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Aztech Lubricants, founded in 2005 by Jonathan Anderson and Michael Colvin, has been acquired by Kodiak, a global chemical company.

A press release said that Anderson and Michael Colvin will continue with the new owners as director of technology and as director of business development, respectively. Based in Wayne, Oklahoma, Aztech Lubricants has a 40,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility that includes an in-house laboratory for QC and R&D. Its products are used by the wire industry for drawing, galvanizing and forming for markets such as agricultural, tires, automotive, construction, etc.

Kodiak has manufacturing/distribution capabilities on six continents, with more than 80 chemists and 17 laboratories The new owner sees growth ahead for Aztech. “We will be expanding the manufacturing capabilities of the (Aztech) plant in Oklahoma to include more oil- and water-based technologies to better support our valued customers,” said Kodiak President Laura Dickey. “Part of our strategy for the future is also to offer a broad portfolio of products including corrosion inhibitors, cleaners, resins, fire resistant hydraulic fluids, industrial lubricants, and powdered chemicals.”

“This is a very exciting time for us,” said Anderson. He noted that Aztech Lubricants started out in 2005 with just him and Mike. “We would get an order, then go back to the plant and make it. It took a great effort to build Aztech from scratch. Now, the company will be able to achieve even greater results. Mike has an eye out for retirement in the years to come, and I may work less at some point but I plan to be around for a long time. My customers have become my good friends.”

Accent Wire Tie recently acquired Coastal Wire Company, a U.S. company founded in 1978 that specializes in fully annealed baling wire at its plant in Georgetown, South Carolina.

A press release said that Coastal Wire is the only U.S. entity that currently manufactures all baling wire products, including black-annealed coil wire, black-annealed box wire, high-tensile galvanized wire, galvanized bale tie wire, black-annealed bale ties, galvanized bale ties and the company’s proprietary product KleenGreen bale ties. The acquisition took place last December.

Based in Tomball, Texas, Accent Wire Tie notes at its website that it has the largest U.S. baling wire manufacturing and distribution network in the industry. The company has seven mills, and 21 distribution centers. Through its Wire-Tie division, Accent’s core offerings include baling wire distribution, bale tie manufacturing, wire-tier equipment manufacturing, and wire-tier parts and repair services to waste management providers, material recovery facilities, packaging companies and commercial customers throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Of note, Accent Wire Tire—along with two sister companies, itself was acquired last August by funds managed by Apollo, a deal that had been predicted by Joanna Reiss, partner and co-head of impact at Apollo. “We believe Accent is a critical supplier to the recycling industry poised for continued growth and impact, and we see several opportunities to help grow and develop the company.”

Minnesota Wire (MN Wire) announced that it is teaming up with Chamfr, which specializes in medical device components.

A press release said MN Wire, whose product lines include medical wire, is partnering with Chamfr “to revolutionize the medical device landscape by offering state-of-the-art solutions to meet the industry’s growing demands.” MN Wire noted that it has more than a half century of medical experience. “When it comes to sub-markets like defibrillation, patient monitoring, imaging, and wearable electronics among others, Minnesota Wire goes through extensive testing and prototyping on a variety of processes, including extrusion, molding, terminating, shielding, and many others.

Chamfr provides medical products for R&D projects. From nitinol parts to tubing, Chamfr gives engineers quick access to thousands of medical parts, equipment, and tools from 50+ suppliers for their medical device design and development projects. “This collaboration aims to enhance and streamline the development of medicine systems including carbon fiber, high-performance alloy conductors, and textiles, among others, giving a fresh perspective to engineers and developers in the healthcare sector.”

Prysmian has been selected to receive $4.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for a project that will see the company develop specialized equipment.

A press release said that the funding is part of the Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS) program, which aims to strengthen and modernize America’s aging power grid through the development of cost-effective, high-speed, and safe undergrounding technologies. “We know that by undergrounding our grid, we can create a more resilient and reliable U.S. power grid,” said Dr. Evelyn N. Wang, ARPA-E director.

Prysmian intends to develop a hands-free power cable splicing machine operating in underground vaults. The goal is to reduce the share of splicing-caused medium-voltage network failures from 60-80% to less than 5% and dramatically improve workforce safety by reducing the time the underground cable splicing crews spend in such vaults.

“This machine is envisioned to splice cable automatically using advanced technologies, which help humans to operate the machine remotely from a safer environment,” the release said. “If successful, performing cable splicing using this machine will increase the reliability of the network and reduce energy losses due to splice failures.”

“Our ground-breaking splicing machine represents a major step ahead in the cable undergrounding process, reinforcing our unwavering commitment to grid hardening, modernization, safety and reliability,” said Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Prysmian North America. “In addressing the aging U.S. power grid, Prysmian is prepared to offer solutions that propel us into the 21st century and beyond.”

Prysmian will collaborate with Con Edison and Exelon, two of the largest U.S. investor-owned utilities. “Prysmian remains steadfast in our commitment to investing in innovations that advance our industry. Equally, we value collaborative partnerships that contribute to building a resilient, sustainable grid ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges,” said Srinivas Siripurapu, Ph.D., chief innovation officer for Prysmian and principal investigator for the project.

Southwire reports that the company has made an investment in HData, a software company that automates regulatory data analysis.

A press release said that HData, based in Birmingham, Alabama, digitizes regulated energy industry data by automating access to critical analytics for electric, oil and gas companies and their regulators. “Our investment in HData gives us a valuable partnership in the rapidly developing world of AI for business intelligence,” said Charles Hume, managing director of Southwire Technology Ventures. “As a leading supplier to the utility industry, we are excited about the insights that our partnership with HData will provide into the industry.”

As a part of this investment, Southwire will join HData’s Advisory Board, represented by Donna Ward, gaining further insights into the utility industry. HData’s proprietary software can scan and extract insights from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reports, turning multi-thousand-page PDFs into actionable charts, comparisons and insights.

HData joins a portfolio of investments managed by the Southwire Technology Ventures team. This team collaborates with pioneering startups to build the future of smart power within the realms of smart buildings, electric mobility and the grid of the future.

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