Germany’s NKT announced that, due to growing demand for power cables in the offshore industry, the company is increasing its capacity to transport and store offshore power cables from its factory in Cologne.

A press release said that due to the positive market outlook and a strong order backlog, NKT is investing in a new specially designed barge for use on the river Rhine to increase cable transportation capacity and enhance the security of delivery from its manufacturing site in Cologne. NKT will also increases capacity at its logistical center in Rotterdam, from where the offshore cables manufactured in Cologne are loaded to cable-laying vessels.

“The investment will strengthen our position as a leading provider of offshore power cables,” said Executive Vice President Mika Makela, who is heading the manufacturing site in Cologne. The barge is designed and being built by Neptune Marine for the changing conditions of the Rhine, including its ability to operate in shallow water levels. To minimize the environmental impact, the barge is powered by green electricity during cable loading at the harbor in Cologne where the factory is also powered by electricity generated from renewable energy.

NKT is strategically well-positioned to deliver power cables for the growing offshore wind sector in the North and the Baltic Sea as well as the interconnector market driven by the transition to renewable energy across Europe. The barge is expected to be fully operational by year’s end.

LS Cable & System (LS C&S) reports that it has started mass-producing aluminum wires for electric vehicles.

Per a report in The Korea Herald, LS C&S expanded its investment in aluminum wires as it believes that aluminum will become a key material for vehicles amid growing competition in EV industries. Aluminum conductor wires are 40% lighter than conventional copper wires and can reduce the weight of wires from 25 kg per vehicle to about 15 kg, it noted.

LS C&S said it has built a factory exclusively for aluminum wire production in South Korea. The report said that it did so because if production facilities for copper and aluminum wire are combined, copper particles can corrode aluminum. Many companies in Japan are also building aluminum-only facilities.

The company said the proportion of aluminum wires in the domestic wire market will be more than 30% by 2025, up from about 5%. The firm’s aluminum wires are currently supplied to the nation’s largest automakers, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.

“Through LS Alsco, a subsidiary that specializes in the aluminum business, we can supply high-strength aluminum and produce them in batches from materials to finished wire products,” said LS Cable & System. “We are also considering additional investments as we are about to sign a supply contract with a global wiring harness company.”

U.K.-based Diploma PLC announced that it has agreed to acquire Windy City Wire (WCW), a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of low voltage wire and cable, for approximately $465 million.

Per a report by Reuters, the deal calls for an initial payment of about $450 million, and a later payment of $15 million if conditions are met. Based in Bolingbrook, Illinois, WCW has an additional 18 locations nationwide.

Per a report in proactiveinvestors.co.uk, “WCW, whose management team will stay with the business, enhances Diploma’s existing position in the controls market, ‘with a core product we understand,’ and offers ‘exciting organic growth potential taking market share in structurally attractive end segments.’”

Graycliff Partners LP announced that it has completed its acquisition of Gerard Daniel Worldwide, a leading manufacturer and distributor of wire mesh and other wire products.

A press release said that Gerard Daniel, founded in 1952, has grown from a domestic reseller of wire mesh into a full-service manufacturer and distributor of more than 5,000 wire mesh and related products to over 3,000 customers worldwide. The company’s products are used for filtration, sound suppression, heat dispersion and electro-chemical applications, and sold into end markets such as automotive, aerospace, energy, pharmaceutical, electronics, food and general manufacturing. Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the company serves its global customer base from 11 manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S., Canada and Ireland.

“Gerard Daniel has evolved into an impressive global competitor in wire mesh applications over its history,” said Graycliff Partners Managing Director Andrew Trigg. He observed that being part of Graycliff Partners will enable Gerard Daniels to deepen its “operational efficiencies through data and digital investments, expansion into new technologies like synthetic materials and applications, and effectuate and integrate strategic acquisitions.”

“We realized ... it was the right time to capitalize on the market potential by bringing on a financial partner,” said Gary Shultis, shareholder and Gerard Daniel’s former CEO of 35 years. Gerard Daniel is the initial investment in Graycliff’s fourth private equity fund.

LLFlex reports that it has acquired the wire and cable metal armoring tapes slitting division of Web Industries, an international materials converter and contract manufacturer.

A press release said that the deal includes the slitting and related assets for the production of coated and uncoated copper and aluminum cable wraps and armor tapes. The acquisition bolsters the capacity and capabilities of the state-of-the-art production cell at LLFlex’s new High Point, North Carolina manufacturing facility. That, it said, includes the industry’s largest diameter coils.

Incorporating Web Industries’ infrastructure furthers the new site’s position as a “Global Cable Wrap Center of Excellence,” the release said. “Combined with Foreign Trade Zone status and flexible shipping options, including plans to launch its own shipping truck fleet later this year, the move helps make LLFlex a turnkey, single-point provider for all cable wrap needs.”

“LLFlex can now provide the widest range of coated and bare steel, copper and aluminum cable wraps and armoring solutions in the marketplace,” said company CEO Victor Dixon. “These unique assets and capabilities make LLFlex even more versatile with the technical leadership, expanded product range and global supply chain network to develop, produce and deliver new, innovative products for evolving industry needs.”

The release said that the new plant includes several innovations. One of those is that LLFlex is initiating a groundbreaking touchless packaging process that eliminates edge damage due to manual handling, and pioneering a slitting technology that results in flat edges for improved processing and weldability on cable lines.

At press time, the new plant was scheduled to commence wide-scale production in a very short time. The release said that the North Carolina facility has seen a steady march of progress toward its official opening. That includes installation of temperature and humidity controls, site certification to operate as a Foreign Trade Zone, hiring of skilled staff and a production manager, docking and loading bay construction, wiring the facility for industrial-grade electricity bandwidth and testing the plant’s ERP system as being a GMP compliant, ISO 9001:2015 accredited plant.
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