WCA September 2013

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12 Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2013
The Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) wire and cable market steadily
recovered to reach US$15.4 billion in
2012, up by 5.4 per cent from 2011.
This is according to Integer’s latest study
– Wire & Cable Focus Report: Middle
East and North Africa Markets – which
forecasts potential demand for MENA
wire and cable to 2017.
“The short term effects of the Arab
Spring, including project cancellations
and delays, have been disruptive,” said
Andrea Valentini, senior analyst and
editor of the report.
“However, the rebuilding and opening up
of some North African markets
post-Arab Spring, plus increased
investment in infrastructure by Gulf
Corporation Council governments
seeking to maintain political stability,
should allow further gains in MENA
demand.”
The market for insulated wire and cable
in the MENA region has experienced
highs and lows in recent years.
The rally in oil prices from the mid-2000s
to 2008 fuelled a boom in demand for
cable from construction and
infrastructure developments in the GCC,
resulting in many companies adding
cable-making capacity.
Meanwhile, European OEMs actively
invested in North Africa’s wiring harness
assembly industry, boosting local wire
and cable consumption. Since the
boom, the MENA cable industry has
faced upheavals from both the Arab
Spring and global financial crisis,
resulting in new capacity coinciding with
a sharp drop in demand for cable. In
2009, consumption contracted by 28 per
cent year-on-year to US$8.4 billion.
Within MENA, the North Africa and
GCC cable markets are distinct, even
though they share a common Arab
heritage. “GCC cable consumption is
much larger than North Africa’s, and is
dominated by power cable and
building wire. In 2012, the GCC
market reached almost 1.2 million
gross cable tonnes, compared with
520,000 tonnes in North Africa,” said
Josie Armstrong, business manager of
the wire and cable team.
“In contrast, a key determinant of North
African cable consumption is the
outsourcing of wiring harness assembly
from European automotive and other
OEM supply chains.”
Integer Research – UK
Website:
Arab Spring impact fails to derail growth
Surtel Kablo has bought two new machines from a Turkish machine
manufacturer with the commissioning due to complete in October. One
machine is a steel wire armouring line for cables with a drum twist take-up
and 48 steel-wire capacity, while the second machine is composed of one
take-up and five pay-offs, all drum twist.
Surtel Kablo – Turkey Website:
Two new machines