Plans for a new submarine cable plant announced by Egypt’s Elsewedy Electric represents not just a Middle East first for the cable manufacturer, it represents the initial investment in ambitious plans to make West Damietta Industrial City—located on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea—“a regional industrial powerhouse.”

Per reports in multiple publications, including Daily News Egypt, The Middle East Observer and Arab Finance, Elsewedy Electric plans to invest $500 million in the proposed submarine cable plant. It will be the first such plant in the Middle East, and only the sixth such one in the world.

Among those at the signing ceremony with port and government officials were Mohamed El-Qamash, CEO of Infrastructure Investments at Elsewedy Electric, Ahmed Elsewedy, CEO and Managing Director of Elsewedy Electric, and Amr El-Sawaf, General Manager of Egytech Cables. This initiative is part of the government’s comprehensive plan, led by the Ministries of Industry and Transport, to improve infrastructure and upgrade ports, bolstering Egypt’s competitiveness.

The Elsewedy deal, described as the first major investment in the West Damietta Industrial City, will strengthen Egypt’s role as a regional hub for energy transmission and advanced industries by manufacturing submarine cables that connect continents. The design of the factory calls for it to include one of the world’s tallest submarine cable manufacturing towers, exceeding 180 meters in height. Of note, 100% of its output will be exported.

The West Damietta Industrial Zone is part of New Damietta, which was established in 1980 and hosts the industrial zone adjacent to Damietta Port, a strategic location for trade and logistics. The factory itself will span 500,000 sq m within a larger 6 million-sq-m integrated industrial and logistics zone. The West Damietta Industrial Zone is approximately 15 km west of Damietta City, near the New Damietta Port.

Beyond the cable plant, Elsewedy Electric, through its subsidiary ElSewedy Industrial Development, is leading the planning and infrastructure development of the entire zone. Mohamed El-Qamash, CEO of ElSewedy Industrial Development, described the project as a groundbreaking model for industrial zone development.

SubCom has been awarded the design, manufacture, and installation of the MANTA system, a new subsea telecom cable system that will connect Mexico and the U.S. with Central and Latin America.

A press release said that Sparkle, Gold Data and Liberty Networks are the partners behind MANTA, which plans to improve traffic flow in the region by providing high bandwidth, low-latency routes interconnecting major data hubs in Mexico City, Queretaro, Bogota, and Panama City with the U.S. using new landing access points in Veracruz, Mexico, and San Blas, Florida.

SubCom will manufacture the fiber optic cable and other optical components for the MANTA system at its campus in Newington, New Hampshire, using open cable specifications that support up to 22 Tb/s per fiber pair (FP). All three consortium partners will access the northern portion of MANTA, connecting the U.S. to Mexico, and Sparkle will join Liberty Networks on the southern portion, accessing Panama and Colombia. MANTA, which will be approximately 5,400 km in length, consists of an up to 18 FP repeatered trunk segment.

“SubCom is honored to supply and deploy MANTA, which will provide a new reliable and resilient data route to a region that is seeing consistent demand for improved connectivity,” said SubCom CEO David Coughlan. “We look forward to delivering on the vision of the partners and making MANTA a reality.”

The weather may not have been overly obliging, but the New England Chapter’s Feb. 6 annual meeting and dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by the WAI chapter members who gathered at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The chapter welcomed its new president for 2025, Annaliese Sviokla, Gem Gravure, and thanked its 2024 president, Ryan Carbray, Alphagary, for a job well done. Also recognized were new board members David Roberge, Sjogren Industries Inc.; Sean Donnelly, Kinrei of America LLC; and Shawn Stavely, Gendon Polymer Services Inc.

Sviokla said that she was honored to head the chapter and pledged to carry on Carbray’s good work. She also thanked multiple people, including a friend and past chapter president, Lori Parent, and multiple Gem colleagues. That included President Paul Gemelli, who she said gave her every opportunity to succeed. “At our board meeting earlier today, it was joked that in the wire industry, when you’re in, you’re in. And after 17 years of wire and cable, I’m happy to say that’s fine with me because there’s truly no place I’d rather be.”

Carbray traced the highlights on 2024, which included the 30th Annual Golf Tournament, the largest to date with more than 160 golfers and attendees; the awarding of three college scholarships for $2,500 each; and the November tour of ACCEL International’s wire drawing plant in Cheshire, Connecticut; as well as last year’s annual meeting. “We owe a great deal of thanks to all of you who support these events. All the money raised directly supports the scholarship fund and allows us to continue providing these awards. Please give yourselves a round of applause,” he said.

The keynote speaker, Ramon Peralta of Peralta Design, proved to be remarkable. His discussion that covered multiple considerations of employee engagement was well received, as was the overall event. “Despite some snowy weather in Connecticut, the WAI NE Chapter Annual Meeting was a big success,” said Paul Gemelli. “I continue to be impressed with the quality of this annual event.  It was an excellent night of networking in a great venue with many industry leaders and professionals. Mr. Peralta’s presentation was very relevant and informative for me and my colleagues. Thanks to WAI for a terrific event!” 

Over the past 20 years, ACIMAF, IWMA and the WAI have produced numerous technical conferences throughout Europe. This time, they are being joined by Poland’s AGH University (AGH) to put on an event that will be held in Kraków, Poland, on Oct. 14, 2025.

The deadline for an abstract submission form is March 31, 2025. The form can be accessed online at BIT.LY/WAIABSTRACTS.

The Kraków location is most fitting as multiple members of WAI’s Poland Chapter have presented technical articles. A public university in Kraków, Poland, that was founded in 1913, AGH focuses on innovative technologies, and its research includes engineering disciplines, exact sciences, earth sciences and social sciences. Wire production is part of its scope.

WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll credits RichardApex’s Don Neville—who recently completed his term as chairman of U.K.-based International Wire Machinery Association (IWMA)—for encouraging a collaboration with AGH. That led to support from AGH Dean Tadeusz Knych, the 2015 winner of WAI’s Mordica Award and a long-time member of the WAI Poland Chapter, and Dr. Beata Smyrak, an AGH professor. “The group is working well together and of course, it is a pleasure to have a chance to work more closely with genuine supporters.”

Professor Jerzy Lis, the rector of AGH, is also supporting the one-day event that will see concurrent ferrous and electrical tracks as well as tabletops.

Attendees will be presented an in-depth view of the manufacturing advances in wire and cable research, operations and production. While some presentations have already been secured, the issued call for papers is for ferrous and nonferrous topics

On Feb. 10th, The Wire Association International (WAI) launched its new online training platform, the WAI Education Center, a resource designed to support the professional growth of the wire and cable industry.

The early reviews of this innovative platform that provides on-demand access to expert-instructed courses covering essential industry topics have all been positive. The series makes it easier than ever for professionals to expand their knowledge and enhance their skills at their own pace. From foundational principles to advanced technical concepts, WAI’s training platform is built to meet the evolving needs of the industry. New courses on various subjects will be regularly released throughout 2025.

Attendees at Interwire 2025 will have multiple opportunities to explore WAI’s new educational content and learn how it can benefit them individually or their company at large. Visit WAI’s Resource Center & Member Lounge on the show floor to see the platform in action, ask questions, and discover a solution for workforce development specific to wire and cable manufacturing.

Finally, if you are at Interwire, don’t miss the final conference session on Thursday from 1:30 to 2:00 pm in the WAI Theater, where WAI’s Manager of Education, John Markowski will present “Empowering Industry Growth: Unlocking the Potential of WAI’s Education Center and Training Platform.” This session won’t just highlight WAI’s new training content—it will also emphasize the importance of having a structured training program in place. Whether a company lacks an existing training program or needs more comprehensive materials, WAI can be a valuable resource for onboarding new employees and upskilling the current workforce through continuing education.

Join us at Interwire to see how WAI’s latest initiative is driving industry education forward and empowering