Primetals Technologies reports that South Korean Hyundai Steel has issued final acceptance certificates for two long-rolling mills—a large bar mill and a small bar and wire rod mill—it supplied for its plant in Dangjin.

A press release said that the large bar mill is designed for annual capacity of about one million metric tons. It includes a duo-reversing breakdown stand and a finishing train with rolling/sizing stands. It will also provide billets to be further processed in the other new smaller mill.

Per the release, the small bar and wire rod mill has annual capacity of 800,000 metric tons. Designed to roll 160 tons per hour, the small bar and wire rod line will have the highest production rate for a combination mill. It employs low-temperature rolling technology designed to improve the metallurgical structure and mechanical properties of end products and to enhance flexibility during the rolling operation. Special mechatronics packages and an integrated automation solution ensure the necessary high product quality throughout the plant.

Hyundai Steel is part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, which has six production facilities in South Korea and one in China. Its order with Primetals Technologies included a continuous bloom casting machine designed to produce 1.1 million metric tons of blooms per year. That operation received final acceptance in 2017.

Prysmian announced that it has won a contract from JG Summit Petrochemicals Group in the Philippines that calls for it to supply 820 km of cable for use in an expansion of the company’s operations.

A press release said that Prysmian will supply a mix of low- and medium-voltage power cable, instrumentation and control cable and telecom cable for plant and petrochemical applications. They will be used for the customer’s OSBL (Outside Battery Limits) Phase 1 Expansion Project, planned as the first expansion phase to the existing JG Summit facilities that will see construction begin this year. The cable will be produced at Prysmian plants in China, with delivery later this year.

JGSPG consists of JG Summit Petrochemical Corporation (JGSPC)—the largest manufacturer of polyolefins in the Philippines and the first and only integrated PE and PP resin manufacturer in the country—and JG Summit Olefins Corporation (JGSOC), which operates the only naphtha cracker plant in the Philippines. The JGSPG complex is 120 km south of Metro Manila in Batangas City, where its 250-hectare complex houses the naphtha cracker plant and the polymer plants.

The release noted that the Prysmian Group was the only cable maker in the region that could supply all the necessary cable. Irene C. Wilson, Oil & Gas Asia Pacific Business Director at Prysmian Group, said that JG Summit is a new client that has huge projected growth in the petrochemical and LNG front future."

Southwire announced that the company will reinvest approximately $9 million dollars back into the lives, and pockets, of its employees, joining a growing list of companies that have made similar moves as a result of recent tax reform.

A press release said that in addition to global, one-time employee bonuses, the company is expanding its parental leave policy and taking steps to strengthen its commitment to education, skilled trade development, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs and diversity in the workplace.

Full-time U.S. employees, with the exception of executives and upper management, will each receive a $1,000 bonus, while full-time employees outside the U.S. will get a bonus of $250 or the international equivalent. These investments will impact the majority of Southwire’s nearly 7,500 employees. 

“Building organizational capability is one of the key components of our company’s strategy, and it is vital that we make the right decisions as we continually enhance Southwire’s great culture,” said Southwire President and CEO Rich Stinson. “We’re off to a good start in 2018, and I am pleased to be able to share this benefit, both monetarily and through the extension of new and existing programs and partnerships, with the Southwire family.”

The release said that Southwire will also expand its parental leave policy to assist eligible parents. “At Southwire, our desire is for all employees to focus on ‘The Whole You,’ a concept which goes beyond standard benefits and provides access to resources that touch many aspects of an employee’s life,” said Kathleen Edge, EVP of Human Resources. “In doing so, we must offer programs and total rewards like these that reflect this commitment.”

Southwire will also offer a bridge scholarship program for eligible hourly employees seeking to further their education through a two-year degree, four-year degree or technical certification. There also are plans are in the works “to make strong investments into new and existing industry partnership” The purpose of these investments is to accelerate the attraction of diverse candidates into Southwire’s manufacturing and STEM careers. More information on these new programs will be available soon.

“As we continue to grow, we’re also looking at significant modernization and safety improvement efforts into our manufacturing and distribution facilities,” said Stinson. “Our goal is to be a generationally sustainable business for the next century and beyond, and to get there, we must make considerations and investments like these. It is an exciting time to be part of Southwire!”

A consortium that includes RTI Connectivity Pte. Ltd. (RTI-C), AARNet Pty Ltd (AARNet) and Google, together with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Nokia, and NEC Corporation (NEC) announced that construction of the 9,500-km-long Japan-Guam-Australia Cable System (JGA) has officially begun.

A press release said that the undersea fiber optic cable system, designed for capacity of more than 36 terabits per second (Tbps), is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019.
JGA is being co-built by ASN and NEC. JGA South (JGA-S), the segment between Sydney, Australia and Piti, Guam, is a consortium cable including AARNet, Google and RTI-C. JGA North (JGA-N), the segment between the Minami-Boso, Japan and Piti, Guam, is a private cable with RTI-C as the sole purchaser. Both JGA-N and JGA-S will interconnect in Guam at GTA’s newly built landing station.

“We are honored to be selected once again by RTI-C to construct their third subsea cable,” said Toru Kawauchi, general manager of NEC’s Submarine Network Division said. “While both SEA-US and HK-G will provide horizontal East-West connectivity across the Pacific, JGA will now provide the much-needed vertical North-South connectivity, enabling high capacity communications to reach all corners. Further, JGA will be the second project after HK-G to be co-financed by the Japanese government-led Japan ICT Fund, and the third project supporting RTI’s investment after SEA-US and HK-G for the Japanese loan syndicate. We wish to further utilize these funds for many more cables in the future.”

JGA will further enhance and contribute to the much-needed expansion of communications networks from Japan and Australia, to Asia and the U.S., the release said. That, it noted, will improve network redundancy, ensuring highly reliable communications and expanding onward connectivity options in Guam.

Germany’s Gustav Wolf GmbH announced that it has officially opened a factory in Rome, Georgia, that represents the first expansion of the business into the U.S.

A press release said that the 61,354-sq-ft plant, which was acquired from Swiss-based Brugg, has annual capacity of 3,000 tons of steel wire elevator rope, and that there are plans to expand that capacity. “We’re now manufacturing in the USA as well,” said Managing Director Dr. Ernst Wolf. “This represents an important step in the more than 130-year history of our company. It’s in keeping with our tradition to occupy the strongest markets on every continent.”

In the release, Wolf explained that with the addition, the company now has six rope plants on three continents. “Our aim is and has always been to be able to deliver our premium products to our customers within 24 hours. Establishing a base in the USA means that we can now accomplish this for all our customers throughout the world.” Asia, Europe and the U.S. represent a major market for specially constructed ropes, he said, adding that the idea of launching a U.S. plant stems back three years.

“For us, the start of production in Rome is an absolutely decisive component in the further international expansion of the Gustav Wolf Group,” Wolf said. “We want to and will grow with the markets. As a service provider, we help our customers in their dynamic development, thus securing local jobs as well.”

Reinhard Bänisch, the company’s division manager for steel wire ropes, said that there are high expectations. “From May onwards, we’ll be additionally installing some new machines. And that’s just the beginning. We plan to have 30 staff at the site and want to achieve a turnover of $12.3 million dollars.”

“Our ropes, produced for the major and leading elevator manufacturers, fulfill the highest standards,” said Richard Lindemeyer, who manages the U.S. site. He said that the elevator wire production would be exclusively for the American market.

The release said that company’s focus is not limited to wire rope. It cited Konrad Stahr, the company’s central quality officer, as noting that Gustav Wolf has other wire products. “We’re also one of the premium manufacturers in the ‘tire wire’ segment and a major supplier of the big tyie manufacturers such as Goodyear, Continental, Bridgestone and Pirelli,” said Konrad Stahr, the central quality officer at Gustav Wolf.