Dr. Horace Pops, the industry guru for fines and wire breaks, destroyed the association record for webinar registration for the first of his three webinars: Annealing, Jan. 27, which had to close on Friday, Jan. 22 because all 500 available slots were filled. Of note, the days that followed brought additional requests.

The two other scheduled Pops’ webinars are Fines, February 3, and Wire Breaks, Feb. 10. The original registration was for all three sessions, so all three are closed.

“Dr. Pops has long been known in the industry for his ability to discuss potential wire problem areas in a way that makes sense, but even we were surprised that we had to shut registration six days before it was to be held,” WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll said. He observed that the three webinars will be available later online to WAI members.

A prolific author of technical papers, including multiple award winners, Pops has presented at numerous WAI events over the years. He is a mainstay at WAI’s Fundamentals of Wire & Cable Manufacturing course. A WAI Past President (1992-93), he is the principal of Horace Pops Consulting, Inc.

The WAI is seeking technical papers for the Association’s technical program at Interwire 2021, which earlier this year due to Covid-19 was rescheduled from May 10-13 to Oct. 26-27.

The WAI is focusing on Industry 4.0 at Interwire, (more on that in future issues), and technical papers that focus on this are being sought. Abstracts should be sent by March 1 to WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Interwire will remain at its longtime location at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. More information will be presented about the event in future issues, including a “Prequel” of the Atlanta show in the August issue, then the full preview in the September issue.

Nexans has strengthened its industrial presence in Morocco with the inauguration of a new plant in the Nouaceur industrial acceleration zone known as Midparc.

A press release said that the plant, to be part of the company’s telecom systems business unit, will produce fiber optic cable connectorization accessories for FTTH (Fiber to the Home), 5G, data center and LAN (Local Area Network) applications. The new site was built on 6,000 sq m of land, half for production, and will employ between 250 and 300 people by 2022. The Nexans Group currently has five sites in Morocco.

“The initiative will enable the Nexans Group to increase its production capacity, while expanding its product range and offering new services to better satisfy its customers: supply chain optimization services, component pre-wiring and cable connectorization services,” the release said. It will serve the European market, as well as the North African market.

The inauguration was chaired by Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Morocco’s minister of industry, trade, green and digital economy, who welcomed the latest expansion. “This new investment in Morocco of the industrial leader Nexans, in line with the European strategy of rationalization of the supply chain, demonstrates the competitiveness of Morocco and the resilience of the national industrial sector in this context of crisis.”

“This investment enables us to pursue our development strategy in this high-growth region and to have a stronger local presence in the North West African market,” said Julien Hueber, executive vice president of Nexans’ Industry Solutions & Projects Business Group.

Japan’s NEC Corporation has signed a contract with the National Submarine Cable Utility Belau Submarine Cable Corporation (BSCC) of the Palau Republic (Palau) for the Palau Cable 2 (PC2) cable construction project.

A press release said that PC2, with a total length of approximately 110 km, will connect Palau with the Southeast Asia–United States (SEA–US) cable that connects Southeast Asia and the U.S. mainland. BSCC, a state-owned public corporation, owns and manages a submarine fiber optic cable network for Palau. This cable is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.

PC2 adopts the latest optical wavelength multiplexing transmission system of 100 gigabits per second (100 Gbps). An addition to the first optical submarine cable laid by NEC in Palau in 2017, it ensures the redundancy of Palau’s network, reliable communications and the increasing demands for communications.

The Republic of Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones lying roughly 500 miles southeast of the Philippines, in Oceania. The islands of Palau constitute the westernmost part of the Caroline Islands chain. Its total land area is 177 sq mi.

Per a report in Total Telecom, in 2017, NEC began construction of three submarine cables in Micronesia, to connect the islands of Palau, Yap, and Chuuk with the SEA–US cable. NEC notes that its OCC Corporation subsidiary makes submarine optical cables able to withstand water pressure 8,000 meters beneath the sea.

Madison, Connecticut, USA – January 8, 2021 – The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc. announces the appointment of Thomas M. Heberling as president of the association for a one-year term that commenced on January 1, 2021. Heberling will serve as chairman of the Board of Directors and as the 68th president of the 91-year-old association, which is headquartered in Madison, Connecticut, USA.

Thomas Heberling is vice president of wire & cable manufacturing at Southwire Company, where he has worked for nearly 33 years.

A WAI member since 2010, he has served the association in many areas, including a crucial role as co-chair of its Member Relations Committee from 2012–2014 for which he was honored with WAI’s President’s Award 2017. In this role, he carried out a Board initiative that reshaped the educational products serving the industry, and served to further strengthen the value of membership in the Association.

Heberling became a WAI Director in 2017 and has served as an Executive Committee Liaison to multiple committees. In addition to his role as WAI president, Heberling will serve as Chairman of its Conference Programming and Executive Committee liaison to its Oversight Committee.

Commenting on this new appointment, Heberling said, “I am humbled to serve as WAI’s 2021 President and I am looking forward to the experience. I am committed to do what I can to help 2021 be a successful year for our association which would include a successful WAI Interwire program in the fall.”

Heberling holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA.

The Wire Association International, Inc. is governed by a network of volunteers from around the globe. Joining Heberling for the 2021 term are members of the association’s 2021 executive committee: First Vice President, James R. York, Insteel Industries; Second Vice President, Daniel Blais, Prysmian Group; Immediate Past President, Jan Sørige, Enkotec Co., Inc.; and Executive Committee Members Eric Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die, Inc., and Kurt Breischaft, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS.

A leader in technology and innovation, Southwire Company, LLC is one of North America’s largest wire and cable producers. Southwire and its subsidiaries manufacture building wire and cable, metal-clad cable, portable and electronic cord products, OEM wire products and engineered products.

WAI, founded in 1930, is a not-for-profit association with nearly 1,800 individual members in 50 countries. The association serves the educational needs of the wire and cable manufacturing industry through a variety of products and services. WAI manages the Interwire Trade Exhibition and the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo and publishes the Wire Journal International and the Wire Journal International Reference Guide.

Media Contacts: Janice E. Swindells, Director Marketing & Corporate Communications, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-2777
x. 117; Steven J. Fetteroll, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-1777.