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Wire Journal News

August 2022

7/3/2022 - 

The Aluminum Association (AA) fully supports steps announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) to prevent aluminum foil from China to evade restrictions by shipping through Thailand and South Korea.

In a statement, AA President and CEO Charles Johnson said that the imports in question are inappropriately avoiding the payment of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of aluminum foil from China, pursuant to unfair trade orders published by the Commerce Department in April 2018. “We commend the Commerce Department for taking this important step to enforce our trade laws. We look forward to working closely with the department to ensure a successful outcome as these inquiries progress.”

The Commerce Department will soon issue questionnaires to suspected duty evaders, provide opportunities for interested parties to submit information relevant to the agency’s proceedings and issue a preliminary determination, which will likely occur in the coming months. The investigation is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

The aluminum foil subject to the inquiry is flat-rolled aluminum products that are 0.2 mm or less, in reels weighing more than 25 pounds, are produced in China and finished in Thailand and South Korea. The foil is used in multiple products, including cables.

The prior DoC measures included antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) that carried combined penalties ranging from 55 to 176%. Since those orders were published, U.S. imports of certain aluminum foil from China declined substantially, but Chinese exports of foil and sheet-gauge products to Thailand and South Korea increased significantly.

Published in Industry News

7/3/2022 - 

Hellenic Cables has been awarded an Exclusivity and Capacity Agreement (ECA) to supply 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables and associated accessories for the Hai Long 2 and 3 offshore wind projects.

A press release said that the Hai Long offshore wind farm project in Taiwan will include two offshore wind farms—Hai Long 2 (HL2) and Hai Long 3 (HL3)—that will have a total installed capacity of 1,044 MW. The overall project is one of Taiwan’s largest offshore wind farms. It is jointly developed by Northland Power Inc., Yushan Energy Pte Ltd and Mitsui & Co.

The project will be located 40-50 km off the Changhua coast, at a water depth of 35-55 m. HL2 itself is split between two sub-wind farms: HL2A, with a maximum installed capacity of 300 MW, and HL2B, with a maximum installed capacity of 232 MW. HL3 has a maximum installed capacity of 512 MW.

Under the ECA, Hellenic Cables will supply approximately 140 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables and associated accessories. They will be made at the company’s plant in Corinth, Greece. The manufacturing is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2024 for Hai Long 2 and in Q4 of the same year for Hai Long 3.

“We are delighted to have secured Hellenic Cables as our cable manufacturer and to be establishing this cooperation,” said Hai Long Offshore Wind Project Director Felipe Montero. “Hellenic Cables is taking a critical scope in our project, and we’re pleased to have this scope taken care of by a market leader in submarine cables manufacturing, such as Hellenic Cables.”

Published in Industry News

7/3/2022 - 

The below report is about as far downstream as one can get, but a social media-challenged trade editor who came across the torrid story of a social influencer posting her love for a charging cable felt compelled to share it. Below are excerpts and WJI commentary.


Sophie Cachia, an Australian social influencer, recently shared her feeling about her new Cygnett charging cable. Her Instagram story declared her utter love for the cable.

““Found my baby!!!! @cygnett Nobody charges my phone like this cord here. Whenever I lose it, it’s devastating (aka Bobby steals it for his iPad) I will neverrrrrrr go back to any other cord. Not spon, just simply life changing when you need your phone constantly & charged SO fast.”

It is safe to say that such words have never been seen in Wire Journal, but the posting led to a complaint being filed with the Ad Standards, Australia’s advertising complaints adjudicator. Why the accusation? It turns out that Cygnett pays Cachia to be a social influencer on their behalf, as was noted in the complaint: “Sophie is obviously getting paid to be an ongoing ambassador for this product/brand (Cygnett) and should clearly display that it is a paid post.”

A statement from Cygnett said that it had nothing to do with the post. “This promotion by Sophie Cachia was created and published without Cygnett having any prior knowledge, nor was it financially supported by Cygnett in anyway. ... This is the first time to our knowledge that Sophie has ever posted about Cygnett outside her paid agreement.”

No doubt you noted that Sophie’s post said “Not spon,” so one could say that she was sending this on her own, professing her (financially unsupported) love for her cable.

So, was Sophie wrong? Was this in essence a paid Cygnett ad ... even if it was not paid for?

The Ad Standards Community Panel considered whether this advertisement breaches the AANA Code of Ethics 2.7. Per the Distinguishable Advertising Code, “social media advertising which compensates influencers for promoting a product should be clearly distinguishable as an advertisement. Advertising on all platforms should be easily distinguishable as such.”

The Panel found that posting “not spon” was confusing to viewers and made it difficult to tell whether the posting was or was not an ad. While the content was “not spon,” it clearly was about the product, and thus the endorsement made it advertising.

In its unofficial (and unasked for) ruling, WJI finds that the real violation is the lack of any technical details that led to such unconditional cable love.

Published in Industry News

8/2/2022 -  

U.K.-based Cimteq and Swiss-based AESA Cortaillod held the official launch of their partnership at Wire Düsseldorf, where the companies explained how doing so would enable them to offer unrivaled service to manufacturers.

A statement said that Cimteq’s CableBuilder Enterprise and AESA Cortaillod’s quality management software, CIQ, together present a unified cable testing solution from product design direct to cable testing equipment. The partnership of their combined capabilities will enable customers on both sides to attain increased profitability, improved quality and savings in materials. Manufacturers will have greater control of the complex management of cable-design data, from the initial design concept to delivering the full bill-of-materials directly to the ERP system, while having an ongoing understanding of a cable’s performance through accurate testing.

“By seamlessly interconnecting CableBuilder Enterprise and CIQ through a single and universal interface, it is possible to simplify the overall handling of extensive design and production data pools,” said Cimteq Director Amanda Shehab. “This represents a quantum step towards the ‘smart factory,’ with the ultimate goal of closing the loop from the initial cable design concept to production and delivery, resulting in significant raw material savings, improvements in quality, and major productivity gains.”

AESA Cortaillod CEO Vincent Albert-Engels said that the company’s CIQ quality management system supports traceability features as well as extended quality improvement and data management capabilities. “In very real terms, it opens a window on to the shop floor by tracking process and test data, not to mention production history. Its integration with CableBuilder Enterprise will have significant benefits for our clients; not least that automatically pulling data from CableBuilder will mean a lot less data to set up inside CIQ.”

 

Published in Press Releases

8/2/2022 -  

The 2022 staging of wire Düsseldorf proved to be good for both organizers, Messe Düsseldorf and the Wire Association International, which saw impressive sales for exhibit space at Interwire 2023.

At the end of the June 15 points meeting at WAI headquarters, approximately 65,000 sq ft of exhibit space had been taken. By the end of wire Düsseldorf, 13 more companies had signed up for 9,700 sq ft of floor space at the Atlanta show.

The larger booths included: Honta, 1,500 sq ft; Steel Cable Reels, 800 sq ft; Kabmak, 1500 sq ft; Cimteq, 400 sq ft; Microdia, 800 sq ft; and Frekans Makina SAN, 2100 sq ft. An additional 4,800 sq ft has been taken since wire Düsseldorf, and as of July 19 the total reserved space was 76,400 sq ft.

Other exhibitors have indicated that they too plan to secure a booth, but have not finalized their plans. “Given the timing of the points meeting this year, situated between Wire Expo, WAI’s first trade show since 2019, and wire Düsseldorf taking place the following week, we were happy with the exhibitor response. We are working to accommodate continued requests for space and will likely expand the floor plan to do so,” said WAI Director of Sales Shannon Timme, who along with Sales Manager Gina Guzowski were busy meeting exhibitors at the event. She added that Honta, Kabmak and Frekans all plan to bring equipment to Interwire.

The floor plan shows the Interwire floor plan at this time. The blue shaded booths are still available, and companies that want to exhibit can go to the event website, www.interwire23.com for the latest update.

Companies interested in a booth can contact Timme at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Guzowski at gguzowski@wirenet.

Published in WAI News

8/2/2022 -  

Three chapter golf tournaments are set for September, and registration has been reported strong for all of them as the lure of greens (and bragging rights) call out to players.

Of note, it could be harder to just show up the day of an event as spots are limited and filling fast, so it would be wise to register now. Sponsorship opportunities still exist for each golf tournament, so companies that would like to support their local chapter by either a skills contest or raffle prizes should contact them. Finally, it’s hard to believe, but not everyone is a golfer at heart. Those who would like to enjoy the day but do not want to play are welcome to register for the dinner only and partake in the networking and camaraderie.

First up is the New England Chapter, which will stage its 28th Annual Golf Tournament & Dinner on Monday, Sept. 12, at the Tunxis Country Club in Farmington, Connecticut. Contact: John Markowski, 203-458-4044, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Ohio Valley Chapter (OVC) has set Sept. 22 as the date for its annual golf tournament, which will also include an educational program, all to be held on the same day.

OVC 2022 will again be held at The Kennsington Club in Canfield, Ohio, which the chapter has used multiple times. Tentative guest speakers include: Ed Harrington of Strecker USA, who will discuss butt welding complexities and solutions; Jeff Danaher of Abbott Furnace, who will discuss annealing problems and practices; Jim Miller of Scientific Forming Technology, who will discuss applications of the DEFORM system in drawing process simulation.

OVC will start at 7 am with a shotgun start, followed at 2 pm with dinner and the educational program, then the awarding of golf prizes. The night before, Sept. 21, there will be a networking evening at the Kennsington Grill. Contact John Markowski, 203-458-4044, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Dave Rascati, 260-750-5736, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Southeast Chapter will hold its annual golf tournament & dinner at the Rock Barn Country Club in Conover, North Carolina. Contact: John Markowski, 203-458-4044, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The September issue will have more details on the tournaments. Registration for all of these golf tournaments is now open at the Association’s online registration system at www.wai.configio.com.

Published in WAI News

8/2/2022 -  

Earlier this year, WAI Midwest Chapter Scholarship Committee considered nine applicants for its scholarship program, and chose three, each of whom will receive $1,500. The winners are listed below.

Chloe Ruelle, the daughter of Stéphane Ruelle, operations manager, Condat Corp., is a junior at Michigan State University. She is majoring in special education.

Sarah Skolozynski, the daughter of Stephen Master, general manager, Spring & Wire Form Co., is a freshman at the University of Notre Dame. She is majoring in environmental sciences.

Fiona Wehrle, the daughter of Jay Wehrle, engineering manager, Fort Wayne Metals, plans to attend Purdue University (West Lafayette). She will major in chemical engineering.

Published in WAI News

8/2/2022 -  New hires and an obituary

Robert Campbell has been named the global sales director for NDC Technologies, tasked with leading sales for the company’s cable and tube measurement business. He most recently was sales director at M Squared Lasers, a photonics and quantum technology company. Prior to that he served in a technical capacity as vice president of North America for PDL Solutions. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Newcastle University in the U.K., and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School. Naret Prongcharoen was named channel manager for Asia, responsible for managing and expanding sales channel operations for NDC’s portfolio of BETA LaserMike measurement and control solutions. He was cited for his knowledge of electrification, automation and electronic components in Southeast Asia and extensive new business development background. He worked for more than 13 years in new business development in Southeast Asia for companies that include Honeywell Automation,  Underwriter Laboratories (UL), Texas Instruments and Delta Electronics. Based in Dayton, Ohio, USA, NDC Technologies is a leading global provider of intelligent, connected measurement and control solutions.

Tom Marry has been named president of Charter Steel. He brings a wealth of manufacturing and leadership experience, having held key positions over 20 years with Modine Manufacturing Co., most recently as COO. Prior to that, he worked for four years for Milwaukee Electric Tool, six years for Robert Bosch GmbH and four years for the Cadillac Motor Car division of GM. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Based in Saukville, Wisconsin, Charter Steel is a fully integrated American manufacturer of special bar quality (SBQ) bar, rod and wire products. 

Jeff Lovett has been named national sales manager for Comtran, part of Marmon Electrical. He most recently worked for six years for Service Wire Company, and before that, for 14 years for Aetna Insulated Wire in key marketing and sales positions. He holds a B.S. degree in marketing and business management from Bentley University. Based in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and part of Marmon Electrical, Comtran provides specialty cable and system solutions. 

Davis-Standard has named Christian Eidt as chief information officer, part of the company’s senior management team. He will be responsible for IT strategy, corporate systems, data and analytics, and cyber security. He previously worked for FactSet Research Systems as senior vice president of strategic planning and business transformation. He is a graduate of the Boston College Carroll School of Management. Based in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Davis-Standard, LLC, is a global leader in extrusion and converting technology. 

Jamie Hendricks has been named plant manager for the Hartselle location of Cerrowire, a business of Marmon Holdings. He previously worked for a sister business, Fontaine Trailer Company, the largest platform trailer manufacturer in North America. He holds a B.S. degree in construction engineering from the University of Alabama. Based in Hartselle, Alabama, Cerrowire manufactures copper wire at plants in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Utah.

 
Obituary

Professor Bogdan Golis, a long-time contributor of WJI technical papers and the first person from Poland to win the Mordica Memorial Award, died June 29 in Częstochowa, Poland, at age 85.

A key organizer for many of the conferences and seminars organized by WAI’s Poland Chapter and a kind person, he was always ready to help others. Fittingly, two weeks earlier he had been given two copies of a book that covers the history of the Poland Chapter that were distributed on May 18 at its IX Conference. He was born on that day in 1937 in Łowicz.

Golis attended the Częstochowa University of Technology (CUT), and was production manager at the Wire and Wire Products Factory in Gliwice from 1960-67, then branch manager at the Central Laboratory of Metal Products in Zabrze for the next ten years. He earned his doctoral degree at CUT in 1972, and in 1982 was an associate professor/researcher at the Polmetal Research and Development Center in Krakow. From 1987-90, he was CUT’s dean of faculty for metallurgy, and head of the Department of Metal Forming in this faculty, from 1988-96. He became a WAI member in 1995 and was vice president of the Poland Chapter from 1999 to 2010, working closely with his colleague and good friend Jan Pilarczyk, who served as chapter president. In 2000 he won WAI’s Mordica Memorial Award. He was named a full CUT professor in 2001, and won the 2003 - State Award - Medal of National Education and the 2004 Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He was the driving force behind the 2006 creation of the Schneider Memorial Award, the highest such award for Poland, based on WAI’s Mordica Award.

He is survived by his wife, Leokadia Czapka, daughters, Beata Pająk and Małgorzata Zaczkowska; and three grandchildren.

Published in People
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