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Taihan Cable reports that its South African subsidiary has won power cable contract

M-TEC, the South African subsidiary of Taihan Cable & Solution (TC&S), has secured a significant power grid supply project valued at approximately $38 million.

A press release said that the project, commissioned by South Africa’s state-owned power company Eskom, calls for both medium- and low-voltage cables and overhead lines. This project is part of a larger effort to stabilize and modernize South Africa’s power infrastructure.

M-TEC, established as a joint venture by TC&S in 2000, has been expanding its footprint in the South African market by securing various projects. Last year, the company achieved record sales of approximately $85.1 million), an increase of over 33% compared to the previous year, and its operating profit also doubled. Those achievements underscore M-TEC’s growing influence and capability in the region.

Eskom’s long-term plan to replace outdated power facilities and improve transmission efficiency aligns with M-TEC’s strategic goals. The utility company plays a critical role in South Africa’s energy sector but faces challenges such as aging infrastructure and frequent power outages known as load shedding. These issues have prompted significant investments in infrastructure projects like the one secured by M-TEC.

The recent contract with Eskom positions M-TEC to participate in future bids for medium and long-term projects, potentially increasing its order volume. TC&S views M-TEC as a strategic base for entering the broader African market. The company’s investment in expanding medium and low voltage cable production facilities began in the second half of 2023 and is expected to be completed in the first half of this year, aiming for sustained growth.

The release noted that South Africa is the largest economy in Africa, with a well-established financial and industrial infrastructure. Investments in power and infrastructure have been increasing, and M-TEC will seek to leverage its local production base, contract achievements and local network to become a supply hub for power infrastructure across Africa.

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Custom Wire Products acquires Little Falls Alloys, has ambitious plans for company

Custom Wire Products (CWP) has acquired Little Falls Alloys (LFA), a wire manufacturer based in Paterson, New Jersey, that specializes in nonferrous copper-based alloys.

A press release said that LFA’s 30,000-sq-ft facility in Paterson will continue to operate under its established name. The company provides custom redraw and electroplating of wire. “The strategic acquisition enhances CWP’s production capacity, broadens its collective product offerings, and reinforces its commitment to delivering superior service to customers.”

Per the LFA website, the company stocks raw material to be drawn and its plating department can process most precious metals as well as copper and nickel. The company pioneered the production of beryllium wire in the 1940s. Many customers use its wire to make springs of all sizes and designs. Other sectors it serves include the automotive, aviation, telecom and medical device industries. CWP makes custom wire and cable.

“Over the past 80 years, Little Falls Alloys built a strong reputation for excellence and reliability,” said CWP President Jeff Lawrence. “We are excited to bring that legacy into the CWP family and leverage our strengths to provide even greater value to our customers. With Paterson as our core manufacturing hub, we are primed to scale faster, improve production efficiencies, and raise the bar on what we deliver to our customers.”

Lawrence said that the multi-million-dollar acquisition will be complemented by a significant investment aimed at driving long-term growth and impacting improvements across the business

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LS Eco Energy moves headquarters in South Korea, exploring possible plant in Vietnam

LS Eco Energy is relocating its headquarters from Seoul to Donghae City, Gangwon State, to further its foothold in the global renewable energy market, and that focus could also lead the business—part of LS Cable & System—to establishing a manufacturing presence in Vietnam.

Per a report in BusinessKorea, the decision was approved at an April 3 board meeting to accelerate the company’s expansion into the submarine cable business, a critical component of offshore wind power infrastructure. The new headquarters will be situated at the Donghae facility of LS Cable & System, which specializes in producing submarine and industrial cables.

The relocation to the base for LS Cable & System will make it easier for the two companies to collaborate in cable design, joint project bidding and related production activities. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables are particularly crucial for long-distance transmission due to their efficiency. The global submarine cable market is poised for substantial growth, projected to increase from $4.9 billion in 2022 to $21.7 billion by 2029, according to market research firm CRU.

In February, LS Eco Energy officials engaged in discussions with Nguyen Hong Dien, Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, and state-owned enterprises like PetroVietnam during their visit to Korea. These talks focused on potential cooperation in transmitting power from Vietnam’s offshore wind farms to Singapore. The company is considering joint participation with LS Marine Solutions in this ambitious project. LS Cable & System is also discussing possible options with PTS—a subsidiary of the PetroVietnam Group—for establishing submarine cable production facilities in Vietnam.

On March 26, LS Eco Energy amended its articles of association during a shareholders’ meeting to include offshore wind and energy-related businesses. This could help the company expand its portfolio in response to policy trends such as the Special Act on Offshore Wind Power and initiatives like the West Coast Energy Highway.

CEO Lee Sang-ho described Southeast Asia as a strategically important renewable energy hub. “As Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, emerges as a renewable energy hub, submarine cables are gaining attention as key infrastructure. We will accelerate our entry into the global market with the relocation of our headquarters.”

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Orient Cable wins 2 contracts that include records for offshore wind farm projects

China’s Orient Cable (NBO) has reported two offshore power cable contracts, including one that it says sets an industry record for an extra-high-voltage offshore route.

NBO, which was part of a consortium with partner China Southern Power Grid, said that the project developed by Energy China calls for a 500 kV 2500 mm subsea cable system that can provide 2 GW transmission capacity. The route length is approximately 118 km, which the company notes sets a record for longest offshore distance.

“This achievement further builds on our legacy and long-lasted R&D investment ... (and can) be considered as another base to standardize 500 kV HVDC OWF technology,” the release said. The project marks “a critical step in China’s renewable energy revolution and highlights the NBO’s unmatched engineering expertise in extra high-voltage, long-length and high-performance cable systems.”

The contract follows a prior related order for a 500 kV extra high-voltage AC (EHVAC) offshore wind subsea cable for a 92-km-long cable route. The project will have a transmission capacity of 1 GW for a project in Guangdong Province, China, developed by Energy China. That project was valued at over €240M, including the two circuits 60 km 500 kV three-core export cables.

“This innovative 500 kV subsea cable is the first (such)commercial application for the offshore wind farm in the world,” the release said. This is another key milestone for Orient Cable in the high-end EHVAC power transmission technology following the successful delivery of 500 kV 1 x 1800 mm subsea cable project 500 kV HVAC interconnection project for China state grid in 2019.

In January, Orient Cable (NBO) was named as one of the suppliers to Ørsted and PGE’s 1.5 GW Baltica 2 offshore wind farm in Poland. Orient Cable will deliver 170 km of 66 kV inter-array cables for the Polish offshore wind project.

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Tri Star Metals to buy Siri Wire

Tri Star Metals, LLC, a U.S.-based stainless and nickel alloy mill and distributor, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Siri Wire, which is based in Danielson, Connecticut.

A press release said that Siri Wire, a well-established regional stainless and nickel alloy re-draw mill with strong distribution capabilities, will continue to operate as an independent mill and distributor, led by Bryan and David Hitchcock. Bryan Hitchcock will remain president of Siri Wire and will join the Tri Star Metals Executive Committee.

The addition of Siri Wire will expand the capabilities of Tri Star Metals’ metallurgical, engineering, production, and IT teams, both for operational efficiencies and innovation. Both Siri Wire and Tri Star Metals will benefit from an expanded portfolio of products and sizes, leveraging each company’s manufacturing strengths. Further, significant capital expenditures will be allocated to implement advanced efficiencies and technologies developed at Tri Star Metals, improving product quality and performance. “This acquisition continues the tradition of integrating family-run businesses into the Bender Wire Group.”

“We are very pleased to welcome the Siri Wire team into our family,” said Jay Mandel, President and CEO of Tri Star Metals. “This strategic combination of manufacturing and distribution within the U.S. will enable us to better serve both TSM and Siri Wire’s customers. We have known the Hitchcock family for over 20 years and have always been impressed with their leadership and stewardship of Siri Wire.”

“Both my father and I are excited to join Tri Star Metals and the Bender Wire Group,” said Bryan Hitchcock, President of Siri Wire. “This partnership allows us to offer greater engineering and metallurgical support to our customers while expanding our product offerings throughout the region. Additionally, we look forward to growing our manufacturing operations and providing more opportunities for our dedicated workforce.”

“We are excited to welcome the team from Siri Wire into the Bender Wire Group,” said Ingo Bender, CEO of Bender Wire Group. “The American market has been an important part of our long-term global strategy to establish superior manufacturing and distribution capabilities near the core markets they serve.”

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LS Eco Energy wins contract to supply power cable for Philippines wind farm

LS Eco Energy, a Vietnam-based cable manufacturer under Korea’s LS Cable & System, announced that it will supply power cables for a $150 million wind farm project in the Philippines.

Per a report in The Korea Herald and other publications, the company’s Vietnamese subsidiary, LS-VINA, will supply medium- and low-voltage cables for the Kalayaan 2 wind farm, a 100-megawatt project located in Laguna province, about 100 m southeast of Manila. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the wind farm is expected to provide clean energy to up to 85,000 households.

“As the Philippine government aims to raise its renewable energy share to 50 percent by 2040, large-scale solar and wind projects are actively underway, with increasing involvement from private businesses,” said an LS official.

As the largest power cable manufacturer in Vietnam, LS Eco Energy is accelerating its expansion beyond national borders. In early March, the company secured a contract to supply power cables for the Philippines’ largest internet data center, the STT Fairview Campus.

It is also in negotiations for a cross-border renewable energy project that will supply Singapore with energy generated in other Southeast Asian nations, the company said. Citing growing regional demand for power infrastructure fueled by renewable energy development, LS Eco Energy plans to actively expand its involvement in major clean energy projects across Southeast Asia.

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Nexans secures major cable project, is taking part in a European research project

Nexans, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of cable systems and services, has secured a major framework agreement with RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Electricité), France’s Transmission System Operator, that calls for the supply, installation, and commissioning of some 730 km of HVDC cable.

A press release said that the project will require 450 km of subsea cables and 280 km of onshore cables to support the connection of three offshore wind farms: the Center Manche 1 & 2 and Oléron, to the French transmission network. The value of the agreement was said to top

€1 billion, depending on the final quantities to be agreed upon and the subcontractors to be appointed during the next phase leading to the signature of each EPCI contract.

This landmark agreement with RTE reinforces Nexans’ role in the energy transition in Europe, said Nexans CEO Christopher Guérin. “By delivering state-of-the-art transmission solutions, we are not only supporting France’s ambitious offshore wind targets but also strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the power grid.”

In other news, Nexans reported that the company will participate as a partner in the Shift2DC project, a winner of the Horizon Europe program for research and innovation.

The Shift2Dc project aims to accelerate the adoption of Direct Current (DC) technology in both medium- and low-voltage electrical systems. By enhancing efficiency and sustainability, the initiative seeks to modernize energy distribution while ensuring the reliability of key components, such as cables, converters, micro-converters, measurement devices, and switching equipment.

Nexans’ participation in the Shift2DC project represents a major opportunity to develop cables suited for DC installations, particularly for future buildings. These solutions will incorporate advanced functionalities to ensure safety and optimal interaction with the grid.

Through R&D and pilot project experiments, Nexans is committed to designing high-performance, sustainable DC cables. This development relies on a strategic selection of polymers and formulations, optimized transit capacity management, and an eco-design approach considering conductor selection, product size, and recyclability. The objective is to optimize cable lifecycle while integrating innovations that facilitate installation and rapid on-site connections.

The first prototypes, intended for qualification phases, will be produced at the Grimsås pilot plant in Sweden. Nexans will assess the performance of the new DC cables, followed by real-world testing in pilot projects.

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Norwegian company to invest $156 million to expand its production of aluminum wire

Norwegian aluminum producer Nork Hydro ASA (Hydro) announced that it plans to invest approximately $156 million in a new facility at its aluminum smelter in Karmoy, Norway, to supply aluminum wire for power cables in Europe.

A wire story said that the new wire rod casthouse in Karmoy will have a capacity of 110,000 metric tons per year, Hydro said in a statement. “By expanding the capacity to deliver low-carbon aluminum from Norway to the EU, we help ensure that the infrastructure, the very backbone of the future energy system, supports both Europe’s security and climate policy goals,” Hydro CEO Eivind Kallevik said.

Per the company’s website, Hydro has operations in some 50 countries and accounts for 40% of the aluminum produced in Europe.

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TKF wins contract to supply 130 km of cable and accessories for offshore wind farm

Twentsche Kabelfabriek BV (TKF) reports that it has signed a contract to supply Luxcara with the cable it needs for the Waterkant offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.

A press release from the Dutch company said that TKF will be responsible for the 66 kV inter-array aluminum core cables and accessories, totaling 130 km. The supply scope includes the engineering, manufacturing, testing, and delivery of the inter-array cables and corresponding accessories needed for Waterkant offshore installations and Amprion’s converter platform.

The subsea cables will be produced in TKF’s carbon-neutral factory in Eemshaven, the Netherlands. The Waterkant offshore wind farm will be built on site N-6.7, located in the German Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). The site is located next to a cluster of existing offshore wind farms approximately 90 km from the island of Borkum.

Luxcara, described as an independent German asset manager for clean energy infrastructure projects, has chosen 16 of the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbines. The maker, Ming Yang Smart Energy, notes that each turbine to be installed will have 18.5 MW capacity.

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New Prysmian cable-laying vessel at work on its 1st project, a U.S. offshore wind farm

Prysmian reported that loading of submarine cable for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project onto its new ship, the Monna Lisa, at the company’s Arco Felice plant in Italy.

A press release said that the keel-laying ceremony for the Monna Lisa—a sister vessel to Leonardo da Vinci—had been held in Tulcea, Romania, in April 2023, to mark the start of construction, which took around 24 months. VARD launched the 171-meter vessel at the beginning of June 2024, after completing steel cutting, keel laying, generator installation, and hull erection. The CLV then began its journey of 4,000 nautical miles from Romania to Norway, towed down the Danube River, across the Mediterranean Sea, and up the coast of Portugal and Spain to VARD’s shipyard in Søvik to undertake final fit-out and trials.

Prysmian reported on February 6 that the vessel had joined its fleet. The company is providing three three-core 220 kV HVAC export cables measuring approximately 62 km, with XLPE insulation and single-wire armoring, for a total of approximately 560 km, while DEME is in charge of overseeing the complete offshore installation works for the foundations, substations, infield cables, and part of the export cables.

The 2.6 GW CVOW project will feature 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines and will become the biggest U.S. offshore wind farm once in operation. In February, Dominion Energy revealed that the wind farm was approximately 50% complete and remains on track for on-time completion at the end of 2026.

Regarding issues of wind energy project permits, the CVOW project had been approved. However, the status of other such projects was not clear.

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Essex Solutions adds 2 production lines for winding wire, predicts big growth to come

Essex Solutions has seen substantial growth in demand for special winding wire that has propelled the U.S. subsidiary of LS Group to record impressive growth in its transformer wire sector, with an average annual growth rate of 11% in North America and 8% in Europe over the past four years, and much more than that by 2028.

Per multiple media reports, Essex Solutions sees continued strong demand for transformers driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the replacement cycle for approximately 70% of transformers in the United States. In response, Essex Solutions is operating its production lines at its Canadian and Italian plants at full capacity.

Essex Solutions also recently added two production lines to its North American manufacturing facilities, aiming to expand its production capacity from the current 3,500 tons to 8,500 tons by 2030, marking a 143% increase. Similarly, its European plant plans to boost production capacity from 11 thousand tons to a maximum of 15 thousand tons through improved operational efficiency and the replacement of outdated equipment.

The company’s expansion strategy is a response to continuous demand growth in North American and European markets. It expects to grow from the current 19% and 28% rates to 50% and 35%, respectively, by 2028. “We will solidify our position in the global market, including North America and Europe, by actively responding to diverse customer needs based on innovations in transformer winding wire manufacturing technology and efficient facility investments,” the release said.

The special winding wire industry for transformers typically operates by securing orders for production in three to six-month intervals. However, currently extending delivery times beyond two years due to a supply shortage—a situation expected to persist until 2030—this supply-demand imbalance is anticipated to drive rapid sales growth due to increased demand.

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Prysmian forms partnership with Dow to further advance its award-winning cable

Prysmian has formed a partnership with Dow to advance the production of the company’s Sirocco® microduct cables that uses Dow’s AXELERON™ telecom cable compound.

A press release explained that the partnership will help Prysmian achieve its goals. “Through our partnership with Dow, we’re able to evolve and improve on our product lines continuously, helping our customers achieve solutions that are not only environmentally conscious but better for their bottom line,” said Patrick Jacobi, vice president for telecom at Prysmian North America.

AXELERON is a black, UV-stabilized HDPE cable jacket material designed for power and telecom applications and ensures a low coefficient of friction (COF) and extremely low shrinkage. This enables an extremely high fiber count in smaller diameter cables and increases cable installation efficiency offering excellent toughness, weather resistance, and high-speed extrusion processing.

Of note, Dow’s AXELERON cable compound and Prysmian’s Sirocco microduct cable were recognized as a winning co-development technology in the 2024 R&D 100 Awards in the Mechanical/Materials category. The program identifies and celebrates the top 100 revolutionary technologies of the year and is considered a prestigious award in the research and development communities.

To facilitate the growing need for Sirocco cables in the U.S., Prysmian has made significant investments across its North American footprint, including a $30 million investment in its factory in Jackson, Tennessee. The site has been retooled from producing legacy copper to fiber optic cable production. A $50 million multi-year modernization project at Prysmian’s Claremont fiber facility has also enhanced process capabilities, systems and technologies to support future growth.

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Last modified on April 30, 2025

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