Delta Tecnic has appointed Lori Parent as the sales director in the U.S. market, a key appointment for the company’s growth strategy in the region. She will be responsible for the development of technology-based masterbatch and additives for wire and cable, and related industries in the U.S. and Canada under the Delta Tecnic brand.

She has more than 18 years of experience in sales and marketing of color masterbatch and additives in North America. Her background includes past positions at Brand-Rex, Teledyne Thermatics and JuddWire that gave her a wide industry scope. In 2007 she became the first woman to serve as president of the WAI’s New England Chapter, and she has held various board officer positions over 15 years with the Association, where she is currently chair of the Education Committee. She is a 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Career Award from the Wire and Cable Manufacturers Alliance (WCMA). In 2018, she was nominated by Plastics News as a “Woman Breaking the Mold.”

Based in Barcelona, Spain, Delta Tecnic specializes in production and distribution of color concentrates and raw materials for plastics, cables, inks, paints, and cosmetics. 

4/5/2021:  The American Wire Group (AWG) has hired Nada Filipovic as marketing manager. She previously served for 15 years at Nexans in marketing and sales positions in the U.S. and Canada, working for utilities, EPCs and electrical distributors. She holds a B.A. degree in economics from McMaster University and an MBA in international business from Niagara University. Based in Miami, Florida, the American Wire Group specializes in wire and cable solutions for the utility and renewable energy markets. 

Vandor Corporation announces the planned retirement this month of its president, Gerald Davis, who will continue on the board and as a consultant. A one-time professional musician who majored in alto saxophone at Ball State University and Fort Wayne Bible College, he started his career in the funeral industry in 1977 at Spartan Casket Shell in Lynn, Indiana, and quickly moved to Plant Superintendent, before taking a position with America’s oldest casket company JM Hutton in Richmond, Indiana. In 1989, the Elder family (owner group of Vandor) and Gerald co-founded Elder Davis, Inc., once the largest cloth covered burial and cremation casket manufacturer in North America. With the successful collaboration, after Elder Davis was sold, he transitioned to president of Vandor in 2000. While leading the Vandor R&D team, he developed over 50 utility patents, and created the Reel Options brand. Based in Richmond, Indiana, Reel Options manufactures light and medium duty reels for the wire and cable industry

Prysmian Group, announced plans to expand its U.S. manufacturing facility in Pettis County, Missouri, which has seen substantial capital investment.

A press release said that the Prysmian Group plans a two-phase expansion of the facility, which manufactures aluminum building wire products for the commercial and institutional construction markets. Phase one, which was just completed, was a $3.5 million investment for new equipment purchases, existing building renovations and additional jobs. That includes a new machine that increases the plant’s capacity for producing aluminum building wire, which is in high demand. The addition includes an expansion of distribution operations in Sedalia and the addition of more jobs to fully exploit this exciting business opportunity.

“The Sedalia plant is an important area of our business serving a growing market,” said Prysmian Group North America COO Giacomo Sofia. “The investment in the expansion is an important step in continuing to support our customers. Phase one will not only increase opportunities in Sedalia, but it also reduces our operating costs and allows us to be more efficient and cost competitive. The plant has a deep history in the area, and we are thrilled that we continue to grow our footprint.”

LS Cable & System (LSC&S) announced that the company has completed building its first plant in Africa, located in an industrial city in Egypt.

A press release said that LSC&S established a joint venture with a local cable installation company, MAN, Tenth of Ramadan City, near Cairo, in January 2020. The company wants to expand its market presence to East African and Middle Eastern countries, which have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Egypt.

“Export barriers are rising due to the forming of regional economic blocks around the world,” said Myung Roe-Hyun, President & CEO of LS Cable & System. “We will reinforce our competitiveness by directly investing in key hub countries.” With the Egyptian subsidiary, LSC&S now has 11 overseas production subsidiaries, including those in the U.S., China, Vietnam and Poland.

The release noted that the Egyptian cable market is annually growing by more than 5% due to facts such as population growth and the need to replace and upgrade old power grids. “There is a high demand for power cables in Africa, including Egypt, but export barriers are high due to the high tariffs (about 20%) and logistics costs,” said a LSC&S official. “We are planning to secure price competitiveness through local production and use the customer networks of our partners to get the business on the right track as soon as possible.”