EoW May 2009

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EuroWire – May 2009 43
Materials handling & equipment
Strand spool saves costs
More than ten years ago, Maschinenfabrik Niehoff introduced the Niehoff Package
System (NPS) to the market, a handling system which enables an efficient, safe and
economical handling of cables, conductors, wires and strands. The NPS consists of
specially developed spoolers and collapsible multi-way spools made of ABS plastic.
One of the NPS spools is designed for the spooling and transportation of wire bundles
and strands. It features a correspondingly rugged and sturdy design and construction
and is available in flange diameters of 630mm or 560mm. Like all other NPS spools,
the NPS strand spools can be fully dismantled when empty and stacked into each
other, which means that an NPS strand spool takes up only a third of the space of a
comparable conventional spool and needs therefore much less return shipping space
than traditional spools of the same capacity.
For the application of the NPS strand spool, a return on investment calculation,
carried out by Niehoff, suggests that investment in NPS630 spools and the necessary
conversion of the relevant machinery may be returned in a year and a half. The detailed
calculation example is available upon request from Niehoff.
Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax: +49 9122 977155
Email: Website:
Cable winding
Drouaire cable winding machines incorporate modern state-of-the-art technology, using
a combination of electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic power. The result is believed to the
most rapid and easily operated unit of this kind available. Drouaire machines have been
installed all over the world for major cable makers and cable sellers including Nexans,
Prysmian, Draka and Silec and the range of production represents wide choice for cable,
wire and optical fibre cable producers.
The cable winding machines are fitted to a
wide variety of drums and cables: for small
drums (less than 1.4m diameter) payoff,
traversing unit and take-up can be an
all-in-one machine. This winding equipment
is designed for cable sellers and cable users.
The same machine will wind onto either a
coiler or a drum: selection is easy, quick and
secure (CE labelled). For larger, heavier drums
(from 1.4m to 3.4m diameter), a gantry type is highly recommended to work more
efficiently in all safety conditions. The layering unit should be motorised and controlled
by PLC to wind the cable perfectly onto the drum. Control is by touch screen in the
language of the user’s choice.
Drouaire & Fils sa – France Fax: +33 553 887649
Email: Website :
Winding systems from Drouaire ▲ ▲
NPS spools can be fully dismantled when empty ▲ ▲