to build the best, most efficient wire mesh manufacturing location in the world.”

  Stout said that the company has gone this route before. In 2009, after acquiring a new building and 20 acres of land, Banker Wire relocated from Muskego to its present location in Mukwonago. In 2012, the company added a 50,000-sq-ft addition that expanded the facility to a total of 152,000 sq ft. The new site, which will be 182,000 sq ft, “will give us the opportunity to gain efficiency and tailor the overall layout in a way that will enhance the work environment for our employees,” he said.

  Banker Wire notes that the company has an extensive history in the greater Milwaukee area. Established by Charles Banker in 1896 as C.I. Banker Wire & Iron Works, the company flourished in Milwaukee as one of many by the mid 1970s, it transitioned from a reselling operation to a manufacturer. Today, it supplies pre-crimped woven or welded wire mesh. The new location will  include a new wire mesh welder that it said “will be the widest wire mesh machine in the United States.”
 
  Banker Wire, which has 135 employees, plans to hire more staff with the addition of the new welder. The new facility is expected to be fully operational by March 2019.

Published in Industry News

 The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced that it is investigating claims that Mexico’s Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V. (Deacero) is shipping narrow gauge wire rod to the U.S. to circumvent an existing antidumping duty (AD) order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod.

  Per a report in the Federal Register, on Oct. 27, 2017, Nucor claimed that Deaceri was shipping wire rod less than 4.45 mm in diameter to avoid existing orders. “After analyzing the information in the Circumvention Allegation and Supplemental Circumvention Allegation, we determine that Nucor has satisfied the criteria listed above to warrant an initiation of a formal anti-circumvention inquiry,” it said. In 2012 ruling, the Department found that wire rod (4.75 mm to 5.00 mm) produced in Mexico and exported to the U.S. by Deacero did circumventing an existing AD order on wire rod from Mexico.

  In another report, Nucor was cited as saying that that Deacero was “engaging in gamesmanship, altering its wire rod in minor respects by further reducing the diameter of its wire rod by a mere 0.35 mm solely to circumvent the (AD) Order.”  Nucor further asserts that Commerce should “find that all wire rod regardless of minimum diameter that otherwise satisfies the scope definition of wire rod and produced by Deacero is . . . subject to the Order.”

Published in Industry News

An epic Canadian project that took nearly four years of engineering, manufacturing, installation and testing has been completed, and Nexans reports that it has completed its contract to supply the longest submarine power cables in North America.

A press release said that the two 200 kV mass impregnated (MI) HVDC cables, each 170-km long and weighing approximately 5,500 tons, are part of the Maritime Link Project conducted by NSP Maritime Link Inc. (NSPML), an indirect subsidiary of Emera Inc. The 175 million euro contract also includes some 50 km of overland transmission cables in Nova Scotia and close to another 300 km cables of overland transmission on the island of Newfoundland. The cables were manufactured at Nexans’ factories in Halden, Norway, and in Futtsu, Japan.

Nexans installed the submarine cables in the Cabot Strait to a depth of approximately 470 meters, protecting them on the seabed and electrically interconnecting the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time. The final high-voltage tests were successfully conducted on the link in September 2017.

“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting project and we are happy to have completed the installation of these two submarine cables, the longest in Northern America, after almost 600,000 hours of designing, manufacturing and laying works,” said Nexans Project Manager Geir Korstad. “This success is undoubtedly the result of hard work and dedication of our highly-competent Nexans teams as well as the seamless cooperation with NSPML and our partners.”

The release described the Maritime Link Project as a new 500 MW (+/- 200 kV) HVDC interconnection that consists of converter stations and associated high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) switchyards as well as two HVDC transmission lines, a 230 kV HVAC transmission line, and associated infrastructure. The Maritime Link Project began in 2011. The project, it said, is part of efforts for Canada, which gets two-thirds of its electricity from renewable resources, to reduce its coal emissions by 50% by 2030. It will also enable Nova Scotia to meet regulations requiring 40% renewable energy by 2020.

Published in Industry News

TE SubCom and the Samoa Submarine Cable Company (SSCC) announced that a new submarine cable depot will be built in the Port of Apia, Samoa to service and maintain more than 20 cable systems in the South Pacific region.

In 2017, TE SubCom was awarded the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement (SPMMA), a five-year service agreement between it and 15 cable operators in the region, a press release said. The new depot, to be owned by TE SubCom, will help the company “support and maintain the more than 51,000 km of telecom and power cable systems in the area, as well as support regional installation activities. The SPMMA area covers the South Pacific region from Singapore in the west to Tahiti in the east and from the southernmost point of New Zealand to Hawaii in the north.

Published in Industry News
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