Citing a high cost basis and pricing pressure, Bekaert announced that it will close Bekaert Costa Rica SA plant in Orotina, Costa Rica, which manufactures Dramix^® steel fiber, which will continue to be offered from other Bekaert plants.

A press release said that Costa Rica Bekaert currently employs 147 people in two legal entities in Orotina: Bekaert Costa Rica SA (64 people) and BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA (83 people). The Bekaert Costa Rica SA entity manufactures Dramix steel fibers for concrete reinforcement while BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA produces steel wire products for agricultural fencing and construction markets. Both entities belong to the same partnership in which the Bekaert Ideal Holding—an 80/20 partnership between Bekaert and its Ecuadorian partners, represented by members of the Kohn family—holds 73% of the shares and ArcelorMittal the remaining 27%.

Management has informed the employees about the decision, and plans to offer a transfer for 20 part-time employees to its sister plant.

The plant was opened in 2014.

India’s Sterlite Tech announced that it plans to add 15 million km to its optical-fiber cabling capacity, raising its total potential production to 33 million fiber km.

A press release said that the expansion for the integrated optical fiber and cable manufacturer will cost about $44 million). The project, to be completed in stages, is expected to come on-line by June 2020. It said that drivers for the initiative include strong market demand for "deep fiberization" for 5G, FTTx and data center connectivity.

"Given exponential data growth, telcos, internet companies and governments around the globe are looking for innovative network solutions for hyper-scale connectivity," said CEO Dr. Anand Agarwal. "Our customers see us as unique design-build-manage partners who are forward integrated from fiber and cable to network design and software solutions. This capacity investment will further deepen our customer engagement as we partner with them for network buildouts."

The company is expanding its solutions portfolio very rapidly. Recently, it announced a 100% acquisition of Metallurgica Bresciana in Italy for cable expansion, while earlier it had announced an expansion of its optical fiber capacity via a Greenfield investment. Sterlite Tech is also actively working on software-defined networks in virtualized environments.

The Prysmian Group reports that it has won a turnkey contract worth approximately €21 million from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) for two interconnections between the Cyclades islands of Evia, Andros and Tinos.

A press release said that the order from IPTO, the transmission system operator of the Greek electricity system, calls for the design, supply and installation of two turnkey High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) cable systems. Designed to transmit a power of 200 MVA, the elements consist of 150 kV three core cables with XLPE insulation and double-wire armoring and associated fiber optic cable system along a total route of over 18 km (16.5 km submarine, 2 km land) for the interconnection between the four landfalls to the Greek islands.

The submarine cables will be manufactured in the company’s Arco Felice plant in Naples while the land cables will be produced in the Pignataro plant, also in Naples. The marine cable laying activities will be done by the Group’s "Giulio Verne" cable-laying vessel. The maximum water depth expected will be in the range of 550 m in the link between the islands Evia and Andros.

Production of both submarine and land cables will be carried out during 2018-2019. Delivery and commissioning is scheduled for Q3 2019.

The new project confirms Prysmian’s role and commitment in developing the Mediterranean region’s power grids and particularly in deep-water cable installation, the release said. It also proves the validity of Prysmian’s know-how and HVAC technologies.

This project follows the 2014 contract awarded by IPTO for the submarine interconnection between the island of Syros (Cyclades) and the mainland power transmission System in Lavrion, Greece.

The release said that Prysmian has a long-standing track record in the development of submarine interconnection milestone projects in the entire Mediterranean region, such as Italy-Greece, Sardinia-Italian Peninsula (SA.PE.I.), two interconnections between Spain and Morocco, two projects in the Balearic islands (Spanish mainland to Majorca and Ibiza to Majorca), the Cyclades project in Greece, Capri-Torre Annunziata and Capri-Sorrento in Italy and the Dardanelles link in Turkey.

JSW Steel Limited has signed a contract with Primetals Technologies for the supply and installation of a two-strand wire rod mill that will be located in Toranagallu, India. Start-up is expected at the end of 2019.

A press release said that Primetals Technologies will supply the complete wire rod mill. That includes all mechanical and electrical equipment for two-strand production from a single-stand roughing mill. Two independent rolling lines will then join at the coil-handling area for further compacting and unloading. Among other Morgan-branded equipment, the mill will include a new design of individually driven pre-finishing mill that eliminates the need for uploopers, a faster cooling nozzle clamping and unclamping method for shorter change times, the latest generation 6 Morgan High Speed Laying Head with SR Series pipe technology, and a recently patented stepless reform design.

The contract also includes site supervision and spare parts, the release said. Designed for a guaranteed maximum speed of 115 m per second, the mill will run at 220 tons per hour for an annual capacity of 1.2 mmt. Start-up is scheduled for the end of 2019.

The release said that this represents the third such purchase by JSW Steel from Primetals Technologies, JSW Steel, which previously installed a single-strand wire rod mill and a bar mill.

The new mill will be built in JSW Steel, based in Mumbai, India, is a leading integrated steel manufacturer in India with a capacity of 18 million metric tons per year. Owned by JSW Group, JSW Steel was founded in 1994 and exports its products to more than 100 countries on five continents. At its website, JSW notes, We are India’s largest steel exporter and ship to over a hundred companies across five continents. And we are just warming up.”

Corning Inc. has signed up to be the first tenant in a new business park being built in Hickory, North Carolina, a $60 million investment in its Optical Communications division.

A story by David Boraks, WFAE, said that city and Catawba County officials report that the plant will be built on 27 acres at the Trivium Corporate Center, between Robinwood and Startown roads. Local officials had been referring to the plan as "Project Wave" during negotiations with Corning.

The announcement came after the Hickory City Council and Catawba County Commission approved a series of incentives that provide Corning the land, valued at $605,000, and granting up to $1.7 million in tax rebates over five years. Corning also was given an option to acquire another 4.4 acres.

The project was expected to create 110 new jobs, the report said. Corning has committed to creating 75 new jobs by Dec. 31, 2020, and the remainder by Dec. 31, 2023. The manufacturing capacity will be used to produce a range of optical fiber and cable.

"Corning is investing in tomorrow’s growth today, as the growing number of connected devices fuels demand for our optical fiber and cable innovations," Dr. Bernhard Deutsch, vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber and Cable, said in a statement.

Corning has more than 4,000 employees in North Carolina, in both cable manufacturing and life sciences. It is also building a new headquarters for the cable business, off I-485 in northwest Charlotte. That operation is expected to relocate to Charlotte from Hickory next year and could eventually employ up to 650 people.