wiredinUSA March 2015

wiredInUSA - March 2015

INDEX

Using wire

rope

The Wire Rope Technical

Board has published an

electronic version of the fourth

edition of its Wire Rope User’s

Manual. The document is

available on a flash drive and

can be read by both PC and

Mac operating systems.

The 160-page manual includes

information on all areas of wire

rope implementation, including

wire

rope

components,

identification and construction,

handling and installation,

operation, inspection and

maintenance, and physical

properties.

The latest edition includes

an additional section on the

safe use of rope and sling

products.

Steel wire investment

Marlin Steel Wire Products, in South Baltimore, has plans to

increase its factory space by 50 percent. Construction and new

equipment are expected to cost around $2.5 million.

“It’s a lot of investment,” said company president Drew

Greenblatt. “It shows our optimism. We're very bullish about the

future. There’s an American manufacturing renaissance going on,

and we’re leading the charge.” In 2014 the company recorded

sales of $5.5 million in sales of steel baskets, brackets, wire forms

and custom pieces used by manufacturers including Toyota,

Honda, General Motors, Caterpillar, Pfizer and Merck.

Marlin uses 20 robots operating in cages, some with human

helpers. Greenblatt said automating the simplest tasks, such as

bending steel wire into standard shapes, makes it possible for

Marlin to compete on price and still pay decent wages.

Racking up orders

GameChange Racking has announced its contract for 10.9 million

kilograms (24 million pounds) of steel and aluminum to fulfill the

first half of 2015’s 500MW of consumer demand for ground and

rooftop PV racking systems.

GameChange Racking produces PV mounting systems for

medium and large commercial and utility-scale projects.

Andrew Worden, CEO of GameChange Racking, said:

“GameChange Racking has secured backlog and pipeline for

sales of over 500MW in 2015 and nearly 1,000 MW in 2016. With

four roll forming plants, three aluminum extrusion facilities and

three metal fabrication operations nationwide, we are poised to

meet the rapid growth rate we are experiencing as the US solar

PV industry sets new records.”

and Chris Jodoin, both respected within the wire and cable industry and with nearly 40 years of industry

experience between them.

Susanne Seibert will be based at Allied’s Wisconsin office. Chris Jodoin, based in New York, previously

worked for 24 years as an inside sales representative at Simcona Electronics Corp.

Allied is pleased to have recruited these highly qualified and enthusiastic professionals, but further hires

are expected. The company is seeking more industry veterans and next-generation wire and cable

experts alike.

New alliances

Allied

Wire

Cable

announced in January that

“unparalleled growth and

development” necessitated a

“significant expansion” of its

sales departments throughout

the country.

In February the company was

joined by Susanne Seibert and

Management

appointment

for vinyl

David Braun has joined Teknor

Apex Company as wire and

cable industry manager for the

vinyl division.

Mr Braun will direct all marketing

and business development

activities for the division’s wire

and cable products, including

compounds and elastomers.

David Braun comes to Teknor

Apex from Cable Components,

LLC where he was vice

president

and

managing

director. He entered the wire

and cable industry in 1992 as a

sales engineer at Neptco Inc,

subsequently serving as product

manager and then business unit

manager.

Mr Braun holds an MBA from

Bryant University in Smithfield,

Rhode Island, and a BSc in

chemical engineering from the

University of Massachusetts at

Amherst. He is a member of the

International Wire and Cable

Symposium committee and was

2012 chairman. He is also active

in BICSI, serves on the board of

the CCCA, and is the holder of

two patents relating to cable

technology.