4/8/2021: The ongoing seven-week virtual staging of the Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course (Fundamentals) continues to reflect the demand that exists in the industry for basic information.

Of note, the program will be repeated in a hybrid form at Interwire 2021. The current program—seven consecutive sessions (two presentations each) started on consecutive Wednesdays that began March 17 and concludes April 28—presents a comprehensive education. Topics covered include: mechanics of wiredrawing/drawing dies and lubricants; wire breaks and surface damage; stranding cable; cleaning and coating of rod and wire; ferrous heat treatment and metallurgy; extrusion; testing; marking/printing; and manufacturing problem solving. Each course is presented by industry veterans, and provides 30 more minutes than the traditional in-person program.

Attendance during the Covid-19 period has been quite good. Registration for a three-part WAI webinar program by Dr. Horace Pops—also a Fundamentals presenter—closed out at 500 before the first one (annealing) was held on Jan. 27, followed by fines on Feb. 3 and wire breaks on Feb. 10.
In terms of the ongoing Fundamentals series, registration reflects a continuing trend of more companies signing up multiple staffers. Mexico’s Viakable had 31 participants: 11 from Colombia, four from Brazil, three from the U.S. and 13 from Mexico.

“I believe this is a great opportunity for expanding the benefit of this course to a much broader base considering the value proposition in terms of money and time invested for this high-quality content,” said Raúl Garcia, Viakable’s director of technology and development.

4/7/2021: On May 5, attorney Katherine Witherspoon Fry will present a one-hour webinar to address ways to limit legal liability and provide advice for creating a business plan that minimizes your workplace’s exposure to Covid-19 while maintaining productivity.

Fry is an employment law partner at the Pennsylvania-based law firm of Offit Kurman. She has 26 years of experience in employment law as a litigator, advisor, and mediator. She advises clients and litigates cases nationwide, and has made two appearances before to the U.S. Supreme Court. She also teaches HR law as an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware and is a Delaware Supreme Court-appointed hearing officer and certified mediator. She is a graduate of Duke University and the New York University School of Law.

The webinar, which will start at 1:30 pm EDT, will include a 50-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes for questions. Fry plans to present the “latest & greatest” in terms of new developments for policies, standards and more. Participants who have a topic they would like Fry to address can send it to her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“We think that members will benefit from Katherine’s expertise,” said chapter President John Accorsi, senior account/product manager, M. Holland. “The presentation will be forward-looking in terms of employees returning to the workplace as business travelers, with the pandemic hopefully in our rear-view mirror.”

“This program is actually a real education event that the New England Chapter is pleased to be able to offer to everyone,” said Lori Parent, who co-chairs the chapter’s education committee with Jonathan Rufe, Rainbow Rubber and Plastics, Inc.

The webinar is free to all WAI members and to non-members who sign up for a one-year membership prior to the event at a special rate of $75, with chapter membership added for $15. For more details on the event, and to register, go to wirenet.org.

For years, the WAI Immediate Past President would receive the WAI flag that was prominently displayed at the WAI offices during their year leading the organization. When the Association moved in 2015, the suggestion was made by past president Nick Nickoletopoulos to present the flag to the President at the start of his term and have him display it at his company.

To that end, the WAI flag was presented to 2021 WAI President Tom Heberling at the first Executive Committee Meeting of the year. No surprise to anyone, Zoom helped facilitate this tradition on February 9. Heberling, vice president of Southwire, has responsibility for five plants, and his plan is to rotate the flag to each plant over the course of the year. The first stop is the Villa Rica plant in Georgia.

The 2021 Executive Committee includes President Tom Heberling, Southwire; 1st VP Jim York, Insteel Wire Products; 2nd VP Daniel Blais, Prysmian; Members Kurt Breischaft, SDI LaFarga Copperworks; Eric Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die, Immediate Past President Jan Sørige, Enkotek; and Secretary Steve Fetteroll, WAI.

Dr. Horace Pops, the industry guru for fines and wire breaks, set an Association record with his recent three-part webinar series.

Registration for the webinars—held Jan. 27 (annealing), Feb. 3 (fines) and Feb. 10 (wire breaks)—was closed when all 500 per presentation slots were filled. The total attendance for the three presentations topped 700. The reviews were consistently very positive.

“We are fortunate that not only is Dr. Pops a genius in his field, but that he has been so willing over the years to share his knowledge with the industry,” said WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll. He noted that Pops, a fixture at the WAI’s Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing course, will return in that role as one of the presenters in the course that will run on seven consecutive Wednesdays, beginning March 17. A prolific author of technical papers, Pops is the principal of Horace Pops Consulting, Inc.