wiredInUSA November 2018

Issue No. 89 - November 2018

www.wiredInUSA.com

America’s online magazine for wire and cable

wiredIn USA

Securing southern connections Page 9

“Record breaking” results. Page 10

Fastener group secures acquisition. Page 27

New plant starts operations. Page 33

EDITOR

The first subsea fiber optic cable to connect Africa and South America in the southern hemisphere is now open for commercial traffic – two and a half years after construction began. Japan’s NEC Corporation began work on the $160m South Atlantic Cable System in April 2016, on behalf of operator Angola Cables. The 6,200km cable directly links Fortaleza, Brazil, with Angolan capital Luanda, and increases speed in large capacity international data transmissions from Africa to the Americas five-fold. The full story can be found on page 9. Work has begun on a new 2.4MW solar power project on behalf of a Fortune Global 500 company. US company Solar Alliance Energy Inc has started the project, the equivalent to building 400 residential solar systems, and construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Turn to page 20 for details. Seven solar projects are planned across Hawaii to boost the state’s energy production with a total capacity of 260MW. The potential projects will be located on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii islands. Maui Electric Co is developing two projects totaling 75MW with a story capacity of 300MWh. Details on page 22.

David Bell Editor

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November 2018 Issue No.89 CONTENTS

06 PAGE

Show Diary 2018/2019

09 PAGE

Making the News Industry news from the USA

26 PAGE

Europe news The latest news from Europe

32 PAGE

Asia & Africa News The latest news from Asia & Africa

38 PAGE

Products, Machines & Technology The latest news from machine industries

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© 2018 Intras Limited UK ISSN 2046 - 9497 Publishers of EuroWire and Wire & Cable ASIA magazines

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Sales & Marketing (International) Sales Director Jason Smith jason@wiredinusa.com +44 1926 834 684 Accounts Manager Julie Case juliecase@intras.co.uk

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Diary Shows & Events 2018/2019

june 13-15 June 2019 Guangzhou Guangzhou, China www.julang.com.cn march 5-7 March 2019 Cables 2019 Düsseldorf, Germany www.ami.international november 27-29 November 2018 wire India Mumbai, India www.wire-india.com

february 28 February to 2 March 2019 Istanbul TEL Fair Istanbul, Turkey www.tel-fair.com

may 13-16 May 2019 Interwire Trade Exposition Atlanta, Georgia, USA www.wirenet.org

September 18-20 September 2018 wire Southeast ASIA Bangkok, Thailand www.wire-southeastasia.com

For more info visit: www.wiredinusa.com/showinfo.php

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Securing southern connections M A K I N G T H E NEWS

Two and a half years after construction began, the first subsea fiber opticcable system to connect Africa and South America in the southern hemisphere is open for commercial traffic. Japan’s NEC Corporation began work on the 6,200km, $160 million South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) in April 2016, on behalf of the operator, Angola Cables. It directly links Fortaleza, Brazil, with Angolan capital Luanda, and brings a five-fold increase in speed for large capacity international data transmissions from Africa to the Americas. It will reduce latency between Brazil and Angola from 350ms to 63ms. From Fortaleza, SACS can be connected to another cable system to Florida, enabling Angola and Africa to connect directly with the US.

António Nunes, CEO of Angola Cables, said: “By developing and connecting ecosystems that allow for local IP traffic to be exchanged locally and regionally, the efficiency of networks that are serving the southern hemisphere can be vastly improved.” An NEC statement explained that: “SACS will feature the latest optical technologies to provide the most advanced subsea telecommunications system, coupled with a control plane based on innovative software-defined networking technology to serve bandwidth-intensive applications. SACS will have an initial design capacity of 40Tbps (100Gbps x 100 wavelengths x 4 fiber pairs).”

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“Record breaking” results

Infinera has successfully completed a series of submarine field trials over MAREA, a 6,600km submarine cable between Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Bilbao, Spain. The trials used the company’s fourth- generation infinite capacity engine (ICE4) to help achieve new records for trans- Atlantic real-time spectral efficiency. Details of the trial were presented by Scott Jackson, Infinera Subsea CTO, at the Submarine Networks World conference, who described the results as “record breaking”; these included 6.21b/s/Hz over 6,644km, translating to a fiber capacity

of 26.2 Tb/s; 4.46b/s/Hz over 13,210km for 18.6Tb/s fiber capacity; and 4.46 b/s/Hz over 13,210km for 18.6 Tb/s fiber capacity. Infinera used several technologies, including multi-carrier common wavelocking based on the company’s large-scale photonic integrated circuit (PIC); digitally synthesized subcarriers with ‘near Nyquist’ pulse shaping, enabled by the ICE4 real-time coherent digital signal processor; and operation over a high- optical power, large area optical fiber cable.

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Host agreement

Vineyard Wind, developer of an 800MW wind project off Massachusetts, has signed a Host Community Agreement (HCA) with the town of Barnstable on Cape Cod. The agreement sets the financial terms related to the substation and transmission cables for the plant. The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2019, with commissioning by 2021. The plant will be built 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, and is

expected to be the US’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. Details about the town hosting a new substation for the wind park are also set in the agreement, in addition to specifications regarding transformers and other electrical equipment, and transmission cables. Vineyard Wind is a 50/50 partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables LLC.

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August results

Import and export statistics for August show that the US imported around 52,000 tons of wire rod during the month, up by 5.4 percent compared to the previous month, but a 22.8 percent drop from the same month last year. Imports from China totaled around 14,000 tons, a month-on-month increase from 11,000 tons and a year-on-year decrease from 16,000 tons. Imports from Canada were around 10,300 tons; from Mexico, around 9,000 tons; and from South Korea around 3,600 tons. The Turkish statistical institute TUIK shows that Turkey exported around 132,000 tons of wire rods during the month, up by 46.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago, and by 26.1 percent from July.

Among Turkey’s exports, Israel took around 33,000 tons; exports to Belgium are estimated at 27,000 tons, and those to the Netherlands around 25,000 tons. Further statistics indicate that Japanese rebar exports totaled around 21,000 tons in August, and exports during the first eight months of 2018 reached 192,000 tons. In terms of Japan’s export destinations, South Korea ranked first with themost rebar exports, totaling 20,000 tons, followed by Vietnam with a total of 430 tons. Between January and August, Japanese rebar exports to South Korea amounted to around 157,000 tons, followed by Vietnam with approximately 1,000 tons.

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Hector Hernandez

Cable appointment

Submarine cable and telecommunications engineering firm WFN Strategies has appointed Hector Hernandez as projects manager. “Hector Hernandez is an outstanding addition to our WFN Strategies team, as he brings a deep blend of knowledge and experience to ensure we continue to offer our clients superior quality of service and value,” said Wayne Nielsen, managing director of WFN Strategies.

projects for commercial, governmental and oil and gas clients. He joins the WFN Strategies team with over 20 years of experience, including 12 years in Alaska supporting Alaska Communications and, later, Quintillion Subsea Holdings. His professional experience includes subsea cable system implementations, program/project management, planning, engineering, product development and operations.

Hernandez will be responsible for the management of various submarine cable

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New hire

Sun Plastech Inc, the manufacturer and distributor of Asaclean™ commercial purging compound for thermoplastic injection molders, extruders, and blown- film processors, has hired experienced process manager Hank Moeller as technical sales representative. Moeller brings over a decade of processing experience.

Asaclean purging compounds, which include faster changeovers for reduced machine downtime as well as decreases in both rejects and scrap material.

Mr Moeller will be responsible for educating customers on the benefits of

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

Composite clad wire

Anomet Products has introduced custom- manufactured clad metal wire, designed for specific performance characteristics such as corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Anomet clad metal wire can combine up to three materials to create a high- integrity clad composite wire that can achieve properties not available in a single alloy. Featuring 2 percent or more cladding thickness, the custom-designed clad wire can be made in sizes from

0.002˝ to 0.125 ˝ (outside diameter) to meet design criteria including corrosion resistance, wear resistance, contact resistance, biocompatibility, radiopacity and high conductivity. Featuring a gold, silver, palladium or platinum exterior layer, the core and second layer of the clad wire can include copper, stainless steel, Kovar ® , niobium, Nitinol ® , nickel-iron, molybdenum, tantalum or titanium.

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Plant closure

A spokesperson told the paper that 3M’s New Ulm facility will take over production, and may add a number of jobs as it absorbs the extra work. The closure follows 3M’s move last winter to sell its fiber and copper cabling manufacturing business to Corning Inc for $900 million.

Community Impact newspaper reported 3M’s move and announced the plan to close the smaller of two Austin facilities by the end of 2019. The plant employs 120 workers, producing copper and fiber connectivity products for the utility sector.

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

PV park finds approval

The Dominican Republic’s national energy commission (CNE) has approved the construction of a 57.96MW photovoltaic solar park. The Montecristi Solar Fase II is the second stage of the Montecristi solar complex. With the new addition, the PV facility will reach a capacity of 115.92MW.

$180 million in investments. Governmental clearance comes through resolution CNE-CP-0004-2018, after the CNE’s board granted the local company Montecristi Solar the provisional concession for the studies of the construction, installation and commissioning of electrical generation works.

The first stage of the project began operations in July.

Built in the municipality of Guayubin, Montecristi province, the project will require

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Work on new solar gets underway

US company Solar Alliance Energy Inc has begun work on a new 2.4MW solar power project on behalf of a Fortune Global 500 company. Solar Alliance’s chairman and CEO, Jason Bak, said: “Solar Alliance is proud to support this…company’s efforts in reducing their carbon footprint. “This proof-of-concept project will hopefully lead to job creation, profitability and increased equity for the client. Our teamhas beenworking diligently to ensure this project meets their requirements and we are proud to have been elected to

assist our client’s sustainability team with this important project.”

The company states the project will be equivalent to building 400 residential solar systems. Construction is scheduled for the completion by the end of 2019, at which point the name of the client will be revealed. Solar Alliance Energy Inc currently operates in California, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky, and says it has an “expanding pipeline” of solar projects.

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Seven solar projects with a total capacity of 260MW are planned across Hawaii to boost the state’s energy production. According to Hawaiian Electric Co (HECO) the potential projects will be located on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii islands. Maui Electric Co is developing two projects, totaling 75MW, with a storage capacity of 300MWh. HECO says that negotiations and consultations for the projects are currently ongoing. Contract negotiations will be completed by the end of 2018 and proposed PPAs will be submitted to the public utilities commission. Shelee Kimura, senior vice president of business development and strategic planning at Hawaiian Electric, said: “These large scale solar and battery projects will accelerate our renewable energy drive at some of the lowest prices we’ve seen to date. With support from our communities, these projects will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions while benefiting all with low-cost renewable energy.”

Hawaiian power boost

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Photo by Rami Al-zayat on Unsplash

Acquisition has a view to 5G

Custom Cable Services Inc (CCS) of Birmingham, Alabama, has beenacquired by Attis Industries in a $4.6 million deal. A press statement said that CCS, a broadband network construction and maintenance firm operating mainly in the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest markets, will become a subsidiary and its existing management team will remain in place. Attis Industries’ CEO, Jeff Cosman, predicts that nationwide 5G infrastructure improvements will have an effect on the nation similar to the expansion of the railroad in the nineteenth century.

“The acquisition of Custom Cable is the first step in building a vital infrastructure company under the Attis banner. When an investor now looks at Attis Industries, they see a company focused on fulfilling essential needs in healthcare, energy independence and digital communications.” Attis is described as a technology holding firm with an emphasis on renewable fuels, bio-based plastics and healthcare, and building a communications infrastructure. The new subsidiary, to be called Attis Infrastructure, will pursue a strategy to consolidate 5G infrastructure companies.

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Davis-Standard has installed a fourth CNC machining center at its Pawcatuck, Connecticut, facility. The $2million investment will boost production efficiency and enable Davis-Standard to increase feedscrew production by over 25 percent. “This investment reflects our continued commitment to best practices in manufacturing, and in supporting customers with best-in-class feedscrew technology,” said Mike Newhall, Davis-Standard’s vice president of operations. “The CNCmachining center being installed is the same brand as our existing machines, Weingartner, which makes software programs and tooling interchangeable. We also have highly skilled machinists already trained to run this type of equipment. This will further add to our ability to meet customer demand and improve our overall responsiveness to our customers’ requirements.” The additional center is a Weingartner Pickup 700 whirler, capable of machining feedscrew sizes from 1.5 inches (38mm) to 6 inches (152mm) in diameter and in lengths up to 207 inches (5,200mm). The machine will augment existing capabilities in Davis-Standard’s feedscrew operation, which currently manufactures over 1,000 feedscrews a year.

Feedscrew boost

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EUROPE NEWS

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Image: www.bufab.com

Fastener group secures acquisition

Bufab has acquired Rudhäll Industri AB and its three wholly owned subsidiaries.

time, we think that the acquisition will further strengthen Bufab’s offering to our customers with enlarged product portfolio, additional in-house production know-how as well as increased sourcing capabilities in China.” “By joining Bufab we will be able to continue to improve our customer service and grow our business in the same way we have for many years, but now with increased resources.” commented managing director of Rudhäll and Rudhäll group, Jesper Emanuelsson. “It will be business as usual, with the same high ambition level. I am pleased to continue as managing director of Rudhäll, and together with the whole team I look forward to the cooperation with the Bufab team globally.”

The Rudhäll group is a producer and distributor of components to the Swedish and European markets, specializing in advanced machined components. It consists of three units in Sweden and one in China. Approximately half of total sales refers to distribution and about half to in- house production. “It gives me great pleasure to announce that Rudhäll group is joining the Bufab group. [We] see great similarities with Bufab in their solution-oriented, entrepreneurial approach to creating customer value.” said Johan Lindqvist, MD Bufab Sweden AB and segment director Bufab segment Sweden. “We are confident that the Rudhäll group will continue to grow and thrive as a member of the Bufab group. At the same

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

Power of three?

Phase two underway

Antonio Cammisecra

Equinor and its partners have awarded a $121 million contract to NKT for two HV subsea cables. The cables will supply power from shore to the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup development in the Norwegian North Sea. NKT previously fabricated and installed the power cables for the first phase of Sverdrup, with installation completed this spring. The new consignment will be produced at the company’s plant in Karlskrona, Sweden, and laid from Haugsneset in Tysvær municipality, north of Stavanger, to the Sverdrup field center. The cables will then be pulled up to the second processing platform, scheduled for installation in 2022. The cables will be buried in the seabed or covered by rocks, as appropriate. Equinor has assigned Siemens for delivery of HVDC transformer equipment to be installed on the second processing platform (P2) at Johan Sverdrup and at Haugsneset. Equinor estimates that the program will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from Sverdrup field by 460,000 metric tons per year. Two HV subsea cables will supply power from shore to the second phase of the Johan Sverdrup development in the Norwegian North Sea. Photograph courtesy of Øyvind Gravås - Woldcam / Equinor

Three wind energy facilities totaling 128MW, located in Aragon’s Teruel province, are expected to begin operations by the end of 2019, generating an annual 412GWh. The projects are part of the 540MW package awarded to Enel Green Power España in the Spanish government’s May 2017 renewable tender. The three projects are the 46.8MWMuniesa, the 41.4MW Farlán and the 39.9MW San Pedro de Alacón wind farms. “With the start of construction of these three projects we are further expanding our presence in Spain’s competitive renewable energy sector, and the company is committed to bringing its global expertise and sustainability leadership to the country,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Enel’s head of global renewable energy business line, Enel Green Power (EGP). “This milestone represents the first of a number of new EGP developments that will help to diversify Spain’s energy mix through wind and solar capacity, and will assist the country to reach its renewable targets.”

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Another contract at Borssele

Onshore and offshore contract

The cable-laying vessel Nexus

Photograph courtesy of Jan De Nul

Van Oord has won a contract to transport, install and bury 167km of inter-array cables for the Borssele 1 + 2 offshore wind farm. The company will deploy its cable-laying vessel Nexus and trencher Dig-It to install and bury the cables to a depth of 2m. Arnoud Kuis, managing director of Van Oord Offshore Wind, said: “Projects like Borssele 1+2 are essential in meeting the rising global demand for energy, and in making offshore wind more competitive as sustainable energy. We are proud to be part of this prominent project.” Borssele 1+2 has a 752MW capacity and will be located 23km from the coast of Zeeland (Westkappele).

Jan De Nul has begun onshore cable installation activities for Taiwan Power Company’s Changhua offshore wind farm project. In the first phase, the Jan De Nul-Hitachi consortiumwill connect the existing onshore substation to the cable interface near shore. The onshore cables are currently being installed in an underground track of 13km of duct banks. For these construction works, 2km of horizontal directional drillings are performed over 13 different locations and with 45 prefabricated manholes. Onshoreworks, by Taiwanese subcontractor Star Energy Corporation, are scheduled to take 20 months, and the connecting submarine cable will be installed during 2020. The Changhua offshore wind farm contract was awarded to the Jan De Nul-Hitachi consortium in April 2018. Amongst other activities, Jan De Nul is responsible for the supply and installation of the onshore and offshore cables, as well as for the upgrading of the substation.

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Cables for three firsts

On-deck/off-deck repairs

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash

A subsea engineering services firm, Irish Sea Contractors, has launched a subsea power cable repair solution and in-house subsea jointer training program. The new technology is said to address the challenges of lifting subsea cables to the cable ship deck for repair. Irish Sea Contractors is targeting subsea cable operators and turnkey cable repair solution providers who operate in water depths down to 200m and on cables up to 220kV. The system is based on the simple premise of replicating a cable repair ship deck, but subsea. A unique habitat design can be pre-loaded with all required cable jointing and repair equipment prior to deployment. The system can be used on-deck for cable repairs when a cable lift is unavoidable, or deployed by deck cranes to undertake subsea repairs on a cable in situ. Irish Sea Contractors’ comprehensive in- house subsea jointer training program will smooth the uptake of the subsea cable repair solution. Irish Sea Contractors has launched a subsea power cable repair solution

Prysmian has won three turnkey projects to supply and install a total of 345km of submarine inter-array cable systems for France’s first large-scale offshore wind farms. Two of the projects from Eolien Maritime France (EMF) are for offshore wind farms located off the North France coast. Those contracts are worth more than €200 million, and are expected to be completed in 2019. The third project is worth over €20 million, and has been secured by a consortium between Prysmian and Louis Dreyfus Travocean. The three wind farms will require 33kV three- core submarine cable systems with XLPE insulation. Prysmian will rely on the resources of NSW, General Cable’s subsidiary, with cable cores manufactured at the group’s center of excellence in Montereau-Fault- Yonne, France, and assembled and finished in Nordenham, Germany. Delivery and commissioning of the cables is expected between 2020 and 2022, depending on individual project timelines.

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Maintaining port power

Export cable finalized

Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash

Photo by Anastasia Taioglou on Unsplash

Schneider Electric has a $5.2 million contract to design, engineer and build a new microgrid at the port of Long Beach in southern California. The company will create a microgrid technology demonstration that will include an integrated system of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and microgrid controls. The port of Long Beach is also set for a huge infusion of electric vehicle infrastructure, installing around 839 new charging sites. Schneider Electric’s $5.2 million contract with the port is part of a $7.1 million project, partly funded by a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC). The project will include installation of a 300kW array photovoltaic (PV) system for energy production, integration of a 250kW microgrid-extending mobile battery energy, a 500kW diesel generator and the installation of additional microgrid controls to allow demand response, peak shaving, and islanded operations for energy resilience. As part of the project, the energy control center will leverage 330kW and 670kWh stationary battery energy storage.

Belgian developer Northwester 2, a joint venture between Parkwind and Sumitomo Corporation, has selected Nexans to provide an export cable system for its 219MW Northwester 2 offshore wind farm. In November 2017 Northwester 2 issued a tender for design, manufacture, supply, installation and termination works on a 17km 225kV three-phase submarine cable. The Northwester 2 offshore wind farm will comprise 23 MHI Vestas 9.5MW wind turbines and will be connected to Elia’s modular offshore grid (MOG). The project is scheduled to enter the construction phase in spring 2019. Other than Nexans and MHI Vestas, the key suppliers involved in the project are Jan De Nul, in charge of the fabrication and installation of foundations and the wind turbine installation; Bladt Industries, which will design and fabricate the offshore high voltage substation; and NSW, which is tasked with manufacturing the inter-array cables. offshore wind

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

ASIA & AFRICA NEWS

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New plant starts operations

The opening ceremony of PT ZTT Cable Indonesia (ZTT Indonesia) was held in Suryacipta Park in Karawang, West Java, in late September. At the ceremony, Airlangga Hartanto, theminister of Indonesian national industry department, Wang Liping, the minister-counselor of the People’s Republic in Indonesia, Xue Jiping, the chairman of ZTT Group, and Ye Zhifeng, general manager of ZTT Indonesia, delivered speeches and hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Guests at the ceremony were invited to visit the production workshop, and inspect its advanced technologies. Covering an area of 3,600m 2 , ZTT Indonesia will produce the communication and power, related products required for the construction of Indonesia’s infrastructure.

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

Cable plant changes hands

Onshore cable deal

LS Cable and System has signed a deal to supply high voltage cables to Denmark‘s state-run power firm, Orsted. Around 350km of onshore high voltage cables will be used in a power-generating complex on the coast of Yorkshire, England, with operations scheduled to begin in 2022. “This contract is meaningful because it continues the trend of supplying cables for renewable energy projects in Europe, the home of cable business. We hope to expand opportunities for projects in Europe, North America and Asia,” LS Cable and System’s CEO, Myung Roe-hyun, said in the statement.

Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash

Saudi Cable Company has sold its Turkey subsidiary, Demirer Kablo, to China’s Jiangsu Zongitan Technology (ZTT) for approximately $66 million. A press release said that all the necessary approvals havebeenobtained, andcontrol of Demirer Kablo has been passed to the new owners. The plant, for the manufacture of high and extra-high voltage cables, was said to be worth $52 million. According to reports, Saudi Cable, which acquired Demirer Kablo in 1994, plans to refocus on its core businesses, and is taking steps to improve its financial position. The deal was described as the “first-ever outbound acquisition” for ZTT, which produces cables and accessories for communication and power transmission and distribution. ZTT also acts as general contractor for projects, and is particularly active in telecom, broadband, oil and gas, as well as in renewable energies including offshore wind farms.

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Marine repair contracts

E-commerce boost planned for Malaysia

Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash

Dagang NeXchange Bhd’s part-owned subsidiary, DNeX Telco Services Sdn Bhd, has secured two marine fiber optic cable repair contracts from PT Bina Nusantara Perkasa. The first contract, worth $1.4 million, is for repair works on the SEA-US cable system in Davao, Philippines. The second contract, with a similar value, is for repair works on the Indonesia Global Gateway segment 13, near Palu, Makassar, and segment 15, near Manado, Indonesia. DNeX expected both projects to be completed within 29 days, with an option for extension of up to 35 days. DNeX won its first fiber optic cable repair project in August this year, handling a marine fiber optic cable installation sub- contract for Telkom Infra in Indonesia. The project was awarded by the project’s main contractor, Pt Bina Nusantara Perkasa. Within the project DNeX is responsible for the design, construction and installation of 700km of fiber optic for two lines, Matanusa and SMPCS Patara, as part of the Indonesia Global Gateway cable system. DNeX will be working on the project with Japan’s Kokusai Cable Ship Co Ltd.

Gobind Singh Deo

Mobile companies focusing primarily on cellular business in Malaysia are required to get involved with laying more fiber optic cables. and multimedia minister, Gobind Singh Deo, said: “…we have got an objective to meet, which is to try to [lay more fiber optics] and connect the entire country as soon as possible, and all telecoms players will have to do their part. “It is also not just about fiber but also about last-mile connectivity and so forth. It is the whole eco-system that we need to build, and that is why all players will need to be involved.” Mobile players Maxis Bhd and Axiata Group Bhd are already in the fixed broadband space, but others will need to review business plans and capital expenditure requirements if they are to also get into fixed broadband services. The incumbents in the fast fixed broadband space are Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Time dotCom Bhd. Since taking over as minister, Gobind has said he wants fixed broadband prices to be halved, and speeds doubled. Malaysia’s communications

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wiredInUSA - November 2018

Fiber spread

Backbone investment

Photo by Thomas Jensen on Unsplash

Jerome Ochieng

Telkom Kenya is in talks with two unnamed parties over partnerships to allow it to sell high speed Internet capacity from two undersea data cables due to land in Kenya. The operator, the smallest in Kenya, has focused on data to gain market share. It already distributes capacity from three other undersea cables, using its extensive fiber network. Telkom, 60 percent owned by Helios Investment with 40 percent held by the government, had 4.1 million users (about 9 percent of themarket) by July 2018. “Weare now putting in place an aggressive market engagement campaign, to strengthen our push towards five million customers and beyond,” said Aldo Mareuse, Telkom CEO.

The Kenyan government is to fund the connection of sub-counties with the National Optic Fiber Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI). Principal secretary of the state department for ICT, Jerome Ochieng, said the program will be completed within three to five years, and will target areas such as government institutions, hospitals, schools and police stations. Ochieng said the government will focus on ICT to deliver the Jubilee party’s Big Four agenda, focusing on manufacturing, universal healthcare, affordable housing, and food security. “ICT is an enabler of the Big Four as it plays a critical role in Kenya’s socio-economic development,” he said. The government is committed to ensuring that ICT is integrated in the implementation of the Big Four agenda to facilitate efficient and effective processes and data sharing. “There are expectations on the need to attain affordable universal health care and [a] vibrant manufacturing sector to improve standards of living and create employment,” Ochieng added.

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Connecting for connectivity

Government technology supplies

Photo by Thomas Jensen on Unsplash

Zain Bahrain has joined the Middle East- Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS), an international cable system that provides high bandwidth regional connectivity solutions. By joining MEETS, Zain Bahrain will offer enhanced products to meet the increasing demand for high speed and reliable connectivity throughout the kingdom, particularly amongst the enterprise sector. The company has hailed it as “a major regional telecommunication development for the Kingdom of Bahrain” as it moves towards making the kingdom a major hub for ICT and data movement in the MENA region. MEETS is built on an optical ground wire over a 1,400km regional high tension electricity network, reducing the risk of cable cuts and enhancing the availability normally associated with submarine cables.

June 2021) while guaranteeing minimum discounts off list or recommended retail price. The hardware marketplace is divided into different categories, with a separate panel of suppliers established for each category. The latest application process is to establish further offerings within network equipment (category 2) andcabling services (category 3). In August 2017 the government announced changes in the way it procures technology services, offering startups and SMEs a larger portion of Canberra’s technology spend.

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Products, Machines & Technology

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Tethered drone cables W L Gore & Associates Inc (Gore) has launched a new cable for tethered drones used in military and commercial applications. Gore ® tethered drone cables combine power and fiber optic cables with durable, lighter-weight materials. The cables maximize tether management system (TMS) availability, provide more design options and payload, and enable greater drone operational capability. The design of Gore’s tethered drone cables significantly reduces size and weight without sacrificing mechanical durability and electrical performance. They have a dielectric that is 20 percent smaller than standard nylon cables, so occupying less space inside the TMS system. Compared to standard nylon cables, Gore’s cables also provide greater weight stability in harsh fluids, further increasing design/payload options and operating height. Gore’s cables are engineered with high- strength and weatherproof materials to withstand crushing, abrasion, repeated reeling, extreme temperatures, humidity, rain, snow and rough terrain. The single-mode fiber optic cable meets ARINC 802-2 requirements and provides a high level of crush resistance with low insertion loss, ensuring a secure data link from the drone to the ground support equipment. The cables also feature a low-

friction fiber braid cable jacket that makes the cables easier to handle, compared to nylon cables. Typical applications for the new drone cables include video streaming; search and rescue; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensors; and signals intelligence. Dual cable with multiple benefits Southwire has launched Romex ® brand SIMpull ® NM-B-PCS Duo™ cable – a cable that combines power conductors with control/signal cables, within one jacket. Coupled with the SIMpull cable jacket the combination saves both time and installation costs when compared to installing two cables. This new product can be used with LED or fluorescent dimming controls and SMART homes. “We are committed to making contractors’ lives easier, and the Romex brand SIMpull NM-B-PCS Duo cable is an excellent addition to our suite of products,” said Carol Godfrey, the SVP of construction marketing and products. “We will continue to develop products that help contractors save time, mitigate potential safety risks, reduce jobsite waste and make crews more effective.”

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materials, supported by our unsurpassed regulatory, processing andmaterial science expertise.” Applications for the Plenstar series are Cat 3 to Cat 6 multi-conductor cables with a 75°C UL temperature rating, passing UL 444. Customization is possible for modified performance enhancements as needed, and custom colors can be developed.

Romex brand SIMpull NM-B-PCS Duo is clearly labeled as a power and control/ signal cable, and features a continuous stripe on its outer jacket for easy identification. A dimming signal input to the LED driver is typically supplied through a purple wire (+10VDC) and a gray wire (signal common). The individual purple and gray conductors of the control/signal component of the Duo cablematch this color convention to ensure that polarity of control wiring is maintained throughout the lighting system for proper operation. Fire-resistant jackets PolyOne has announced the launch of its new Geonä Plenstarä series of fire-resistant plenum cable jacketing. Said to be responding to a market need for flame retardance and low-smoke performance, the Plenstar series includes five grades of cable jacketing materials. All grades meet UL approvals for plenum applications, and offer the robust physical properties required for telecommunications cables. “The Geon brand has a long history of supplying vinyl solutions in the wire and cable industry,” said Jim Mattey, global marketing director, performance products and solutions, at PolyOne. “We are excited to provide multiple grades of plenum

Thread process protection

New PEM ® PreTect™ thread masking plugs from PennEngineering will protect the internal threads of self-clinching nuts and standoffs during paint and powder coating processes. The pre-installed silicone masking plugs are designed for self-clinching blind standoffs, through-hole standoffs, and nuts in thread sizes #4-40 to ¼-20 and M3 to M6. Plugs can be augmented for through-hole fastener types with a stretched polyester film for thread protection on the side opposite to the plug. When processes are complete, the plugs and film can be easily removed using a fine tip tool. provide permanent and reusable load-bearing threads in metal sheets too thin to be tapped, or where extruded or stamped threads would be impractical. Usually installed be impracti al. Usually installed All self-clinching fasteners

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The operator interface includes a choice of all phase and chord gates and a new probe screen offers sensitivity and phase adjustment for each individual channel. Throughput speeds of up to 4m/s (800fpm) are said to be achievable, with larger diameters requiring slower speeds. The tester operates at up to 1,500 rpm, depending on product diameter. MAC’s AC flux leakage systems use two magnetization yokes and alternating current to induce an alternating magnetic field. Without contact, these yokes magnetize the test material in the transverse direction. Due to an eddy current effect the magnetic flux is concentrated on the material’s surface, and is particularly sensitive to minor surface defects. USB safety L-com Global Connectivity has released a new series of low-smoke, zero-halogen (LSZH) USB cables with ferrites, designed to protect people and equipment from toxic and corrosive gases in poorly vented areas. Many industrial, oil and gas, rail, military and government installations include areas with little ventilation and that expose electronics to severe temperatures and/or flammable chemicals. Though many USB-powered test, monitoring, control, location and portable electronics used in these environments are ruggedized to operate safely under these

during the fabrication process, before painting or powder coating, self-clinching fasteners become integral components. The new plugs and film ensure that paints or powder coatings will not impact the thread integrity of installed fasteners as assemblies move through production. The plugs and film can reduce labor requirements by eliminating the need to mask fastener threads inadvanceofcoating processes, or to clean contaminated threads. Plugs are engineered to withstand temperatures up to 482ºF and 250ºC, and fasteners with the feature can be installed automatically. Looking (slightly) below the surface Magnetic Analysis Corp has introduced its Rotoflux ® AC flux leakage tester, suitable for testing hot rolled black steel bars and rods with surface conditions that make finding shallow defects difficult, if not impossible. MAC’s latest model is designed to test bar from 15mm to 130mm, detecting longitudinal flaws as small as 0.1mm deep, depending on surface conditions. Two surface-ride probe arrays, each with eight elements, cover up to 160mm per rotation. A simple adjusting tool allows quick resetting for dimensional changes, and triple guide roll assemblies on incoming and outgoing sides swing open for easy access.

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The OASYS cable monitoring system detects the cable in the water during installation and provides feedback, such as a full 3D

conditions, the USB peripherals and cables are often not sufficiently robust.

The same environments are often subject to electromagnetic interference (EMI) from large electric motors, lighting, or a range of radio electronics. Sensitive USB peripherals often require additional shielding and protection from conducted EMI from USB cabling. L-com’s LSZH USB 2.0 cables with ferrites have been engineered for reliable EMI protection during normal operation, as well as reducing toxic and corrosive gas emissions in fire situations. Monitoring milestone ECE Offshore’s OASYS cable monitoring system has monitored its 100 th cable during the installation of the Hornsea One export cable by the cable-laying vessel, Lewek Connector. The company milestone was achieved together with DEME’s subsidiary, Tideway Offshore Solutions. Reinier Nagtegaal, CEO at ECE Offshore, said: “We are very pleased and proud to have reached this milestone during the Hornsea One cable installation campaign with Tideway. …The system was first used at Gemini OWF in 2015. It is amazing that we reached the 100 th cable milestone within a period of three years, a fantastic achievement for everybody that was involved.”

S S Celebrating the company milestone

view of the cable lay vessel, cable and seabed bathymetry, combined with relevant cable parameters. Wouter de Zeeuw, equipment director at ECE Offshore, said: “During the past years of development OASYS had been deployed on multiple cable installation vessels. This year we are very proud to have worked with Tideway during the Hornsea One cable installation campaign, and are glad that we can celebrate this milestone with them.” Keeping damage at bay PolyOne has announced that its OnCap™ Aversive masterbatch additives are

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authorized by the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR) for use throughout Europe. The additives produce cable and wire jacketing that resists attack by animals and insects. EU regulation 528/2012 states that cable manufacturers in Europe can use only masterbatch additives that are authorized by BPR. No material supplier or cable manufacturer can compete in the European marketplace without this official authorization. Historically, toxic chemicals such as rodenticides were utilized in cable jacketing materials, but raised concerns for human safety. OnCap Aversive uses only low-concern biocidal chemicals officially authorized by the European Union, leaving cable manufacturers with no doubts about EU compliance.

Throughout Europe, rats and termites routinely inflict serious damage to wires and cables, causing service breakdowns and requiring either repairs or replacements, sometimes with no easy access. OnCap Aversive masterbatch added to the external cable jacket provides longer-lasting protection to help avoid breakdowns and the associated high replacement costs. Outside EU countries, PolyOne can help manufacturers uncover their local biocidal regulations to determine whether OnCap Aversive masterbatch additive meets local requirements.

S S OnCap™ Aversive masterbatch additives produce cable and wire jacketing that resists attack by animals and insects

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EDITORIAL Index

3M Company Angola Cables Anomet Products Bladt Industries

17

MHI Vestas

31

9

NEC Corporation

9

16 31 26 24 35 25 34 35 42 28 28 28 22 36 10 30 34 41 30 34 41

Nexans

31 28 31 40 30 33 26 34 31 28 20 39 31 15 36 29 11 14 39 37

NKT

Bufab

Parkwind

Custom Cable Services Inc Dagang NeXchange Bhd

PennEngineering

PolyOne Prysmian

40, 42

Davis-Standard Demirer Kablo

PT ZTT Cable Indonesia

DNeX Telco Services Sdn Bhd

Rudhäll group

ECE Offshore

Saudi Cable Company

Enel Green Power

Schneider Electric

Enel Green Power España

Siemens

Equinor

Solar Alliance Energy Inc

Hawaiian Electric Co Helios Investment Infinera Subsea Irish Sea Contractors

Southwire

Sumitomo Corporation

Sun Plastech Inc Telkom Kenya

Jan De Nul

29, 31

Van Oord

Jiangsu Zongitan Technology L-com Global Connectivity

Vineyard Wind WFN Strategies

Louis Dreyfus Travocean LS Cable and System Magnetic Analysis Corp

W L Gore & Associates Inc

Zain Bahrain

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ADVERTISING Index

AIM Inc

23 18 11 15 17 16

Beta LaserMike (An NDC Technologies Brand)

Clinton Instrument Company

DeWAL

Electrical Cable Compounds Inc

Madem

Messe Düsseldorf Paramount Die

7

21

Sikora

8

Windak Group

19 13

Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp

Zumbach Electronic

2

Marketing: Contact Jason Smith, wiredInUSA, Tel: +44 (0) 1926 834684 Email: jason@wiredinusa.com News: Contact David Bell, Editor, wiredInUSA, Tel: +44 (0) 1926 334137 Email: david@wiredinusa.com

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