WCA November 2012

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Industry news
18 Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2012
The newly established Gauder Group
Middle East Centre hosted a mainte-
nance-orientated services seminar,
which focused on the needs of cable
makers who run Pourtier/Setic rotating
machines.
Open to Gauder Group customers, the
seminar featured experts from the
Pourtier/Setic service and engineering
teams who discussed ways in which
customers can restore machine
productivity and improve product
quality.
The seminar was developed in
response to customer expectations in
predictive maintenance (vibration
analysis, mechanical thermography),
slip rings cleaning and maintaining (to
avoid major electrical crashes), wire
paths evolution to limit tensions and
increase production speeds, Bluetooth
transmission, belt tension impact on
rotating assemblies and other critical
components.
The event attracted some 15
participants representing four
countries: United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
The centre is dedicated to offer the best
service to Pourtier and Setic customers
in the Middle East according to the
strong and sustained development of
cable industry in the area.
Gauder Group Middle East – Bahrain
Website:
Seminar helping the cable makers
▲ ▲ Helping customers first hand at the
Gauder Group Middle East Centre
The European cable industry is
showing signs of consolidation
according to AMI’s latest report.
AMI’s guide to the cable extrusion
industry in Europe provides detailed
information on 325 cable extrusion
sites across Europe, from multinational
groups such as Prysmian and Nexans
to smaller new sites looking to make
their mark.
This new guide reports a slight drop of
around five per cent in the number of
operational cable extrusion sites in
Europe since its last edition in 2008.
The total consumption of compounds
also dropped from 1.45 to 1.23 million
tonnes over the same period with Italy
and Germany leading the way.
Manufacturers continue to refocus
their product range with plants
specialising in the production of
specific cables supplied to certain
markets, which are often driven by
local demand. In terms of materials,
the report confirms PVC is the
dominant polymer due to its
competitive price, technical
performance and ease of processing.
Linear grades of PE and low smoke
zero halogen (LSF0H) materials have
grown rapidly despite small volumes.
Whilst the figures suggest the market
remains stagnant, cables continue to
be at the forefront of technical
innovation in the plastics sector in
terms of formulation and modification
of resin and development of additives.
The renewable energy sector is also
showing signs of growth and its
demand for cable applications will offer
encouragement to the European cable
industry.
Demand in Poland bucks the European
trend, however. Unlike almost all
European nations, Poland has
remained relatively untouched by the
economic recession and its cables
sector now accounts for around ten
per cent of European polymer
consumption.
Applied Market Information – UK
Website:
Cables at the forefront of innovation
Seeking subsea supply
Germany’s TenneT TSO GmbH is seeking offers for the manufacture, supply
and laying of subsea AC cables, including light waveguide in the area of the
DolWin cluster, designed for a transmission range of up to 400MW and a
voltage level of about 155kV.
In particular, the project includes the connection of cables to the electrical set up
of the platform, development of cross structures, manufacturing, supply and
installation of possibly two seaworthy compensation coils with a reactive power of
up to 20 MVAR, to be used on the platform of the offshore wind farm operation.
TenneT TSO GmbH – Germany Website: