Lubricants& Filtration

WIRE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2011

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L w w w. w i r e n e t . o r g

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WIRE JOURNAL

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

CONTENTS

Volume 44 | Number 10 | October 2011

F EATURE

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Industry News . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Asian Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Fiber Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fastener Update . . . . . . . . . . 28

2011 IWCS preview . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

WAI News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

IWCS travels to the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 60th staging of the event, which has continued to evolve in recent years.

Chapter Corner . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Lubrication & Filtration

Technical Papers . . . . . . . 60-76 Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

. . . . . . . . .38

Suppliers of lubrication and filtration technology present some of their latest technology for the production of wire and cable. Also, looking-forward comments from suppliers and a look at two lubrication issues of interest to wire manufacturers.

T ECHNICAL P APERS

Career Opportunities . . . . . . . 83 Advertisers’ Index . . . . . . . . . 86

Next issue November 2011 • Green Focus: managing waste • Southeast Asia wrapup

Research on the influence of the structural state of Cu-ETP wire rod on the annealing susceptibility of wires Tadeusz Knych, Andrzej Mamala, Beata Smyrak and Monika Walkowicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Dry drawing lubricants and borax Hubertus Damm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Recirculation furnace with water quenching for steel wire Walter Kolb, Rubert Zachar and Dr. Wolfgang Weidenhaupt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Cover: The essentials, as ever, continue to matter when it comes to wire and cable production, especially when the ground rules change in terms of what can and cannot be used. In this feature, suppliers of lubrication and filtration technology present their solutions. See p. 38.

OCTOBER 2011 | 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE MILLISECONDS

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BIG

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CONTENTS

MERE

It’s hard to envision broadband customers willing to pay 50 times as much for transatlantic service that is just six milliseconds faster, but Hibernia Atlantic, the U.K. developers of the $300 million euro submarine cable system, believe that the financial sector will be lining up to buy into that performance advantage.

4 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

THE ‘SELL-OUTS’ Chalk up another event sell-out and a great-time-had-by-all for the New England Chapter’s annual golf tournament, which was held for the first time at the Ellington Ridge Country Club in Connecticut. Two teams shot 63, and a scorecard comparison gave the honors to the team of Richard Miller, Southwire Co.; Marty Kenner, Commission Brokers; and Ron Reed and Brian Bouvier, Lloyd & Bouvier.

CONTINUE

. . . . . .35

EDITORIAL WIRE JOURNAL

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EDITORIAL

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

There’s value in having an organization on your side when action is called for I’m sitting on the train, returning from the American Wire Producers Association (AWPA) Government Affairs Conference and I am surprisingly optimistic considering I just spent a night in D.C., the stock market is down 400+ points and my Red Sox are struggling.

My confidence is based on the strength of the industry that is tangible every time I either visit a plant or attend an industry event. Yes, the AWPA members are struggling, but you would never know it based on their full agenda and commitment to removing barriers to success. It would be nice to think my baseball team could have the same tenacity.

Over the years, AWPA member companies have promoted fair trade and have had to fight all too often to stop the illegal import of products that are sold at less than fair value (dumping). When successful, those lengthy trade actions result in duties being assigned to specific companies, but even then the story often doesn’t end.

Some companies will attempt to avoid paying the duties by transshipping and/or slightly altering the product in a third country.

While no one is surprised at the repetitive illegal behavior of some, the estimate of annual duties lost across multiple industries is some $400 million, which is meaningful in any economic scenario. These are hard dollars or jobs, and we could use either and preferably both.

AWPA Executive Director Kimberly Korbel says that the message is that new regulations are not required, but rather that existing AWPA President/Mar-Mac Wire regulations need to be enforced.

CEO John Martin and AWPA Pending legislation supported by Executive Director Kimberly AWPA and known as the Enforce Korbel discuss issues at the Act, could further that end. We will Government Affairs Conference. keep you updated on the progress of this legislation in coming issues.

While I can’t provide the details of the full meeting here, I encourage those of you on the ferrous side to contact AWPA for more about the many initiatives they are addressing: the scrap market, energy, the 2012 elections and the organization’s newly formed wire caucus, which you will read about in future issues. What AWPA and other associations do shows their collective value because no one company on its own can effectively address such a wide scope of issues.

Steve Fetteroll WAI Executive Director 6 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Publisher | Steven J. Fetteroll Editor-in-Chief | Mark Marselli Senior Graphic Designer | Bill Branch Director of Sales | Robert Xeller Advertising Sales | Anna Bzowski Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications | Janice E. Swindells Graphic Artist | Adrienne E. Simpson Proofreader | Livia Jacobs Publications Advisory Board Dane G. Armendariz | Henkel Corporation, USA Ferruccio Bellina | TKT Group/President ACIMAF, Italy Peter A. Funk | Talley Metals Technology, USA Malcom Michael | AWIA Australia Don Schollin | Q-S Technologies, USA Ralph Skalleberg | Skaltek USA Dave Stackpole | Nutmeg Wire, USA Giulio Properzi | Continuus Properzi, Italy Robert Wild | Niehoff Endex North America, USA Technical Advisors John Drummond | Scotia Group R. M. Shemenski | RMS Consulting, Inc.

WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL (ISSN-0277-4275) published monthly by The Wire Journal, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Wire Association International, Inc., which is located at 1570 Boston Post Road, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA, and can be contacted at tel.

203-453-2777; fax 203-453-8384; Internet wirenet.org; e-mail mmarselli@wirenet.org. Address all correspondence concerning advertising production, editorial and circulation to the above address. WJI is printed in USA. Subscription rates: $110 per year, USA; $120 per year, Canada and Mexico; other countries, $140 per year (includes air mail). Back copies: $10 WAI members, $15 non-members. Periodicals postage paid at Guilford, CT 06437, USA, and at additional offices.

Wire Journal International grants photocopy permission to libraries and others registered with Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 21 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970, USA, for a fee of $0.50 per article. Payments should be sent directly to the CCC. Requests for bulk orders or reprints should be sent to the Wire Journal International, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA. © 2011 by Wire Journal, Inc. All rights reserved. The Publisher of WJI assumes no responsibility for the validity of manufacturers’ claims made herein. Back issues of WJI are on microfilm and available from University Microfilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. Phone: 313761-4700.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wire Journal International, P.O. Box 578, Guilford, CT 06437-0578, USA.

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR Oct. 26-27, 2011: American Wire Producers Association Operations Managers Meeting Jacksonville, Florida, USA. To be held at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel, this event will include tours of Gerdau and Insteel facilities. Contact: AWPA, tel. 703-299-4434, www.awpa.org.

Nov. 6-9, 2011: 60th IWCS Conference™ Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. To be held at the Charlotte Convention Center. Contact: Pat Hudak, IWCS, tel. 732-389-0990, www.iwcs.org, phudak@iwcs.org.

Nov. 7-8, 2011: CabWire World Conference Düsseldorf, Germany. To be held at the Congress Center Düsseldorf, this technical conference is being co-organized by ACIMAF, CET, IWCEA, IWMA and WAI. See www.cabwire-duesseldorf.com.

March 26-30, 2012: wire Düsseldorf 2012 Düsseldorf, Germany. To be held at the Messe fairgrounds. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, info@mdna.com, tel. 312-781-5180.

May 9-10, 2012: 2012 National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. To be held at the Frontier Airlines Center. Contact Expo Productions, Inc., tel. 800367-5520, www.expoproductionsinc.com/wire_home.htm.

May 21-22, 2012: AWPA 2012 Wire Rod Supply Chain Conference Dallas, Texas, USA. To be held at the Omni Dallas Hotel, this event, being put on by the American Wire Producers Association, is being held in conjunction with Wire Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012. Contact: AWPA, tel. 703-299-4434, www.awpa.org.

May 22-23, 2012: 2012 Operations Summit & Wire Expo Dallas, Texas, USA. This WAI event at the Omni Dallas Hotel includes the Association’s 82nd Annual Convention and trade show. www.wirenet.org.

Sept. 25-28, 2012: wire China 2012 Shanghai, China. To be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, fax 312-781-5188, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

Oct. 29-31, 2012: Wire & Cable India Mumbai, India. This event is organized by Messe Düsseldorf. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

April 23-25, 2013: Interwire 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center for the trade show, technical programs and the Association’s 83rd Annual Convention,

W IRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL EVENTS For more information, contact the WAI, USA. Tel. 001-203-453-2777; fax 001-203-453-8384; www.wirenet.org.

Oct. 13, 2011: Southeast Chapter 10th Annual Golf Tournament: The Vannais Conover, North Carolina, USA. This event, which will take place at the Rock Barn Golf & Spa, will also be a scholarship fundraiser for Eric Vannais, the son of the late Stephen Vannais, the former chapter president. See p. 35.

Oct. 24, 2011: Western Chapter 11th Annual ‘Wild West Shootout’ Golf Outing Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA. This event will be held at the Los Verdes Golf Course. See p. 35.

Nov. 7-8, 2011: CabWire World Conference Düsseldorf, Germany. To be held at the Congress Center Düsseldorf, this technical conference is being co-organized by ACIMAF, CET, IWCEA, IWMA and WAI. See www.cabwire-duesseldorf.com.

8 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

May 22-23, 2012: 2012 Operations Summit & Wire Expo Dallas, Texas, USA. This WAI event at the Omni Dallas Hotel includes the Association’s 82nd Annual Convention and trade show. www.wirenet.org.

April 23-25, 2013: Interwire 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center for the trade show, technical programs and the Association’s 83rd Annual Convention, www.wirenet.org.

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS Saving milliseconds is the selling point of new transatlantic cable One can picture the Hiberian Express, a high-speed fiber-optic cable network being installed on the Atlantic seabed, as being a “financial” Formula 1 race car pitted against a dependable yet pedestrian Toyota Camry, only the difference in cross-Atlantic speed, from beginning to end, in both cases is less than a second.

Hibernia Atlantic’s vice-president of business development, as saying that the cable route had taken 18 months to plan, with service planned to start in 2013.

Reader comments to The Telegraph story were not overly warm. Wrote one cynic, “A massive infrastructure project undertaken so that computer traders can make billions by completing trades in milliseconds that have no genuine economic value whatsoever. Futility upon futility.

Properly depressing.”

Nexans wins power cable contract for Turkmenistan gas field

A view of the route for the Hiberian Express, which is depending on milliseconds to attract financial sector customers.

Per wire reports, the 3,741-mile-long submarine cable, a 300 million euro project by U.K.’s Hibernia Atlantic, has been designed to offer the fastest possible transatlantic connection, which currently is offered by Crossing’s AC1 cable at 65 milliseconds. Hibernia Atlantic, the company behind the Hiberian Express, says that it will cut that time by six milliseconds. “This may not sound impressive but it is claimed that even a one millisecond advantage could be worth up to 63 million euro (US$100 million) a year to the bottom line of a large hedge fund,” the reports said. Customers may be asked to pay as much as 50 times more for that performance.

An article in The Telegraph said that the last cables laid under the Atlantic were funded by the dotcom boom in the 1990s, when telecoms infrastructure firms rushed to criss-cross the ocean. “The new transatlantic communications cable offering special superfast bandwidth “will have hyper-competitive trading firms and banks in the City of London and New York queuing to use it,” it said.

The British firm laying the cable, Global Marine Systems, is using a new route that will be shorter than any existing transatlantic cable, The Telegraph article said. It will try to follow the flight path of London to New York flights, shaving 310 miles (498 km) from the shortest existing route and claiming to cut execution times by about 8%, it said. The article cited Mike Saunders, 10 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Nexans announced that it has been awarded a major contract by Petrofac, an international provider of facilities solutions to the oil and gas production and processing industries, to supply specialized low-voltage (LV) cables for a gas field development project in Turkmenistan.

A press release said that, in the next 12 months, more than 1,800 km of armored and hydrocarbon-resistant LV cables from Nexans will be provided for installation at a new processing plant under construction to serve the South Yoloten gas field, where they will deliver power for vital control and safety services. The LV cables, developed to ensure total reliability and a long service life in demanding oil and gas applications, will be manufactured at the Nexans plants in Turkey, it said.

The project is being coordinated by the local Nexans sales engineering team, based in Dubai, together with the Nexans sales team in Istanbul.

“The South Yoloten contract is an important breakthrough for Nexans into the Turkmenistan market and we are very proud to have this opportunity to further extend our long-standing relationship with Petrofac on strategic oil and gas projects,” said Bernard Albouy, Nexans Market Director for Oil & Gas Business.

The South Yoloten gas field, located around 400 km southeast of Ashgabat, the country’s capital city, is said to rank among the world’s top five largest gas reserves. When the development project is completed, from 2013 onward, it is expected to export 20 million cubic Nexans will provide low-voltage meters per cables for a gas field project in annum of gas.

Turkmenistan.

Germany’s Queins & Co. GmbH, a supplier of new and used cabling equipment, has made an industry-wide announcement that the company was forced to file for insolvency.

In an Aug. 31 letter to business partners, customers, suppliers, forwarding agents, etc., the company said that the issue was forced following several lost orders and lack of help from banks to provide temporary credit lines.

“We only have a liquidity problem,” it said, noting that there had been cancellation of orders in Egypt and neighboring countries due to political instability and by a Russian customer who had to cancel a purchase order because of “missing government subsidies.”

Normally, these problems could be dealt with, but one of the big orders called for a 1.3 million euro downpayment from a very good customer that had always paid on time, and those funds were included in Queins’ payment commitments schedules, said company President Georg Queins. “Much to our surprise, this customer delayed the payment and after awhile cancelled the order because he could not get the (expected) help from the state…so he could not build two new factories as planned.” The short notice of the news, he said, made it difficult to get intermediate credit line from banks in Germany. Furthermore, he noted, German law has very strict requirements, including that a company must quickly declare insolvency if it does not see a very promising alternative.

“A delay beyond 21 days is declared a criminal act and you go straight to jail. You can imagine that we were not aiming to this,” he said, noting that this is

why Queins filed for insolvency.

“So far all customers have kept their orders with us.

Many suppliers promised that they will serve us as before and the insolvency administrator has decided that the company will continue right now as before,” Queins said.

“With most of our suppliers we have a long lasting and trustful relationship and we will endeavor to regain these good times.”

Hitachi Cable to cut 1,200 jobs, exit undersea fiber-optic cable Japan’s Hitachi Cable Ltd. announced that it plans to cut some 1,200 jobs, mainly through early retirement, by the end of the current business year on March 31, 2012, due to continuing losses from a slump in the Japanese market.

OCTOBER 2011 | 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

Liquidity problems force Germany’s Queins & Co. to file for insolvency

INDUSTRY NEWS

Kyodo News International, Inc., reports that the planned job cuts account for more than 10 percent of the company’s approximately 9,100 group workers in Japan. The company, part of the Hitachi Ltd. Group, said it will reorganize its businesses within the country, such as by withdrawing from its unprofitable undersea fiber-optic cable business. Equipment at a factory in the city of Hitachi (HIT), Ibaraki Prefecture, that makes undersea fiber-optic cable will be sold off, while manufacturing bases for communications cable, whose growth prospect is poor, will be consolidated, it said, noting that the company will focus on overseas markets in the electric power and nextgeneration energy fields.

The report said that Hitachi Cable expects to post a loss of 19 billion yen for the current business year, its fourth straight annual loss, but to earn a profit of 15 billion yen the following year.

AMSC sues its former largest customer, claims IP theft U.S.-based American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) announced plans to file criminal and civil suits against its former largest customer, a Chinese turbine firm that it claims has stolen AMSC’s Intellectual Property (IP) technology and abandoned its commitments as a customer. Days later those claims were denied in the latest chapter in a story that likely will get more attention, as IP theft has often been cited as an issue of much concern to high-tech companies outside China doing business there.

AMSC is a producer of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) wire, but in recent years the vast majority of its revenues (up to 75%) had come from technology it provides for wind turbines. Earlier this year, AMSC’s largest customer by far, China’s Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd., (Sinovel), stopped doing business with it and refused to accept completed orders. AMSC claims that “an intensive investigation” revealed that Sinovel had “illegally obtained and used AMSC’s intellectual property to upgrade its 1.5 megawatt wind turbines in the field to meet proposed Chinese grid codes and to potentially allow for the use of core electrical components from other manufacturers.”

Boston Business Journal reports that the following information was presented in AMSC’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A former employee of AMSC’s Windtec subsidiary was arrested in Austria in July on charges of economic espionage and fraudulent manipulation of data. The employee was not named in the filing. The employee allegedly had been contracted by Sinovel to obtain parts of the company’s wind turbine control software source code and transfer it to Sinovel,

12 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

and also illegally used source code to develop a software modification for Sinovel that could circumvent the encryption and other protection measures on power converters for 1.5-megawatt wind turbines in the field.

AMSC is seeking to compel Sinovel and related parties end the use of its IP, to pay monetary damages, to pay for past product shipments and to accept contracts for not yet delivered components and spare parts under existing contracts. China’s Dalian Guotong Electric Co., was also named as a party.

In an e-mailed statement to Reuters, Sinovel said it “categorically denies AMSC’s allegation of IP infringement and will actively respond to the suits to defend the company’s IP.” It said that it stopped making payments and taking delivery of goods as AMSC failed to meet contract requirements and grid integration requirements in China. “Ever since 2006 when AMSC started to supply Sinovel’s core parts, AMSC has not been able to adapt to the fast developing global wind power technology, especially that of the Chinese market,” the response said.

The Boston Business Journal article also cited experts on Chinese business as saying that Chinese companies “often feel that Americans’ key source of power is technology, which can lead to short-lived relationships.” The report included comments from one expert, Andrew Hupert of New York University in Shanghai, who observed, “Once a Chinese firm has developed the ability to reproduce Western technology—either through IP sharing agreements, backwards engineering or out-and-out theft—they see little value in maintaining a relationship with the American side.”

Has the industry market deflated for offshore wind power turbines?

GE, a U.S.-based industrial giant and a leader in manufacturing wind-power turbines, may believe that the offshore sector may have lost its mojo.

An on-line article in Forbes by William Pentland, senior energy systems analyst for the Pace Energy and Climate Center (PECC), said that GE plans to scale back efforts to expand its presence in the offshore wind power market.

The rationale, he wrote, is that “there is no meaningful offshore wind market to speak of – at least not yet.” He wrote that, “Given slower-than-expected industry growth, the offshore market may not mature as rapidly as many wind boosters once believed.” He noted that in 2009, GE moved into the offshore market by acquiring Norway’s ScanWind, a developer of direct-drive turbines, based in the city of Trondheim. Now, GE is considering laying off about 40 employees in Norway as it scales back its offshore operations there, according to reports in Recharge, he said, adding that GE has also suspended plans indefinitely to construct a manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom.

“The 4.1-113 four MW direct-drive offshore turbine developed by GE in Norway performs very well in shal-

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INDUSTRY NEWS

low waters, but leaves a lot to be desired in deeper waters,” Pentland wrote. “As a result, GE has shifted its focus in the deep-water space to developing a 10-15 MW turbine using superconducting magnets, which has received additional funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).”

The on-line discussion on the topic reflected questions about the off-shore wind power sector. “Inasmuch as GE believes it can create demand where possible, GE’s pulling out of offshore wind not only means there’s no market, it means they doubt there can be a market in our lifetimes.” Another reader said it all comes down to the finances. “Offshore wind is a distraction in wind power development, at least in the U.S., and no doubt in other countries as well. It’s not because there isn’t good wind offshore. It’s because the 10-25% greater energy isn’t worth the 300% higher cost of building and operating offshore. … Encouraging highly expensive technologies like offshore wind anywhere, and onshore wind in places like Pennsylvania and New York, can kill the wind industry for decades or generations. Think about it: what industry can survive by building production-scale facilities at sites where the cost is double or triple that of the lowest cost sites? It badly dilutes the goal of reducing carbon emissions, and gives critics the opportunity to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

As a sidenote, an article at www.rechargenews.com, which covers renewable energy, reported that the Brazilian wind industry is suffering because of high domestic steel prices that make future wind projects difficult. It said that the price of steel is 50% to 70% higher in Brazil than on the international market, and that Usiminas, a former state-owned company privatized in the 1990s, enjoys a near monopoly on domestic steel plate supply as the government allows it to set different prices for domestic sales and exports. Brazil’s national development bank, BNDES will not give developers full access to its funding unless at least 60% of a project’s equipment is produced in Brazil, it said, adding that the percentage is determined by weight, and towers can constitute 80% of a wind farm’s mass.

As nearly all Brazilian developers depend on the bank’s cheap financing to make their projects viable, and BNDES does not consider foreign steel rolled in Brazil as local content, meaning that companies are generally unable to import from abroad, the article said. Some companies, it noted, are considering making the towers from concrete.

Lake Copper Conductors plans expansion of its Elkhart site U.S.-based Lake Copper Conductors, LLC, a manufacturer of bare copper wire, announced that it will expand its operations in Elkhart, Indiana, creating up to 23 new jobs by 2014.

The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne reports that the

14 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

company will invest $3.4 million to lease and equip a new 90,000-sq-ft facility that will specialize in drawing thin copper wire. It said that Lake Copper, which currently has 28 employees in Indiana, plans to begin hiring additional machine operators later this year to coincide with this expansion.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered the company up to $125,000 in performancebased tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans, and the city of Elkhart initially approved additional property tax abatements, the release said.

Per the article, Lake Copper Conductors, formerly Lake Cable of Elkhart, LLC, was founded in 2009 by William Runzel IV to produce conductors in the transportation, energy and heavy machinery industries. The company is based in Bensenville, Illinois, and operates two Indiana facilities in Elkhart and Valparaiso.

EIS acquires Cobra Wire & Cable U.S.-based EIS Inc., a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, announced that it has acquired the stock of Cobra Wire & Cable, Inc., from Merit Capital Partners and Fulton Capital.

Cobra, which has headquarters and a distribution facility in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and additional distribution locations in Plano, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, serves the telecom, battery, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and marine markets, a press release said.

“We are pleased to welcome the Cobra team to the EIS and the Genuine Parts Company family.” EIS President and CEO Bob Thomas said in the release. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to grow our current specialty wire and cable business into targeted adjacent markets.”

The release said that Cobra Wire and Cable President Peter Sheehan will lead the Wire and Cable Division of EIS. In it, Sheehan said that the new ownership is an exciting one for Cobra Wire. “We look forward to playing an active role in (EIS’s) continued expansion into the specialty wire and cable business.”

In addition to wire and cable, EIS distributes process materials, production supplies and value-added fabricated parts, supplying more than 100,000 critical products from 38 branches and three fabrication facilities located in North America.

Alcan Cable reports that it will be a supplier for U.S. solar energy project Alcan Cable reports that more than 100,000 ft of its STABILOY® SunPlus™ PV Cable has been installed in the Dover Sun Park Solar Project, a 10-megawatt project in Delaware that is owned by White Oak Solar Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power Group.

The aluminum alloy photovoltaic cable, which the company noted is lightweight, flexible and easier to install than copper cables, will be used distribute power from the com-

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INDUSTRY NEWS

biner box to the AC/DC inverter, a press release said. It noted that the project, which was described as the largest operational solar project in the U.S. Northeast, was designed and built by SunPower Corp. using SunPower® Tracker systems and high efficiency solar panels to follow the sun’s movement during the day, increasing energy capture by up to 25 percent over conventional fixed tilt solar technology.

Nexans wins Riffgat contract to supply cables for offshore wind farm Nexans reports that it has won a contract from OffshoreWindpark Riffgat GmbH & Co. KG, a project developer owned by Enova and EWE ENERGIE, to supply and install the infield submarine power cables and ancillary equipment for the Riffgat offshore wind farm currently under construction 15 km northwest of the German island of Borkum.

A press release said that the Riffgat wind farm, covering an area of six sq km, will comprise 30 wind turbines that are designed to provide peak capacity of 108 megawatts (MW), sufficient to meet the needs of around 100,000 households. The Nexans facility in Hannover, Germany, will manufacture just over 24 km of 33 kV XLPE submarine infield cables to interconnect the wind turbines and to link them to the offshore transformer substation, it said.

Nexans in Norway will be responsible for the cable installation, which includes engineering, laying the cable and pulling in each cable end to the wind turbines, as well as protection of the cables on the seabed using the specialized Capjet trenching machine, it said. Delivery of the Riffgat cables is expected to be completed in 2012.

“The Riffgat project is unusual as it is located in somewhat deeper waters (18 to 23 meters) than most offshore wind farms currently under construction,” said Dirk Steinbrink, executive vice president high voltage & underwater cable. “It therefore provides the ideal opportunity for Nexans to demonstrate our specific expertise in the manufacture of infield cables for deeper water wind projects, especially as future projects are set to head for even deeper waters.”

U.S. Commerce Dept. sets penalties on Chinese steel wire companies The U.S. Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of galvanized steel wire, and has imposed anti-subsidy duty rates of 48.81%, 48.90%, 21.59% and 253.07% respectively on four. Chinese responding enterprises (Huayuan Companies, M&M Industries Co., Bao Zhang Companies and Shandong Hualing Hardware and Tool Co.) along with 44.46% on other Chinese enterprises involved. A final ruling is scheduled for January 2012.

Per a federal report, the petitioners in the case, Davis Wire Corporation, Johnstown Wire Technologies, Inc., Mid-South

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Wire Company, Inc., National Standard, LLC and Oklahoma Steel & Wire Company, Inc., had filed their complaint seeking countervailing duties (CVD) on March 31, 2011, and an investigation commenced on April 20. The four above cited companies were found to account for the largest volume of the targeted exports. In addition to the investigation on galvanized wire, the Department also initiated antidumping duty (AD) investigations of galvanized wire from Mexico. The CVD and AD investigations have the same scope with regard to the merchandise covered. The final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than Jan. 10, 2012, unless postponed. The scope of the investigation covers galvanized steel wire that is plated or coated with zinc (whether by hot-dipping or electroplating).

The report further notes that the Chinese government did not provide them sufficient information to determine what the fair market price for the steel wire was at the time. “As facts become available, we find that (the Chinese) prices of wire rod are significantly distorted as a result of the (government’s) involvement in the market.” The focus turned to world market prices available to purchasers in China, and that was used to set the preliminary assessments, it said.

Prysmian view: takeover of Draka has worked well for synergies, opportunities In its latest financial report, Prysmian announced that the its takeover of Draka has shown promising results, with projected synergies exceeding expectations and opening up more business opportunities.

A press release said that Prysmian had expected annual synergies to save up to 100 million euros, but that it now anticipates that figure climbing to 150 million euros by 2015. The net restructuring costs to generate these synergies are expected to cost about 200 million euro over the integration period, and the initial benefits are expected as early as the second half of the current year, it said.

“The launch of the new organizational and management structure, effective from July 2011, has marked a fundamentally important step forward in the integration process with Draka,” the release said. “With the aim of utilizing best practice in both companies, it has been decided to adopt a matrix organizational model in which the more local businesses are principally managed along geographical lines and the global businesses are managed vertically. Following a process involving and making the most of the Group’s best resources, the new management team has been selected, comprising more than 300 positions worldwide. At the same time as developing the new organization, the Group has agreed and adopted a new mission and a new branding strategy that will allow it to utilize and make the most of both the Prysmian and Draka brands. … Thanks to the integration with Draka, the new Group has become leader in fiber optic cables, with production facilities around the globe and a wider product portfolio.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Danieli gets order from Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ) for a new mill Italy’s Danieli will build a new mill in Belarus for Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ), a company with which it has had a long business relationship.

A report in BelTA said that the project calls for the new mill to have annual capacity of 700,000 metric tons. It cited a project cost of 100 million euros, with implementation scheduled within 30 months. The facility will produce straight bars and rolled wire.

The project furthers a long-standing relationship. Per the announcement, in 1982 Danieli became the sub-supplier of equipment for Belarusian Steel Works, and it provided equipment for its hardware shops in 1987 and 1991. Danieli provided equipment and technologies to raise the efficiency of electric furnaces No. 2 (2007) and No. 3 (2008), using alternative energy. In 2008, Danieli signed a contract to upgrade continuous casting machine No. 3.

Indonesia Trade Security Committee investigates imported steel wire The Indonesian Trade Security Committee (KPPI) has started an investigation into the drastic increase in imported steel wire for construction use, following complaints from local distributors that the sharp increase in the imports had already hurt their business.

The Jakarta Post reported that KPPI Chairwoman Halida Miljani said that the investigation had been instigated in response to a petition filed with the committee

by Indonesia’s leading manufacturer of wire products, PT Bevananda Mustika, and based on preliminary data showing a surge in imports of the products that potentially hurt the firm. “The government will continue to protect local producers from unfair trade practices. If the imported products are proven to hurt local producers, we will immediately impose safeguard measures,” she said.

The story said that, under World Trade Organization rules, the government can impose a provisional measure on imported products 200 days at the latest after the committee initiates an official investigation. Currently, imported steel products, including wire, are charged a 15 percent import duty.

Industry report: the global market for superconductors looks good to 2017 A new report from Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA), projects that the global superconductors market will reach $8.83 billion by 2017, driven by increasing role in diverse end-use applications areas such as industrial, commercial and healthcare.

A press release said that the GIA report, “Superconductors: A Global Strategic Business Report,” provides “a comprehensive review of industry outlook, overview, global research institutes, market trends, product overview, recent industry activity, and profiles of mar18 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

ket players worldwide.” It presents analysis and overview for major geographic markets such as the U.S., Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific and ROW, and market analytics are provided in terms of dollar (value) for product segments including Low Temperature Superconductors (LTS) and High Temperature Superconductors (HTS).

Asia-Pacific leads the global superconductors market while the U.S. and Japan represent the other significant markets for superconducting technology and materials, the report said. “The Asian region, driven by high performance markets of China, India and Korea among others, is set to race ahead at the overall fastest CAGR of more than 5% through 2017. By product segment, the LTS represents the larger market. However, in terms of growth prospects the market for HTS displays tremendous potential, and is slated to forge ahead at a robust double digit rate of over 28% over the analysis period.”

One challenge for superconductors will be how well the cooling systems can perform with respect to reliability, system and cost overhead, the release said, noting that “new testing and industry standardizations would need to be formulated in order to shift the applicability of superconductors from research laboratories to niche market and ultimately to more widespread applications.”

The report includes profiles of key market participants, market analysis by end-use segments and historic data.

For more details, go to www.strategyr.com.

WPM sale of production equipment at Dixie Wire’s closed plant ends Oct. 14 Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. (WPM) announced that there is an Oct. 14 deadline for buyers to inspect and purchase the remaining wire and cable equipment at the closed Dixie Wire plant in Nashville, Tennessee, before the inventory is shipped to WPM’s warehouses.

WPM reported that the equipment—which includes several multi wire drawing systems, a rod breakdown line, extrusion equpment and more—that is still installed and in running condition, must be moved from the Nashville plant by Nov. 18. To review the inventory list, go to www.wireandplastic.com, then “news and events,” and click on “Last Chance: Wire & Cable Equipment Plant Liquidation Sale.”

News in brief U.S.-based Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) reports that it has renamed its Alumina Trihydrate (ATH) business unit Fire Retardant Additives. The new name more accurately reflects the company’s vast array of non-halogen fire retardant and smoke suppressant technologies, brands and products now offered for a variety of end-use applications. “With the recent acquisition of the Kemgard® flame retardant and smoke suppressant business from Sherwin-Williams and our agreement with Almatis to sell and market their specialty hydrates, the timing was right to create a name that encompasses the

and the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force. … Leistritz will host its annual Twin Screw Extrusion Workshop on Nov. 30-Dec. 1, at the Holiday Inn Select in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. The company notes that since 1990, more than 5000 industry professionals have attended its educational programs. Classroom sessions are supplemented by “hands-on” twin-screw extrusion operating experience. For more details, go to www.alec-usa.com/tsws2011.htm. ■

Lincoln Electric’s new wind tower under construction. blades, is nearly as tall as a 45-story building. The 2.5 megawatt turbine is expected to generate up to 10% of the energy used for Lincoln Electric’s main plant in Euclid and save the company up to $500,000 a year in energy costs. The structure, one of the largest urban wind towers in North America, evolved out of a strategic partnership between Lincoln Electric

OCTOBER 2011 | 19

INDUSTRY NEWS

stronger brand and product line-up,” said Jerry Bertram, Vice President and General Manager of HEM’s Industrial Minerals business, “so we updated the name to capture the essence of the business and where it’s going for future growth.” … Micro Products Company, a U.S.-based manufacturer of butt welders since 1928, announced that it has moved its office to the Chicago area. The new street location is Micro Products Co., 1886 E. Fabyan Parkway, Batavia, Illinois 60510. The new phone number is tel.

630-406-9550, fax 630-406-9552. The factory is still located in Peoria, Illinois. For more information go to www.microweld.com. … Lincoln Electric, a global supplier of arc welding products and a supplier to the wind tower fabrication industry, reports that it took a towering step of its own earlier this year when it built a wind tower on the grounds of its world headquarters and manufacturing campus in Euclid, Ohio, just east of downtown Cleveland. The tower, measuring 443 feet tall from the base to the tip of its

ASIAN FOCUS

ASIAN FOCUS Report: Chinese innovation thriving, but not in terms of new directions China has seen stunning results from an internal innovation program launched in 2006, but there is a flip side to that success that highlights a weakness to the approach, one that actually favors India in a very meaningful category, maintains the authors of a recent op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal.

The article, by Anil Gupta, a professor at the university of Maryland’s School of Business, and Haiyan Wang, managing partner of the China India Institute, says that China has seen success in “accelerating (its) move up the technological ladder.” The country has had so much success, they said, that a recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce termed the program “a blueprint for technology theft on a scale the world has not seen before.” By requiring Western companies to transfer leading-edge technology and locating R&D labs in China, the goal was for Chinese companies to “assimilate, absorb and re-innovate upon the proprietary technology developed by foreign companies.” To a degree, that has happened, fueled by the estimated 1,000 foreign-owned R&D labs located in China, but the results also reflect some unexpected downsides, they say.

“Virtually every assessment of the indigenous innovation program has framed it as a win-lose proposition: a win for China and a loss for foreign multinationals. Our analysis, however, suggests that indigenous innovation measures have been counterproductive for China itself.

Instead of inducing technology giants to shift leadingedge R&D work to China at a faster pace, its effect has been exactly the opposite.”

Much of the R&D work being done in China, the authors say, focuses “primarily on local adaptions of innovations developed elsewhere, rather than the development of leading-edge technologies and products for global markets.” While foreign tech companies want to take advantage of China’s talent pool, there is not a high degree of trust, they said, which is not the case with India. It cited the number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between 2006 and 2010 to the top 10 U.S.-based technology companies (IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Micron, GE, Cisco, Texas Instruments, Broadcom and Honeywell). Of those

companies, half did not get a single patent issued from R&D work in China, whereas only one of the 10 companies did not have a patent issued for an advance developed in India, they said. Microsoft and Intel were the leaders for patents in China, but the overall numbers favored India by 1,119 to 886.

What makes those results more striking, the authors say, is that China has three distinct advantages: China, which offers a much larger market, has a GDP that is three times that of India; it spends four times as much on R&D, and it produces far more Ph.D.’s than India. The problem, they say, is how the country approaches R&D. “Beijing is standing in the way, because it’s looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Instead of trying to extract technology from foreign firms today, it should be creating a hospitable environment for these firms to create and train world-class innovators.” For China to succeed from its R&D focus, it needs “open doors, strong intellectual property protection and no stacking of the deck in favor of Chinese companies, a policy mix exactly opposite to some of its current indigenous innovation measures.”

ASIAN NEWS BRIEFS China seeks more access to aluminum and copper via domestic initiatives and acquisitions China Daily reports that there are plans to increase the country’s self-sufficiency in nonferrous metals through further domestic exploration and overseas acquisitions during its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

The article cited a copper wire factory in Huaian, Jiangsu Province, as an example of the need for China to secure more nonferrous metals, both domestically and internationally to meet demand, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said. In the story, Jiang Mingxing, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA), said that companies in the sector want greater control over upstream resources and higher profits.

China aims to build up an internationally leading nonferrous industry,” Jian said in the report. “Significantly enhancing the self-sufficient supply of mining resources is essential.” The China Daily story also cited Kang Yi, former chairman of the CNMIA, as previously saying that the nation’s self-sufficiency rates for copper would reach 55 percent and aluminum would be 75 percent, during the plan period.

The article explained that having more control over the necessary raw materials was important and would translate to favorable results for domestic producers. “Three to

Have news that belongs here? If so, e-mail it to editorial@wirenet.org.

20 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Tata Power reports three-year plan to provide power cable network in Mumbai India’s Tata Power Company (TPC), which notes that it is the country’s largest private power distribution company, announced that it plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore (about US$217 million) over the next three years to lay its own cable network in Mumbai for power distribution.

A report in the Economic Times cited TPC Executive Director Sankaranarayanan Padmanabhan as saying that the company now uses the wire networks of BEST and Reliance Infrastructure to distribute electricity in the city and the suburbs, respectively. TPC, which has its own network in some parts of the city, pays a fee to those companies that it passes along to its consumers, he noted.

Prior to a Supreme Court order, TPC was not allowed to provide a parallel network, but now the company can roll out its own network, Padmanabhan said.

Tibet region has broadband Internet access Broadband internet access is now available to all the counties across southwest China’s Tibet. China Tibet News reports that the connection was made this summer to the last village in Lhongzi County, Shannan Prefecture. “The communications authority of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region announced proudly that all 628 counties across the region are accessible to the worldwide network,” it said. The broadband access project, it reported, “was one of the favorable policies implemented by the government after the enabling of optical cable, telephone and fax lines across the highland region.”

The article said that experts believe the “industrialization progress of Tibet will be largely stimulated by information industry backed by prevailing Internet.” Constructing the broadband network was a challenge as Tibet’s natural conditions, geographic problems and lack of available resources were persistent obstacles, it said. The government-funded internet network construction project began in 2008. So far, Telecom Tibet Branch has accumulatively invested over 1.3 billion yuan to promote the region’s information industry level, especially Tibetan’s usage level in farming and pastoral areas, it said. ■

OCTOBER 2011 | 21

ASIAN FOCUS

five Chinese nonferrous metal companies will be ranked among Fortune 500 companies, while more than 10 companies will have annual revenues exceeding 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion),” he said.

PEOPLE

PEOPLE RichardsApex, Inc., has promoted Andrew P. Helffrich to corporate accounts manager, based at the company’s corporate headquarters. He has 27 years of sales experience, much of it servicing the wire industry. Most recently, he was a regional manager for RichardsApex, accountable for up-state New York and New England areas. In his new position, he will assume various duties and be responsible for sales and customer service for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He Andrew P. holds a marketing degree from Lamar Helffrich University. His former position has been filled by Ed Cuff, a graduate of East Stroudsburg University.

He trained at corporate headquarters for six months and had three months of “on the job training” with Helffrich in his new sales region.

Based in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Ed Cuff RichardsApex, Inc., is a global supplier of specialty metalworking fluids.

Steve Boldebuck has joined Niagara Composites International, Inc., in a new position: ceramic engineer and senior technical salesman, responsible for the company’s ceramic sales for the global wire and cable industrial markets. He has more than 35 years of experience with a major U.S.-based ceramic manufacturing company, including than 20 years in engineering and technical ceramics sales. He also has worked with nonferrous wire manufacturers worldwide. Based in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, Niagara Composites is a global supplier of bow products.

Maguire Products, Inc,. has promoted Frank Kavanagh to the position of vice president of sales, responsible for the company’s sales activities worldwide and directly supervising agents and distributors in the U.S., Latin America and Australia in regions that are not served by the company’s subsidiaries in Canada, Europe and Asia.

He has more than two decades of experience serving international users of plastics equipment, and had served an important role in company’s strong sales growth over the last decade. He Frank Kavanagh joined the plastics industry in 1988, worked for 13 years for Jomar Corp., a blow-molding equipment manufacturer, and was the company’s national sales manager when he left to join

22 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Maguire in 2001. He previously served Maguire as a regional sales manager and then as national sales manager. He holds a degree in business administration from Ocean County (New Jersey) College and has served on the national board of SPI. Based in Aston, Pennsylvania, USA, Maguire Products, Inc., supplies gravimetric blenders and liquid color pumps and related equipment and software to sectors that include wire and cable.

Bill Euliano was named operations manager for Seco Warwick Corp., where he will be responsible for its operating activities and report to the company president. He has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience, serving in positions that include manufacturing engineer, quality manager, engineering manager, materials manager and plant manager. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Gannon University and has completed graduate degree courses for an MBA from Gannon University. He most recently Bill Euliano worked for a company that designed and built furnaces for the glass industry. Based in Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA, Seco Warwick Corp. supplies industrial heat processing equipment for sectors that include wire and cable.

Beta LaserMike has named David Deng as the company’s new sales manager for North China. He will be primarily responsible for developing new business opportunities there for Beta LaserMike that will include various manufacturing sectors in the wire and cable industry.

He has more than 15 years of industrial automation experience, with a strong emphasis in measurement sensors and machine vision systems. His career has included support engineering, product marketing and sales management with a variety of leading David Deng technology companies in China. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electric and automation industry from Tianjin University of Technology. Based in Dayton, Ohio, USA, Beta LaserMike is a global provider of precision measurement and control solutions.

As part of a company expansion, Radiant Energy Systems, Inc., has named Terry Perdue as the company’s engineering manager, responsible for the engineering and design team in planning, project management and quality control, including the implementation and execution of the company’s ISO 9001:2008 certification. He has more

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PEOPLE

than 15 years of experience in paper, converting and alternative energy industries. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and is working on an MBA degree in engineering management at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Based in Hawthorne, New Jersey, USA, Radiant Energy Systems manufactures process heating equipment for sectors that include wire and cable.

Allied Wire and Cable announced that it has expanded its team with the hiring of three new sales representatives for its locations in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Nevada. Paul Lawruk is the newest account representative at the company’s headquarters in Pennsylvania. He began his career in the wire and cable industry at Omni Cable, where he worked as an account manager. Joining the company at its newest location, Las Vegas, is Kristy Ventura. She has a range of industrial experience, having previously worked for companies that include Anacapa Micro Products, R&B Welding, and Grainger. Also joining the company is Ryan Baldinelli, who will work at its

New England branch. He is a 2011 graduate of Castleton State College in Vermont, where he studied business and marketing. Based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA, Allied Wire & Cable is a wire and cable distributor and value-added manufacturer.

Belden, Inc., announced that Sr. Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer Gray G. Benoist plans to retire effective January 1, 2012, at which time H.P.C. “Henk” Derksen will be his successor. Benoist joined Belden in 2006 after having spent 28 years in various senior financial and general management roles across Motorola's portfolio of businesses. Derksen, who served as Belden’s treasurer and vice president, financial planning and analysis, from January 2010 until July 2011, is currently vice president, corporate finance, with responsibility for investor relations, corporate accounting and information technology. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Belden, Inc., designs, manufactures, and markets cable, connectivity, and networking products.

OBITUARIES Dr. Manville “Whitey” Bro, who was part of a DuPont research team that helped discover Teflon FEP, died Aug. 4 at age 88, at his home at Shipley Manor, Wilmington, Delaware.

One of 12 children of Danish immigrant parents, Dr. Bro grew up on a farm in Iowa, earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Iowa and a doctorate in organic chemistry at The University of Iowa. During World War II, he served in the Philippines, and in 1951 he joined the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. as a research scientist. There, he helped discover Teflon FEP and other new fluoropolymer products. He held 12 U.S. and several foreign patents for his discoveries in this field, and authored 12 technical papers on fluoropolymers and fluorine chemistry. During his 34 years with DuPont, he became research, product, and development manager for several Teflon-related products, and cooperated with the W.L. Gore Company in their development of a fluoropolymer resin for Gore-Tex® textiles.

After his retirement in 1985, Bro worked for 17 years as a chemical and plastics consultant for DuPont, Delaware Marketing Services, University of Delaware and several Danish companies. For his work, the DuPont Company presented Dr. Bro in May 2000 with a Life Achievement Award in Fluoropolymers, now dubbed the “Whitey Bro Achievement Award” and presented periodically to other outstanding scientists in the field. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, Society of Automotive

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Engineers, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. He was predeceased by his wife, Marjorie, who died in March 2011. He is survived by his daughters, Denise B. Bro, Judith Bro Pinhasik and Cynthia Bro Higgins, as well as two grandchildren.

The International Wire & Machinery Association reports with great sadness the death of Huib Claushuis earlier this year at the age of 62 following a long illness. He was the well respected marketing and sales manager at MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH, one of Germany’s largest copper rod and wire producers. He had a long and successful career in the copper and alloy wire business starting with the position of planning manager at Drahtwerk Waidhaus in Germany.

In October 1996, Claushuis joined Lamitref Metals in Belgium as Technical Sales Manager and was actively involved in the transfer of the copper business from Lamitref to MKM in Hettstedt. He eventually transferred to MKM in March 2001. In addition to his native Dutch, Huib, a talented linguist, was fluent in German and English with a good level of French. He had a real talent for bridging national boundaries and brought an excellent technical knowledge to understanding customer needs. He was a man with an infectious sense of humor who was genuinely liked by his customers in many countries and was affectionately known as “Herbie” in the English speaking world. ■

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FIBER WATCH

FIBER WATCH Optical fiber serves as an underwater sensor for intruder detection system

Corning files patent for technology to measure stress in optical fiber

US Seismic Systems, Inc., (USSI) announced that it recently successfully completed a demonstration of its underwater harbor security system at a test site in Lake Erie, Pennsylvania, under a contract with Penn State’s Electro Optic Center sponsored by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC).

A press release said that USSI, a subsidiary of Acorn Energy, Inc., had installed two fiber optic sonar arrays on the lake bottom to detect small craft attempting to enter a protected region of interest (ROI). The USSI system, it said, “positively detected 100% of the intrusion attempts at ranges up to 4 km.” The equipment was part of a much larger integrated harbor security system called Harbor Sentinel, which included surface search radar, thermal imaging cameras and Automated Identification System (AIS) ship tracking information.

At its website, the company explains that the optical fiber itself serves as the sensor and is designed to replace the legacy electronic-based sensor systems at a lower cost and with improved performance and reliability. The optic sensing technology employs Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs), which are a type of distributed Bragg reflector constructed in a short segment of optical fiber that reflects particular wavelengths of light and transmits all others.

The FBGs are embedded into the core of the fiber, which is then packaged into rugged cables specifically designed for the various operating environments, be it downhole in an oil well, on the ocean bottom, or buried around the perimeter of a secure facility, it said.

The USSI system demonstrated the feasibility of using a very low cost fiber optic underwater sonar array to provide automated tripwire and ROI alarms in a harbor environment without operator intervention, the release said. It added that, in May, USSI achieved similar results during testing of the system in San Diego’s Mission Bay, which bodes well as the technology could have widespread application.

“There are 360 U.S. ports and harbors that conduct trillions of dollars commerce annually,” said Jeff Grannan, NSWC, who observed that “many of these facilities, which are located in close proximity to large metropolitan centers handle a variety of highly toxic, flammable, and explosive materials.” Damaging or destroying the containers storing those substances could pose a vulnerability to critical U.S. infrastructure, disruption of commerce, and endangerment to the surrounding population, he said.

USSI’s new sensor technology, he said, “can be an effective force multiplier to assist those agencies tasked with the vital role of keeping America safe.”

Corning, Inc., has filed a patent application for a system and method for measuring stress in an optical fiber that was devised by Donald H. Walter and Donald J. Wissuchek, Jr. A report by Laser Focus World cites the following outline about the technology to the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. “A system and method for measuring stress exerted on an optical fiber including providing an optical fiber that includes a fiber optic sensor, and exposing the optical fiber and the fiber optic sensor to various stresses associated with the process by moving the optical fiber and the fiber optic sensor through the process to be measured. The system and method further includes transmitting a source light through the optical fiber as the optical fiber and the fiber optic sensor are exposed to various stresses, receiving a return light signal from the fiber optic sensor as the optical fiber and the fiber optic sensor are exposed to various stresses, and comparing the source light signal to the return light signal for determining the stress exerted on the optical fiber.”

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100 Gigabit Ethernet transmission via multimode fiber reported in Brazil Furukawa and Xena Networks announced that they have demonstrated 100 Gigabit Ethernet transmission over OM4 multimode fiber at a laboratory in Curitiba, Brazil.

A report in Lightwave said that Furukawa used its TeraLAN HDMPO OM4 multimode fiber-optic cable and connectors, with the performance verified using Xena Networks optical test equipment. The TeraLAN HDMPO offering combines OM4 multimode fiber with MPO connectors for high-speed data center and enterprise applications.

“IEEE 802.3ba was approved last year but there is lack of knowledge about how to design, install, and test a real 100-Gbps communication system,” said Fabio Kumasawa, manager of system engineering of Furukawa. “Partnering with Xena Networks let us test and prove our OM4 MMF channel links by simulating a real network, and it was the first demonstration of this 100G application involving MMF fibers in Latin America.”

“Like Furukawa, Xena Networks is committed to driving down the cost of deploying 100 Gigabit Ethernet.

Using our test equipment, Furukawa proved they can help data centers and enterprises drop the price tag of upgrading their existing cabling infrastructure to next-generation 100Gbps network architecture,” said Christopher Lind Arlaud, VP Marketing at Xena Networks. ■

FASTENER UPDATE

FASTENER UPDATE

One environment has room for many business leaders.

Organizers of Las Vegas fastener show in October expect strong showing The organizers of The National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo, to be held Oct. 19-21 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, report very strong interest and an unusually high number of first-time exhibitors.

“We have sold 712 booths to nearly 539 companies from throughout the U.S. and 12 other nations around the world, including Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan and Vietnam,” said Expo General Manager Susan Hurley. “These numbers are well ahead of last year’s pace and we continue receiving new contracts and inquiries on a regular basis. We have added 56 new companies and the Machinery & Tooling area has grown to 38 companies. We expect to be well over 725 booths by show time.”

In addition to the expo, the event includes a reception, a full day of conference programs as well as the Fastener Training Institute workshops, a panel discussion on “The State of the U.S. Fastener Industry,” and more. For more details, go to www.fastenershows.com.

Chinese fastener association formed

REGISTER FOR WAI’s October Webinar: “The Road to Being Recognized as a Business Environmental Leader” Thursday, October 27, 2011 | 11:00 a.m. - Noon EDT Presenter: Roberta Rocheleau Champlain Cable Corporation

FREE TO WAI MEMBERS. Find out more at:

www.wirenet.org/events/webinars/index.htm The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

28 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

A new association for the Chinese fastener industry has been formed: the Anhui Fastener Industry Association (AFIA) was launched in Hefei City, Anhui Province, reports ChinaFastener Magazine.

The report said that the new association has 58 fastener enterprises. At the initial meeting, Wang Xiaoxiu, deputy director of the AFIA’s preparatory group, made a working report, it said. “Anhui is an economically backward province in China, whose fastener industry lags far behind the advanced provinces like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. However, Hefei, the provincial city of Anhui, has greatly strengthened the infrastructure construction of railways, roads, and airports in recent years, bringing a new hope to Anhui’s fastener industrial development. The foundation of AFIA is to better boost the development of fastener industry and enhance the levels of management, technology and sale, and prepare well for the transition of fastener industry from low-end field to high-end field.”

Feng Jinyao, president of China Fastener Industry Association, pointed out in the conference that China fastener industry made great achievements in terms of output, sale, and export in 2010. ■

WAI NEWS

WAI

NEWS

Clear sailing continues at the decadeslong WAI clockwinding tradition A venerable tradition between the WAI and the U.K. featured a new twist when the 2011 clockwinder from the U.K., Commander Chris Groves, arrived at Association headquarters in dress whites, with his wife, Clare. He wound the clock and shared his thoughts on the tradition and the relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. The tradition stems back to 1948, when a group of 32 U.K. companies presented a stately grandfather clock to the U.S. wire industry in appreciation for support provided during World War II. Nearly every year since then, a representative of the U.K. wire industry has made the trip to perform a ceremonial winding of the clock. The tradition is

relationship between the Livery Company and Wire Association are subsets of the wider U.K./U.S. relationships,” Groves said. “Working in the British embassy, I experience the depth of this relationship on a daily basis and I can honestly say that we have had the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, and there is very little that we don’t share or experience together in some form or fashion.” That bond, he noted, has been even closer post the events of 9/11.

Groves said that the wire industry has also come under threat over the years, and that in this increasingly “wireless age” it will be important for the U.K./U.S. wire industries to

Gathered outside the WAI office after the clockwinding, front row, l-r, were: Lonnie Barham, Commander Chris Groves, Clare Groves, Wire Foundation President John Drummond and WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll.

Back row, WAI’s Bill Branch, Dave LaValley, Bob Xeller, Marc Murray and Janice Swindells, WAI Past President Ron Reed and WAI Finance Committee member Tom Siedlarz. carried on by the U.K.’s Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers (Livery Company) and the WAI. “You might be asking what a Royal Navy submarine officer is doing standing in front of you today,” Groves told the small crowd, which included WAI Foundation President John Drummond, WAI Past President Ron Reed, WAI Finance Committee Member Tom Siedlarz, Lonnie Barham, a local former submariner, and WAI staff. He explained that a combination of factors led to his being invited, with the military having links to member companies represented in the Livery Company. He noted that its members included Admiral Sir Anthony Miers as well as his godfather, Tony Woods, who had been a director of the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association.

“The relationship of the U.K./U.S. wire industries and the 30 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

U.K. Commander Chris Groves is all smiles after completing his mission at WAI headquarters. “remain closely aligned in order to spot opportunities, share experience and morph as required to ensure the industry’s survival in this changing world.” He pointed to the jointly sponsored Wire Link Traveling Scholarship “as a great example of how we should continue to work closely together. I am confident that … this tradition will continue for the next 63 years and beyond.”

Schenk completes lengthy stretch as Finance Committee chairman A key volunteer on WAI’s Finance Committee since 1997, Ron Schenk took part in his last meeting at the Association’s headquarters on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

“I was pleased to serve,” said Schenk, a RichardsApex, Inc., executive who joined the committee in 1997 and served as chairman from 1999 to 2011. “I got to work with

Flanked by WAI 2nd Vice President Richard Miller, l, and WAI Treasurer Dave LaValley, Ron Schenk, holds a plaque thanking him for his years of service. a lot of quality people, like the late Jack Salt, who if you looked up ‘Southern Gentleman’ in the dictionary would be there, and John Kopley, and others. I really enjoyed being with them.” He said that he couldn’t say no to extending his service during years when the industry and association were going through harsh periods. “I don’t like to leave when the chips are down,” he said, adding that during his years he came to appreciate the unique challenges posed by a nonprofit organization that has to balance the needs of its members with the needs of remaining financially viable.

“Ron has been an outstanding volunteer,” declared WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll. “He took the responsibility extremely seriously and the Association was fortunate to have him at the helm of this critical function. Without hesitation, he agreed to extend his service as chairman through two difficult economic periods to ensure the WAI remained strong. A lot of members may never realize what he did for us, but his service will long be remembered.”

Oct. 27 WAI webinar: one company’s path to being an environmental leader WAI’s next webinar, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, 11 am (EDT), will be presented by Roberta Rocheleau, Champlain Cable Corp., who will describe her company’s efforts at its plant in Colchester, Vermont, USA, to improve its operations’ effects on the environment.

The presentation by Rocheleau, the company’s environmental coordinator, will trace the steps taken by Champlain Cable, whose products lines include power cable, auto and appliance wire, coaxial cable, control and signal wire, insulated copper wire and more. She notes that the journey began with a cross-functional team dedicated to becoming registered to ISO 14001. Teams were assigned to assess modifications which could be made to mitigate environmental impacts. The company had success in reducing water usage, electrical consumption, landfill waste and hazardous waste generation. Results show positive impacts on the environment, lowered costs, and recent recognition as a business leader.

“The decision to become ISO 14001 registered came from this company’s commitment to continual improvement, said Rocheleau, who has been in the environmental field for 24 years, in various positions from wastewater operator, chief operator to consultant/trainer, and has a Grade 5 license for domestic wastewater and a Grade 4 license for industrial wastewater. She and the company’s then vice president of operations attended a workshop on the various ways to set up an Environmental Management System (EMS).

Champlain Cable was already ISO 9000 registered, and the EMS was piggybacked off the QMS documentation, she said.

The webinar will cover aspects that include the creation of a cross-functional team to assess the impacts and aspects the company’s processes had on the environment. Details on the company’s experience and achievements in aspects such as water consumption, electrical usage, recycling, business analysis and reductions in VOCs, will be presented in the November issue of Wire Journal International.

The webinar is free for WAI members.

Nov. 7 ITC program in Düsseldorf set, limited tabletop positions still available The technical programs and speakers have largely been finalized for CabWire World Conference 2011, to be held Nov. 7 at the Congress Center Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The event, being put on by multiple industry organizations, marks the fifth such time that the conference has been held, with prior technical conferences held in Stresa, Prague, Bologna and Istanbul by Italy’s ACIMAF (Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine per Filo), France’s CET (Comité Européen de la Tréfilerie), the U.K.’s IWMA (International Wire & Machinery Association) and U.S.’s WAI (Wire Association International). Joining the organizers for the first time is IWCEA (the International OCTOBER 2011 | 31

WAI NEWS

The program is also supported by the Wire Foundation, and speaking earlier, Wire Foundation President John Drummond praised the value of the exchange program, recalling the valuable experience he got many years ago while visiting plants in the U.K. through his then employer, Essex. “I learned a lot from those visits, including that nobody has a patent on the right way to do things.”

WAI helped me branch out into a new career.

Q: Why did you join WAI? A: To learn as much as I could about the wire industry.

Q: What are the three most valuable benefits you receive through WAI? A: Relationships with people who have years of industry experience; leads for both sales generation and suppliers; the ability to partner with other companies within the wire industry.

Q: Why have you renewed your membership over the years?

A: I support the industry because the industry has supported me.

Q: Why did you get involved in the wire industry?

A: After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1997, I was hired

Kevin Sopczak Commercial Manager | ShapedWire Member Since: 1999

Meet Kevin Sopczak.

One of WAI’s worldwide members.

One compelling story.

Kevin respects experience and has plenty to share.

He’s the guiding light to his sales force. He knows how cold calls result in cold rolls. When he retired the camouflage, he emerged. And there is no hiding the round, flat, and custom wire shapes he’s into now.

at ShapedWire to be a 3rd shift foreman. After working and learning many of the drawing/rolling mills for six months I went into outside sales.

Q: What would you be doing if you hadn’t gotten involved in the wire industry?

A: I would probably be working in law enforcement.

Q: If you were to nominate yourself for an award what would it be for?

A: The middleman, since I often work between and with competitors.

Q: What did your most valuable WAI contact help you do?

A: To understand it’s easy to hate your competitors, but better to work with them.

Strategist | Inspired Leader | Competitor | Mission Man | Middleman | Chameleon | Presidential Look-alike He’s transformed from foreman to salesman to self-described middleman.

His allegiance is clear. A dozen years in as a WAI member, he supports the industry that supports him. It’s revealing that his fond memories of Wire Expo services are from Navy Pier.

His competitive edge is squarely intact. Yet he’s a diplomatist to the core. His strategy: Peacekeeping.

His tactic: Cooperation. His next mission? Public office. He has our vote. Meet him through WAI.

MNEMONIC TIP: KEVIN SOPCZAK. SHAPING THE RUN OF THE MILL.

Q: What is your favorite Interwire or Wire Expo memory?

A: When Wire Expo was held in Chicago, on Navy Pier.

Q: What is something almost no one knows about you?

A: I once beat Danica Patrick in a race. It was a 3K running race.

Q: What is your lifelong ambition?

A: To run for public office.

Q: What do you like about the wire industry?

A: Most of the people I have met are down to earth, pleasant, and usually helpful.

Meet your peers. Achieve your goals. Join WAI’s community at www.wirenet.org.

The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

times, including the reception at the end of the day.

The event, which is being held concurrently with a tube event, will also offer two plant tours (Leoni Kerpen GmbH in Stolberg and Drahtwerk Köln in Cologne) on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Leoni plant manufactures highly sophisticated copper and fiber optic cables and cabling systems for information technology. The Drahtwerke plant produces pre-

Sponsors for CabWire World Conference 2011. stressing steel wires and strands; spring steel wires; steel wire rope; wires and strands for rope bridges; and wire for the cable industry.

The program will focus on issues that affect producers in many countries. The collective technical presentations, as well as the market overviews and projections, respond to the vital needs that exist today to either improve or replace outdated processes with new, greener technology.

In addition to the organizers, the sponsors for CabWire include: the IWMA Educational Trust Fund (main sponsor); Niehoff Maschinenfabrik GmbH; Spring Tooling Ltd.; Messe Düsseldorf; Locton, Ltd.; Rosendahl Maschinen; and

XL Technologies, Ltd. The IWMA’s Educational Trust Fund, it should be noted, is providing up to 12 free registrations to students engaged in study or research in the wire and cable sectors.

For the latest information, go to the event website at www.cabwire-duesseldorf.com.

WAI’s Reconvene meetings to be held primarily as an on-line event As the industry has evolved to the ever-increasing role of electronics, so has Reconvene, the WAI’s second annual business meeting, which this year will not only be primarily held on-line, but also will be held on different days, with the Board of Directors meeting set for Oct. 12.

An update on WAI’s webinar programs was one of many topics discussed during the Association’s 2010 Reconvene meetings.

“Our goal is to allow as many of our volunteer members to take part in Reconvene, and while it would be best if everyone could meet face-to-face, the reality is that cutting out the travel time and expense by doing this electronically makes a huge difference,” said WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll. “The important thing is that we will continue to get perspectives and new ideas from the members of our different committees and boards, and those are essential for us to understand what our members and the industry need, and how we can best carry out our mission to meet that need.”

Just about all the Association’s committees and boards will meet during October, the schedule to be determined by the individual bodies. Some members will be at WAI headquarters, but in recent years the use of electronic participation has increased, and has been found to be practical.

Topics to be covered will range from consideration of locations of future events and an update on the WAI’s subsidiary in India, to considerations of new focuses for the technical programs and ways of increasing membership. ■

OCTOBER 2011 | 33

WAI NEWS

Wire & Cable Exhibitors Association), which is composed of members of IWCEA France, VÖDKM (Austria) and VDKM (Germany).

Leading the efforts in the event is IWMA Executive Secretary Phillip Knight, who previously said that “there is every indication that CabWire is going to be an outstanding event.” At this point, he said, the program is set, although there are still limited opportunities for companies that would like to have a tabletop display.

The conference will feature a panel of both ferrous and nonferrous expert speakers on Monday, Nov. 7. The tabletop exhibits will be open throughout the conference session

CHAPTER CORNER

CHAPTER CORNER New location, sold-out field equals success for New England Chapter The New England Chapter found itself quite at home at the Ellington Ridge Country Club, a first-time host for the chapter tourney that was well-regarded by the sellout field of golfers.

“I heard many people say that they enjoyed the event and the course, and that they were already looking forward to next year,” said John Rivers, Delaware Marketing Services,

on 38 teams, with two teams tying for first with a score of 63. A scorecard comparison resulted in the honors going to the team of Richard Miller, Southwire Company; Marty Kenner, Commission Brokers; and Ron Reed and Brian Bouvier, Lloyd & Bouvier. The second place team was Ralph Marcario, Chromatics, Inc.; Ken Berube, retired, RSCC W&C; Donald Gaynor, Arkema, Inc.; and Michael Lim, AGC Chemicals Americas, Inc. The organizers said there was no truth to a rumor that the tie breaker was decided by the number of WAI Past Presidents on a team, which

A group photo of participants in the putting contest, which was won by John Netta, DuPont, second from left, front row.

The chipping contest was won by Stew Later, Comtran Corp., second from right. who once again co-chaired the event with Mike McKee, Lloyd & Bouvier. “The staff was very friendly and helpful and the volunteers worked well as a team, all of which resulted in fantastic event.”

A total of 160 people participated, including 151 players

The winning team (l-r) of Brian Bouvier and Ron Reed, both of Lloyd & Bouvier; Richard Miller, Southwire Company; and Marty Kenner, Commission Brokers.

34 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

for the winners tallied two (Bouvier and Reed).

The long drive winners were (men) Mark Mathiasen, Mathiasen Machinery, Inc., and Ed Cuff, RichardsApex, and (women) Lori Parent, Breen Color Concentrates, and Missy Delargy, Quabbin W&C Co., Inc., the putting contest was won by John Netta, DuPont; the chipping contest was won by Stew Later, Comtran Corp.; the closest-to-pin holes were won by Marty Kenner, Commission Brokers; Henry Azevedo, Specialty Cable Corp.; and Gary Johnson, International Wire; the accurate drive winners were Peter Paindiris, Teknikor Automation & Controls, Inc., and Michael Weiss, Whitmor Plastic Wire; the longest putt winner was Denise Coyle, Chromatics; and while nobody claimed the elusive $10,000 hole-in-one, the attempt by Jeff Ercanbrack, C&M Corp., rolled to a stop about six inches past the hole and glory. “That got my blood pumping,” said Ercanbrack, who noted that from where he was, he could see the ball hit in front of the pin, but not whether it had gone in or not. “Next year I’ll have to dial it in a little better,” he quipped.

Rivers, McKee and chapter President Marie Geary, Geary Procurement Services, wanted to thank all the sponsors that they say not only make the event possible, but contribute to

Both on the course and inside the clubhouse, participants gave high scores to the Ellington Ridge Country Club, a first-time host for the chapter tourney. the chapter’s scholarship fundraising efforts.

Sponsors for the event included snack shack: Amacoil, Inc.; $10,000 Hole-in-One: Commission Brokers, Inc.; refreshment stations: Carris Reels, Inc., and Zumbach Electronics Corp./Amaral Automation Associates; driving range: Delaware Marketing Services; golf carts: James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp.; Tee-off breakfast: Fluoropolymer Resources, Inc.; putting contest: Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.; chipping contest: NEPTCO; long drive: Lloyd & Bouvier, Inc., and Sikora International Corp.; accurate drive: Beta LaserMike and Breen Color Concentrates; closest-to-the-pin: Amaral Automation Associates/Zumbach Electronics Corp., T&T Marketing, Inc. and W. Gillies Technologies, LLC; and long putt: Whitmor/Wirenetics.

Sponsors for the 19th hole reception included: Amaral Automation Associates/Zumbach Electronics Corp., Anixter OEM Solutions, Carris Reels, Inc., Heat Trace Products LLC, James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp., Mathiasen Machinery, Inc., Mossberg Associates, Inc., T&T Marketing, Inc., Teknikor Automation & Controls, Inc. and Wafios Machinery Corp. Corporate hole sponsors included: Cable Components Group, Champlain Cable Corp., Chase Coating and Laminating, Chromatics Inc., Davis-Standard LLC, Fluoropolymer Resources, Gem Gravure Co., Inc., Heat Trace Products LLC, Huestis Industrial, IWG High Performance Conductors, James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp., Leoni Wire, Inc., Lesmo Machinery America, Inc., Mantec, Nutmeg Wire, Inc., OM Lesmo Group, Plasticolor, Premier Wire Die, Q-S Technologies, Inc., Quabbin Wire & Cable, RichardsApex, Inc., Sonoco Plastics and T&T Marketing, Inc.

Last call for Southeast Chapter’s Oct. 13 golf tourney: The Vannais Tee-off is set for Thursday, Oct. 13, but there may still be time for last-minute golfers to sign up for the WAI Southeast Chapter’s 10th Annual Golf Tournament: The Vannais, which honors Stephen Vannais, the former chapter

Western Chapter returns to Los Verdes Golf Course this month for golf tourney The WAI’s Western Chapter returns to the Los Verdes Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, for its 11th Annual “Wire West Shootout” on Monday, Oct. 24.

The scramble format event starts at 9:30 am, with checkin and warm-up, play starts at 10 am and following the golf there will be a reception at 5 pm, then a western BBQ dinner and the awards presentations. There will be team, indi-

vidual and raffle prizes, including three closest-to-the-holes, plus the long drive and accurate drive holes as well as a chance to ace the elusive grand prize hole-in-one contest to win $10,000. The $90 registration fee covers the full day. A range of company sponsorships are still available, including corporate hole sponsorships for $100 each, and sponsors will be recognized at the course and in the WJI wrapup.

For more details, contact Shootout Chairman Michael Howard, tel. 310-639-9473 or WAI’s Steve Fetteroll, tel.

203-453-1748. ■

OCTOBER 2011 | 35

CHAPTER CORNER

president who died earlier this year in a plane crash.

Event organizers Tim McElhany, Tulsa Power, and Art Deming, Nexans Berk-Tek Electronics Cable, say that they will try to get in as many golfers as possible for the tournament, to be held at the Rock Barn Golf & Spa, Conover, North Carolina. The event will be a fundraiser for Eric Vannais, the son of the late Steve Vannais, and Steve’s widow, Beth, who has helped out on the golf tourney before, will be there again this year.

“We’re looking for a good industry showing,” said McElhany, who noted that the best way to sign up at this point would be to contact him at tel. 864-993-2192, tmcelhany@tulsapower.com, or Art Deming at tel. 252955-9451, art.deming@nexans.com.

“The tournament was always a keystone of Steve’s desire to create an event that would inspire camaraderie within the Southeast Chapter for both the multiple wire and cable manufacturers and the vendors that have made this area a strategic location,” Deming said. “The event has long been a well-organized and fun time, thanks to the efforts of the members of the chapter, and in particular the Vannais family. Going forward, we want to help celebrate Steve’s efforts and memory.”

EVENT PREVIEW

IWCS heads to Charlotte in 2011 as a rebranded event Once again, a new experience will await attendees of IWCS, which will put on its 60th event staging at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 6-9.

“IWCS has evolved and will continue to do so as does the industry,” said John Barteld, CEO/Director of the International Wire & Cable Symposium, Inc. He explained that the event has reached out beyond wire and cable in recent years because the role of the technology has continued to be more interwoven with two crucial downstream elements. “Since we combined forces with the connector industry and launched dialogs with the assemblies industry, it was clear that there was no single event that touched all of these components,” he said.

More than 100 technical papers were presented in 2010.

The IWCS name continues to represent the nonprofit organization, but the trade show will operate under a new name that better reflects the collective elements, Barteld said. The event, which will once again include more than a hundred tabletop displays in the Focus Suppliers Exhibition, has been rebranded as The International Cable – Connectivity Symposium. Per an IWCS press release, “This annual industry symposium attracts professionals involved in the cable and connectivity technologies from around the world to participate in the technical conference, suppliers’ exhibition, professional development coursework and executive session.” Asked what that will mean for attendees, Barteld said that there will be “more variety in our content to include sessions on connectors, and, to a lesser degree, on assemblies. Invited speakers, he noted, will provide the linkage among the disciplines.

The heart of the technical program remains the technical 36 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

papers, which the release said will include breakthroughs in product design, materials, and processes in wire and cable and connectivity products and applications, as well as invited content on key markets and products. The event will begin on Sunday, Nov. 6, with four Professional Development courses and four more on Monday, Nov. 7.

The classes, each four hours long, collectively cover basic concepts in core courses related to copper, fiber and materials. The Executive Track, to be presented Monday, Nov. 7, from 8:30 am to 11:30 am, will cover a range of key issues for the wire and cable industry presented by speakers, followed by a panel discussion. Scheduled speakers for the Executive Track include: analysts Rob Daniels and Patrick Fay, both of CRU; Wire Harness Manufacturers Association Chairman Lyle Fahning, Corning Optical Fiber Director of Business Strategy Brad Boersen, DuPont Economist Robert Fry, Corning Cable System President and CEO Clark Kinlin, CommScope President and CEO Eddie Edwards, OFS Fitel CEO Timothy F. Murray and Optical Cable Corporation President and CEO Neil Wilkin.

The Plenary Speakers are Blair Levin, Aspen Institute Communications and Society, and Phil Gilchrist, TE Connectivity. For more details on the presentations go to www.iwcs.org.

The scheduled sessions, which start on Monday, Nov. 7, include: Session 1, Executive Track; Session 2, Fiber and Cable Reliability; Session 3, Fiber & Cable Design and FTTH; Session 4, Optical Connectivity and China Telecom FTTH Forum; Session 5, Cable Components and Processes; and Session 6, Copper Cabling Technology. On Tuesday, Nov. 8, the schedule includes: Session 7, Multi-mode Fibers; Session 8, Installation; Session 9, Flame Retardant Materials; Session 10, Connectivity Solutions; and the Poster Session. On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the schedule includes: Session 11, FTTH Cable Technologies & Solutions; Session 12, Advances in Optical Fiber Design

Join IWCS in the fast lane!

The IWCS will be hosting a cocktail reception on Monday evening, Nov. 7, in observance of the organization’s 60th anniversary. The reception, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, will be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame facility, adjacent to the Charlotte Convention Center. All registered attendees are invited to have a drink, see the NASCAR vehicles on display, and, for a nominal fee, take a ride in a simulator.

EVENT PREVIEW IWCS CEO/Director John Barteld (r) with WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll at the Association’s booth in 2010. and Applications; and Session 13, Special Applications for Metallic Cables.

Barteld said that the evolution of the IWCS programs will continue in future years. “The key to longevity is to never rest on our past and to pay attention to what the demands are in the industry. So, I guess that is a long-winded way of saying that our evolution will never be ‘complete.’”

The schedule is designed to permit attendees to attend the

CRU analyst Rob Daniels speaks at IWCS in 2010.

tabletop displays, and many exhibitors will use the opportunity to introduce new and/or improved technology. The Products section that starts on p. 78 in this issue includes entries from the following IWCS exhibitors: Cable Components Group, T&T Marketing, Teknor Apex Company and Beta LaserMike.

For the most up-to-date show information, including speaker topics, go to the IWCS website at www.iwcs.org.

List of exhibitors as of 9/12/11 AGC Chemicals Americas, Inc. AKSH Technologies Ltd. AlphaGary Corp.

Amaral Automation American & Efird, Inc. (A&E) Arkema Inc. ASI/Silica Machinery, LLC Aurum Chemicals Corporation AW Machinery LLC BASF – Elastollan TPU Beta LaserMike Borealis Compounds Inc. Cable Components Group Cable Consultants Corp.

Carris Reels Cary Compounds, LLC CERSA-MCI Changzhou Hengfeng Copper Co. Chengdu Centran Industrial Co. Chromatics Inc. Coats North America Commission Brokers, Inc. Conductix Warpfler/Delachaux Group Conneaut Industries, Inc. CRU North America, Inc. Daikin America, Inc. DeWal Industries, Inc.

Dow Electrical & Communication DSM Desotech, Inc. Durr Marketing Associates Electrolock Emirates Conversion Ind. (Senaat) Eurowire Magazine Fiber-Line, Inc. Fil-Tec, Inc. Fusion UV Systems, Inc. Gauder Group, Inc. Gem Gravure Company, Inc. George Evans Corporation Gotex S.A. Guill Tool & Engineering Co, Inc. Hoowaki LLC Huber Engineered Materials Inhol BV International Wire & Cable Symposium, Inc. j-fiber GmbH Keir Manufacturing, Inc. Kolon Industries, Inc. Kuraray America Lantor BV LaserLinc, Inc. Lubrizol Estane® Engineered Polymers Maillefer Extrusion

MGS Manufacturing Inc. Miltec UV Monson Companies Inc. Nabaltec AG NEPTCO Nye Lubricants OFS OptEM Engineering, Inc. Optogear Otech Corp.

PE fiberoptics Ltd. Photon Kinetics Pittsfield Plastics Eng. Inc. Plumettaz Inc. Printsafe, Inc. Prysmian Group R.E. Carroll Inc. Reelex Packaging Solutions Rio Tinto Minerals Roblon A/S Rosendahl Nextrom Technologies S&E Specialty Polymers Saco Polymers Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.

Shanghai Wangxun New Material Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Delifeng Trading Co.

Sikora International Corp.

Solvay Specialty Polymers Sonoco Products SSCP USA The Stewart Group T & T Marketing, Inc. Technical Marketing Teijin Aramid USA, Inc. Teknor Apex Co. Tekstilna Tovarna Okroglica Tensor Machinery, Ltd. Thermoplastics Engineering Corp.

Unigel (UK) Ltd. Unitape Limited WCISA® Web Industries Weber & Scher Mfg. Co., Inc. Windak Inc. Wire World Internet Wire & Cable ASIA Magazine Wire & Cable Technology Int’l Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.

Wire Association International WiredIn USA Magazine Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Co., Ltd. Zumbach Electronics Corp.

OCTOBER 2011 | 37

FEATU RE

Lubricants & Filtration lot of factors go into keeping wiredrawing systems running smoothly, and that

A

includes lubrication and filtration. In this feature, suppliers discuss what they are

offering and why, and on the opposite page an industry veteran looks at two industry issues. One challenge for lubricant suppliers is the use of borax, and a technical paper that starts on p. 68 shows how one company chose to respond.

Aztech Lubricants U .S. The formulators at Aztech Lubricants have been hard at work recently employing some existing technology in a new arena. Liquid lubricant products, like those used in the automotive industry, have used organic viscosity index modifiers to enhance lubrication. These materials work by slowing the rate of viscosity decrease as temperatures increase to help maintain the lubricant film between substrates. Soap-based powdered lubricants typically use inorganic compounds to accomplish the same ends, but these can leave the drawn wire with a heavy dirty

38 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

film that will not burn off completely during annealing. Another technique to maintain film strength is to use multi-melt point technology, but the film still goes through rapid viscosity changes as the soap melts in narrow bands during drawing. Aztech Lubricant’s chemists have looked at employing the aforementioned organic materials to make a powdered lubricant with superior consistent film strength that leaves the wire clean after drawing and even cleaner after annealing. The project was completed with the introduction of EZDraw 520 multi-melt point soluble wiredrawing lubricant. The product has a proprietary organic viscosity index enhancer that provides a more stable, high-strength lubricant film through a full range of drawing temperatures. Wire drawn with this novel lubricant exits the drawing machine so clean and shiny that drawers often expect to see excessive die wear, and are pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite. The clean wire is then easily prepared for plating or exits annealing with very little residual film.

Aztech Lubricants, www.aztechlube.com.

The Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA) is a U.S. trade association with 135 manufacturing member companies, mostly small- and medium-sized businesses. Its members compound, blend and sell over 25% of the lubricant requirements and more than 75% of the metalworking fluids used in the U.S. ILMA (www.ilma.org) covers a number of regulatory issues. Below, Ike Tripp Jr., Etna Products, Inc., an active ILMA member, discusses two lubricant issues of interest to the wiredrawing industry.

Baum’s Castorine Co., Inc. U.S. Baum’s Castorine offers two products [Dura Draw 891 and Dura draw 895] to copper wire manufacturers that are designed to excel in a wiredrawing process with changing demands. Dura Draw 891 and Dura Draw 895 excel in drawing process systems that require the ability to change from one surface type to another, such as bare wire to plated or copper-clad wire. They have a bio-stable synthetic emulsifier system with bio-stable and oxidation stable performance ingredients. These ingredients were chosen because of their better lubricity and superior detergency while offering much improved foam control.

These products provide improved cleanliness and long coolant life. The lubricity and wetting characteristics of the product reduces copper fines and the capstan surfaces, die throats and machines stay cleaner as compared to competitive products. The performance history of these products includes greatly reduced filtrate and fines sediment deposited into emulsion tanks during the service life of the emulsion charge as compared to competitive products. This equates to greater yield of finished wire per pound of input, and less labor required to complete a change-out once the service life of the emulsion is complete.

Baum’s Castorine Co., Inc., www.baumscastorine.com.

Condat SA/Condat Corporation France/U.S. Environmental legislations are constantly evolving, and within the latest European regulations governing REACH and the use of biocides, the European authorities have implemented a new classification that aims at reducing the use of borax. In response, Condat has introduced a new boraxfree alternative for the safest precoating, which it showcased at both Interwire 2011 and wire Russia

Short-chain chlorinate paraffins (SCCP). SCCPs have been used in metalworking lubricant formulations since the 1930s, but use of these raw materials became more challenging in July 2011 when Environment Canada (EC) proposed placing all SCCPs on a list of prohibited substances. This would result in banning their manufacture, sale and importation into Canada. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also been studying the use of SCCPs and has developed an action plan and is considering using the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ban or to greatly restrict their manufacture, import, processing or distribution. While many ILMA members have moved away from the use of SCCPs, the lubrication industry is concerned that the EPA may act to restrict their use. The EPA restriction would be a big challenge to overcome as current alternatives to SCCPs are more expensive, and in many cases the lubricity the alternatives provide are not as good for cold drawing of stainless steel rod, wire or bar.

The California effect. What happens in California often has a way of making its way to the rest of the country, which is why manufacturers should be aware of a recent EPA action. In the July 15, 2011, edition of the Federal Register, the agency issued a direct final rule in revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from metalworking fluids, including wiredrawing compounds. Approval of the SCAQMD Rule 1144 by the EPA is important because it establishes a VOC limit of 75 g/liter for metalworking fluids effective Jan. 1, 2012.

Further, Rule 1144 establishes a thermo gravimetric (TGA) test method to determine the VOC content of applicable fluids using ASTM Method E 1868-10. ILMA worked with SCAQMD for nearly two years to develop the test method that was used to replace U.S. EPA Reference Method 24, which had been used to determine the VOC content of paints and coatings. Rule 1144 is important to the wire industry as EPA approval of the final rule means that other states and locals could turn to SCAQMD Rule 1144 to regulate VOC emissions for their respective State Implementation Plans for control of pollution under the Clean Air Act. Ultimately, that could result in wire manufacturers who use the lubricants being subjected to the same new VOC limits.

OCTOBER 2011 | 39

FEATURE

Lubricant issues: a trade association focus

FEATURE

cord (metal reinforcements for pneumatic tires), saw wire, bead wire, Prestressed Concrete (PC) wire, mattress spring wire, etc. Its borax-free formulation ensures that there is no exposure for operators, zero boron in effluents and an overall safer working environment.

Condat, www.condat.fr, www.condat-lubricants.com.

Etna-Bechem Lubricants, Ltd./ Etna Products, Inc. U.S. 2011. At both venues, Condat presented its latest generation of wire surface treatments, with a special focus on VICAFIL TS 7101, an environmentally friendly salt coating that contains no boron salts. The product provides an even coating, dries quickly and prevents corrosion, as does borax. VICAFIL TS 7101 can be used after acid cleaning or after mechanical descaling processes, in batch or in-line. It provides high drawing performances and can substitute phosphate conversion coatings. It provides a versatile coating that can be used on both carbon steel and stainless steel wires. Typical applications are for tire-

Etna-Bechem Lubricants, Ltd., a joint venture between Etna Products, Inc., and Germany’s Carl Bechem GmbH, has continued to move forward with the introduction of new lubrication technology for the copper wiredrawing

Why Buyy a Cold Pressure P W Welder?

Cold pr pressure essure welders welders will save save you energy moneyy on ener gy costs; cossts; theyy are are more more precise, pr ecise, faster and more moore efficient than hot welders. Welds Welds are arre stronger and do not add resistance resistance to the wire. wire. Best of all, Huestis Industrial makes makes them — standardd and from superfine to rod, rod, standar custom sizes, we do cold c welding right! right

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40 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

water turbidity and heat transfer rate has long been a goal of all major continuous cast equipment suppliers and users alike. In the process of continuous casting copper rod with a wheel type caster, acetylene soot is applied to the caster wheel and band as a release agent and insulator to optimize heat transfer. The amount of soot that remains in the water is critical to the process and relates directly to line speed, component life and product quality. For Contirod or twin-belt copper rod production installations, water is used to transfer heat from the twin belts and dam blocks.

Filtertech, Inc. U.S. The growing demand for higher quality copper wire products requires rod producers to continuously improve their copper rod. To that end, the precise control of caster

OCTOBER 2011 | 41

FEATURE

industry. In this calendar year, two new products were introduced as a part of our continuous improvement program and mindset: Unopol U 634U and Unopol G 643U. Unopol U 634U is truly a ‘U’niversal semi-synthetic product that can be used for both rod/intermediate copper and copper alloy wiredrawing systems. The product allows superior cleaning action, low copper reactivity and is formulated to inhibit the formation of challenging residues as the fluid in a system ages. Unopol S-643-U, which is a true solution synthetic, is designed for use as a lubricant for the drawing of fine and super-fine copper wire. The formulation is unique in that unlike the majority of synthetics in the marketplace, it does not contain any amines in the formulation. This means that the product has a far lower reactivity rate, and it foams less than other synthetics in the marketplace. Both formulations allow for excellent die life and superior surface finish on the drawn wire while allowing for extended tank life of the in-use solutions. Both products are globally available.

Etna Products, Inc., www.etna.com

FEATURE Graphite is used to lubricate the caster dam blocks and it migrates into the water and must be controlled to reasonable levels. The Filtertech Caster Water Filtration System (see image) has proven to be multi-beneficial for the rod producers by continuously removing the soot or graphite and associated process contaminants. This improves water heat transfer from the belts, increases production rates and improves rod quality while keeping lower levels of dissolved copper in the water. To maintain consistent cast-

er water clarity levels, the patent-pending side stream system utilizes a dry clay chemistry to produce a “floc� of the process soot or graphite as well as other contaminants, such as dissolved copper. The floc is removed from the caster water by a Filtertech GSF filter for disposal.

The result is very clean water returned to the caster water system to maintain precise desired turbidity. In a nutshell, better quality rod means better quality wire. The immediate improvements realized by the wire producer will be less down-time due to wire breaks, higher production speeds and most importantly, better quality wire produced.

Filtertech Inc., www.filtertech.com.

Huber Engineered Materials U.S. Huber Engineered Materials has introduced new fireretardant additives that exceed the requirements of cable compounders and producers for wire and cable applica-

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42 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

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cipitated on an inert mineral core. This “coated core” approach makes more efficient use of the molybdate species by maximizing the active surface area, and at a much lower cost than pure molybdate chemicals, such as ammonium octamolybdate (AOM). Compounders can use Kemgard products to replace AOM or partially replace antimony oxide to achieve desirable smoke suppression performance while reducing costs and minimizing regulatory concerns over antimony oxide use. Kemgard® 1100 is a new micronized zinc molybdate and magnesium silicate complex that offers a median particle size of two microns, suitable for thin gauge wire applications. Huber Engineered Materials, www.huber.com.

Metalloid Corporation U.S. Metalloid Corporation manufactures environmentally friendly wiredrawing lubricants that use bio-stable alternatives to petroleum-based lubricants. One example is ADDVANCE 6110, a “green,” oil-free wiredrawing lubricant for steel, stainless steel, galvanized aluminum and copper wire drawing and forming. Other applications include a (borax-lime free) precoat, a stripper lube for bright wire, a dip-tank rust preventative and a feed aid for

Go the fast way to enter new markets SPECIALTY WIRE & CABLE COMPOUNDS MADE IN THE U.S.A. (INHOL LLC), EUROPE AND FAR EAST

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Inhol B.V. • Zuidergracht 12 • NL-3763 LV Soest • The Netherlands • E-mail: office@inhol.com Phone: (+) 31 3560 33 234 • Fax: (+) 31 3560 33 235 • www.inhol.com

OCTOBER 2011 | 43

FEATURE

tions. Huber’s alumina trihydrate (ATH) and magnesium hydroxide (MDH) products are used to make low-smoke and/or halogen-free flame retardant wire and cable compounds for a range of insulation and jacketing applications. Zerogen® 100, a new line of MDH products for applications where electrical and mechanical performance considerations are critical, offers improved mechanical property balance and enhanced electrical and color performance benefits. Huber’s Kemgard® products are molybdate-based flame retardants and smoke suppressants used in PVC wire and cable compounds. When the compound burns, molybdates chemically influence the formation of organic char, effectively insulating the polymer from the heat and oxygen source thereby lowering smoke and heat release. Kemgard grades are manufactured by patented processes in which molybdates are pre-

FEATURE

product’s unique natural chemistry is well suited for both rod breakdown and wet drawing applications of all diameter wires. The drawn wire is exceptionally bright and clean as are all processing equipment and draw machines. The biostability of the emulsion reduces the need for costly additives and is an ideal choice for central systems where maximum sump life is desired.

Metalloid Corporation, www.metalloidcorp.com. spring, wire and cold heading manufacturers. The product is both annealable and weldable, and can be used as received or diluted with water depending on the application. Another example is METDRAW CWD, a biostable virtually maintenance-free lubricant for copper, copper-clad and galvanized wiredrawing. The

44 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Pan Chemical SpA Italy Pan Chemicals, a leading European manufacturer of lubricants and coatings, has rapidly assumed a leading role on the world wire market due to its constant innovations and commitment to satisfying the needs of customers. Its R&D and engineering departments offer a full range of technological solutions and technical assistance. The company’s products include: state-of-the-art wiredrawing lubricants, including new borax-free sodium soaps to meet current

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PROPERZI MICROROLLING® Microrolling

www.properzi.com · hq@properzi.it HEADQUARTERS Continuus-Properzi S.p.A. Continuus-P Pro operzi S.p.

S p A. Via V ia Emilia Km m 310, Sordio 26858 Sor dio o ((LO), LO ), Italy Phone: +39. 02. 988 49 21 Fax: +39. 02.. 981 03 58 hq @ properzi.it properzii.it

FRANCE DIVISION Properzi Properzi France Parc Parc d’activité du Vert Ve ert Galant 78 Avenue Avvenue du Château 27745 Saint Ouen l’Aumône, France F Phone: +33. 1. 34 32 34 80 Fax: +33. 1. 34 32 34 89 info @ properzi.fr properzi.fr

USA BRANCH Properzi Pro operzi International, Interna ational Inc. ational, Inc. nc 909 Ridgebrook Ridgebrook Road R Suite # 102 Sparks, Maryland d 21152, USA Phone: +1. 443. 212.

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FEATURE European ecological standards for high- and low-carbon steels and alloys and copper wire; rod preparation equipment, including belt descalers and conventional mechanical descaling and coating lines; die reconditioning equipment; carrier coatings, including phosphate and both reactive and nonreactive; and ancillary products, including acid inhibitors for pickling, galvanizing fluxes, accelerators and surface conditioners for phosphate processes, passivation and corrosion inhibitors. Pan Chemicals is committed to the ongoing development of products which address the needs for occupational hazards and safety (OH&S) considerations of its customers as well as those of the environment.

Pan Chemicals SpA, www.panchemical.com.

cooled continuously during operation so the particle concentration in the lubricant stays at an acceptable level to ensure high quality wire and a consistent drawing process. Maintenance efforts and discharge costs are also reduced by this new system and higher productivity achieved. RESY has provided the wire and cable industry with a complete range of filtration systems for coolants and lubricants for more than 30 years. Its single filters, integrated filtration systems and complete central filtration systems for emulsion and oils provide solutions that result in pure filtration and higher productivity due to fewer wire breaks, less down time, lower rates of die wear and much better wire surface quality.

Reber Systematic GmbH & Co., KG, www.resy-filtration.com.

RichardsApex, Inc. U.S. Reber Systematic GmbH & Co., KG (RESY) Germany For high-viscosity lubricants (larger 120 cSt) that are mostly used for aluminum, band filter is not suitable. In these cases, the separation of the particles occurs by sedimentation in the system tank, and this has to be cleaned on a regular basis. The sludge on the bottom is discharged together with a big part of the lubricant. Another effect of the fine aluminum filters is that the viscosity of the media increases. This higher concentration affects the whole supply and cooling system. At wire 2010 in Düsseldorf, RESY presented its new filtration and delivery system that was especially developed for this application. The unit consists of a centrifuge, a delivery pump, a heater, cooling system and electrical control. It is built modular to suit customers’ needs and can be easily integrated in existing systems. The lubricant is cleaned and

46 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

As domestic and international markets demand more from their lubricant suppliers, RichardsApex has responded. With constant innovations in raw materials, we are always looking to improve our product line and therefore improve our customer’s position. NFS-89, our newest semi synthetic, addresses the need for a versatile product that can handle the heavy workload of a variety of metals. NFS-89 incorporates the latest technology to produce a stable,

Is Your Wire Drawing Machine Giving You A $$$ COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE $$$ Optimize Quality & Profits By Improving OEM Specs

Do you have to decrease the speed of the machine because the wire gets too hot and hard, especially drawing high carbon?

Figure 1 Does Your Wire overlap Fig. 1, or jump up Fig. 2 when you increase the machine’s speed?

Do you have to limit the number of wraps to less than ¾ of the face of the block, so that the wire climbs properly?

Figure 2

If you answered yes to any of these, why not give us a call and find out why so many North American Wire Drawing Companies will only use PKC to service their wire drawing blocks and sheaves.

October Cost Saving Suggestion: PKC has a specialized program for increasing production speed.

It can often be improved by modifying the OEM specifications on a block or blocks that would normally malfunction when the speed is increased. The costs of these modifications are often recouped with a few days or weeks of increased productivity.

See September Suggestion: Tuner, Dance and Guide Roll Assemblies

Parkway-Kew Corp.

2095 Excelsior Ave. North Brunswick, NJ 08902 (732) 398 – 2100 Fax: (732) 398 – 2101 www.parkwaykew.com info@parkwaykew.com

FEATURE

low-foam, clean-running emulsion capable of drawing a wide range of copperand plated-copper alloys. Suitable for rod breakdown to fine wire, NFS-89 is proving to be an excellent multipurpose, low-maintenance workhorse. Another group of products gaining market share around the world is our SK series line of fully synthetic, hot-rolling lubricants. Whether you have a continuous cast mill, SCR or Properzi mill, we have you covered. Hot rolling is a very complex process and every mill is different in some way.

RichardsApex continues to work closely with rolling mills to effectively implement the latest technologies. The SK series is one example of those collaborative efforts.

We are constantly striving to be at the leading edge of technology through research and development based at our headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

RichardsApex Inc., www.richardsapex.com.

Traxit International GmbH Germany/U.S. Germany’s Traxit International GmbH, whose U.S. operation is Traxit North America LLC, has been providing the wiredrawing industry with a complete range of lubricants to suit all types of wire, for all applications, since 1881. Through-out this time the company has concentrated solely on wiredrawing lubricants and compounds and is the only global supplier that maintains drawing lubricants as its sole business.

Traxit is a forwardthinking, dynamic company that uses its vast experience to look ahead and remain at the front of advances in wiredrawing.

Traxit’s lubricants are of highest

48 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

FEATURE

wires. This boron-free, sodium-based lubricant, which has a special grain structure, provides low consumption, reduced disposal costs, longer die life and easy handling due to lower dust development. Traxit International GmbH.

Supplier comments quality and are constantly updated to ensure maximum environmental and health friendliness. With extensive R&D facilities, our technicians are devoted exclusively to improving products and processes for wire production. Our new R&D center in Germany supports our continued growth and desire to maintain a world-wide leadership in this market segment. We are continuously working on improvements of lubricant performances. One such example is our SL 808 BTU lubricant for low- to high-carbon

50 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Looking forward, do you believe your company’s biggest challenges will be technical in nature or will they be more related to adjusting to outside factors (such as surviving a generally anemic world economy, access to capital, marketing/competing in a global economy, etc.)?

Either way, where will you be focusing your efforts?

As we look forward to 2012 and beyond, we believe our biggest challenge will be in our ability to adapt and respond quickly to market changes. In this new global economy customers and markets are becoming more

"

!

Low smoke, halogen-free flame retardant

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Ease of extrusion processing

Engineered to meet the most demanding specifications APPLICATIONS: • Audio, Video • Data cables • Electronic Interconnect (copper and cables cables • Control cables optical fiber)

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Compounding Creativity With Technology VINYL DIVISION 505 Central Avenue Pawtucket, RI 02861 USA TEL 800 554 9892 TEL +(1) 401 725 8000 FAX +(1) 401 729 0166 EMAIL wirecable@teknorapex.com WEB www.teknorapex.com

TEKNOR APEX ASIA PACIFIC 41 Shipyard Road Singapore 628134 TEL +(65) 6265 2544 FAX +(65) 6265 1821 EMAIL asia@teknorapex.com WEB www.teknorapex.com

TEKNOR APEX (SUZHOU) ADVANCED POLYMER COMPOUNDS CO. LTD. No. 78, Ping Sheng Road, Suzhou Industrial Park Jiangsu, China 215126 TEL +(86) 512 6287 1550 FAX +(86) 512 6288 8371 EMAIL infosuzhou@teknorapex.com WEB www.teknorapex.com

FEATURE

efforts on building and strengthening our relationships with customers and suppliers. These moves along with our unequaled industry experience and state-of-the-art R&D laboratory in Philadelphia will ensure that we keep ourselves and our customers at the forefront of technology. Andrew P. Helffrich, corporate accounts manager, RichardsApex Inc.

demanding and complex. With key additions to our Philadelphia headquarters as well as our subsidiaries in Europe and Australia, we believe we are well positioned to respond to those demands internationally. With our rich history and vast network of sales representatives and distributors worldwide, we will continue to focus our

Filtertech will be focusing on exceeding expectations.

The outside factors such as a generally poor economic condition globally is challenging but what will separate the successful is the basic ability to economically satisfy all the customers’ requirements while maintaining highest quality standards. Set the bar higher, continuously improve and set the bar higher again. This means an innovative approach in application review, continuously improving by adding the latest technology such as engineering software, improved worldwide communications and streamline production. Of course it will always be important to have the strong relationship with lubricant

Huestis In Industrial ndustrial Ca Cable able Jacket Strippers Who do you call c when you’ve just juust run a rush order, ordeer, the jacket has defects, defects andd there isn isn’tt enoug gh time ti to remake th the entire job? enough Huestis Industrial, of course! Our cablee willll save you time and jacket strippers wi d money salvaging thee valuable core, allowing g yourr you to re-extrude the th he job fast to keep you customers happy and a your remake costss down. In many cases, casees, one job provides thee investment. payback for your inv vestment vestment.

For more details or o to place an order, order, call call uuss aatt 8800-972-9222, 00-972-9222, or email us at sales@huestis.com sales@huestis.com

Model CJS 1000

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52 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Experience the Power of Dow Inside

STARTED TED DO ON N THE RIGHT FOOT. Breakfast means coffee makers, toasters, microwaves, and a moment to share a spoonful of cereal. They’re counting on your customers for a good morning; you’re counting on Dow Electrical & Telecommunications for smart ideas like DOW ECOLIBRIUM™.

These bio-based plasticizers are phthalate-free and RoHS compliant.

They give wire jacketing the same performance and flexibility as the materials you’re using now, and meet strict regulatory requirements for flame resistance and safer end-of-life disposal.

DOW ECOLIBRIUM. No matter what kind of wires and power cords you make, this is definitely the best way to start. For availability in your region, please contact your Dow sales representative.

Please visit us at IWCS—Booth #107.

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Dow Electrical & Telecommunnications is a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Company and its subsidiaries.

FEATURE

suppliers and an enhanced understanding of our mutual customer’s present and future needs. Although these are challenging times, complete customer satisfaction is a very basic premise that is more important than ever and by exceeding expectations, looking forward appears very positive. Tom Horn, Filtertech Inc.

e -lin n i ic le lab ra son i a av ult ow GEO N h W: wit ning NE a cle

Metalloid’s business plan focuses on differentiating ourselves from our competitors through the utilization of “green” manufacturing technology. This technology meets the changing needs of both our customers and the global environment now and in the future. We have, in fact, increased research and development time to develop more natural, biodegradable and people friendly products. Our marketing efforts in green technology are driven by the concept that “chemistry and the environment” can co-exist in harmony, and that we are doing our part to achieve that objective. This philosophy will always meet the needs of our transportation, HVAC, equipment, wire and tube manufacturing markets inclusive. Our intention is to be a leader in the marketplace because we offer a safer, cleaner and “greener” alternative to people, industry and the environment. Rick Strapple, vice president of marketing and sales, Metalloid Corporation.

In the powdered lubricant supplier business the biggest challenges going forward appear to be economic rather than technical, especially here in the United States.

Competition is high in a stagnant or slowly shrinking market of soap based lubricants. The products are considered to be specialty chemicals, but are produced from commodity materials that in recent years have seen large price swings in short periods of time making it extremely difficult to main a consistent price structure for the resulting lubricant product line. To be successful daily monitoring of raw material pricing is needed and a timely purchase of material is critical to give our customers the best product at the best price. Michael Colvin, Aztech Lubricants.

In terms of industry challenges we expect the problems associated with the regulatory community issuing new and expansive government regulations to continue. At the end of the day, all we as a private business can do is to

54 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

FEATURE

join the best 26 – 30 March 2012 Düsseldorf, Germany International Wire and Cable Trade Fair Wire, Cable, Fibre Optic, Wire Products and Machinery

Spring Making

Fastener Technology

www.wire.de

wire 2012: Focus on Innovations Welcome to the No. 1 trade fair for the wire and cable industry!

This is where you meet the international experts, specialists, innovators and world market leaders of the industry. You will get comprehensive information on the latest developments and future trends concerning wire and cable. wire 2012 is especially focusing on fastener and spring-making technology as well as state-of-the-art machinery and equipment for the manufacturing of springs and fastening elements.

A firm date for your calendar – visiting wire 2012 in Düsseldorf!

work to comply with the new regulations while continuing our work to produce high quality products, to develop new technology and to deliver our products on time, all the time. We are continuing to invest in the development of new lubrication technologies that can be used by our customers to reduce their production costs, improve productivity and thru-put. This continuous improvement mindset is bolstered by our laboratory’s developing unique raw materials that are produced in-house. These new raw materials will have an improved environmental impact profile and will be direct options for the formulation of chlorine-free drawing oils for the production of cold-drawn stainless steel rod, wire and bar with reduced volatile organic compound levels. Etna Products, Inc. It is really difficult to say what 2012 will be with all discussions going on about the economic situation, the future of the euro, the U.S. economy and how the Chinese, with a limitation of their national growth, will affect the global market situation. One thing will be sure: we at RESY will not wait until politicians might or might not make decisions. Instead, we will continue our way and support our customers with innovative concepts and products and the best service they can get.

With our strong background, we are sure that we will be there, when a lot of others and “copies” are already gone, continuing to help our customers and partners to improve their processes and to be among the best. We all just have to believe in ourselves and not be misled or irritated by rumors and political discussions or speculations. Then 2012 will be a good year, and whatever it takes, we have to take the challenge and work hard and efficiently to reach our goal. Klaus Eichelmann, RESY. Pan Chemicals is totally dedicated to the wiredrawing industry, and in particular the ferrous and alloy wire market, our main products being wiredrawing lubricants and coatings. Ecology and environmental safety have been foremost in our development of new products. The application of the new European REACH rule has given a further push toward development of new products that are completely safe for the operators and the environment.

The most evident consequence for the wire industry is the elimination of the borax in the formulation of the drawing lubricants and the coatings. Most of the sodium lubricants

56 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Rod breakdown with breakthrough technology

DS 800 Double Spooler

AN 600 H Horizontal Annealer

RB 500 Rod Breakdown Machine

The new precision rod breakdown line assures a quick return on investment with minimum cost of ownership.

We support this commitment with a 3-year warranty.

For more information about our rod breakdown machinery, as well as our drawing and extrusion equipment, please contact us at info@sampinc.com www.sampsistemi.com

MT80 - MT105 Multiwire Machines

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FEATURE

speed drawing of high-carbon steel wire, steel cord wire and stainless steel wire. With this same philosophy in mind, we have designed the new pre-coatings such as the PANCOVER 4700 series to meet the most stringent demands for drawing carbon and stainless steel wires.

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and most of the coatings contain a significant quantity of borax, and many drawing processes are based on a borax coating. Our R&D has long been focused on these two issues. Through experimentation and close co-operation with key accounts, we have developed, approved and commercialized many new products to comply with the REACH normative. For instance, our new series PANLUBE S 1500 sodium lubricants are free of borax, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, carbonates and chlorides, and are safe and ecologically friendly, suitable for high

Condat has always worked on the technical side. This allows us to anticipate the needs of our customers, the regulations and the environmental constraints, which is why we invest about 5% of our turnover in R&D. Our main focus is to provide the industry with eco-friendly products, complying with the latest legislations. Products such as low or boron free powders (non-reactive coating or dry lubricants), dust free lubricant technologies for soaps (Pellets), renewable raw material for oils (natural origin), formaldehyde free soluble oils (biocide), are all available from Condat. Condat SA, Condat Corporation. â–

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E DA L Research on the influence NE R N I W of the structural state of AWA R Cu-ETP wire rod on the annealing susceptibility of wires

D

M

TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER

The authors found that test results could be misleading, and that a key factor was the difference in the levels of impurities in the wire rod that was tested.

By Tadeusz Knych, Andrzej Mamala, Beata Smyrak and Monika Walkowicz copper wire scrap obtained from wire rod of various levels of impurities.

Copper used for electrical applications must have a high chemical purity level, which is why standards are strict in regard to the chemical composition. There are binding recommendations, both national and global standards as well as from financial institutions that force manufacturers of CATH1 cathodes to keep the level of impurities in copper at several dozen ppm. According to LME, that level is 45 ppm without consideration of silver. Table 1 shows the amounts of impurities permitted in cathodes manufactured by various producers as well as requirements approved by the London Metal Exchange. On the basis of these data it may be stated that the leading copper cathodes manufacturers—including KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.—produce cathodes with maximum impurities contents not exceeding 20 ppm (without consideration of silver). However, in spite of such low impurity levels, the annealing susceptibility of copper in hot-working and cold-working processes has been an unsolved problem so far. Despite the chemical purity of copper cathode, copper wire rod produced from it does not always pass the annealing susceptibility test.

Therefore, a low level of impurities in cathode does not guarantee copper good annealing susceptibility in further processing.

From an annealing susceptibility view, the perfect material should be characterized by annealing kinetics that would enable its transition to go from a hardened state to a soft state in the shortest possible period of time.

The red curve in Fig. 2 illustrates annealing kinetics of material with good susceptibility to the recrystallization process while the blue curve Fig. 1. A fracture of copper wires with different impurities content.

Scaning electron microscopy image, magnification x 4000.

High-purity copper (grades 6N and 8N) is most commonly produced by vacuum casting and applied for niche technology areas, whereas copper produced on an industrial scale usually has purity grades of 3N, 4N or 5N1. Both for economic and technical reasons, production of higher purity copper with current industrial plants for continuous melting, casting and rolling methods (Contirod®, Southwire® and Properzi®) is not possible. The quality of cathode and copper wire rod is defined in ASTM B49 - 92 and BS - 1036 as well as Polish PN - 77/H - 82120, PN 76/H - 93672 PN - 83/M – 80003 standards. Despite the chemical composition, manufacturers of cathodes and wire rod apply electrical conductivity and annealing susceptibility of material as a basic factor indicating product quality.

Whereas the first property directly results from the basic application of copper wire rod for electrical purposes, requirements for annealing susceptibility are dictated by the technological rigor during the wiredrawing process on multi-speed machines. The ability to properly perform wire annealing during the multiphase drawing process is a basic requirement that must be met by manufacturers of copper wire rod. Fig. 1 presents examples of scanning photos of

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Table 1. Amounts of impurities in cathodes of various producers and requirements approved by London Metal Exchange.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

illustrates annealing kinetics of material with poor susceptibility. The fundamental difference between these materials is the time of transition from hardened state to soft state. The definition of good annealing susceptibility presented in this paper is strictly connected with real condition of wire annealing during the drawing process on multispeed machines.

Since the beginning of 1950s, there has been dynamic development of research aimed at elaboration of a method of determining copper annealing susceptibility. The most accurate and commonly used test for evaluating copper wire rod susceptibility to recrystallization is a method of spiral elongation drawn up by Dialektra AG and patented in 1952 in Germany, then modified by Sweden’s ASEA and AB Svenska Metallverken, and finally approved as a standard2. The spiral tensile test, known as the spiral elongation (SE) test, measures the elongation of a spiral made of copper wire. It evaluates copper susceptibility to recrystallization in specific conditions of heat treatment. The SE test procedure begins with heating wire rod at a temperature of 700oC for 1 h, then making a 2 mm wire from the heat-treated wire rod. The wire is then placed in an oil bath of a temperature of 200oC for 2 h, then coiled on an arbour (20 mm diameter, 2 mm pitch) to form a spring that is being held under a stress of 7MPa. Its elongation is being observed, and if the material demonstrates spring elongation of not less than 400, it is assumed that the wire rod passes the SE test.

Many prestigious companies manufacturing copper have changed the SET test parameters or even developed their own tests, enabling rapid classification of copper. For example, the Belgian Metallurgie Hoboken Overpelt -

Fig. 2. Qualitative analysis of copper grades from the point of view of their annealing susceptibility.

Olen (now AURIBIUS)3 introduced three variants of the intermediate annealing in the SET procedure, namely: a 600°C temperature level for low-purity copper, 850°C for high-purity copper (obtained by Contirod® method) and without annealing for customers who do not anneal wire rod1. In turn, SCCC, a French company, developed its own method for determining susceptibility to annealing by the rapid tensile test, which is called the AR Test.

The AR test consists in drawing an 8-mm wire rod into a 6.4 mm wire in one operation, then annealing the wire in an oil bath at a temperature of 260oC for 10 min. The heat-treated wire is submitted to a uniaxial tensile test, with the initial length of measurement base equal to 200 mm. The tensile test allows for determining the material total elongation at break.

If the value of this parameter is not lower than 30%, it is assumed that the wire rod passed the AR test.

Unlike the SE test, the AR test is more severe, with material submitted for the structure renewal test undergoing 40% cold deformation, thus it has a lower propelling force compared to the SE test. Due to this, the AR test result better discloses imperfections of the wire rod structure that was shaped in the hot-rolling process. This structure is a result of deformation and dynamic recrystallization processes that take place simultaneously in rolling stands as well as static recrystallization that occurs among them.

The time that material stays in the deformation zone ranges from seconds in the first rolling stands to thousandths of a second in the last stands, while the material temperature drops from 800 to 400°C. Such a strict technological regime must disclose an influence of this group of elements admixtures that suppress dynamic recrystallization as well as those that suppress static recrystallization. Table 2 shows a comparative list of SE and AR tests results.

Unfortunately, the classification shown in Table 2 is not valid for all cathodes and wire rods. Manufacturers signal very often that in spite of positive SE test results, an AR test result can be negative and does not correlate with the SE test result.

An influence of a small amount of admixtures on the temperature of copper recrystallization is a function of many factors. An analysis of the state of knowledge on OCTOBER 2011 | 61

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P). The second group is composed of elements that do not form oxides below the melting temperature of copper, which is a consequence of their lower affinity to oxygen than Table 2. Wire rod classification on the basis of rapid tensile test and spiral copper. Representatives of this elongation tests results. group are mainly elements from the 6th period of the periodic table, i.e. selenium, tellurium, sulphur2-4. recrystallization process shows that the most intense influWhen analyzing copper annealing susceptibility, it is ence of admixtures is visible when their presence is on the important to settle the case of the elements’ solubility in a level of hundredth of percent. Further, the higher purity of matrix. For soluble elements, the influence is the strongest. copper, the greater the influence is seen. Generally, two The greatest difference is between the soluble element’s groups of elements may be distinguished that can influence (impurities) and the solvent’s (matrix) atomic diameters recrystallization temperature in various ways that depend and the smallest is the element’s solubility in metal. The on the level of affinity to oxygen. intensity of anadmixtures’ influence decreases with an The first group includes completely oxidized elements, increase of their contents5-6. It is generally known that the i.e. those occurring only in a form of oxides (Sn, Fe, Co, possibility of nucleation and migration of grain boundaries is the precondition of recrystallization process. Admixtures soluble in copper are generally built into the matrix of cells present on grain boundaries that are in sites well suited for nucleation of material after deformation in favorable conditions. An influence of soluble admixtures is more intense during grain migration than during their nucleation. However, an influence of insoluble admixtures is not unambiguously resolved, and it is generally considered that they play an important role during the nucleation process that is in the first phase of recrystallization.

Table 3 shows the results of the influence of each element on the recrystallization temperature separately (elongation value in spiral test2). On the basis of the data analysis, it may be noticed Table 3. Influence of separate admixture on the that the difference of Se, Te and Bi contents at a recrystallization temperature as well as elongation in level as low as 1 ppm leads to the greatest drop of spiral elongation test of annealed copper. spiral elongation among the analysed elements. Interactions between impurities will lead to changing the effect of their influence on copper properties and annealing susceptibility. Table 4 shows the findings of the examinations on the influence of copper impurities on annealing susceptibility of copper conducted by Rokana Division of Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines3.

Based on the analysis of the amount of impurities in individual melts, it may be noticed that an increase of the impurities level generally leads to a reduction of elongation in the spiral elongation test. The lowest value of the spiral Table 4. Chemical composition of high purity copper melt according to length (51 mm) is obtained by copthe examinations of Rokana Division of Nchanga Consolidated Copper per from most purified cast (No. 6 Mines .

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Table 6. An analysis of the influence of chemical composition, annealing temperature on elongation in the spiral elongation test as well as on copper conductivity2.

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800) where the amount of impurities is 56.1 ppm, whereas in cast No. 628 this amount is on the level of 14 ppm and the spiral goes to the length of 447 mm.

The evaluation of the intensity of influence of individual elements is not explicit, which results from, among others, the possibility of mutual interactions. Table 5 shows the results of calculations of the percentage share of individual impurities in relation to their amounts in separate melts as well as the percentage decrease of the spiral length Table 5. Percentage share in impurities amount for tested samples6. in relation to the cast No. 628 that serves as a reference cast4,6. Such analysis reveals an influence of individestimated the recrystallization temperature rise amounts to ual elements in interaction with the others on the length of approximately 9째C/1ppm. the spiral.

An influence of those elements on the drop of the spiral An analysis of the reasons for a decrease of the spiral length is visible, especially for a copper that is of a high length in individual casts indicate the following relationpurity class copper. Based on the literature7-8, it may be ships: a comparison of melts 628 and 656 indicates an stated that the summary contents of impurities determines influence of Se on shortening the spiral length in spite of the level of copper recrystallization temperature. However, the decrease of other elements contents; a comparison of that fact does not agree with the notion of copper that has melts 180 and 177 indicates an influence of Se, S and Pb; good resistance to annealing susceptibility, which is in fact and a comparison of melts 189 and 800 with the others determined by kinetics of annealing process. The latest indicates a high sum content of impurities. A similar obserexaminations10 show that wire rod, in spite of a low sumvation may be made on the basis of the results of analysis mary content of impurities in copper, may not meet the carried out by AB Svenska Metallverken that are shown in requirements of the AR test. The chart in Fig. 3 shows the Table 6. percentage share of separate impurity elements in copper The above results of tests on the influence of impurities wire rod that achieve a value of 12% in the AR test. This on copper annealing susceptibility made by various centers classifies it as a material of medium annealing susceptibilshow that the metallurgical purity of copper is the basic ity according to data from Table 2 although the summary factor determining recrystallization temperature. Although content of impurities in this case is only 14.76 ppm (see 3). spiral elongation is a measure of this temperature, there is Another example of chemical composition examined in no simple relation between these factors in connection with the research13 shows a positive result for the AR test separate elements. It may be reflected by an example of (AR=41%). Here, the tested material was wire rod that has other decreases of spiral length, as in the case of Se, Te and impurity contents as much as 26.69 ppm. See Fig. 4.

Bi contents at the level of 1 ppm, although experimentally

TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig. 3. Percentage share of separate impurities elements in the sum of all copper impurities (without considering silver content). AR=12%.

Despite the higher impurity levels, this wire rod may be classified as a material of very good annealing susceptibility from the point of view of AR test.

Detailed analysis of the copper chemical composition presented in Figs. 3 and 4 highlight a valuable observation about the difference between the percentage share of individual elements and the summary contents of impurities.

From the point of view of obtaining material having perfect annealing susceptibility, it seems that even distribution of separate elements in their total sum (Fig. 4) is more favorable than distribution of elements presented in Fig. 3, where the share of one element (lead) predominates (47%).

It forms the basis for a new approach to the analysis of an influence of admixture elements in copper on its physical and chemical properties, and especially on susceptibility to structure renewal in both static and dynamic conditions.

So it may be stated that minimization of summary contents of admixture elements in copper is a prerequisite for obtaining material with good annealing susceptibility, although it is not the only condition.

Objective of research program

Fig. 4. Percentage share of separate impurities elements in the sum of all copper impurities (without considering silver content). AR=41%.

A copper wire rod with very good annealing susceptibility should guarantee the possibility of full recrystallization of wires during the process of drawing with multi-speed machines. Hence, the objective of this paper is to determine the influence of the initial state of Cu-ETP wire rods on annealing susceptibility of wires.

Two Cu-ETP wire rods obtained in the same continuous casting and hot-rolling system with different total content of impurities have been examined. Specific chemical composition has been presented in Table 7. The content of oxygen in the wire rod was about 160 ppm. Mechanical porperties were analyzed for the wire rod and the results of rapid tensile test is presented in Fig. 5.

The authors noticed that the results for rapid tensile copper wire rods are different. The AR for copper wire rod (A) = 33% and for copper wire rod (B) = 18%. Simultaneously, the spiral elongation test result for analyzed materials is SE=455 mm.

Wire rods A and B, selected for study, were preheated at temperatures of 100 to 900째C. Then, the wire rods were tested according to the AR procedure, which requires deformation in the process of drawing with s draft of 40%, wire heating in an oil bath at 260째C for 8 min, then determination of the total elongation in the tensile test.

Fig. 5. Stress-strain characteristics of tested copper wire rods and wires 6.3 mm after rapid tensile test.

Table 7. Chemical composition of copper used for examinations.

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Results of examination analysis The analysis of the results of the examination was divided into two parts. In the first part, the annealing results were analyzed to find out if the wire rod was actually soft after the line of continuous melting, casting and rolling.

It is well known that typical mechanical properties of copper wire rod are as follows: Rm=225 MPa, R0,2=120 140 MPa, A250=45 %. The above values classify this product as part of a group of materials in a soft state. However, on the basis of examinations conducted for this research, it may be found that for wire rod annealing, especially at higher temperatures, only a value of proof stress has changed. See the charts in Figs. 6- 8.

On the basis of tension characteristics shown in Figs. 68, it can be seen that Cu-ETP wire rod still has residual strengthening. That results from great diversification of the value of yield point, which may vary from a few to even several dozen percent depending on the annealing temperature. The above diversification of the yield point with simultaneous preservation at the same level of annealed wire rod tensile strength changes the character of material strengthening during the tensile test. The value of this strengthening changes from a few to several dozen MPa. On the basis of the above results it may be stated that CuETP wire rod in the state of after plant processing still has residual strengthening. The above observations are supported by the microstructures shown in Figs. 9 -10.

The second part of the analysis is in regards to the CuETP wire rod annealability evaluation test. Fig. 11 shows the overall comparison of AR test results that was carried out on wire rods with various initial states. According to the definition of AR test, which states that minimum elongation of a wire after AR test should reach 30%, it was seen that this criterion is only met by wire rod A after the initial heat treatment consisting of annealing in temperature 100°C. However, for wire made from wire rod B, it may be noticed that the same annealing parameters do not cause recrystallization, which may be explained by greater amount of impurities present in this wire rod.

In the next phase of the research, an assessment of materials’ annealability was made through calorimetric examination. It also shows certain diversification of examined materials properties. Fig. 12 presents the results of wire rod A examinations. One may notice that the recrystallization temperature reaches about 219°C, whereas the beginning of softening process is observed in the temperature of approximately 180°C. An analysis of the above results allows one to state that wire rod B is characterized by different annealing kinetics, which is proved by the wider range of process temperatures. This range for wire rod B is approximately 60°C, while for wire rod A it is only 35°C. See Fig. 13.

This difference is primarily caused by different levels of impurity contents. However, an analysis of the above problem must also take into account the oxygen contents. It is well known that a higher level of oxygen positively influences AR test results. Another important parameter is the

Fig. 6. Comparison of characteristics of tension of ETP copper wire rod (variant A) annealed at temperatures of 20, 100, 400 and 900ºC.

Fig. 7. Comparison of characteristics of tension of ETP copper wire rod (variant B) annealed at temperatures of 20, 100, 400 and 900ºC.

Fig. 8. Overall comparison of percentage difference between tensile strength and proof stress of wire rods annealed at various temperatures. structural state of material that is being directly shaped on a continuous casting and rolling line. In particular, rolling speed has a decisive influence.

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TECHNICAL PAPERS Fig 9. Microstructure of Cu-ETP wire rod in the state after plant processing.

Fig. 12. Calorimetric curve – wire rod A.

Fig. 13. Calorimetric curve – wire rod B.

Fig. 10. Microstructure of Cu-ETP wire rod after annealing at 900°C for 1h.

Conclusions Diversification of the AR test results of studied wire rods results mainly from the different content of impurities.

This was proven in these studies as a result of the preparation of various structural states of the wire rod, by annealing at different temperatures, and the different elongation results of the AR test that were obtained. In case of the wire rod A, increasing the annealing temperature caused the elongate extension in the AR test, while in case of the wire rod B, the initial heat treatment did not lead to higher values in the AR test.

References

Fig. 11. Overall comparison of rapid tensile test results of singled out materials in the function of wire rod initial annealing temperature.

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1. S.G. Armstrong, “The Spiral - Elongation Test for Copper Annealability: An Examination of Same Controlling,” Journal of the Institute of Metals, Kitwe, Zambia, No. 1, 1971, pp. 325-334.

2. Svenska Metallverken: SM - Norm 22 34 01 E - Spring Elongation Test.

3. S.G. Armstrong, “Some observations on the electrical conductivity of commercial electrorefined copper,”

8. D. Markovich, I D. Guskovich and A. llich, “Effect of stresses in annealing on its technological properties copper wire,” Metal Science and Heat Treatment, Vol. 39.

November, 1997.

9. J. Schamp, B. Verlinden and J. Van Humbeeck, “Primary Recrystallization and Grain Growth of Tough Pitch Copper Wire,” Journal de Physique 111, Vol. 5, April 1995.

10. J.L.Magana and E.F.Godinez, “Rapid tensile test elongation study for measuring the annealability of copper rod,” Wire Journal International, February 2009. ■

Accepting their awards from WAI’s Erik Macs at Interwire 2011, from l-r, are Tadeusz Knych, Beata Smyrak, Monika Walkowicz and Andrezej Mamala.

Tadeusz Knych is a research-didactic fellow in the Nonferrous Metals Department at AGH University of Science and Technology (AGH-UST), Krakow, Poland.

He holds many patents in the area of materials and technologies for overhead electricity and rail. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers, and has supervised more than 100 master’s and doctoral theses.

Andrzej Mamala is an associate professor in the Nonferrous Metals faculty of AGH. He researches new alloys for electrical conductors, cables and fittings; the mechanical behavior of overhead conductors; and technological aspects like continuous casting and rolling, drawing, and heat treatments of nonferrous metals and alloys. He holds a Ph.D. degree in metallurgy from AGH. He is author or co-author of more than 78 papers.

Beata Smyrak is an assistant professor in the Nonferrous Metals faculty of AGH. Her work focuses on the development of new technologies in the nonferrous metals industry, specializing in copper and aluminum alloys for electrical use. She earned her Ph.D. degree in metallurgy from AGH. She is author or co-author of more than 50 papers. Monika Walkowicz is a Ph.D. student in the Nonferrous Metals Department at AGH. She is a specialist in copper metallurgy and materials engineering. She earned her M.Sc. degree in management and production engineering from AGH. This paper, which was presented at WAI’s International Technical Conference, Monterrey, Mexico, October 2010, won the Marshall V. Yokelson Memorial Award for the best nonferrous paper.

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Journal of the Institute of Metals, vol.100, 1978.

4. F. Humphreys and M. Hatherly, Recrystallization and Related Annealing Phenoma, Elsevier, 2004.

5. Y.V.R.K. Prasad and K.P. Rao, “Influence of oxygen on the processing maps for hot working of electrolytic tough pitch copper,” Materials Letters, Vol. 60, 2006, pp.

2786–2790.

6. S. Aoyama, M. Onuki, Y. Miyake and R. Urao, “Effects of lead on annealing properties of cold-drawn copper wire,” Journal Of Materials Science, Vol. 26, 1991, pp.

3775-3779.

7. S. Fujiwara and K. Abiko, “Ductility of Ultra High Purity Copper,” Journal de Physique 111, Vol. 5, November 1995.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER Dry drawing lubricants and borax Concerns about the use of borax and potential protective measures that could be passed led to a lubricant supplier’s decision to focus on a line of borax-free products that eliminates those concerns while improving the product’s capabilities for ferrous wiredrawing applications.

By Hubertus Damm

This presentation focuses on the use of borax in wiredrawing. It would be more accurate to say the use of “boron compounds” or “borates” in wiredrawing, but the generic term borax is used here.

For the wiredrawing industry, borax has long been used both as an additive in dry lubricants and as a carrier coating either on its own or in a proprietary mixture. In recent years, borax has been the subject of much debate, particularly in Europe the last four to five years, culminating in new regulations that require products that contain more than a certain percentage of borax to be labeled as “toxic” as boron in all its forms has been classified as “toxic for reproduction.” While these regulations are solely European in relation to their enforcement, their effect on the U.S. market will be ensured through the program of label globalization which is not implemented yet. This presentation will present more details about these new regulations, but to start one must understand the role and usage of borax.

Dry lubricants and borax’s role in them

ble, making them much easier to clean off the wire after drawing.

Although the majority of dry lubricants used in the wire industry are based on calcium and/or sodium soaps, some more complex lubricants may contain other stearates based on zinc, aluminium or potassium. As shown by the reaction presented in Table 1, water is produced as part of the saponification process. A small amount of water is important in the product as it helps to bind the granules.

However, too much water will lower or completely destroy the drawability of the lubricant. It is essential that water content in calcium soaps does not exceed 2.5%, or 3% in sodium soaps. Typical water value in calcium soaps is around 1% and around 2% for sodium soaps.

In addition to the soap, a dry lubricant also has additives and fillers. Additives are used to give the dry lubricant specific performance features while fillers are used to control the amount of fat that is in the product. A typical fat content for a calcium soap is from 20% to 50% and for a sodium soap the fat rate is 60% to 90%. However, within the Traxit range there are calcium soaps with a fat content of up to 90% and sodium soaps with a fat content of below 50%. These specialised soaps are for specific drawing requirements.

Additives are an important part of any dry lubricant and are added to the lubricant for various purposes, including: to increase/decrease the softening point of the lubricant; to

Dry lubricants are made by combining an organic acid with an alkaline base (generally calcium or sodium) to create a soap and water. The most commonly used organic acids are a mixture of fatty acids based on beef tallow or palm oil. The worldwide demand for these products is increasing at an alarming rate due to the use (particularly of palm oil) in the production of bio-diesel and other fuels.

Wiredrawing lubricants fall into two main categories: calcium-based and sodium-based. These soaps are obtained by mixing the fatty acid with either calcium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide in the following reactions that are shown in Table 1.

The characteristics of the two soaps in their pure form are different. Sodium soaps are softer and are whiter in color compared to calcium soaps that are much harder and more yellowish. One major difference is that calciTable 1. Chemical reactions for calcium- and sodiumum soaps are insoluble whereas sodium soaps are solubased lubricants for wiredrawing.

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increase the effectiveness under high pressures (EP addiChemical Substances at the European Chemicals Bureau. tives); to increase the decomposition point; to improve rust The following are quotations from the 2004 report, prevention of the drawn wires; to improve lubricant pick“Commission Working Group of Specialised Experts in the up; to get a better cleanability of the drawing residuals; and Fields of Reprotoxicity,” which took place at Ispra, Italy. to reduce die wear (AW additives), etc.

“The evidence from different animal species shows that Use of borax in dry lubricants. Borax, one of many difboric acid and the borates have an adverse effect on fertilferent additives, has been traditionally used in sodium ity (rat, mouse, dog) and development (rat, mouse, rabbit), soaps to: reduce the fat content in sodium soaps; stabilize which is not a consequence of general systemic toxicity. the lubricant film in sodium soaps; provide a starting adheThe effects observed across species were very similar, both sion in calcium soaps for the first die; and reduce the buildin nature and effective doses (mg boron per kg bodyweight ing of cakes in the die box. per day).

Outside of the wire industry, borax has wide ranging The epidemiological studies in humans are insufficient to uses, such as: in manufacturing insulating fiberglass and demonstrate the absence of an adverse effect on fertility ... cellulose insulation; as a fire retardant and anti-fungal It is not known whether there are significant differences in compound; detergents; and a welding flux, when mixed the dynamics between humans and laboratory animal modwith ammonium chloride, for iron and steel, as it lowers els and in the absence of such knowledge it must be the melting point of iron oxide (scale), allowing it to run assumed that the effects seen in animals could occur in off. Borax, mixed with water, is used as a flux when solderhumans. … it is assumed that the animal data are relevant ing jewellery metals such as gold or silver. It allows the to humans. molten solder to flow evenly over the joint in question.

Potential human exposure levels via inhalation and oral Borax can also be used to kill carpenter ants and fleas. routes could be within one order of magnitude of the The use of borax in Europe is governed now by two sepNOAELs [No Observed Adverse Effect Levels] for reproarate pieces of legislation. The first relates to the ductive toxicity found in animal studies. The threshold level Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemical for effects in humans is not known but it cannot be excludsubstances (REACH), the second is part of the Global ed that it could be below the level causing vomiting in Harmonisation of packaging and labelling of Chemical humans. products (GHS). This legislation, referred to in Europe as Given the clear effects on fertility and development seen the “CLP Regulations” (Classification, Labelling and in animal models that are considered as relevant to Packaging of Chemical Substances), will ultimately have humans the Specialised Experts recommend to classify the biggest impact on the U.S. as it has also signed up to boric acid and the borates with Repr. Cat. 2; R60-61.” this world-wide agreement. What is not certain at this time The borates classification limits have been set as shown is when those regulations will be adopted here. in Table 2. The labeling consequences of the classification The harmonised classifications set out in Part 3 of Annex are as follows: T = Toxic (Chemicals that at low levels VI to Regulation EC No. 1272/2008, as amended by the cause damage to health); R60 = May impair fertility; R61 Commission Regulation EC No. 790/2009 of Aug. 10, may = May cause harm to the unborn child; S53 = Avoid expobe applied before Dec. 1, 20101. One of the provisions sure: obtain special instructions before use; and S45 = In case of accident or if you feel unwell seek medical advice required that all products either manufactured in or importimmediately (show the label where possible). ed into Europe containing more than 6.5% of borax pentahydrate would have to be labelled as “Toxic.” Challenges were made to the CLP regulations for the new labelling for borax and all other chemicals referred to in the directive, which were to go into effect in December 2010. The new labelling requirements include strict handling and storage procedures including possibly: separate, locked and ventilated storage areas; and gloves and safety equipment when handling.

The new classification of borax is as a result of a report from the European Commission Directorate General Joint Research Centre’s Institute for Health and Consumer Table 2. Classification of borax limits.

Protection Unit: Toxicology and

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Fig. 1. shows the warning symbol under the old regulations as well as the two symbols that are replacing it under the GHS regulations.

At the time of preparing this presentation, the arguments about the effect on humans from borax are continuing. In Europe, Denmark and Germany have asked that borax be

Fig. 1. From l-r, the “old” warning symbol and two new ones from the GHS.

put onto the list of substances under REACH that require authorization from the European Chemicals Agency for use. If this application is successful, it will lead to an almost certain complete ban of the use of borax in chemical formulations. This application is being strenuously opposed by the European Borax Association, however it will be some time before any final conclusion is reached.

Producers of dry lubricants and also wiredrawing companies cannot be experts in the field of human reprotoxicity, but living in the real world forces them to comply fully with regulations that are in force.

All lubricant manufacturers, especially those currently producing in Europe, have had to look closely at the use of borax in their products. This will also be necessary for U.S. producers in the short to medium term as the GHS regulations begin to be enforced.

There are two possible approaches to the problem: either reduce the amount of borax in the lubricants to below the 6.5% limit to avoid the need to label the products with the Toxic symbols or remove borax altogether from their formulations.

Traxit made the decision to take the more difficult second option. This option was not taken by all of the other producers. The Traxit reasoning is that it is impossible to predict in the future whether borax will become a banned substance or not. Therefore, it is better to avoid any future problems by completely eliminating the product.

As a result of looking in the smallest detail of the function of borax in the formulations and researching and developing new additives and production methods, there is now available a new generation of lubricants that offer several advantages over the traditional lubricants, including: longer die life; higher drawing speeds; reduced wire breaks; reduced drawing temperatures; sodium-based lubricants with less moisture pick-up; and special granulometry that can offer greatly reduced consumption, the “total use” concept.

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Borax as a lubricant carrier Borax is also used as a treatment after pickling or phosphating to neutralize the wire rod and create a crystalline structure on the rod to aid the pick up of lubricant in the first die box.

Borax decahydrate (Na2B4O7.10H2O) gives a white powdery coating and is a very poor lubricant carrier coating as it carries water with it into the die. However, if this product is heated to between 61º and 88ºC, crystallization occurs and sodium pentahydrate is formed.

(Na2B4O7.5H2O). This is a much better lubricant carrier. In order to ensure that decahydrate does not re-form, the bath temperature must be kept between 80º and 90ºC. As well as being used on its own, borax forms a major part of many proprietary salt coatings widely available.

Extensive work is being carried out to completely eliminate borax from salt coatings. This is more difficult than in lubricants as the quantity of borax in a salt carrier coating can range from 20% to 90%. The buffering effect of borax is necessary due to carryover of acid from the pickling and/or phosphating solutions, which are very difficult to reproduce at an economic cost.

Traxit has available coatings for use on all types of steel: low, medium or high carbon and stainless steel. These products are completely free of borax and further improved products are continuously being developed.

Wire producers are always looking for improved performance and lower consumption, and the necessity of carefully looking at the formulations of drawing compounds brought about by the changing regulations has resulted in a major leap forward in wiredrawing lubricant and coating products. The result has been the latest products that can rightly be described as “New Generation.”

These are available today not only in Europe but also in the United States.

Reference 1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do? uri=OJ:L:2009:235:0001:0439:en:PDF, p. 2 and p. 126. ■

Hubertus Damm is general manager of Traxit International GmbH, a lubricant supplier based in Schwelm, Germany, with subsidiaries in the U.S., China and India. This paper was presented at WAI’s I n t e r n a t i o n a l Te c h n i c a l Conference, October 2010, Monterrey, Mexico.

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Following successful events in Stresa, Prague, Bologna, and Istanbul, a team of co-organizers has planned a panel of ferrous and nonferrous expert speakers, tabletop exhibits, and a choice of local factory tours to Drahtwerk, Cologne, or Leoni Kerpen, Stolberg.

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TECHNICAL PAPERS

TECHNICAL PAPER Recirculation furnace with water quenching for steel wire This paper compares the efficiency of a new multi-wire annealing furnace with standard patenting processes and discloses significant improvements in fume velocities and energy savings.

By Walter Kolb, Rubert Zachar and Dr. Wolfgang Weidenhaupt

Survey and introduction

Burner systems and heat transmission

The heat treatment of iron and steel wire in multi-wire continuous wire plants by patenting, diffusion annealing, soft annealing and tempering is carried out mainly in gasheated furnaces. Such processes are needed to condition the material to achieve the desired properties.

The furnaces currently used in steel wire production suffer from high energy consumption and a rather small window of stable production loads. Nowadays, more attention is paid to saving natural resources and reducing the CO2 emissions, and the global economic crisis has taught manufacturers the importance of changing production loads day by day.

This paper presents information about a new recirculation furnace (patent pending) from Austria’s CPA Wire Technologies GmbH that offers energy savings of up to 40% and a stable operation down to 30% of the nominal production load. The new furnace will be presented as part of a multi-wire patenting line with a water-quenching bath that also has a new advanced non-pollution technology that offers huge potential savings.

Fig. 2 shows three burner systems installed in annealing furnaces for multi-wire steel wires. To increase heat production efficiency, the new furnace is equipped with stateof-the-art, highly efficient recuperator burners that have an integrated heat exchanger for preheating the air instantly in the burner head.

The fresh air is preheated by leading it through the stack.

This eliminates the need to send the hot flue gases to a cen-

Thermotechnical aspects It is common knowledge that the amount of consumed energy in the equilibrium state depends on: energy to increase the wire temperature; energy loss through the stack; energy dissipated over the furnace surface; efficiency of the heat production itself; and efficiency of heat transfer to the wire. See Fig. 1.

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Fig. 1. Energy flow diagram for different patenting processes.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

tral air preheating system. For recuperator burners, one must still handle hot flue gases, but this is done at a comparably lower temperature level (about 500-600°C). The result is less loss of flue gas energy for preheating other process fluids in the steel wire plant.

See Photo 1.

Another important furnace efficiency issue is the heat transfer from the furnace to the product. Some furnace energy is transferred to the product by radiation of the furnace walls; another smaller portion is transferred by radiation of the triatomic gases in the flames. Finally, a third portion is transferred to the product by convection from the furnace atmosphere. The corresponding heat transfer rates follow the two below equations:

Conventional furnaces with premix burners reach a fume velocity of only 1-3 m/sec max (+ turbulence in the area of flames). Fig. 3 shows the fume flow in a conventional furnace with premix burners. The coefficient of emission ε can hardly be influenced since it is a material characteristic, whereas the heat transfer coefficient α can be influenced.

The heat transfer coefficient of convection α of CPA’s AEOX furnaces is increased by a factor of ~30 compared to natural convection furnaces. In actual installations, different methods of increasing the convection portion are installed. High-impulse burners are used to induce movement of the oven atmosphere to increase the heat transfer coefficient. One can also find installations with a short passage of slightly forced air flow within the furnace length.

CPA proposed the idea of increasing the convection portion to the end, and as a result it introduced the first recirculation furnace in the field of steel wire production. The system is equipped with a high-temperature recirculation radial fan.

The furnace is separated by a counter-flow chamber and a return-flow chamber that enables the furnace

Fig. 2. Examples of three different burner systems.

Photo 1. Combustion air preheating (condensing boiler technology).

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atmosphere to be recirculated at high velocity. In the wire plane, the hot gases flow with ~30 m/s over the complete furnace length. The system exhibits some significant features.

• The heat transfer coefficient of convection is increased by a factor of ~30 compared to natural convection furnaces. Using recuperator burners, the process can reduce specific energy consumption per kg wire by up to 40%.

• The temperature distribution in the furnace is very even.

There are no significant temperature fluctuations across the wire plane, which allows for producing a stable quality of up to 60 wires across the furnace width.

• Partial-load capability is improved significantly. In natural-convection furnaces, the reduction in heating power is practically limited to approximately -15%. Reducing more leads to a drastically inhomogeneous temperature distribution in the furnace, resulting in bad wire quality. Due to the recirculation of the furnace atmosphere a homogeneous temperature distribution can be kept in the furnace down to -75% heating power. This enables the customer to be very flexible in production.

In CPA steel-cord plants, the new furnace is combined with the other processes paying high attention to the ener-

gy balance of the complete system. Wherever thermal energy is needed in the processes, as much as possible is extracted from the furnace’s waste energy.

Water-quenching system for steel wire

The patenting treatment in steel wire plants is the basis for high-quality products. During patenting the wires are first heated up to approximately 1000°C before the material is quickly cooled down in a quenching bath to temperatures of 500 to 600°C dependent on the wire qualities.

Within this sequence, the quenching process is most critical. It decisively determines the mechanical properties of the heat-treated wire. The physical properties require a very fine pearlitic microstructure (Sorbit) with highest achievable tensile strength and excellent ductility characteristics.

The objective of patenting is to avoid bainitic as well as martensitic microstructures and to achieve 100 percent of the fine and ductile pearlite. Fig. 4 shows the TimeTemperature-Transformation (TTT) behavior for steel tire cord quality. Although shapes and ranges of the individual structures vary with carbon and alloying elements contents, there is a rather narrow temperature range to achieve the desired pearlite transformation.

With respect to a stable high-quality wire production, the quenching system must consequently be capable of accurately adjusting the quenching effect according to the product, especially regarding production speed and wire diameter.

The quenching must be controllable and reproducible. Traditionally, the steel wire industry has used lead baths as the quenching systems. From a technical point of view, these systems are very well suited for achieving the desired thermal procedure but there are disadvantages that cannot be ignored. A top concern is that lead is an environmental poison. Patenting systems that Fig. 3. Conventional furnace with premix burners. use lead must meet a lot of environmental restrictions and directions, and its use in new systems is expected to be banned in the future.

Also, lead residues adhere to wire, which might require additional chemical cleaning, another critical process. Finally, heating up and keeping tons of lead at a high temperature requires valuable energy.

As an alternative to lead baths, fluidized bed systems have been introduced to the field. These systems make use of small solid particles impacting on the wire that extract heat from the product by direct contact. Compared to the lead baths, these systems are environmentally acceptable and use less power. Still, these systems have some disadvantages. They usually are operated with sand of 100 μm to 200 μm particle size (with portions below and above). This size dust can enter the respiratory system and lead to irriFig. 4. TTT-Diagram for steel tire-cord wire (A = austenite, P = tations. Particle sizes below approximately 5 μm pearlite, B = bainite, M = martensite).

74 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

TECHNICAL PAPERS Photo 2. CPA system with two adjustable sections (patent pending) to simultaneously process different wire dimensions.

Photo 3. Soaking zone (patent pending).

that may be produced during operation due to abrasion and fragmentation could even reach the lung and may cause severe health problems. From a technical viewpoint, these systems can only run a very narrow range of wire dimensions at the same time as it is not possible to adjust the bed corresponding to the wires individually.

Water-quenching system requirements To overcome the above-described problems, CPA developed a water-based quenching system. The quenching fluid is a mixture of water and organic polymers. The fluids are environmentally friendly and easy to handle.

Because of the polymer properties, the vapor film phase at the beginning of the quenching is very stable while the quenching process is very well controllable due to the comparably long lasting vapor film phase. Cooling down to the transformation temperature is finished before the uncontrollable boiling phase starts.

The CPA Convection Film Cooling and Soaking system (patent pending) is designed to run different wire dimensions at the same time. For that reason the cooling section is divided into an individually adjustable section according to the customer’s request. The adjustment is done from outside the tank, no manipulation at running wires or in the quenchant is required. See Photo 2.

The quenching section is directly connected to the soaking zone without leading the wires through surrounding atmosphere. The soaking zone (See Photo 3) consists of two electrically heated sections whose temperatures are individually adjustable. This makes it possible to introduce a temperature gradient from the entrance to the exit that minimizes wire temperature changes during the pearlite transformation. Figs. 5 and 6 show the operating costs and potential cost savings comparisons for the technology.

Fig. 5. Operating costs for different technologies.

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Summary: process and product advantages The AEOX recirculation furnace combined with a water quenching bath leads to significant advantages. See Figs. 4 and 5. These advantages include: Process advantages: Up to 40% savings of energy from low-emission technology; highest constant quality with a large product mix; operation between 25% and 115% of nominal load; no problems with furnace pressure and atmosphere; savings of material due to a minimum of scale; easy cleaning of the wires with short electrolytic pickling system (saving of chemicals and energy); up to 20% reduction of furnace length; easy wire threading with integrated conveyer and spooler; and low maintenance and maintenance friendly design (opening from the top).

Product advantages: constant quality; no lead or sand; easy to control; furnace drag out heat recovery; dual-phase controlled soaking system; and a film boiling process with special additive developed by CPA for perfect control of the cooling. â–

Fig. 6. Projected potential savings from using CPA technology. Figures based on 7,920 production hours per year, average production of 359 t/ph and a total annual production of 28,433 t.

Walter Kolb is CEO of CPA Wire Technologies GmbH, Graz, Austria, a provider of technology, machinery, and plants for the steel cord industry. He has been involved with steel cord plants since 1979 and has been active worldwide in the field. Robert Zachar is sales director for CPA Wire Technologies GmbH. He has 26 years of copper ad steel wire industry experience. Dr. Wolfgang Weidenhaupt Zachar Kolb Weidenhaupt joined ENKA/ AKZO in 1970 to spearhead its entry into steel tire cord and served as plant director for 18 years. Since 1993, he has worked as a consultant for presented at WAI’s International Technical Conference, steel wire companies around the world. This paper was October 2010, Monterrey, Mexico.

76 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

PRODUCTS & MEDIA PROD DUCTS Patented FEP technology offered in a concentrated masterbatch At IWCS, U.S.-based Cable Components Group (CCG) will introduce a further advance for its foamable fluoropolymer technology: an economical FEP-based pellet in a concentrated masterbatch.

A press release said that the chemically foamable fluoropolymer materials, which increase electrical performance, improve fire safety and extend material usage, were initially used in a range of CCG products such as 6LANTM crosswebs, tapes, and tubes. The new masterbatch is a U.L. recognized component for plenum cable applications (QMTM2). The new offering of FEP pellets

More than 1,200 second-hand machines in stock Reconditioned 6 block double capstan drawing machine

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78 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

in a concentrated masterbatch, it said, will provide a range of processing as well as economic advantages for manufacturers while providing them a product that has been shown to be especially effective for the challenging production of thin wall insulation of 0.006 in. (.152 mm) to 0.010 in. (.254 mm) for Cat. 5e, 6 and 6A cables.

The release noted that in July, CCG received both U.S. and European patents for the company’s FluoroFoam® line of chemically foamable pellets and cable fillers. The patent coverage, it said, includes Perfluoroalkoxy Copolymer (PFA) and Tetrafluoroethylene Perfluoromethylvinylether Copolymer (MFA), as well as Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP).

Contact: Cable Components Group, tel. 860-5995877, www.cablecomponents.com.

Compounds line has new distributor At IWCS, U.S.-based T&T Marketing, Inc., will exhibit information about new products it will offer that include formulations formerly offered by ExxonMobil Chemical Company and a new high performance TPE product.

A press release said that T&T Marketing will be manufacturing several products based on the formulations of three SantopreneTM TPV grades that ExxonMobil Chemical Company has decided to no longer manufacture. Those products, which it said offer excellent flexibility, physical properties and oil resistance, include: Santoprene 8261-87 TPV; Santoprene 8451-87W232 TPV; and Santoprene 8453-45W232 TPV. Those respective grades will now be offered by T&T Marketing as TPE 6187, TPE 5187 and TPE 5345.

T&T Marketing has also introduced another new high performance TPE product: TPE 5575®, a flame retardant wire and cable compound that it said is soft and flexible and has the feel of premium garden hose or high-end jumper cables. The material has a Shore A Hardness of 75, but at the same time exhibits exceptional physical properties; tensile strength 2,000 psi and > 700% elongation, it said. Wire insulated with TPE 5575® can be rated 125˚C per UL 758; making the product ideal for high temperature applications. The material also has a brittle point of -65˚C. The compound is natural in color and contains a UV stabilizer so that cables made from the product are protected from the damaging rays of the sun.

Contact: T&T Marketing, Inc., tel. 800-608-1577, info@ttmarketinginc.com, www.ttmarketinginc.com.

Compounds can handle demanding requirements for industrial cable At IWCS, U.S.-based Teknor Apex Company will introduce two new jacketing compounds based on blends of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that provide outstanding resistance to the aggres-

sive end-use conditions often encountered by industrial cables.

A press release said that the new Apex® P-55003 and P-55004 compounds are recommended for factory automation networks, industrial robots and other plant systems that require data or control cable. Besides exhibiting the superior abrasion resistance and excellent tensile properties associated with TPUs, the compounds provide resistance to oil and chemicals, toughness at low temperatures, and oxygen indices comparable to those of

Company’s measuring and control technology will be on display At IWCS, Beta LaserMike will showcase its latest technology for wire and cable companies, including its new LayScan measurement system (patent pending) accurately and consistently measures the lay length of twisted pairs used in telecommunication cables.

A press release said that the LayScan system uses optical, non-contact measurement technology to perform on-

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standard PVC jacketing compounds for industrial cable, it said.

“Teknor Apex developed these new Apex PVC/TPU blends to provide durable protection for cable that is in constant movement, is subjected to rough handling, or is exposed to the aggressive substances often found in factory settings,” said Mike Patel, wire and cable industry manager. “They provide a combination of flexibility, toughness, and low-temperature endurance that is well suited for a broad range of industrial applications.”

Contact: Teknor Apex Company, www.teknorapex.com.

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

line, high-speed lay length measurements with accuracies to 1 mil.

Providing high-data rate capabilities, it can precisely determines the variations in lay length within each lay, it said. Systematic lay variations that are typically caused by twinning and cabling operations can be readily observed and measured, it noted, adding that a data acquisition system effectively collects and processes the lay length data, and reports the measurement results.

The release said that company will also display its extensive range of measurement and control technology, including its AccuScan 5000 system (pictured).

Contact: Beta LaserMike, www.betalasermike.com.

Flux-cored wire ideal for shipbuilding U.S.-based Lincoln Electric reports that its new UltraCore® HD-C Wire, a mild-steel gas-shielded fluxcored wire, is an ideal choice for out-of-position welding requirements, with 100 percent CO2 in the shipbuilding industry and other fabrication applications.

A press release said that UltraCore HD-C, which is designed to provide high deposition rates and a flat bead appearance in all positions, delivers premium arc performance and fast-freezing slag with a low fume-generation rate. The wire has a wide operating range and is able to reach deposition rates of up to 10 lbs/hour, even in out-of-position applications, it said. UltraCore HD-C wire, which exhibits low spatter levels and is specially formulated to weld over light rust, mill scale and primer, conforms to American Welding Society (AWS) 5.20/A5.20M: 2005 E71T-1C-H8 and E71T-9C-H8 and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) 3YSA H10, it said.

The new wire initially is available in 0.045, 0.052 and 1/16 in. (1.1, 1.3 and 1.6 mm) wire diameters wound on 15 lb (7 kg) plastic spools, 33 lb (15 kg) fiber spools and 50 lb (23 kg) coils.

Contact: Lincoln Electric, www.lincolnelectric.com.

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Payoff and take-up lines can handle both small and large diameters U.S.-based Davis-Standard, LLC, offers a complete range of payoff and take-up systems designed to handle products as small as 40 awg soft copper and as large as jacketed cable to 6 in. in diameter.

A press release highlighting the different lines said that the company’s payoff product offering includes flyer-type systems, both single and dual, in sizes up to 50 in. with accompanying lift trucks and tension brake assemblies.

Single-reel payoffs, both motorized and drag type, and single-reel take-ups, are offered in various configurations, including roll-thru, retracting arm shaftless and shaft type, with ranges from 12-in.- to 144-in.-flange diameters, with weight capacities to 60,000 lb, it said, adding that for precise control, a complete line of oscillating designs is available.

The company’s dual-reel, fully automatic take-ups range in size from 6 in. to 50 in., and include both a shaft type for speeds to 5,000 fpm and shaftless designs for running at speeds to 9,500 fpm, the release said. Models include the PS Series dual-reel, take-ups and the PS Series line of shaftless dual-reel “Clipper” take-ups, which are designed for winding wire and cable continuously at speeds to 9,500 ft (2,896 m) per minute and for reels up to 50 in.

(1,270 mm) in diameter and 5,000 lb (2,268 kg). It added that operation may be fully automatic Model TTA (pictured, from display at Interwire) with various reel handling systems or semi-automatic, requiring tending only for loading and unloading of reels.

Contact: Larry Fitzgerald, Davis-Standard, LLC, tel. 860-599-1010, lfitzgerald@davis-standard.com, www.davis-standard.com.

Extrusion dies with microstructures create low-friction products U.S.-based Hoowaki LLC reports that its innovative extrusion dies use microstructured surfaces to lower friction on wire and cable polymer jackets, providing easier installation.

A press release said that standard extrusion dies are modified with the unique surfaces required to reduce friction, and that the micro-features then transfer to the product during the normal extrusion process, requiring few or

ing. The wire reels, it said, are labeled with large tape announcing the wire size, making it far easier to view wire size from a distance than standard labeling practices.

Wire size is also printed directly on the wire in a large size (MaxPrint) to improve identification, it said. Items placed on a pallet of mixed goods are carefully organized, with products grouped together and labeled with an itemized label which includes a piece count for that pallet, making verifying inventory with shipping manifests more efficient, while barcode scanners ensure a very high rate of accuracy in the picking process, it said. The company, it added, also labels special cut

Company: the advantages go beyond the wire U.S.-based Cerro Wire LLC reports that its products offer customers advantages beyond the copper electrical building wire and cable itself.

A press release said that the company’s unique packaging, shipping and delivery advantages make wire reels easier and safer to ship as well as improve inventory and stock keep-

Manufacturers of both

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OCTOBER 2011 | 81

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

no adjustments t o the process and no adjustments to the material.

Hoowaki’s approach, therefore, requires minimal modification to existing manufacturing processes, does not introduce any new materials and is cost-effective for high volume production, the release said.

Hoowaki custom designs the features based on material and application, the release said. The company’s design process takes into account material shrinkage and drawdown to provide features that are the optimal geometry on the final product, it said, adding that the company has demonstrated up to 20% reduction in dry sliding, and up to 80% reduction in lubricated sliding, significantly boosting the surface capabilities of standard polymers.

Low-friction surfaces have already been applied to polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, silicones and fluoropolymers using this process. “Hoowaki’s unique surfaces can also be used to increase extruder productivity and reduce the drag between the die surface and the polymer, without changing the process parameters. These surfaces allow polymers to flow smoothly, providing greater quantities of highquality product.”

Contact: Hoowaki LLC, tel. 864-354-6174, info@hoowaki.com, www.hoowaki.com.

PRODUCTS & MEDIA

reels so customer knows exactly where that reel needs to go on a job site.

For reels that must be shipped upright on their flanges, Cerro Wire uses an innovative vertical cradle pallet that ensures the reels do not roll in the truck and can be unloaded easily in an upright fashion. Manufacturers that ship large reels flat on their sides force distributors to use unsafe flipping techniques to unload the reel that risk breaking reel flanges and risk damaging wire, while Cerro Wire ships it the way the customer wants it, whether vertical on a cradle pallet or flat on regular pallets, it said.

Contact: Cerro Wire LLC, www.cerrowire.com.

Aluminum cable has half the weight of traditional auto cables U.S.-based Delphi Packard has introduced an aluminum cable that performs comparably to traditional copper core cable but weighs much less and without the added cost related to the cost of copper.

A press release said that the aluminum cable technology is now in production and will be introduced on 2012 model year vehicles. “Delphi Aluminum Cable is a simple and smart way for automakers to achieve their goals of saving weight and improving quality while protecting themselves against unforeseen market fluctuations in the price of copper,” said Stefaan Vandevelde, vice president, Delphi Packard E/E Architecture, EMEA, and president,

global electrical/electronic distribution systems. The Delphi aluminum cable, he said, delivers the same conductivity as copper core cable but weighs up to 48 percent less while meeting OEM regulatory requirements that include ISO-6722 (primary cable focus), LV112-2 (battery cable focus) and USCAR-23 (for cable). When incorporated with Delphi Ultra Thin-Wall insulation, the cable provides excellent pinch and abrasion resistance, he said.

“Delphi employs a unique conformal coating sealing process when the cable is still on the cutter. This, coupled with our state-of-the-art crimping process, results in a robust, high-performing cable protected from corrosion,” Vandevelde said. He noted that aluminum cable was widely used in the automotive industry from 1969 to1998, and that Delphi benefits from a legacy of introducing aluminum solid core cables in 1974 and manufacturing some 82 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

900 million meters of aluminum cable and 35 million meters of copper-clad aluminum cable applications.

Contact: Delphi Packard, www.delphi.com.

MEDIA Wire and cable regional study: Brazil A study from U.K.-based Integer Research Ltd. looks at Brazil’s cable industry, comparing its performance to other BRIC nations, and provides information on the country’s 100 top cablemakers.

A press release notes that Brazil is still behind China and India in terms of market potential, but with a Gross Domestic Product of about US$2 trillion, it is now the 8th largest economy in the world and over the next 10 years will overtake the U.K. and French economies. Integer estimates that the total wire and cable demand in Brazil in 2010 reached US$2.3 billion, a 45% year-on-year increase from the 2009 low point. “Brazil itself has quite a sophisticated wire and cable sector, and both Prysmian and Nexans (through Madeco/Ficap) are well established in the country. São Paulo is the main industrial hub in Brazil, and the production and demand for cable is also concentrated here.”

The release said that the Integer study includes a new series of regional studies that it described as “the first in the marketplace to give you a complete overview of a global region, using a specific methodology.” The latest report maps in detail the main drives of demand in Brazil, as well as providing detailed financials of the leading producers, such as Prysmian Cabos and Nexans Brazil, it said. The study also includes information on plant and product mix for the leading 100 cablemakers, with profiles on companies such as Wirex Cable and Cordeiro Fios e Cabos Electricos, it said.

Contact: Integer Research Ltd., tel. 44-207-503-1265, www.integer-research.com/wire-cable. ■

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DEADLINES: Copy is due a full month in advance, i.e., it must be received by March 1 for publication in the April issue. Classifieds booked on-line, run for at least one-month on-line, from the date of booking. Wire Journal International “Print classifieds” booked on-line as an “add-on” to an “online classified” booking will run in the next available issue.

menting sales and marketing strategies to meet corporate objectives.

Requirements: BS Marketing or related Business degree; 5+ years experience in a marketing and sales environment developing corporate image or brand identity (preferably B to B); 5+ years managing sales and marketing personnel; experience working with ERP software and CRM platforms; energetic, quick thinker, solid understanding of

sales and marketing fundamentals; experience in aerospace and medical markets a plus. Contact: Box 10-1.

MANUFACTURER SALES REPRESENTATIVE. Established US Manufacturer of welded wire mesh products looking for sales representation in the West Coast, Northwest, Atlanta Metropolitan area. Must work with complementary product lines in

COMMISSION BROKERS, INC. EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS TO THE ELECTRICAL WIRE & CABLE INDUSTRY APPRAISERS • COMMISSION BROKERS • INDIVIDUAL PIECES OR ENTIRE PLANTS

SALE 7 1 1 2 1 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

-

WARDWELL 12-Carrier Braiders SPIRKA 24-Carrier Braider, Model 24N4, 1990 SPIRKA 16-Carrier Braider, 500mm Take-up and Payoff NEB 12-C, 16-C #2 Braider, Long Legs, Motors NEB 48-Carrier Harness Braider COOK BH30 Bunchers EDMANDS 18-Wire, 6+12, 16” Planetary Cabler Line NEB Model C62-2 12-Wire 8” Vertical Planetary Cablers, 1987 MGS 50” Continuous Belt Caterpuller Capstan, Model LC50.4D-LH CONAIR 39” Continuous Belt Caterpuller Capstan, Model 6-39 Continuous Belt Caterpuller Capstan, 42” Belt Length x 8” Width DAVIS STANDARD 4.5” 24:1 L/D Extruder DAVIS STANDARD 100mm 24:1 L/D Extruder, Model 100MM35 D/S 2.5” 24:1 L/D Hi-Temp Extrusion Line D/S 2” 30:1 L/D Hi-Temp Extruder ENTWISTLE 2” 24:1 L/D Extruder, Model TFII-2000-24 SKALTEK 1600mm, Model A16-4K, Motorized HALL 40” Motorized Payoff w/Dancer CLIPPER DF6 Dual Cone Flyer Payoff w/Reel Jacks ROSENDAHL 630mm Parallel Axis Dual Reel Take-up, never used NOKIA Model EKP50 Parallel Axis Dual Reel, 1997 SPHEREX 18” Dual Reel Take-up, refurbished

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1

-

CLIPPER Model SP16 Dual Spooler REEL-O-MATIC Model PRR1 Rim Drive Powered Reel Roller REEL-O-MATIC Model RD-5 Rim Drive Take-up w/Coiling Head TEC Model DTC630 D.T. Twister ENTWISTLE 4-Wire 24” D.T. Twisters, Model 4WDT24 FINE Preheater, Model IP4000-180-1, 2007 SCHLEUNIGER JS8300 Jacket Stripper SCHLEUNIGER US2100 Stripper SCHLEUNIGER CS9050 Cut & Strip Machine KOMAX Model KAPPA 320 Cut & Strip Machine, 2009/10 EUBANKS Model 4000-04 Cut and Strip Machine EUBANKS Model 9800-03 Cut & Strip Machine GETTIG Tape and Labeling System ERASER Model TW-20 Wire Twister IDEAL 940 Bench Stripper (now ARTOS 45-940) CARPENTER 3-Head Stripper, Model 74-C CARPENTER Strippers, Model 70-B MICRODIA Crosshead, Model M9000/10XFL TECHMET 183 LaserMike BETA Lump Detector, Model LN1025XY-DL, 12/05 BETA “Accuscan 3010”, 2006

Contact: Martin Kenner

COMMISSION BROKERS, INC.

P.O. Box 8456 • Cranston, RI 02920-0456 • Tel. (401) 943-3777 • Fax: (401) 943-3670 WEB: www.commissionbrokers.com • E-MAIL: marty137@aol.com

OCTOBER 2011 | 83

CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS

WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFIED AD INFORMATION NAME _________________________________________________________________________TITLE _________________________________________________ COMPANY ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY ________________________________________STATE _______________POSTAL CODE _____________________COUNTRY _______________________ PHONE ______________________________FAX________________________________EMAIL _______________________________________________________ AD CATEGORY____________ ISSUE YOUR AD BEGINS___________E-mail NUMBER OF ISSUES RUN _______LAST ISSUE ________________RUN TILL FURTHER NOTICE? YES____ NO ____ FULL RUN (WJI & ON-LINE) YES____ NO ____

BLIND BOX? YES____ NO ____

WAI MEMBER? YES____ NO ____ WAI MEMBERSHIP # ______________________ (Applies only to “Position Wanted”)

marine, fencing, cage, construction, farming/agriculture or reinforcement mesh. Contact Box 10-2.

PERSONNEL SERVICES “LET OUR SUCCESS BE YOUR SUCCESS” Wire Resources is the foremost recruiting firm in the Wire & Cable Industry. Since 1967 we

Please e-mail the requested information to: WAI’s Cindy Kirmss at ckirmss@wirenet.org.

For more details, you can call her at 203-453-2777, ext. 116.

have partnered with industry manufacturers to secure the services of thousands of key individual contributors and managers.

www.wireresources.com.

Wire Resources, Inc., 522 E. Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830, 203-622-3000 or 800-394-WIRE.

Contact: E-mail Peter Carino at pcarino@wireresources.com or e-mail Jack Cutler at jcutler@ wireresources.com, or visit the Wire Resources company website at

MACHINERY WWW.URBANOASSOCIATES. COM. For New (Hakusan Heat Pressure Welders, Ferrous & NonFerrous; Marldon Rolling Ring Traverses) & Used Wire & Cable Equipment (buttwelders, coldwelders, color-o-meters and pointers). Tel: 727863-4700 or by e-mail, please send to urbassoc@verizon.net.

PURGING COMPOUNDS AMERICA’S OLDEST SUPPLIER. Since 1948, we’ve supplied millions of pounds so we know a little bit about JIT deliveries and customer satisfaction.

We sell for less because our costs are less. BUY SMART - WE DO. Alan Plastics Co., Inc. PH: (781) 828-0700.

FX: (781) 828-2087. Contact: E-mail: alplas@aol.com, www.alplastic.com

DIES e-mail Dave.Evans@george-evans.com

MOLONEY DIE COMPANY. Low prices on all sizes of new, used and recut carbide dies. We also recut tapered nibs. Fast turn-around.

Quality service since 1985. Tel. 904388-3654.

SANCLIFF SHAPED WIRE DIES. All sizes and shapes R2 to R12. Highest Quality, Shortest Lead Times, Lowest

84 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

APOLLO DIA-CARB COMPANY. Buy & sell new/used Natural and PCD DIAMOND DIES. Fair prices and excellent lead times. Contact Paulette, Owner-Sales, by telephone at 1-508226-1508 or by e-mail at apollodie@ wmconnect.com.

MEDIA THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE PROCESS CAPABILITY STUDY. Creating a universal language for problem solving, this new (published in 2011) 135-page, indexed softcover book was written by industry expert Douglas B. Relyea, founder and senior partner of Quality Principle Associates, a New England-based consulting firm that specializes in the education and application of data analysis techniques to industrial problem solving. The book delineates the process capability study, a powerful tool that, when understood and implemented, provides benefits to every department within a manufacturing organization.

With easy to read, step-by-step flow diagrams on how to perform process capability studies and measurement process analyses, the book’s coverage includes: the benefits of statistical process control over statistical product control; realworld industrial examples and case studies illustrating how to use the techniques; ways for management to determine if the investment in process capability studies is providing an appropriate return; methods to correct lack of stability and capability once either condition has been identified, such as the ANOVA technique and the simple three-factor designed experiment; and a flow chart that enables machine operators to execute a process capability study without interfering with productivity. A great deal of information is available on the technical concepts of the process capability study, much of it emphasizing the

mathematics. Unfortunately, concentrating on the math and fine distinctions, such as the difference between alphaand beta-type errors, has created barriers preventing many from fully appreciating the basic concepts, the simplicity, and the usefulness of the tool. This book shows you how to use the process capability study to increase return on investment from your statistical process control/Six Sigma effort and make your company more competitive. The list price is $45, $40 for WAI members.

FERROUS WIRE HANDBOOK. This comprehensive hard-cover book is a definitive industry resource for ferrous wire written by WAI members and edited by former WAI President Robert M. Shemenski, this 1,168 page hard-cover book was published in 2008. It is a modern-day reference tool for those working directly in the steel wire or manufacturing, engineering, or operations sectors of the industry. The 36 chapters cover a broad range of topics, including equipment types, processes and specialty applications of steel wire manufacturing. Specific subjects that are discussed include continuous casting; controlled rod cooling; rod defects; pickling and coating; descaling; deformation in cold drawing; wiredrawing theory, machinery, and finishing equipment; lubrication; heat treatment; stress relief; annealing; oil tempering; patenting; corrosion; galvanizing; statistical process control; bridge rope and strand; and nails, barbed wire, mechanical springs.

Appendices and a complete index are included in the handbook. List Price is $235, $195 for WAI members.

ELECTRICAL WIRE HANDBOOK SET. Focusing on the special needs of the insulated wire and cable industry, these books examine materials, equipment, and products. They include sections on electrical conductors, insulating materials, extrusion equipment, power transmission, building wire, flexible cords and cables, control and signal cables, communication cables, magnet wire, heater wire, and other applications. The original version

remains available while the revised Electrical Wire Handbook is divided into three separate handbooks: Part 1 Wire and Cable Production Materials, Part 2 - Wire and Cable Production Processes, and Part 3 - Types of Cables.

While the updated handbook includes the latest information available, this new format allows for more frequent future updates when necessary. Parts 1 and 2 are now available, but the original handbook will still be available until Part 3 is published separately. The intent of these handbooks is to provide basic but meaningful information to those people working in the wire and cable industry-especially those who are new to the field. Price $99, $59 for WAI members, plus shipping. To purchase, go to wirenet.org and click on The WAI Bookstore.

THE BOOK OF WIRE & CABLE TERMS. Learn the A to Zs of wire and cable with this essential reference source. Presented in a clear, practical manner over 350 pages, The Book of Wire & Cable Terms covers both ferrous and nonferrous terminology. More than 5,000 entries are offered. List Price: $75, $50 for WAI members. Ships in one to two business days.

SIX SIGMA AND OTHER IMPROVEMENT TOOLS FOR THE SMALL SHOP. This book, 327 pages, was written by Gary Conner, the author of Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop, describes six sigma and how it is used in smaller companies.

Published by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, it shows the relationship between continuous improvement, lean, and quality, and focuses on implementation for operators, managers, and owners. It explains how continuous improvement tools support each other and how they can accomplish what just one or two tools by themselves cannot. The book includes a supplementary CD-ROM. Price, $95, $75 for WAI Members. â–

OCTOBER 2011 | 85

CLASSIFIEDS

Cost and Superior Customer Service.

60+ years of quality products and service to the wire industry. Contact Bill Drumm at 1-800-332-0747, or E-Mail at sales@sancliff.com.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

Amacoil Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 3

Commission Brokers Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Anbao Wire & Mesh Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Dow Electrical & Telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Beta LaserMike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Esteves Group USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Bongard Trading GmbH & Co KG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

George Evans Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Caballe SA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Cable Components Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 2

Gauder Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Cable Consultants Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

GCR Eurodraw SpA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Carris Reels Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Howar Equipment Inc/Metavan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Cemanco LC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Howar Equipment Inc/ Unitek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

MIND THE GENERATION GAP

Great minds are developing. Engineers. Metallurgists.

Innovators. The future of the industry depends on them.

Find them online. Connect with them. Influence them.

And meet them halfway through WAI.

The Wire Association International, Inc. 1570 Boston Post Road | P.O. Box 578 | Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA | Telephone: (001) 203-453-2777 | Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 | www.wirenet.org

86 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

Huestis Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40, 52

Pressure Welding Machines Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Inhol BV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Properzi International Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Keir Manufacturing Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Reel-O-Matic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Lamnea Bruk AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

SAMP USA Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Leoni Wire Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Sanxin Wire Die Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Locton Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Sealeze, A Unit of Jason Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Messe Dusseldorf GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Sheaves Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Paramount Die Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

SIKORA AG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Parkway-Kew Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Sjogren Industries Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Power Sonics LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Talladega Machinery & Supply Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

DON’T

OUTSPEND

OUT

THINK

Why waste time and money waiting for new machines when you can get like-new performance for less from Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp. We are the world’s largest dealer of second-hand wire, cable, and optical fiber manufacturing equipment and can provide solutions to fit any need, whether it’s a single machine or an entire plant. We also purchase surplus machinery for cash or trade.

Visit our all new website wireandplastic.com to see our inventory and request a quote.

Or call +1.860.583.4646

20,000+ Second-Hand Machines In-Stock Equipment Sales Equipment Purchasing Reconditioning Services

OCTOBER 2011 | 87

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAGE Teknor Apex Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Unience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

December 2011 WJI • Industry Trends Advertising Deadline: Nov. 1, 2011

US Synthetic Wire Die . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Vandor Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Windak Inc., USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 WiTechs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Zumbach Electronics Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4

WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL ADS WAI Webinar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 WAI Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2012 . . . . . . . . . . .59 CabWire/WAI ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

WIRE JOURNAL I N T E R N A T I O N A L

NORTH AMERICA

EUROPE

Robert J. Xeller Anna Bzowski Wire Journal International 1570 Boston Post Road P.O. Box 578 Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA Tel: 203-453-2777 Fax: 203-453-8384 sales@wirenet.org

U.K., France, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Denmark & Scandinavia Jennie Franks David Franks & Co. 63 St. Andrew’s Road Cambridge CB4 1DH, England Tel/fax: 44-1223-360472 franksco@btopenworld.com

88 | WIRE JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

SALES OFFICES ASIA/WAI INDIA OFFICE Germany, Austria, & Switzerland Dagmar Melcher Media Service International P.O. Box 103 D-82402 Seeshaupt Germany Tel: 49-8801-914682 Fax: 49-8801-914683 dmelcher@t-online.de

India Wire & Cable Services Pvt. Ltd. (WCS) 501, Rainbow Plaza, S. No. 7 Pimple-Saudeagar Vil. Rahatani, Pune - 411017, India Huned Contractor mobile - +91 988 1084 202 hcontractor@wirenet.org

Wind up with an Amacoil/Uhing assembly for perfect pitch every time Pitch is adjustable (10:1) without requiring gear changes or adjusting motor speed. A single Amacoil/Uhing assembly may be used for winding many different diameter materials. Automatic reversal of the traverse is mechanically controlled – without clutches, cams or gears. No electronics or programming needed.

FEATURES • Zero backlash.

• Automatically synchronizes pitch with take-up reel rotational speed.

• Traverse drives with up to 800 lbs. axial thrust.

• Smooth, unthreaded shaft won't clog or jam – no bellows assembly needed.

• One inexpensive, unidirectional motor drives both the traverse and take-up reel.

• Free movement lever – no need to "jog" system on and off to position linear drive.

• Options and accessories for every winding situation.

• Light, medium and heavy-duty systems.

For Brochure or CD-ROM Call toll free 800-252-2645

email: amacoil@amacoil.com

www.amacoil.com AMACOIL, INC. PO Box 2228 • Aston, PA 19014 • Phone: 610-485-8300 • Fax: 610-485-2357