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.

Hellenic Cables and its marine contractor partner, Van Oord, have been awarded a contract from TenneT to supply and install sea and land cables for the Hollandse Kust (South) Alpha wind farm project.

A press release from Hellenic Cables said that the 700 MW grid connection project—which will transmit offshore wind energy to electricity users in the Netherlands—includes the design, manufacture of 220 kV cables, the cable-laying operation and connecting the wind farm to the Maasvlakte high-voltage station. The 42-km connection will run from the offshore Alpha substation to the onshore station located at the Maasvlakte 2 area, Rotterdam.

The two companies have also been chosen to deliver and install cables for the Hollandse Kust (South) Beta project. This calls for making and laying 66 kV marine cable between the Alpha and Beta platforms. The Hollandse Kust (South) Alpha grid connection is due to be ready by 2021, and the Beta in 2022. Hellenic Cables’ value of the assignments for both Hollandse Kust (South) Alpha and Beta projects is approximately €105 million.

"With this new tender for the offshore grid, we are again, according to the Energy Agreement, taking an important next step towards more sustainable electricity production at sea," said TenneTT CEO Manon van Beek.