The Wire Association International will stage its first-ever standalone regional edition of its long-running and content-refined Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing course on October 10, 2018, at the Sheraton McKinney Hotel in McKinney, Texas, USA.

This concentrated introductory workshop provides a solid grounding in the essentials of wire and cable manufacturing presented by experts in the field. It is WAI’s most successful training program and refresher course for new hires, sales teams and operations personnel. The curriculum includes: mechanics of wiredrawing, drawing dies, wiredrawing lubricants, wire breaks & surface damage, stranding cable, cleaning & coating of rod & wire, extrusion, basics of electrical testing, ferrous heat treatment, used machinery, manufacturing problem solving, testing & properties and ferrous metallurgy.

“The program has become so popular in recent years that we wanted to expand it by offering it regionally too, outside of the confines of WAI’s annual show and conference,” said WAI Director of Education Marc Murray. “We know there’s a strong demand for this type of instruction, not just for new employees but for veterans brushing up on their knowledge who want to learn something new. We want to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to get this kind of education. Moving it physically closer to the audience is an effective way to do that.”

This one-day program provides extensive instruction by 10 industry professionals and networking opportunities pertinent to the ever-evolving wire industry.

The registration fee is $195 for WAI members and $295 for nonmembers. Registration includes classroom materials and lunch. On October 11, 2018, WAI offers participants a choice of one or both plant tours to Encore Wire and Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. at $25 each.

Click here to see the program schedule and here to register. 

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Sampsistemi, a business of Italy’s SAMP Group, announced that it plans to expand the operations of its China-based subsidiary Sampsistemi (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.

A press release said that as a result of the recent acquisition of Setic and Pourtier—two well-known French companies that were part of the Gauder Group—Sampsistemi has decided to expand and strengthen its existing Chinese footprint. The plan is to expand the Setic plant in Changzhou with a significant investment in infrastructure, and to enlarge the production area.

The Setic plant, located in the Xinbei District, covers an area of 6,400 sq m, and it is currently dedicated to manufacturing rotating machines and related equipment for the wire and cable industry, the release said. The expansion plan will increase the manufacturing area up to 10,000 sq m, plus 2.600 sq m dedicated to office space. The unit will be equipped with state of the art assembly lines for wire and cable machinery and an enhanced R&D center with a test lab. Each space will meet the highest safety and quality standards. “The consolidation of the production capacity into one location will allow us to fully synergize the combined know-how and technologies, while providing greater value to our customers.”

“With the acquisition of Setic and Pourtier, Sampsistemi has completed a three-year strategic initiative aimed at strengthening its leading position in the market and meeting the ongoing demand for a single source-provider, capable of supporting the clients with cutting edge solutions,” said SAMP CEO Lapo Vivarelli Colonna. “The new organization will enhance our capability to provide products and services in China, the largest wire & cable market in the world.”

Sampsistemi is a company of the Maccaferri Industrial Group, an international entity active in seven main sectors, with 58 production plants, 4,600 employees worldwide and annual revenues of 1.2 billion euros.

Nexans announced that it will provide 27 km of complex umbilicals with power, fiber-optic and hydraulic elements for the next development phase of the most prolific oil and gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf.

A press release said that Phase 3 of the Troll project covers the development of the Troll West structure, which lies in water depths of approximately 330 meters and is located 25 km north-west of the Troll A platform. The contract is from Equinor ASA, a multinational energy company based in Stavanger, Norway.

Nexans Norway will design, manufacture and supply static umbilicals that include high voltage power elements, high-pressure hydraulic lines, low-pressure hydraulic lines, a MEG (methanol and glycol) service line for chemical injection, a spare line and fiber-optic communications – all within a single cross-section. A 20-km umbilical will link the Troll A platform to Template W1, while a 7-km umbilical will then link Template W1 to Template W2. The contract also includes the supply of connections, terminations and other umbilical accessories.

Nexans offered Equinor a total “made in Norway” approach to the contract with the electrical and fiber optic elements manufactured at the Nexans Norway facility in Rognan, North Norway, while the complete umbilical system will be developed, manufactured and tested at Nexans Norway plant in Halden, Norway, the release said.

“Nexans has established an impressive track record in delivering umbilical projects for the Norwegian continental shelf and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Equinor by delivering this key contract for Troll Phase 3,” said Vincent Dessale, Nexans Senior Executive Vice President Subsea and Land Systems Business Group.

Nexans is scheduled to deliver the Troll Phase 3 umbilicals in the first quarter of 2020. First gas is expected from the project in the second quarter of 2021.

NKT reports that it has won a turnkey order of two high-voltage cable systems that will provide power availability and transmission security in the regions of Hedmark and Oppland in Norway.

A press release said that the contract calls for NKT to provide turnkey delivery of two 145 kV AC (alternating current) extruded cable system sets for the Mjøsa Project in the regions Hedmark and Oppland located North of Oslo in Norway. The order, from power grid operator Eidsiva Nett AS, will upgrade the grid in the region around Lake Mjøsa. It includes a total cable length of 35 km.

“We have great experience from several projects in Norway and we are excited to play a part in the continuous development of the Norwegian power grid,” said nkt President & CEO Michael Hedegaard Lyng, who noted that it will also support the integration of renewable.

The cables are to be manufactured this year at NKT’s facility in Karlskrona, Sweden, with commissioning set for 2019, the release said. It noted that nkt has extensive experience from projects in Norway and is currently executing on orders for the cable systems bringing power from shore to the oil and gas platforms.

India’s Sterlite Tech announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Metallurgica Bresciana S.p.A (Metallurgica) for approximately 47 million euros.

Per multiple media reports, the deal, made via Italian subsidiary Sterlite Technologies SpA, was expected to close in July. Metallurgica designs and manufactures special precision optical fiber cables and specialized copper cables for various communication applications. The privately held company, which this marks its 50th anniversary, focused on specialized cabling solutions for various network applications across industry segments.

 “We are delighted to sign a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Metallurgica Bresciana, which will expand Sterlite Tech’s optical fiber cabling business by augmenting our access to key European markets and adding highly complementary specialty cables to our products portfolio,” said Dr. Anand Agarwal, CEO of Sterlite Tech. “This acquisition aligns with our global supply chain strategy of having cabling facilities in close proximity to our key customers to serve their needs for next-generation networks.”

Per the Metallurgical website, the company was founded in 1968 as a producer of copper multi-tubes for instrumentation in the oil and gas sector. It expanded in 1970s to special cable assemblies and in the 1980s, it began producing low-voltage cables. In the 1990s it invested in technology to produce fiber optic cables, including the first and only linear electron beam accelerator in Italy. This advance allowed it to expand its cable range with miniaturized high temperature resistant cables for railway and industrial applications. In 2011, it opened a new production site in Ma’anshan, China for the production of cables for the local market.