The Prysmian Group is investing approximately €120 million in its strategic plant in Pikkala, Finland, that produces high-tech cables for land and submarine interconnections and for both onshore and offshore wind farms all over the world.

A press release said that the investment—in addition to the €100 million already provided in 2022—is aimed at further increasing the production capacity of the 525 kV HVDC submarine cable systems, supporting the growing market demand driven by the need to develop and upgrade power transmission grids for the energy transition. It calls for new Vertical Continuous Vulcanization (VCV) lines that will more than double the Pikkala plant’s existing production capacity of 525 kV extruded submarine cables and 400 kV AC cables by 2026.

“The investment is part of the around €500 million capex per year that the Group is implementing to support the energy transition, electrification and digitalization processes, which require the upgrade of power grids and telecom networks,” said Prysmian Group COO Massimo Battaini. He noted that the massive investment plan was made possible thanks to the Group’s financial solidity and proven cash generation capability.

The release said that the global power transmission cable market is expected to grow to €15 billion by 2030 from around €8 billion reported in 2022.

“Our global strategy is to rely on three state-of-the-art power transmission cable hubs: one in Northern Europe, thanks to the increasing investments in the Pikkala plant in Finland, another one in the Mediterranean area, where we are investing around €100 million in the existing plant in Arco Felice, Italy, and the third one is the completely new submarine cable plant in the U.S., Massachusetts, serving the very high potential North American market,” said EVP Projects BU Hakan Ozmen. “This will allow us to support our customers’ needs, while also continuing to pursue our own climate change commitments,” commented Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU.

The release said that Prysmian’s 525 kV submarine cable technology is specifically designed to support the energy transition thanks to its key features that enable a massive increase in transmission capacity to 2 GW, which is more than double the value achieved with the 320 kV DC systems currently in service.

“This investment confirms the strategic importance of the Pikkala plant, which is already considered the Group’s energy transition flagship factory,” said Prysmian Group Finland CEO Ferdinando Quartuccio. “Thanks to its switch to green energy sources, this plant is to date the first cable plant in the world to have achieved the net-zero goal.”

NEC Corp. has signed a contract with the consortium behind the East Micronesia Cable System (EMCS) to construct, supply, and install a 2,250 km submarine cable network that will connect four islands within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati and Nauru.

Per multiple media reports, the undersea cable—estimated to cost US$95 million—will connect the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia, Tarawa in Kiribati and Nauru to the existing cable landing point located in Pohnpei in Micronesia. The cable consortium comprises FSM Telecommunications Cable Corp. (FSMTCC) in the FSM, BwebwerikiNet Ltd. of the Republic of Kiribati, and Nauru Fibre Cable Corp. of the Republic of Nauru.

The governments of Australia, Japan, and the U.S. will provide grant funding for the submarine cable project. The goal is to connect the East Micronesia island nations to improve networks in the Indo-Pacific region where China is increasingly expanding its influence. In a joint statement, the parties said the next steps involve a final survey and design and manufacturing of the cable. The project is scheduled for completion in 2025.

The announcement came a few weeks after leaders of the Quad, a security alliance of Japan, the United States, Australia and India, emphasized the importance of undersea cables as a critical component of communications infrastructure and the foundation for internet connectivity.“Secure and resilient digital connectivity has never been more important,” said a statement from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. “The United States is delighted to be part of this project bringing our region closer together.”

The cable will connect more than 100,000 people across the three Pacific countries, according to Kazuya Endo, director general of the international cooperation bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry. 

“Kosrae is the only state in FSM that remains without a submarine cable connection,” said Gordon Segal, CEO of FSMTCC and chairman of the EMCS management committee. “This project will support equal access to digital connectivity across all four states of FSM and greatly enhance our ability to access information and essential services. We thank all our project partners for their support and collaboration.”

“With the recent progress of digitalization, internet connectivity and access to digital technologies ... it is a great honor that the NEC Group can use its many years of experience in
optical submarine cable technology to contribute to the access to information and communications for residents, businesses, and governments of Pacific Island countries,” said Atsushi Kuwahara, managing director of the Submarine Network Division at NEC.

Manner Polymers announced that it is investing $54 million to open a new manufacturing facility in Mount Vernon, Illinois, that will be powered by solar energy generated on-site and create 60 new jobs.

A press release said that the facility has been designed to provide the highest levels of product consistency coupled with low cost and unparalleled supply reliability, powered by a 15-acre solar field located on site. Production is expected to commence in the fall of 2025. Once in full operation, the new plant will increase the company’s production capacity by 100 million pounds, further strengthening its domestic supply chain.

“Not only will we incorporate best in class manufacturing technology, but we will also produce substantially all of the electricity that we use,” said Manner Polymers CEO Raj Bhargava. “Our objective is to build the lowest-cost, highest-quality, most environmentally sustainable flexible PVC compounding plant in the world. This will be a transformational plant. It will have industry-leading capabilities coupled with a clean energy footprint.”

Among those who attended the announcement was Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who lauded the decision. “I couldn’t be prouder that Manner Polymers has selected Illinois for their state-of-the-art 80,000 square foot, 100% solar-powered facility.”

Manner Polymers selected Illinois to locate its solar-powered facility after considering locations in Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Manner Polymers, based in McKinney, Texas, notes that the company has increased its footprint to become one of the largest flexible PVC compounders in North America since its inception in California more than 60 years ago. The business manufactures custom, specialty and commodity compounds to support customers in a broad range of markets, including building and construction, industrial and commercial, automotive and transportation, consumer products, appliance and electric, agriculture, telecommunications and medical.

As part of its ongoing modernization efforts, Southwire announced an expansion at its campus in Florence, Alabama, that is designed to increase production capacity at the plant it acquired from Essex in 2006.

A press release said that the existing 300,000-sq-ft plant, which produces commercial and residential building wire, will more than double in size. The expansion plans call for some 340,000 sq feet of added space for new equipment and the creation of approximately 120 jobs. Construction is expected to begin this quarter and should be completed in 2025.
The investments and upgrades will effectively streamline Southwire’s commercial and residential building wire efforts, complement existing products and emphasize the facility’s culture and labor pool. The project will also include renovating the existing building to enhance the team member experience, including locker rooms, training space and an outdoor picnic and activity area.

“Southwire is committed to remain generationally sustainable for the next 100 years and beyond and be an employer of choice, and we look forward to the growth opportunities that this expansion will bring to our company,” said Norman Adkins, president of wire and cable and COO.

“At Southwire, we’re making a multi-year investment of more than a billion dollars to integrate newer and better equipment, systems and technology into our operations to increase efficiency, enhance competitiveness and ensure the operational capability and capacity to support our strategic growth,” said Rich Stinson, Southwire’s president and CEO. “The Florence expansion is a testament to those efforts.”