Power and communication Prysmian

POWER AND COMMUNICATION

The Prysmian Group is a world leader in the production of hi-tech power and telecom cables and systems. Barbara Rossi finds out about recent developments at the company.

The Prysmian Group is a leader in the design, development, manufacture, supply and installation of a wide range of cables, components and accessories for the most diverse applications for both the power and the telecommunication sectors. Furthermore, it also provides value added services such as co-design, cable system project management, complete turnkey projects and installation and post-installation maintenance services, especially for the energy sector. In terms of turnover, Prysmian is the second biggest producer of power cables in the world and one of the main manufacturers of cables for the telecommunication sector.

Prysmian is subdivided into two divisions – Energy and Telecommunications – which are completely integrated, sharing quality control, human resources and finance. The Energy division comprises wires and components for power transmission, construction and infrastructure, and industry. The Telecoms division, on the other hand, deals with wires and accessories for telecommunication solutions, optical fibres and multimedia segments.

The Prysmian Group’s main brands are Prysmian and Draka, two of the strongest and most respected commercial brands in the industry worldwide. They meet the needs of two distinct sectors: energy cables and systems for underground and submarine power transmission and distribution; and telecom cables and systems for video, data and voice transmission. Prysmian has a long history, having started out as part of the Pirelli group in 1879. After having evolved and expanded both in terms of production and geographical coverage over the years, the company was bought from Pirelli by Goldman Sachs in 2005, when it was renamed Prysmian and listed on the Milan stock exchange.

The Prysmian and Draka brands were recently merged and the group’s major strategy is now to preserve and develop both brands. This will translate into a strengthened geographical presence, particularly in Europe, as a result of the complementary geographical presence of Draka in northern Europe and Prysman in southern Europe. It will also mean a greater presence in some attractive emerging markets, in key industrial cable markets and in the telecoms business across EMEA, North and South America, and China. This will result in an even faster customer service, regardless of the location of clients.

Currently the group is present in 50 countries, covering both mature and emerging markets, has 97 plants, 17 R&D centres and employs about 22,000 people worldwide. Its global operations are supported by a worldwide network of local subsidiaries, across five continents. In 2010 Prysmian, which is headquartered in Milan, had a turnover of €46 million.

Excellence, integrity, understanding

Prysmian places great emphasis on research, as highly innovative technological products, high product quality and an outstanding customer service are crucial to its success. For this reason, as well as having numerous R&D centres staffed by 400 skilled professionals, the

group also collaborates with major universities and colleges, such as CNR (the National Research Council of Italy), and participates in numerous fairs and conferences. In terms of quality, the group employs a ‘zero defects’ and ‘right first time’ approach and is committed to understanding the needs of its clients, so as to provide them with the best solution for their particular case.

The principles of environmental sustainability are embedded within the group, playing an important role in its competitiveness. Prysmian constantly strives to manufacture products with an even lower environmental impact and it holds up-to-date ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications. It is particularly proud of its Ecology line of power land transmission systems, where lead has been partially or completely replaced by the lighter and more eco-friendly aluminium, as well as of its submarine high technology wires which carry power from the world’s largest offshore

wind farms to where power is consumed, and its P-laser technology for medium voltage power distribution. In addition to this, there is its wide range of low smoke zero halogen and low fire-hazard safety wires for the construction sector, and the fact that Prysmian also supplies wires to solar power parks, wind farms and photovoltaic plants.

Global clients

Thanks to its wide and innovative range of products and services, the Prysmian Group is the partner of choice for some of the world’s key utilities companies, power grid operators, industrial groups and telecom companies.

Recently the group has been commissioned to carry out a €67 million project to link the Vietnamese national power grid to the island of Pu Quoc. This is the first submarine power link built by a utility company in Vietnam. In addition to this exciting project the Prysmian group is also going to supply over 200km of high power cables to Libya, for the Bengasi and Tripoli grids. Furthermore, through Draka, the group will be involved in supplying high technology cables for the lifts of the new World Trade Centre in New York. The biggest contract win for the group is the €800 million Western HVDC Link assigned to the group in partnership with Siemens. In fact, this is the highest value project ever commissioned in the cable sector and involves a new submarine power link between Scotland and England, supplying energy from renewable sources. This strategic British infrastructure project is a real challenge in terms of power and capacity and the fact that Prysmian has won the bid with Siemens confirms the group’s strong reputation. n