Prysmian plans to add two cutting-edge cable-laying vessels to further expand its cable-laying vessel fleet to support the company’s ability to ship and deliver the energy-demand capacity needs.

A press release said that the investment of approximately €350 million for the two new vessels will reinforce Prysmian’s submarine project execution capabilities. “The market is tremendously growing, and we are facing an increasing demand for submarine cable systems for interconnections and offshore wind farm projects both in Europe and in the U.S.,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian Group.

The first vessel will be an evolution of the Monna Lisa class, with a length of about 185 m and a breadth of about 34 m. Its advanced cable installation solutions will include three carousels with total capacity of 19,000 metric tons, among the highest cable-loading capacity vessels in the market. A bollard pull in excess of 180 metric tons will allow the vessel to perform complex installation operations of simultaneous cable lay and burial (up to four cables) with a variety of ploughs. It will have state-of-the-art DP3 positioning and seakeeping systems and will be operational by the beginning of 2027. It will be built by the VARD Group (a subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group), one of the world leaders in the design and construction of specialized vessels for the offshore market.

The other vessel will be the evolution of the Ulisse class, with a length of about 167 m and width of about 40 m. It will have two carousels—one split in two concentric sections—for a total cable loading capacity of 10,000 m tons. The ship will have DP2 positioning and seakeeping systems and an eight-point mooring system will enable the ship to work in shallow-water cable laying and burial installation, even in harsh environmental conditions. The vessel will be operational by the first half of 2025.

Both vessels will have outstanding green credentials: they will be equipped with high-voltage shore connection systems to power them with clean energy during loading operations, diesel generators suitable for biodiesel blends and battery hybrid systems only for the deep-water-vessel, due to its specific activity.

Hengtong, one of China’s largest fiber optic cable manufacturers, recently announced plans to expand its factory in the China-Egypt TEDA zone.

Per multiple news reports, the company plans to invest $18 million to enable it to produce two million km of optic cables annually. The deal was created by an agreement with the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), a government body that oversees such development.

The pact calls for Hengtong to add 21,000 sq m to its factory in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, which is part of SCZONE. The designated zone supports light, medium and heavy manufacturing activities as well as commercial and business activities over an area of 210 km.

The new output will supply cables to Egyptian national projects such as the Decent Life Initiative, as well as the state-owned telecommunication giant, Telecom Egypt. The first phase of Hengtong’s factory in the SCZONE opened in March 2023 with $6 million in investments.

Batelco recently selected SubCom to provide and install a fiber-optic submarine cable for the Al Khaleej Cable that will branch from SEA-ME-WE 6 to extend connectivity from Bahrain to other regional countries.

A press release said that the order from Batelco, a telecom company that is part of the Beyon Group, will significantly enhance the data exchange capabilities of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The 1,400-km-long Al Khaleej Cable that will connect Bahrain to the regional countries of Qatar, UAE and Oman, will substantially boost Batelco’s capabilities and strengthen regional connectivity.”

“We are delighted to partner with SubCom,” said Batelco Chief Global Business Officer Hani Askar. The new subsea cable will create a layer of network diversity and resilience for the heavily used routes connecting the Middle East towards Europe and Asia. Batelco joined the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable consortium in February 2023.

Work on the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable, a 21,700 km-long subsea telecommunications data cable system, began in early 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2025. It is designed to offer one of the lowest latencies available between the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Europe, able to transfer more than 100 terabits per second. All cable and equipment related to both SEA-ME-WE 6 and Al Khaleej will be manufactured by SubCom at its campus in Newington, New Hampshire.

SubCom Project Manager Benoit Duguet said that the company “is already at work manufacturing the cable and equipment necessary to complete one of the more extensive cable projects ever commissioned.”

 Once completed, the cable and equipment for both the SEA-ME-WE 6 and Al Khaleej Cable systems will be deployed by SubCom’s Reliance Class cable ships. The SEA-ME-WE 6 subsea cable connectivity to Bahrain and Al Khaleej Cable is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2026.

Bekaert announced that the company has delivered its first batch of tire reinforcement with third-party certified recycled steel content to Bridgestone Corporation.

A press release said that Bekaert has been paving the way for tire reinforcement with high recycled content that contributes to the circular economy. That steel’s recycled content reduced the company’s CO2 footprint by about 50%.

“There are many claims about circularity of materials in the tire industry, but lack of clear definitions and standards can lead to doubt on the validity of those claims,” said Bekaert’s Heiko Isselee, innovation platform manager for recycled steel. “This third-party certification of both Bekaert and our wire rod supplier enables us to provide our customers with a guarantee of compliance of the recycled content claims based on recognized industry standards.”

The certificate allows customers such as Bridgestone to include the recycled content in the Bekaert products it uses to the tally of recycled content in their tires. Bekaert applies the best available recycled content definitions and traceability of materials. Bekaert’s tire reinforcement has a minimum recycled content of 50% for tire cord and 70% for bead wire. The rigorous processes at the supplier’s wire rod factory and at the Bekaert steel cord plant allow Bekaert to trace the content in the composition and separate this material from others in all steps of production, storage, and transport. Thus, it is guaranteed that the physical content of the steel cord and bead wire supplied to our customers contain the declared amount of recycled steel.

“This successful pilot is the first step toward setting a new industry standard for recycled content in tire reinforcement, and to making certified tire reinforcement with high recycled content available to our customers across the globe,” the release said.

Prysmian reports that it has been awarded a contract worth over €100 million by Petrobras to provide 170 km of deep-water electro-hydraulic umbilicals and related specialized offshore and logistic services.

A press release said that the deal calls for deep-water steel tube and thermoplastic umbilicals. They will be engineered, produced, tested and delivered from 2024-2027 by Prysmian’s offshore specialties site in Vila Velha, Brazil.

“This award confirms the mutual trust and long-standing relationship between Petrobras and Prysmian Group, as it is the latest of several projects developed for the Brazilian energy company,” said Detlev Waimann, CCO Projects Business Unit, Prysmian Group.

The release said that the dedicated Offshore Specialties unit can deliver solutions for the most challenging subsea projects. In recent years, the Group has invested in further expanding its industrial assets in the Vila Velha plant and its logistic delivery options, as well its entire end-to-end value generation process, from the R&D modelling up to offshore services, to better meet customer needs offering technologically advanced cable solutions.

Per a company data sheet, the umbilicals are high pressure hydraulic control hoses made of a nylon extruded liner, reinforced with a polyaramid braid and sheathed with an extruded polyurethane layer. Electrical control cables are insulated and jacketed with SEVEREX high performance compounds. The electrical cable design and performance can meet the most demanding and specific system requirements. The umbilical components are assembled and sheathed with a polymeric extruded layer and then armored with a counter-helix double-layer flat steel wire armor, to virtually eliminate any torsional tendency due to installation/operation stresses and improve the umbilical hydrodynamic stability.

Nexans announced that it has signed two memorandums of understanding with the Moroccan government for a new cable plant in Morocco that would open in 2026.

A press release said that Nexans signed the agreements with the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE).

The project, which calls for a €100 million total investment plan, would be the company’s third plant for medium-voltage cable in Morocco, the others being in Casablanca and Mohammedia. The project is expected to create more than 200 direct jobs and will benefit from the backing of the Moroccan Ministries, the ONEE and the AMDIE. The project will meet the Group’s standards of excellence, in line with its Industry 4.0 digitalization and sustainability goals and will deliver cables to Africa.

“Once again, I commend Morocco’s outstanding leadership in bringing the benefits of sustainable electrification to all,” said Nexans CEO Christopher Guérin. The project is aligned with the desire of King Mohammed VI, the current leader in the region and across Africa, for deployment of renewable energy infrastructure.

The release said that Morocco aims to consolidate the entire industrial ecosystem in the years to come. The described transformative project will strengthen the development of the renewable energy industry value chain in the Kingdom and to promote technical advancement in the local industrial fabric.

Guérin said that he was pleased to see this latest step in the country, where Nexans has been operating for more than 75 years. “This project, bringing together public and private players, sets out to achieve, from the very start, ecological and human commitments, thereby unlocking significant economic potential for all of Africa.”

There was a flurry of activity for much of the wire and cable industry in 2023, as a return to more active times continued, especially for the power sector. In May, WAI returned to Atlanta after a Covid-induced skip cycle, to stage Interwire 2023. It also took to the road once again for international technical conferences, holding not one but two, and announced a new educational initiative. This section looks at some of what transpired during what, overall, should be seen as a good year. Click here for more.

Kevin Boll has been promoted to technical director of Nextrom. He joined the company in 2006 as a lead mechanical engineer, in Finland, for the company’s optical fiber draw department. He progressed to product manager for specialty fiber, while simultaneously holding the position of sales manager for both Europe and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Nextrom, he worked as a mechanical engineer for BAE Systems for four years. He holds a B.S. degree in engineering from Michigan Technological University. Based in Finland, and a business unit of Rosendahl Nextrom GmbH, Nextrom supplies technology for production of optical fiber and fiber optic cables.

Derek Olson has been promoted to sales director of Gem Gravure Co., Inc. He joined the company as a summer job in 1990, and it turned into a career position for him in sales. A reliable and effective representative, he has also been an active member in WAI, serving as president of the New England Chapter in 2017. He replaces the position that was long held by Mark Kristoff, who joined the company in 1994, working from the West Coast of the country. He will continue with Gem Gravure in other duties. Based in Hanover, Massachusetts, Gem Gravure Co. Inc. is a supplier of marking and coding equipment.

Omni Cable reported two hires. Keith Hopkins is vice president of strategic accounts for the Communications Business unit, responsible for leading growth strategies with the largest distributors and manufacturers in the communications enterprise market. He has more than 35 years of experience in the communications industry, with over 33 years of experience in distribution and two years in the data center space. Before OmniCable, he worked for Accu-Tech for 33 years, holding several positions. Carmel Cunningham was named director of business development for the company’s communications business unit, responsible for execution of growth strategies in the industrial automation connectivity end markets. She has 35 years of experience in the communications industry, the last 15 in the industrial sector. Previous employers include CommScope, where she worked for 10 years, and at Belden, where she worked for 15 years. Based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with 18 regional distribution centers, OmniCable is a redistributor of wire and cable, electrical products and value-added services.

Obituary
Edward Planeta, the founder of Acme Wire Products Co., Inc., in Mystic, Connecticut, died Dec. 9, 2023, at age 87. He began his career with Associated Spring in Bristol, Connecticut, then worked as operations manager for the Planeta family business, Artistic Wire Products in Taftville, Connecticut. He founded Acme Wire in 1970 to produce custom fabricated steel and wire component parts for the emerging printer and desktop computer industries. He headed the business until his retirement in 2000. The company is now in its second generation of family ownership, run by Mary Planeta Fitzgerald, Edward Planeta, Jr., and Michael Planeta. Survivors from his two marriages include seven children; five stepchildren; 26 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

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Starting the January 2024 issue, WAI will present profiles on members of different chapters, the goal being to give readers a sense of the chapter experience. The profile is similar to that of the one for new WAI members but meant to focus on the unique attractions of being part of a chapter.

The first one, on the opposite page, is of Derek Olson of Gem Gravure Co. Inc., a member of the New England Chapter. Members of other chapters will be presented in future issues. In addition to the New England Chapter, the Association’s largest one, the WAI has U.S. chapters in the Mid-South, Midwest and Ohio Valley, as well as chapters in Poland, Italy and India.

For more information on joining a chapter, contact Corey Flynn, Member Services Manager, at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

One benefit offered by WAI chapters is that three of them—New England, Southeast and Midwest—each offer college scholarships for sons and daughters of chapter members.

In 2023, the New England Chapter issued six scholarships, each $2,500; the Southeast Chapter issued four scholarship winners, each $1,800; and the Midwest Chapter issued three scholarships, each $1,500.

What’s noteworthy about the collective scholarship programs is that they are very flexible. Also, each chapter funds the program through various events, and event sponsors and chapter members have been very generous in supporting the cause.

For more details, go to the individual chapter page at www.wirenet.org.