Taihan has been awarded a project from Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) for South Korea’s first extra-long continuous underground power grid project.

A press release said that the extra-long continuous cable technology enables the production and installation of cables exceeding 1 km in length in a single stretch, more than doubling the average production length of approximately 500 m previously used in Korea. The technology eliminates the need for intermediate cable joints, allowing a single cable to cover the entire grid section. That capability reduces manufacturing and construction costs, shortens construction timelines and enhances efficiency as well as minimizes the risk of faults, thereby improving the reliability of power supply.

“KOEN adopted this method to catch up with advanced overseas technologies and implement cutting-edge infrastructure domestically,” the release said. Taihan, based in South Korea, will also transport the 345 kV extra high-voltage cables and cable accessories, as well as provide cable installation and electrical construction. The company noted that it had successfully constructed a 400 kV underground power grid, Singapore’s highest voltage level, using cables with lengths of approximately 1.9 km.

In other news, Taihan announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Global Top-Tier Hyosung Group​ for “technical cooperation in the power industry and discovery of new business models.”

A press release said that Taihan will collaborate on the joint development and commercialization of eco-friendly new materials with Hyosung Chemical​. The plan involves developing eco-friendly polypropylene (PP) material, a next-generation cable insulation material, to achieve localization and boost their competitive edge in the global arena. That use enables a simpler cable production process than those made with traditional XLPE-insulation, resulting in cables with effective power transmission that are suitable for HVDC, a key facility for efficient long-distance transmission. Being a thermoplastic resin, the polypropylene cables are recyclable post-use and have minimal CO2 emissions during the production process, a plus in advanced markets like Europe, where carbon neutrality standards are stringent.

Dallas-based private equity firm Crossplane Capital has completed the acquisition of Distributor Wire and Cable (DWC), a distributor of specialty wire and cable products, for an undisclosed price.

A press release said that the company, founded in 2008 in Denver, Colorado, operates from its five warehouse locations nationwide to supply end users across the industrial, commercial, residential and utility markets. “Since founding DWC, we have focused on building a culture of growth and collaboration, and (this partnership) will help us continue that legacy,” said DWC Founder Bryce Huett.

LS Cable & System (LS C&S) has signed a significant contract with TenneT Offshore, the German subsidiary of the Dutch state-owned power company TenneT, for an offshore wind farm project.

A press release said that the contract—valued at 907.3 billion won (approximately $700 million)—is for the TenneT Offshore’s LanWin4 2 GW project. LS C&S will supply ultra-high voltage direct current (HVDC) 525 kV submarine and underground cables as well as provide necessary accessories, perform electrical connection work and conduct on-site testing to ensure the project’s success. The contract will see cable supplied through 2031.

The contract continues LS C&S’s established relationship with TenneT. It had previously been chosen to supply cable for projects that include offshore wind farms in the North Sea of Europe, and others, that were valued significantly more than the latest one.

TenneT, a prominent European electricity transmission system operator, is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the high-voltage grid in the Netherlands and Germany.

Insteel Industries, which recently acquired the assets of Engineered Wire Products (EWP), has closed the EWP plant in Warren, Ohio, and will move production there to other Insteel plants.

A press release said that the Warren plant was part of the company’s recent $70 million asset transaction with EWC through its subsidiary, Insteel Wire Products Co. EWC operates wire drawing, welding and mesh fabrication facilities in upper Sandusky and Warren, Ohio.

The plan is to close the Warren facility, where work has ceased and some 35 positions were eliminated. Production there will be shifted to other Insteel plants. “Given the low capacity utilization levels at our Warren facility and the dim prospects for improvement, we believe this action is essential to reducing our operating costs and strengthening our competitive position” said Insteel CEO President and CEO H. Woltz III. Insteel is the nation’s largest manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. See p. 47 for more details about the company.

Nexans has won a contract from ScottishPower Renewables, part of the Iberdrola Group, to supply the export cable for East Anglia Two (EA2), a 960 MW offshore wind farm in the U.K.

A press release said that Nexans will supply and install approximately 100 km of 275 kV high-voltage subsea export cables and 55 kms of onshore cables. Production of the cable will be done at Nexan plants in Alden, Norway, and Charleroi, Belgium.

Installation work is scheduled to take place in 2027 and 2028, with the project set for completion by the end of 2028. The windfarm is located in the southern North Sea, some 33 km from the Suffolk coast, at its nearest point off Southwold. There are multiple projects involved, including one Nexans also provided the cable for. East Anglia Two, part of the East Anglia Hub, was approved in March 2022 jointly with East Anglia One North. It will host as many as 75 wind turbines. There is also an East Anglia Three. Nexans provided cable for a prior project.

South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions has established a Wire & Cable (W&C) Division, a strategic move aimed at producing high value-added products that will compete in a field that has significant growth potential.

Per multiple media reports, Hanwha Solutions announced that the new division was created by separating its organization from the Polyolefin (PO) Division within Hanwha Solutions’ Chemical Division, which now consists of three divisions: PO, Chemical Engineering (PVC) and W&C.

The company named Carlo Scarlata, former CCO of Prysmian, to lead the new W&C Division. He has more than 20 years of experience in sales and business development with Prysmian. His background includes managing businesses in Europe, U.S., Brazil, China and Australia, and he is expected to play a crucial role in expanding Hanwha Solutions’ presence in overseas markets. 

Madison, Connecticut, USA – Jan. 2, 2025 – The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc. announces the appointment of Eric P Bieberich as the 72nd president of the association for a one-year term that commenced on January 1, 2025. Bieberich will chair the Board of Directors of the 95-year-old association, which is headquartered in Madison, Connecticut, USA.

Bieberich is president of Fort Wayne Wire Die, Inc., Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, a position he has held since 2013. He has 24 years’ experience in the wire industry.

A WAI member since 2001, Bieberich joined the Board of Directors in 2016 and the Executive Committee in 2021. He was the co-chair of WAI’s 2024 Conference Programming Committee, and was executive committee liaison to both the Memorial Awards and Oversight Committees. He holds a B.S. degree in Materials Science Engineering, and an M.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering, both from Purdue University as well as an M.B.A. degree from the University of Michigan.

Commenting on this new appointment, Bieberich said, “I am eager to champion the association’s vision to be the most valued, critical resource for the global wire and cable industry. The Phase One launch of the Education Center is especially exciting, showcasing the dedication and hard work of the association’s volunteers and staff in creating a cutting-edge training resource for the next generation.”

The Wire Association International, Inc. is governed by a network of volunteers from around the globe. Joining Bieberich for the 2025 term are members of the association’s 2025 Executive Committee: First Vice President David M. Fisher, James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp.; Second Vice President Rebecca Cranford, Southwire Co.; Raúl García Martínez, Viakable; and Immediate Past President Daniel Blais, Prysmian.

Fort Wayne Wire Die, a fourth-generation family business founded in 1937, manufactures precision tools from diamond, tungsten carbide, and other superhard materials. With facilities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, and the Philippines, and a worldwide network of representatives, it serves the global wire and cable industry..

WAI, founded in 1930, is a not-for-profit association with 1700 individual members in 38 countries and Wire Journal International subscribers in 94 countries. The association serves the educational needs of the wire and cable manufacturing industry through a variety of products and services. WAI manages the Interwire Conference & Trade Exhibition and Wire Expo; it publishes the Wire Journal International and the Wire Journal International Reference Guide.

Media Contacts: Janice E. Swindells, Director Marketing & Corporate Communications, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-2777, x. 117; Steven J. Fetteroll, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-1777.

Alcatel Submarine Networks was chosen to supply the Caribbean European Territories Cable project (CELIA) that will connect Aruba, Martinique, Antigua, Puerto Rico and Boca Raton in Florida over a stretch of 3,700 km.

Per multiple news reports, the CELIA cable—to have an estimated capacity of 170 Tbps across eight fiber pairs, with a minimum of 22 Tbps per pair—will support continuous traffic growth in the Caribbean. The project is scheduled to go live in the third quarter of 2027.

Per an EU project description, the CELIA CETC segment of CELIA has two European Partners: ORANGE as French operator and SETAR as a Dutch operator. It will improve the connectivity conditions of two French and Dutch Caribbean islands, Martinique and Aruba respectively. The new cable will cover approximately 1,888 km. The cities where the landing stations will be installed are Le Lamentin (Martinique, France) and Baby Beach (Aruba, The Netherlands).

Existing cables that are located in the Caribbean region include the Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS), ECLink, and the Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SG-SCS).

The project will be able to sustain up to at least year 2050 the traffic growth for all citizens of Aruba and French Caribbean territories with almost unlimited bandwidth, low latency and high resilience. This new infrastructure will enhance their connectivity to the rest of the world and they will be equally connected compared to continental users from a digital point of view.

“The CELIA project represents a significant advancement in connectivity and will improve

JDR Cable Systems (JDR), part of Poland’s TFKable Group, has been awarded a significant contract by DEME Offshore to support Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

A press release, which did not cite the value of the contract for the project that includes 176 wind turbines and three offshore substations, calls for JDR to provide the  termination, testing and commissioning of all the 66 kV subsea interarray cables. The work will start in 2025 and continue into 2026, across three stages.

During installation, JDR teams will winch and pull the cables from the seabed to the turbines, then fit electrical connectors and perform termination testing to ensure secure connections. For testing and commissioning, high voltage tests and final inspections will then be done to confirm the integrity of the cables.

The CVOW project, with an expected capacity of 2.6 gigawatts, was described as becoming the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S., capable of powering approximately 660,000 homes. As part of the agreement, JDR will partner with local stakeholders to support development of the local supply chain and workforce to meet the challenges of the growing offshore wind industry.

“The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project represents a major step forward in the U.S.’s renewable energy strategy, and we are proud to be a part of it,” said JDR Head of Services Brian Davis. “This contract underscores our end-to-end service for offshore wind projects.”

The Report to Members that follows this section describes highlights from 2024, but there also was a significant effort by Association volunteers and staff to position WAI—which this year celebrates its 95th anniversary—to be a responsive body for the industry.

Those efforts led to the creation of the Centennial Plan presented to the WAI’s BoD last October. In it, four pillars were identified as crucial: an Education & Training Center; trade shows & conferences; WJI and WAI media platform; and member users/customers.

Key beliefs of the mission include that wire drawing and extrusion are specific processes that cannot be serviced by other industry associations; that technology, digital platforms and AI are paramount; and that in-person events will remain important to hybrid workforces.

It follows that WAI members and customers will be willing to pay for value, but to provide that the Association must engage Gen Z and millennials by a focus on digital platforms, ESG and sustainability.

That is where the four pillars come in. WAI’s focus is on becoming the industry’s preferred training resource and those are the pillars.

For education and training, it is transferring content from its Fundamental’s course, an advanced extrusion course and deploying an industry-specific Learning Management System.

For trade shows and conferences, WAI will deliver high-value content that informs and engages the industry, the goal being to increase attendance and support the training program.

For WJI and media platform, it will provide a digital presence that supports the magazine and training program with a new website.

For membership/customers, the goal is to increase those numbers and establish a revenue stream that funds/maintains the Association’s mission.

The year to come for WAI is both ambitious and exciting. You can expect to see multiple updates here.