WCN Autumn 2009

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WIRE & CABLE NEWS • Issue N° 41 – Autumn 2009 • 8
Interwire 2009 feels the effect of global economic slowdown
Official figures released by the organisers of Interwire, which took place 27th – 30th April 2009 in Cleveland, USA, report a
43% reduction in attendance compared with the 2007 event held in the same venue. Whilst disappointing in some respects
these figures are not entirely unexpected
given the severe impact of the recession
on the wire and cable industry, with
many organisations having imposed
restrictions on employee travel.
Attendance was not helped by the
unfortunate concurrent swine ‘flu out-
break that certainly had some effect
on travel. Despite the disappointing
attendance numbers the exhibition
still attracted visitors representing 930
companies coming from 33 countries.
The IWMA is a long time supporter of
Interwire and, once again, exhibited
together with a group of members.
During the four days of the exhibition the
IWMA obtained 23 firm enquiries from
organisations interested in member-
ship and recruited one new member
company on the spot.
In addition, a number of important meetings took place including a planning session
with the WAI and ACIMAF for the forthcoming Istanbul Cable & Wire ‘09 technical
conference that takes place 2 nd – 3rd November 2009 in Turkey.
After two stays in Cleveland Interwire will return to Atlanta in 2011, when there will
undoubtedly be a more positive economic climate and, as a result, a reinvigorated
event.
The IWMA continues to support Interwire as the key wire and cable exhibition for the
North American region.
Interwire 2009 showing the IWMA booth in the ▲ ▲
centre of the photograph
IWMA President Georg Queins (second right) and Chairman Stephen Wood (third right) at wire cutting ▲ ▲
opening ceremony at Interwire 2009
Pourtier, of Gauder Group, is celebrating the successful
commissioning of a new concentric stranding line, the COS
1200-2, for the production of a 37-wire concentric Cu/Al strand
of 240mm² at 500rpm.
MS Abdul Najeeb, project manager at Oman Cables Industry
(OCI), explains: “This machine is the first in the world to use the
system of winding three wires onto one coaxial bobbin (spinning
on the centre line of the machine), from external coil baskets, and
then stranding from this single bobbin. This makes the machine
very compact and fast and with two bobbins per module allows
six wires to be run from each individual module. OCI’s machine
has five modules and can have an additional seven non-twisted
wires fed into the machine at the beginning of the process,
giving us thirty-seven wires in total. In this new machine, Pourtier
uses a motorised control system to ensure the uniform tension of
each wire and can thereby guarantee a more regulated length in
each bobbin.”
Mr Najeeb continues: “Other machine manufacturers have used
central stranders which only wind one wire at a time onto the
bobbins. This allows discrepancy between the lengths on each
bobbin and leads to more
scrap during the feeding-on
process.”
OCI analysed the COS 1200–2
capabilities and was convinced
that this would be the solu-
tion to cope with its produc-
tion projections. Several trials
were conducted on a proto-
type, developed in 2006, which
OCI personnel were invited to
attend. Assembled in France
in June 2008, OCI witnessed a
successful ‘no load’ trial of the
machine. The complete line was developed in October 2008 and
final commissioning took place in January 2009.
Gauder Group – Belgium
Fax: +32 4 367 8798
Email:
Website:
Stranding line installed for Oman Cables industry
Pourtier Gauder’s concentric ▲ ▲
stranding line