3/4/2022 
The WAI Poland Chapter has changed the dates for its 9th International Drawing Conference—which had been set for April 20-22—to May 18-20.
The event will still be held at the Hotel GALAXY in Cracow, Poland. Updating the story in the February issue, the theme for the conference is “Modern technological solutions and actual problems of drawing and other metal forming processes.”

Chapter President Jan Pilarczyk said the later date will make it easier for attendees to take part. He noted that it also comes closer to a very important date that will take place in May: the 20th anniversary of the day when the WAI’s Board of Directors approved the creation of the WAI Chapter.

Pilarczyk said that he was pleased with the support the event has had so far from industry. The main sponsors are Drumet, a member of WireCo World Group; Schlatter; WiTechs; the MFL Group; Vassena; and Lubrimetal. Other sponsors include MET-PRIM Sp.
z o.o.; Telefonika Kable S.A.; CMC Poland Sp. z o.o., operating in Poland, a member of the CMC Commercial Metals Group; Witels Albert; and Wilhelm Tatje KG.

The focus for the conference is “Modern methods of metal forming and drawing processes and production of wire rod and wire.” Topics include: selected issues from the theory and technology of the drawing process and other plastic forming processes; directions of drawing technology development in the field of devices, tools, accessories, lubricants and cooling agents; quality problems for ​​production of charge materials, wires and final products; new materials and new application areas for drawn products; and operational issues – ropes, cables, wires, welding wires, springs, etc.

The plenary session will be moderated by Pilarczyk and Prof. Tadeusz Knych, the dean of the Department of Nonferrous Metals at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow. Kynch is also chairman of the scientific committee.

Pilarczyk said that a book will be presented at the event that covers the creation of the chapter, looking at how professionals from the private sector and academia teamed up to carry out a shared mission to improve the steel wire industry. Four individuals will be honored at the event with the Schneider Memorial Award—the highest such award for Poland at the conference. They include Tom Moran, Brookfield Wire, U.S.; Prof. Beata Smyrak, AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow; Prof. Zbigniew Gronostajski, Wrocław University of Technology; and Andrzej Karwat, R&D, Drumet/WireCo Corp.

The co-organizers of the conference include Pilarczyk; Knych, the 2015 winner of the WAI’s Mordica Memorial Award; and Prof. Adam Zieliński, of the Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy. It will also include a plant tour of TELE-FONIKA Kable S.A. The Conference Honorary Patronage is by Prof. Norbert Sczygiol, rector of the Czestochowa University of Technology. More details will be in the April issue, and go to the Chapter website: www.msc.wip.pcz.pl.

1/3/2022 – Voting is currently underway for the 2022 New England Chapter Board of Directors. Chapter members in good standing were contacted via email at the beginning of December with voting instructions and can submit their online ballot up until the Jan. 18, 2022 deadline.

The incoming 2022 New England Chapter Board of Directors will be announced and introduced at the Chapter’s Annual Dinner on Feb. 24 at the Mohegan Sun. Registration for the event is open and can be found on WAI’s website.

1/3/2022 – The New England Chapter is ready for the Feb. 24 return to the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, where more than a hundred people are expected to attend its annual meeting.

The annual dinner will be held for the first time at the casino’s Cabaret Theater. The event format will be the same, starting with a reception at 5:30 pm, where chapter members and others can mingle, an opportunity that has been all too rare the last two years. The new officers for 2022 will be introduced, as well as an update on the chapter’s college scholarship program.

“It will be great seeing everyone again at Mohegan Sun,” said 2021 WAI Chapter President John Accorsi, M. Holland, whose term will have ended. “It is always a fun venue for the meeting.” He said that it was unfortunate it could not be held in 2021, but the chapter was still able to remain active, holding its annual golf tournament as well as a successful on-line webinar.

The chapter meeting will also include the traditional raffle, which along with the annual golf tournament are the key sources for funding the scholarship program. The chapter hopes to see the same level of prior year company donations for the raffle as well as sponsorships, of which there are three levels: gold, $500; silver, $250; and bronze, $150.

The cost for the event is $120 for New England Chapter members, $130 for WAI members and $140 for non-WAI members. There also is a new WAI member package of $145 for dues and the dinner, and for $15, an existing WAI member can become a New England Chapter member.

For more details on this, contact WAI’s John Markowski at 203-453-2777, ext. 121, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Markowski, who began working as an intern for WAI in 2018 and became a full-employee last May, is the main contact for all of the Association’s chapters.

1/3/22 – Nexans has won a more than €80 million contract from Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company, to manufacture and install a power cable system that will deliver electricity directly from the Norwegian power grid to its Oseberg Field Centre.

A press release said that the cable system consists of a single three-core 132 kV AC cable with the capacity to transport and supply 180 MW to the main platform at Oseberg. The power cables will include two fiber optic cables, each fitted with 48 SM fiber optic elements. They will be connected to a central DTS system that allows operators to detect early warning signs of any technical issues in the cables. The cables will be manufactured at Nexans’ plant in Halden, Norway.

Nexans is Equinor’s long-term partner in renewable energy projects. Nexans cabling system will allow Oseberg to operate using renewable energy harnessed from hydropower and achieve about 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in those areas of the field.

Oseberg is located in the North Sea, around 140 km northwest of Bergen. The cable deployment will be done by the Nexans’ Aurora, which is designed to lay the cables in one compact installation. That method will save time and lower costs while also reducing the environmental impact of the operation due to smaller transport distances.

“Electrifying business operations in the energy sector plays an important part in reducing CO2 emissions and supporting the global transition to net zeros,” said Ragnhild Katteland, executive vice president for Nexans subsea and land systems business group.

Of note, last July Nexans was awarded an Equinor a contract to supply power export cable for what will be the world’s first floating solar plant that can operate in rough offshore waters.

1/3/2022 – People hires/promotions

The Copper Development Association Inc. (CDA) has promoted Andrew G. Kireta Jr. to president and CEO. He brings nearly 30 years of copper industry experience to the role. He has been with CDA since 1992, having previously served multiple roles in market development, strategy, and organizational management in regional and national roles, most recently as vice president of market development across all copper and copper alloy product and market areas. He has served in various team roles with the International Copper Association (ICA), as leader of the global strategy team, and as a board member on the executive committee of ASTM International, including a term as the 2020 board chair. He succeeds Thomas S. Passek, who retired at the end of 2021 after seven years with the organization. He had previously worked for 12 years for ASM International, where he was managing director, and two years for The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, where he served as the executive director.

Service Wire Co. reported three staff changes. Bruce Kesler has been promoted to director of commercial and industrial sales. The newly created role will see him responsible for the company’s commercial and industrial effort in North America. He will oversee regional sales directors and managers, and national sales managers for industrial. He has more than 35 years of experience in the electrical industry, 15 with the company, where he started out as a central regional manager in 2007 and became director of sales in 2018. Corey Jarvis has been promoted from assistant sales manager for the Eastern/Central United States and Canada to sales manager of the company’s sales office in West Virginia. He has been with Service Wire for more than 11 years. Aaron Patten has been promoted from territory account representative to assistant sales manager of the West Virginia office. He has more than 11 years of sales and management experience, including four with the company. Based in Culloden, West Virginia, Service Wire is a second-generation, family-owned wire and cable manufacturer.

Mike Cunningham is the new European director of sales and service for Montalvo. He is responsible for developing and coordinating partnerships, forming new alliances with key players while bringing new innovations into the market. He holds an engineering degree from the Brunel University School in London. Based in Gorham, Maine, the Montalvo Corporation specializes in tension control products for multiple industries that include wire and cable.