WCA September 2011

Industry news

German machinery manufacturer Niehoff has donated six million yen – around $75,000 – in humanitarian aid for victims of the earthquake which struck Japan in March this year. The Niehoff workforce, senior management team and shareholders are committed to actively helping people in Japan by providing financial assistance. The donation was passed on to the Japanese Red Cross in the hope that the aid will improve the situation of at least some of the people affected. Niehoff has very strong ties with Japan. The company opened a sales office there in 1991 (Nippon Niehoff Co Ltd), and it has developed a very close relationship with Japanese customers over the years. Niehoff immediately contacted its staff in Japan as soon as media reports on the catastrophe began coming through. Niehoff boost for earthquake victims Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 9122 977 155 Email : info@niehoff.de Website : www.niehoff.de PV ribbon – integrated production from rolling to tinning Plasmait, a supplier of plasma heat and surface treatment lines for wire tube and strip production, has introduced a new fully integrated line for production of interconnect ribbon. PV ribbon is tinned copper ribbon installed in photovoltaic or solar panels. Interconnect ribbon is soldered onto silicon cells in order to interconnect arrays of solar cells in the solar panel. The interconnect ribbon carries the current generated in the solar cells to the PV bus bar, which in turn carries the current out of the solar panel. Interconnect ribbons are 1-2mm wide and 0.1-0.2mm thick. They are coated with a 10 to 20 micron thick layer of solder. This summer Plasmait introduced a fully integrated line for the production of interconnect ribbon. The PlasmaPreplate Tinning Line includes four production steps from rolling, annealing to tinning and spooling. The line can produce ribbons with yield strength softness down to 55MPa (Rp0.2%). Camber below 3mm in 1m length is achieved. These super-soft ribbons are spooled onto the latest version of a single head take-up at the speed of up to 150m/min. Nippon Niehoff Co Ltd – Japan Fax : +81 3 3257 0910 Email : s-kanazawa@nippon-niehoff.co.jp

Plasmait GmbH – Austria Fax : +43 318 252 4754 Email : info@plasmait.com Website : www.plasmait.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2011