Radix Wire has been acquired by High Road Capital, a U.S. private equity fund that has completed 44 such investments in companies based in the U.S. and Canada.

A press release said that the company, which manufactures high-temperature and fire-resistant wire and cable, will now be called Radix Wire & Cable (RWC). Founded in 1944, the company’s brands include Sil-A-Blend®, DuraBlend®, DuraFlex® and the first 550°C UL-listed wire.

South Korea’s LS Cable & System (LSCS) reports that it will join a project in Oman being financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

A press release said that the project, to build a broadband communications network in Oman, is led by its government and state-run mobile operator Oman BroadBand. This marks the first time that the broadband project is being carried out at a national level.
The release said that by 2021, the first stage of the project, worth approximately $178 million, will be completed in key cities, including Muscat, the capital and largest city of Oman. By 2030, the network will be expanded to other cities in the second stage of the project.

Per an AIIB report, the project will roll out a fiber optic network to more than 400,000 homes/premises by the end of 2021. The first phase calls for some 4,100 km of fiber optic cables and some 9,500 km of drop cables. When completed, 80% of Muscat will be fiber-ready for connection with the gigabit-capable optical networks. “The project will improve Oman’s infrastructure in the information and communication technology sector, thereby increasing the attractiveness of Oman as a destination for manufacturing business and strategic logistics services,” it said.

LSCS will lead the design of the communications network, the engineering and supplying fiber optic cables, the release said. It noted that LCSC has carried out large projects near Qatar in the Middle East, with support from related organizations, including bodies such as KOTRA, a South Korean trade organization, and the Korea Information & Communication Contractors Association.

Radix Wire has been acquired by High Road Capital, a U.S. private equity fund that has completed 44 such investments in companies based in the U.S. and Canada.

A press release said that the company, which manufactures high-temperature and fire-resistant wire and cable, will now be called Radix Wire & Cable (RWC). Founded in 1944, the company’s brands include Sil-A-Blend®, DuraBlend®, DuraFlex® and the first 550°C UL-listed wire.

Per the RWC website, it uses cell manufacturing to focus complete production responsibility with specific production teams. Its wire and cable products are used for OEM, maintenance, repair and operations, and fire protection applications, with products proven to perform in temperatures ranging from 150°C to 1000°C.

The release did not cite the selling price, but it did note that High Road Capital typically backs companies with revenues between $10 million and $100 million. “Radix is well positioned for continued growth, and we look forward to supporting the company’s strong management team to execute on those growth strategies,” said Ben Schnakenberg, a partner with High Road Capital.

The release said that Radix President Steve Demko, who along with other members of the management team invested in the transaction, will continue to lead the company. It added that High Road’s investment will allow Radix to expand its product offering and add manufacturing capacity.

A Bahrain project calls for a submarine power cable from its mainland to connect to the Hawar Islands, which are an archipelago of desert islands situated off the west coast of Qatar in the Gulf of Bahrain of the Persian Gulf.

Per media reports, the 25-km power cable will run from Al Bar, the southernmost tip on the island of Bahrain, to north-western Hawar. The goal is to see Hawar get a permanent electricity grid rather than depend on temporary power generators.
Per an on-line posting by Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, a Bahraini deputy prime minister who heads the Ministerial Committee for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Work, the project is scheduled to start in the first half of next year and be completed in the last quarter of 2020. The Electricity and Water Authority has submitted a proposal about the route for the cable.

Bahrain said it was planning to develop sections of Hawar Island, in line with Bahrain’s National Economic Strategy for 2030. The electricity supply needs to be upgraded in order to sustain the development and to meet demands. The project is being funded by the Saudi Fund for Development.

Germany’s Leoni and Diehl have agreed to a strategic partnership covering battery systems for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Leoni is a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries. Diehl is a significant partner to the automotive industry with its innovative solutions for hybrid and electric vehicles. The two companies will in future be working together on energy and data transmission as well as heat management across the entire value creation process. The partnership’s aim is to build on the skills of the two companies and to offer customers system solutions for electromobility from a single source.
Compared with the automotive business as a whole, the market for electrically powered vehicles promises disproportionately strong growth rates averaging more than 30% a year globally through to 2025. Instead of individual components, the carmakers are furthermore increasingly calling for all-in solutions and systems. Leoni and Diehl will be addressing both trends by working together.

“We are confident that we will be offering our customers new, attractive solutions in the growing market for alternative drive systems,” said Martin Stüttem, a member of Leoni AG’s Board of Directors with responsibility for the Wiring Systems Division.
In October, Leoni showcased technologies for autonomous driving at the International Suppliers Fair, where it focused on connectivity, not just for a car, but between vehicles themselves as well as to their surroundings. That requires high rates of data transmission, for which Leoni’s Dacar Ethernet cables offer bidirectional transfer of 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps (Ethernet standard).

Leoni has developed an Ethernet cable design with optimized materials to achieve high conductor symmetry even when exposed to vibration, humidity or dirt. Interference from the outside or mutual impairment of cables running next to each other can thereby be reduced.

Oman Cables announced that earlier this year, it signed a deal with the Nama Group to supply its group members across the Sultanate of Oman.

A press release said that Oman Cables, which has long been a supporter of the Nama Group, will supply electrical utilities a mix of 11-33 Kv electrical cables. The deal was one of three signed by the Group at the 2018 Energy and Water Conference that were said to have a collective value of approximately $106 million.

The contracts run for a period of three years, with the opportunity for a further two-year renewal. "For Oman Cables this represents an ongoing commitment to the local market in Oman and signifies clearly the competitiveness on a global scale of locally based industries."

Nama Group Chairman Hassan bin Mohammed al Lawatiaid said that the deal includes nine group companies that can purchase cables to meet their needs.