Italy’s Danieli reports that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Steel Arkan for a carbon reduction project for its plant in Abu Dhabi.

A press release said that Emirates Steel Arkan wants to advance further toward carbon footprint reduction and is studying the possibility of installing an e-PGH (electrical Process Gas Heater) at the DRI plant. The company operates two low-emission minimills for long products that include wire rod using Energiron DRI technology and Hytemp pneumatic charging for hot DRI up to 600°C into the EAF.

The MoU was signed by Saeed Alghafri, CEO of Emirates Steel Arkan, and Rolando Paolone, CEO and CTO of Danieli, who met at Danieli’s headquarters in Italy. “This partnership marks a significant step forward in our commitment to innovation and technological excellence,” Alghafri said.

Emirates Steel Arkan is the UAE’s largest steel and building materials manufacturer. It is a leading wire rod producer in the GCC, with annual capacity of 550,000 mt at its high-speed wire rod mill that can produce 110 m of carbon steel wire rod per second.

A U.S. jury has awarded Prysmian $96,500,000 in damages from Sterlite Technologies, Inc., a business of India’s Sterlite Technologies Lt. (STL), for violations of trade secrets related to a former Prysmian executive who joined the company.

A press release said that on Aug. 6, at the end of a three-week trial, a U.S. District Court jury in Columbia, South Carolina, found in favor of Prysmian. Sterlite and Szymanski had denied wrong-doing.

In its June 2021 lawsuit, Prysmian had accused a former key executive, Stephen Szymanski, of providing Prysmian’s trade secrets to STL. The jury also awarded Prysmian $200,000 from Szymanski, who ran the company’s optical fiber cable business in North America before going to Sterlite, a direct competitor, in August 2020.

“At trial, Prysmian ultimately proved that Sterlite had taken thousands and thousands of pages of Prysmian’s confidential information and trade secrets,” the release said, noting that those included information about Prysmian’s customers, newest products and plans to expand its manufacturing plants. “Much of the information was found in the possession of not just Szymanski and Sterlite, but also in the possession of executives at Sterlite’s global headquarters in Pune, India.”

“This case came down to the basic principle of right versus wrong, and we are pleased that the jury came to this decision,” said Prysmian North America CEO Andrea Pirondini. “We will not stand still when it comes to defending our confidential information and trade secrets, competing fairly in the marketplace, and doing right by our customers.”

“Prysmian has a longstanding reputation for our quality products and our commitment to delivering innovative solutions in the telecommunications space,” said Patrick Jacobi, Prysmian North America Telecom senior vice president. “Securing a win in this case is a step in the right direction.”

On Sept. 16, 2023, STL, which is active in more than 150 countries, inaugurated its first U.S. cable manufacturing plant in Lugoff, South Carolina. Its focus is high fiber count cables with small diameters.  

In an STL statement, Managing Director Ankit Agarwal said that the company remains committed to serving customers in America. “We do not intend for this verdict to interrupt our plans to grow our U.S. presence. As a company, we uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity.

We believe the verdict is not supported by the testimony and evidence presented at the trial and intend to appeal and vigorously pursue all available post-trial remedies.”

The Hengtong Group reports that one of its business units (Hengtong) has won the contract to supply 66 kV submarine cables project for the Landsnet project in Iceland.

Per its posting at LinkedIn, Hengtong will provide comprehensive services for the project, including design, supply, installation and testing of the three (3) submarine cable circuits. Scheduled for completion next summer, the new lines will greatly improve the safety of power transmission in that area.

“The award of this project marks a significant step in Hengtong’s strategic expansion within the Nordic and broader European energy markets,” said John Xu, the head of Hengtong Submarine Cable’s International Business Division. “We are eager to collaborate closely with Landsnet to enhance the security and efficiency of Iceland’s electricity transmission and grid infrastructure.”

 Hengtong, China’s largest power and fiber optic cable manufacturer, has more than 70 companies and holding companies, 12 manufacturing facilities and nine sales companies based in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Southwire celebrated the grand opening of its Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Customer Service Center (CSC)—located in  an area called AllianceTexas—with some 150 Southwire team members, leaders, community partners and guests gathered on August 22 to cut the ribbon on the company’s newest and largest distribution center.

A press release said that the nearly 1.2 million-sq-ft facility will distribute products for the full suite of Southwire solutions, including business segments such as commercial, residential, utility, industrial and Electrical Products & Engineered Solutions (EP&ES). The Southwire DFW CSC, which is expected to employ 250 team members, offers modernized storage solutions and automated material handling.

The ribbon cutting event featured remarks from Southwire leadership, as well as Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman of Hillwood, the developer behind AllianceTexas, a lunch celebration and tours of the facility.

Per reports, AllianceTexas—a Hillwood development—consists of 27,000 acres and is anchored by the world’s first dedicated industrial airport, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. It is home to 560 companies that have created more than 66,000 direct jobs.

The Prysmian Group announced that it has received a confirmation from Marinus Link Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of the Australian transmission systems operator (TSO) TasNetworks, for a project that will establish a new power interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, Australia.

A press release said that Prysmian had reserved capacity for last year for the project, valued at approximately €300 million. Work will commence with the issuance of a notice to proceed, which is expected by August 2025.

The route will require cable to span 345 km, including 255 km undersea across Bass Strait, and 90 km underground in Gippsland, Victoria. The release said that Prysmian will supply 20 kV single-core cables with XLPE insulation and single-wire armoring, covering both submarine and land sections.

The submarine cables will be produced at Prysmian’s plant in Arco Felice, Italy, and the land cables at either the Prysmian plant in Delft, The Netherlands, or in Gron, France. Installation operations will be delivered by Prysmian’s Leonardo da Vinci. The company will also provide a fully integrated PRY-CAM permanent monitoring system. The completion date is set for 2030.

Belgium’s Cenergy Holdings, which earlier this year announced plans to establish a cable manufacturing facility in Maryland, reports that its U.S. subsidiary, Hellenic Cables Americas, has completed its acquisition of a 38-acre property in Wagner’s Point along the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland.

A press release said the plant will be used to manufacture underwater and underground cables for offshore wind and grid modernization applications. The project was estimated to cost about $300 million.

Of note, the project is being bolstered by Hellenic Cables Americas successfully getting a transferable tax credit from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). An estimated 120 new manufacturing jobs will be created when the factory is fully operational, toward the end of 2026. Hellenic Cable is one of the largest cable producers in Europe, manufacturing power and telecom cables as well as submarine cables.

TT Cable announced that it has opened a subsidiary in Timisoara, Romania—TT Cables S.R.L.— that will join five other subsidiaries that distribute the company’s low-voltage electrical cables in southeast Europe.

At its web site, the company, which was founded in 2007, notes that TT Cables S.R.L. will join its sister subsidiaries. Collectively, they can better “foster stronger relationships with our customers by providing customized support and solutions that meet the unique needs of their market.”

The company, which earlier this year opened a new 20,000-sq-m manufacturing plant in Macedonia, noted that Romania has long been an export market. “This step signifies the next level in our growth strategy as we expand our business with ... two new factories and significantly increasing our capacity and product range. This subsidiary, with our professional staff supported by a local sales team, brings us even closer to our Romanian and neighboring customers.”

TT Cables is based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with its production facilities, on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its other subsidiaries include TT Cables Nordic (Lithuania), TT Kabeli doo Beograd (Serbia), T Kabeli Croatia, TT Cables GmbH Austria and Brodomerkur Energetika Ltd., also in Croatia. The company notes that it has more than 400 employees and markets in 50 countries.

Corning Incorporate and Lumen Technologies announced that they have entered into an agreement that will see Corning provide Lumen with a substantial supply of its next-generation optical cable.

A press release said that the fiber-dense cable will more than double Lumen’s U.S. intercity fiber miles, offering significant capacity to major cloud data centers racing to stay ahead of AI workloads and high bandwidth applications fueled by massive amounts of data. The optical fiber is a key as generative artificial intelligence (AI) requires at least 10 times more fiber connections within data centers, as well as a robust fiber network to transmit information between these data hubs. “With this agreement, Lumen reserves 10% of Corning’s global fiber capacity for each of the next two years.”

Corning Incorporated Chairman and CEO Wendell P. Weeks said that the agreement is good for both companies. “This marks the first outside-plant deployment of Corning’s new gen-AI fiber and cable system, which will enable Lumen to fit anywhere from two-to-four times the amount of fiber into their existing conduit.”

“Lumen is the network that delivers AI. The rise of AI is driving technology companies to quickly secure fiber and bandwidth before their competition,” said Kate Johnson, president and CEO, Lumen Technologies. “With Corning’s innovative solutions, we’re building the backbone of the AI economy. This partnership gives Lumen status as a preferred partner and secures a significant supply of next-generation fiber today and in the future.”

Lumen notes that it has the largest ultra-low-loss intercity fiber network in North America. Its U.S. intercity network includes routes to more than 50 major cities.

“As generative AI increases bandwidth requirements between data centers, we’re pleased to reach an agreement with Lumen Technologies to provide our latest optical fiber and cable innovations to facilitate Lumen’s build of a new network to interconnect AI-enabled data centers.”

To properly power AI with capacity, performance, stability and speed, Lumen is creating a digital platform on top of its physical network allowing cloud-like consumption of network services. Lumen’s Private Connectivity Fabric℠ is a custom network that includes dedicated access to existing fiber in the Lumen network, the installation of new fiber on existing and new routes, and access to Lumen’s digital services.

Gerdau Cosigua has contracted Russula for an electrical and controls upgrade of its rolling mill #2, which will take place in two phases.

A press release said that the scope of the first phase is from the reheat furnace to the laying head. Obsolete drive and control equipment will be upgraded with new drives, PLCs for optimal mill control and an HMI supplied by Russula along with new remote IOs.

Based in A Coruña, Spain, Russula provides electrical and automation solutions for bar, rod and section mills and reheating furnaces, steel making and strip processing lines. The project will use Russula’s artificial vision cameras that optimize shear cutting in the wire rod mill. The AV system measures the shear cuts automatically and adjusts the cut length to minimize metallic losses thus improving mill efficiency.

In June 2024, the kickoff meeting for phase 1 took place on site at the Gerdau Cosigua plant in Santa Cruz, Brazil. The second phase covers the furnace combustion and all the equipment in the coil cooling and handling area is scheduled for 2025.

South Korea’s LS Cable & System reported that one of its subsidiaries has received an order for extra-high voltage cable from Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the Southeast Asian country’s state-owned electricity utility.

A press release said that the cables will be installed in infrastructure projects for Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport and an industrial complex in the northeastern part of the country. LS Eco Energy produces extra-high voltage cables in its Vietnam plant and accounts for 80% of the local cable market. It also exports Vietnamese-made cables to Europe and North America.

LS Cable owns a 67% stake in LS Eco Energy.

EVN notes that the need for power is acute in Vietnam. It reported that increasing national power consumption is straining the resources that must be able to handle intense hot and muggy weather. The National Load Dispatch Center said that on May 28, national power consumption in a single day surpassed 1 billion kWh, and on June 14 its usage set a record peak of 1.02 billion kWh.