Staffing Crisis

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 | W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

STAFFING

CRISIS PUBLISHED BY

2020 LÄMNEÅ

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT 39 Must-See Displays you will not want to miss

HALL 9 A-06

SAMPSISTEMI HALL 9 C-60

WITELS

HALL 9 E-39

NIEHOFF

HALL 10 C-06

WAFIOS

HALL 10 F-22/40

AIM

HALL 11 A-21

WTM

HALL 11 D-78

Wire Journal International is the official publication of the Wire Association International, which organizes the Interwire and Wire Expo tradeshows. © Cover photo: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Look Inside!

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT

O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E W I R E A S S O C I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Quality Compounding for the Wire & Cable Industry

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 | W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

STAFFING

CRISIS PUBLISHED BY

2020 LÄMNEÅ

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT 39 Must-See Displays you will not want to miss

HALL 9 A-06

SAMPSISTEMI HALL 9 C-60

WITELS

HALL 9 E-39

NIEHOFF

HALL 10 C-06

WAFIOS

HALL 10 F-22/40

AIM

HALL 11 A-21

WTM

HALL 11 D-78

Wire Journal International is the official publication of the Wire Association International, which organizes the Interwire and Wire Expo tradeshows. © Cover photo: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Look Inside!

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT

O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E W I R E A S S O C I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

FAMOUS FOR INK Gem Gravure and our partners at FC Tech will be exhibiting at the Wire 2020 conference in Dusseldorf, Germany on March 30 to April 3, 2020.

• Band Marking • Contact Printing

Join us in Hall 9 at Stand E41 and learn why we are Famous for Ink. Executive Vice President Paul Gemelli, Director of Sales Mark Kristoff, and Northeast Regional Sales Manager Derek Olson look forward to seeing you at Wire 2020!

Visit us online to learn more about Gem Marking & Coding GEMGRAVURE.COM or call us at 781.878.0456

• Wheels • Continuous Inkjet Printers • Specialty Colors • Accessories • First Class Service Headquartered in Hanover, MA since 1952.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 | W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

STAFFING

CRISIS PUBLISHED BY

2020 LÄMNEÅ

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT 39 Must-See Displays you will not want to miss

HALL 9 A-06

SAMPSISTEMI HALL 9 C-60

WITELS

HALL 9 E-39

NIEHOFF

HALL 10 C-06

WAFIOS

HALL 10 F-22/40

AIM

HALL 11 A-21

WTM

HALL 11 D-78

Wire Journal International is the official publication of the Wire Association International, which organizes the Interwire and Wire Expo tradeshows. © Cover photo: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Look Inside!

WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT

O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E W I R E A S S O C I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

M EG OLON 速

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S MOK EG UA R D 速 Low Smoke Plenum Compounds

GW S e r ie s

Specialty Flame Retardant PVC Compounds

SY LV I N 速

Shaping Data & Energy Cables with Flame Retardant Compound Solutions

Molding Grades, Heat Resistant Compounds

G A R A F LE X 速

Thermoplastic Elastomer Compounds

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VOLUME 53 | NO. 2 | FEBRUARY 2020

TA BL E O F C ON T E N T S

6 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Industry News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 Patent Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Asian Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 People Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 Fiber Watch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 Fastener Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 WAI News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 WAI Chapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9 Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 NEW! Sector Update . . . . . . . . . . . 7 0 NEW! KabloSanTurkey . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 9 Career Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . 7 9 Advertisers’ Index . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0

F E AT U R E S

Editorial Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

44

45

Staffing Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

Everyone knows there is a shortage of talent. This feature shows what one company did, and more.

Wire Journal Düsseldorf Spotlight . . . . insert This first-ever WJI pull-out for wire Düsseldorf is your guide to some of the new, upgraded and advanced technology that will be displayed at the Fairgrounds.

Sector Update: Dies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70

Looking for a new supplier? WJI’s new Sector Update section is a good place to start.

KabloSanTurkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

76

Wire and cable news from Turkey, courtesy of an information exchange between WJI and KabloSanTurkey.

T ECHNICA L PA PERS The effect of bearing length on the surface quality of drawn wires Joakim Larsson, Patrik Karlsson and Lars Pejryd . . . . . . . .

50

ON THE COVER What’s beyond the door is an unknown for many companies in terms of their work force.

Technological progresses in the coating and lubrication of wire rod and a new type of tungsten carbide dies by a new experimental equipment simulating wiredrawing Eng. Giancarlo Arrighetti, Dr. Thomas Morge, Dr. Lorena Emanuelli, Eng. Giovanni Garoli and Dr. Enrico Cazzulo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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NEX T ISSUE March 2020 • wire Düsseldorf Preview

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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CONTENTS

37

39

Online registration is now open for Wire Expo 2020, and it’s easier than ever

New England Chapter members in shock: they came for fun and had to take a quiz!

WAI has simplified the online registration process for Wire Expo attendees and exhibitors, with each one getting a clear starting point. For attendees, just enter http://bit.ly/we20attend in a search engine and you will find four distinct registration options. For exhibitors, just enter http://bit.ly/we20exhibit and you will find everything you need in one spot. It’s that simple!

Well, the experience wasn’t actually that bad as the quiz was about the New England Chapter, and one could say that it was an “open table” test. A total of 10 questions (mostly true or false and multiple choice) asked members about the chapter—from past events to size to total scholarship donations—and WAI. No attendees were assigned to remedial classes.

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W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

PRIMARY WIRE WIPE AN ECONOMICAL WAY TO REMOVE COPPER DUST • EXCESSIVE OIL LUBRICANT • DIRT • DUST FROM PRIMARY WIRE OR STRAND Wire range: up to 18 AWG Max. f/m: 8000 Materials: smooth non-ferrous wire / strand / strip / tinned, bare or plated Floor space: 18” x 27”

• Reduce Spark Faults • Improve Insulation Bond • Easy to Install • Improve Insulation Concentricity • Increase Pre-Heater Sheave Life • Environmental Friendly

Pellet sorting machine for the cable industry Pelletquality sorting for Optimum of themachine raw material (pellets) required in the manufacture the cable industryof electrical cable

insulation is assured by the Sesotec VISION 100 Optimum quality of the raw material (pellets) optical sorting system. required in the manufacture of electrical cable insulation is assured by the Sesotec VISION 100 optical sorting system.

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All products listed are represented in the USA and Canda by CCC. CABLE CONSULTANTS CORP. 7 Woodland Avenue, Larchmont, NY 10538 Tel: 914-834-8865 | Fax: 914-834-8903 info@cableconsultantscorp.com

325 Queens Road, Apt. 7, Charlotte, NC 28204 Tel: 704-375-9313 | Fax: 704-375-9321 fhardy@cableconsultantscorp.com

www.cableconsultantscorp.com

EDITORIAL LETTER

Hiring: how 1 company updated the ‘textbook’ approach WJI has done multiple features on hiring, and it remains a thorny issue. It is easy to cite statistics—and this feature has some of those—but manufacturers already know what the end-result is: staffing remains a perennial challenge.

For the first time, WJI focused more on what was done by a single company, Radix Wire & Cable. The Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of high-temperature wire and cable linked up with The University of Akron (UoA) in 2017 to start an ambitious intern program. Official and unofficial intern arrangements are not rare, but Radix Wire, captained by a single key staffer, himself a former UoA intern, set out to maximize the initiative.

Per the company, its first interns have yet to start full-time, but the early returns have already been impressive. The interns have sparked the shop floor with their energy, and the program has actually turned a profit. If that sounds like PR babble, read the feature, and especially the Q&A with the two interns on p. 45. See what they have to say: their expectations, what they got to do, and their excitement at starting full-time when they complete their final semester. What would you give to have new hires like these?

Nobody can stop the continuing loss of veteran employees through retiring, but the essence of what Radix Wire did could be done elsewhere.

Casting a spotlight on wire Düsseldorf Without question, wire Düsseldorf presents the world’s largest collection of technology and solutions for the wire and cable industry, which is why tens of thousands of people will travel to the Fairgrounds in Germany in April to attend the week-long event.

Per the most recent alpha list of exhibitors for wire 2020, there are more than 1,400 booths. Many of those will offer new and upgraded technology and services, but with so much there, how does one know what may be worth seeing? The Show Program for 2018 had 832 pages.

This issue presents a first-ever WJI 16-page insert that spotlights innovation from 39 exhibitors for capital and auxiliary equipment, but also for other process essentials. Each entry, presented in order of halls, is concise. Entries had to summarize and explain their advance in approximately 100 words.

Of note, WJI got more entries than could be run, so others that also deserve reader attention will be presented in the official preshow issue for wire Düsseldorf in March.

P U B L I S H E R Steven J. Fetteroll E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F Mark Marselli G R A P H I C D E S I G N E R Karren Muolo D I R E C T O R O F S A L E S Robert Xeller S A L E S M A N A G E R Shannon Timme DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Janice E. Swindells WAI PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Dane Armendariz, Chemetall Ferruccio Bellina, TKT Group/President ACIMAF, Italy Michael Crowle, QED Wire Lines Inc. Tom Moran, Insteel Wire Products Giulio Properzi, Continuus Properzi, Italy Ralph Skalleberg, Skaltek USA Willem Sunblad, Oden Technologies Inc. John N. Tomaz, Stolberger Robert Wild, Niehoff Endex North America, USA W.T. Bigbee, Encore Wire Corp.

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 71 Bradley Road, Suite 9, Madison, CT 06443-2662, USA, and can be contacted at tel.

203-453-2777; fax 203-453-8384; Internet wirenet.org; e-mail editor@wirenet.org. Address all correspondence concerning advertising production, editorial and circulation to the above address. WJI is printed in the 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 Madison, CT 06443, 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, 71 Bradley Road, Suite 9, Madison, CT 06443-2662, USA.

Mark Marselli Editor-in-Chief, editor@wirenet.org

© 2020 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: 313-761-4700.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wire Journal International, 71 Bradley Rd., Suite 9, Madison, CT 06443, USA.

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W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

Quality in its concentric form.

With passion, we develop future-oriented measuring and control devices for quality assurance of wires and cables, such as the CENTERVIEW 8000. An innovative scatter plot diagram shows the distribution of shortterm concentricity variations to ensure a perfect conductor concentricity for increased cable quality and process optimization.

– 8-point concentricity, 4-axis diameter and 8-point ovality measurement for highest precision even at micro-coax cables – Auto-positioning of the gauge head to the conductor position for optimum ease of use

www.sikora.net/centerview8000 Visit us from March 30 - April 3, at wire/tube 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Hall 9, Booth A41

CALENDAR

FEBRUARY 19-22, 2020: AWPA Annual Meeting Scottsdale, Arizona. This event will be held at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch. Contact: AWPA, tel. 703-299-4434, info@awpa.org, www.awpa.org.

MARCH 24-26, 2020: UL and IWCS China 2020 Shanghai, China. This event will be held at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre. www.ulandiwcschina.org.

MARCH 30-APRIL 3, 2020: wire Düsseldorf 2020 Düsseldorf, Germany. This biennial event, the industry’s largest, will be held at the Messe fairgrounds. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, tel. 312-781-5180, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

APRIL 18, 2020: WCMA Annual Distinguished Career Award Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Convention Center, will hold this event by the Wire & Cable Manufacturers Alliance, Inc. (WCMA). Registration/hotel room booking will open in early 2020. For more event details, go to https://wcmainc.org/page/distinguished-career-award.

MAY 27-29, 2020: Guangzhou International Wire, Cable and Accessories Fair Guangzhou, China. This annual event, to be held at the China Import and Export Fair (Pazhou Complex), is organized by Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt, Co., Tel. 86-20-3825-1558, wire@china.messefrankfurt.com, www.china.messefrankfurt.com.

JUNE 2-4, 2020: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. This WAI event, to be held at the Mohegan Sun, will include its trade show, operational programs and WAI’s 90th Annual Convention. The conference is June 2-4, and the trade show is June 3-4, www.wireexpo20.com.

SEPT. 23-26, 2020: wire China Shanghai, China. The 9th staging of wire China will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Contact: Messe Düsseldorf and its subsidiary, Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. www.wirechina.net.

OCT. 11-14, 2020: 69th IWCS International Cable & Connectivity Symposium Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Contact: Michelle Melsop, IWCS, mmelsop@iwcs.org, www.iwcs.org.

NOV. 23-25, 2020: wire & Cable India Mumbai, India. This biennial event, to be held at the Bombay Exhibition Center, is organized by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America, info@mdna.com, www.mdna.com.

MAY 10-13, 2021: Interwire 2021 & WAI’s 91st Annual Convention Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This WAI event, to be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, includes its trade show, technical programs and 91st Annual Convention. www.interwire21.com.

WAI EVENTS FEB. 27, 2020: WAI WEBINAR Improved Hiring Practices will be presented by hiring specialist Peter Carino, Wire Resources. See p. 41.

JUNE 2-4, 2020: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. See above.

JUNE 25, 2020: Midwest Chapter 18th Annual Golf Tournament West Chicago, Illinois, USA. To be held at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club. Contact: Steve Fetteroll, tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 115, sfetteroll@wirenet.org.

8

SEPT. 15, 2020: New England Chapter 26th Annual Golf Tournament Avon, Connecticut, USA. To be held at the Golf Club of Avon.

Contact: Shannon Timme, tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 126, stimme@wirenet.org.

SEPTEMBER 16-17: Regional Fundamentals Course co-located with the Ohio Valley Chapter Golf Tournament, tour of Aptiv Warren/Canfield, Ohio, USA. Waypoint 4180 and Kennsington Golf Club. Contact: Samantha Zhang, tel. 203-453-2777, szhang@wirenet.org.

W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

OCT. 27-29, 2020: ITC Monterrey Monterrey, Mexico. To be held at the Crowne Plaza, this WAI event will include a technical program, table tops, plant tours and a fundamentals course. Contact: Steve Fetteroll, tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 115, sfetteroll@wirenet.org. Also, Conference Chairman Antonio Ayala at ayala1953@gmail.com or Bob Xeller, tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 119, bxeller@wirenet.org MAY 10-13, 2021: Interwire 2021 & WAI’s 91st Annual Convention Atlanta, Georgia, USA. See above.

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

INDUSTRY NEWS

Prysmian Group reports contract from 1 of China’s largest state-owned enterprises The Prysmian Group has been awarded a contract from Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) to supply cables for its newest 10 MW offshore wind turbine prototype to be installed in China Three Gorges Corporation’s Xinghuawan wind farm in the Fujian province.

In 2019 the Group was awarded with several projects like Provence Grand Large, Vineyard Wind, DolWin 5, Hollandse Kust Zuid III & IV and Empire Wind. Recently the Group has also been awarded a global contract for the full year 2020 to supply wind turbine tower and nacelle cables and assemblies by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, world leader in the wind power industry.

NTT Ltd. is part of a joint venture building an 11,000-km submarine cable system

Prysmian reports contract for Chinese wind farm.

A press release said that DEC, one of the biggest stateowned enterprises in China and one of the world’s largest power generation equipment manufacturers and project contractors, will deploy a new mega-turbine that is the first of this type in Asia. Developed for the offshore wind areas along China’s southeast coast, the direct-drive permanent-magnet offshore turbine has a 185-m blade diameter and is designed to resist 77 m/s typhoon winds. The turbine can generate four GWh of power each year (with 10 m/s wind), reducing coal consumption by 13,000 tons and carbon emissions by 3,500 tons.

The successful development of this turbine represents a major step ahead for China’s independent R&D capabilities on large-capacity wind turbines “as well as a milestone for DEC to strategically transition their focus to the offshore market,” the release said.

With a development period of over 10 years, the wind power market in China is now going through a phase of strategic transformation in which offshore is becoming more and more supported by the Chinese government. Therefore, larger capacity turbines are suitable and preferred for China’s Southern and Eastern coastal areas for greater efficiency and lower integrated costs.

The award reconfirms Prysmian’s approach as a 360° partner in the renewable power industry, able to supply from turbine tower and nacelle cables, to inter-array and export cables, installation, project management and up to monitoring systems and solutions.

“We are very proud to take part in the increasingly strategic transformation of the wind power industry,” said Francesco Fanciulli, senior vice president of the Prysmian Group Business Energy. The cables will be manufactured at Prysmian’s plant in Tianjin, China.

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W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

NTT Ltd. announced it will start the construction of MIST, a large-capacity submarine cable connecting Singapore, Myanmar and India.

Per a press release and published reports, the MIST cable system will have a total length of 11,000 km, connecting the three countries, and will include capacity for future expansion. The construction of the submarine cable network in South East Asia is part of a strategic joint venture with Orient Link Pte. Ltd. (Orient Link), a strategic joint venture of NTT, JICT and WEN Capital.

The cable will have 12 fiber pairs and 240 Tbps capacity, able to transmit a six-hour high-definition video (approximately three movies) in one second. The cost for the project was estimated at approximately US$400 million.

NTT aims to link its large-scale data centers in Singapore, Myanmar and India with the MIST cable system. Orient Link is expected to get additional funds for the MIST cable system from its anchor customers, which might include Google, and certain Chinese OTT players and operators.

NTT’s existing offerings through cable systems such as Asia Submarine Cable Express (ASE), Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), Pacific Crossing -1 (PC-1) and JUPITER Cable (under construction) provide global connectivity from Asia to the US. The MIST cable system, along with these existing offerings, will allow for NTT to grow its offering and expand into India and beyond.

NTT Ltd. was established in London on July 1, 2019 as the global operating company of NTT Corporation (NTT Group), the merger of 28 brands. On October 10, 2019, NTT Ltd. established Orient Link. Ownership is as follows: NTT (42%), JICT (38%) and WEN Capital (20%).

NTT map of MIST route that has a total length of 11,000 km.

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

INDUSTRY NEWS

U.K. cable company supplies vessels U.K.-based Elmeridge Cables Limited (ECL) reports that it recently delivered two contracts for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

A press release said that the company was asked by BAS to supply two lengths of double-armored CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth) cable for two Royal Research Survey vessels. The separate contracts were for a single 8,000-meter length for the RRS James Clark Ross

and a single 10,000-meter length for the RRS Sir David Attenborough. Both vessels work in very sensitive and often extreme weather environments, so production had to be perfect.

“BAS stipulated that to avoid slippage on the winch during deployment and recovery, no grease or oil could be applied on or to the armor wires of Galvanized Improved Plow Steel (GIPS), an assurance we were happy to give,” said Des Smith, owner/managing director at Elmeridge Cables Ltd. He added that BAS gave strict specifications for the diameter and width of the cable drums, even down to hole size for the spindle, to allow direct loading and unloading of the drums to and from the winches on board both vessels.

NO-UK Com venture will lay subsea cable that will connect Norway and the U.K.

Elmeridge Cables Limited has supplied cable for research ships.

NO-UK Com, a Norwegian-based company that connects global data centers, plans to build a new subsea cable (the England Cable) connecting Norway with the U.K. that will ultimately link up with the Euroconnect cable, providing onward connectivity in Northern Europe.

WIRE & CABLE IN THE NEWS

The news today is not that Loos & Co. was sold ... but when Sometimes, news can take a while to surface if it is not announced. In this case, the news focus should be that Loos & Co. was sold, only over time, the bigger news that evolved is the “when” it happened: July 2018. Below are the details.

Loos & Co., LLC (Loos) was acquired by Canada’s Central Wire Industries (CWI). That news was reported in a July 2018 announcement

by Carter Morse & Mathias (CMM), which served as a financial advisor, but that press release did not make a splash on the news wires.

To date, WJI has still not been provided any official comment. Thus, the only news to officially report is the statements from the CMM press release. In it, CWI President Paul From said, “The addition of Loos to the Central Wire Group of Companies continues our strategy of broadening and diversifying product offerings and markets served around CWI’s industry-leading stainless and nickel alloy wire business.”

W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

The press release also included comments from one of the owners of the second-generation family-owned company. “We were looking to find a synergistic buyer that would continue the company’s commitment to its employees, customers, and business partners, to accelerate the development and production of the highest quality products and to uphold the company’s legacy in the industry and our communities. We found the perfect buyer with Central Wire,” said Joan Loos.

This news may already be known, especially as the CWI website has Loos listed among its acquisitions.

Prior ones included Hempel Wire Limited (2015), Strand Core (2014), Charter Specialty Steel - Fond du Lac, Wisconsin facility (2010), Techalloy,

Inc. (2005), Greening Donald (2003), Nucor - Lancaster, South Carolina facility (1998) and National Filtration (1989).

Per the release, Loos has manufacturing operations in Pomfret, Connecticut and Naples, Florida, and is the only vertically integrated manufacturer of aircraft control cable, cable assemblies and hardware accessories - drawing wire, stranding into cable, manufacturing end fittings, and producing cable assemblies in North America.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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INDUSTRY NEWS

A press release said that the 700 km cable will connect the Norwegian city of Stavanger with Newcastle in the northeast of England. The cable, which has a designed technical life of 25 years, will have eight dark fiber pairs system designed to provide 240 Tb. Dark fiber backhaul can be offered to any major PoP in the Nordics or U.K. It is scheduled to be deployed in 2021, and will connect with the existing Euroconnect-1 cable that delivers 160 terabits of connectivity between Norway, the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The England Cable will be funded by a consortium of businesses including Green Mountain, Lyse, Haugaland Kraft and BKK, the Hatteland Group and Ryfylke IKS. At the NO-UK website, it states that, “Norway is the gateway between Scandinavia and the U.K./U.S. market for datacenter to datacenter communication. From the landing stations in Stavanger and Newcastle, the England Cable will be connected to the global datacenters.”

The England Cable will connect via Green Mountain’s DC1-Stravanger data center. “We have always had a strong value proposition with our green, renewable and abundant

The England Cable will bolster capacity for data centers. hydropower, low power prices, safe business environment, and beneficial framework conditions. Now we can truly add multiple state-of-the-art international fiber connections to the list, which makes our offer even stronger,” said Tor Kristian Gyland, CEO of Green Mountain.

WIRE & CABLE IN THE NEWS

Irony alert! Division over ‘green’ power leads to legal rumbles Right and wrong in life can sometimes be a gray issue, and that includes “green.” This has become a more common problem. A recent staff story in The Wall Street Journal by Jim Carlton showed how two “green” elements butted heads. Below are edited excerpts.

A proposal by Idaho Power to run a 300-mile transmission line through a forest in La Grande, Oregon, was intended to carry renewable energy furthering use of clean power generation. Only it also spurred “green” groups that opposed it.

“We need to develop more renewable energy, of course, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of damage to our last remaining wild places,” said Brian Kelly, a green group leader trying to stop the project. He said that the project would disrupt elk and deer herds, and spoil views of the Oregon Trail.

Idaho Power’s proposed line in Oregon would connect a hub in eastern Washington that provides largely hydropower and solar energy to the fast-growing Idaho market. Company officials insist that their equipment would have a minimal influence on wildlife, would be built with fire safety in mind and that its shorter

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towers would lessen visual impacts on the Oregon Trail.

Last November, opponents filed a federal suit to block the line. The Oregon Energy Department, which supports the line, is analyzing public input, and sent its recommendations to the governor’s energy council.

In 2018, there were some 2,500 planned or newly completed transmission projects in the U.S. Initially, the Idaho Power line was going to cross about five miles east

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of La Grande through a 7,400-acre ranch known for large elk herds. Brad Allen, a potato farmer, threatened to sue to block the route. “It would have devastated my ranch,” he said.

Idaho Power then selected two alternative routes, one of which hugged a ridge overlooking La Grande. That concept was opposed by a couple that organized a group to stop it. They were worried about wildfires, such as those sparked by PG&E Corp. in 2018.

The second alternative also faces opposition from local landowners.

“Regardless of where you go, there’s always some issue—whether it’s bats, whether it’s birds, whether it’s wealthy landowners who don’t want their view interrupted,” said Dan Shreve, wind-energy research director at consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. “As a consequence, you see these initiatives drag on forever.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

SMS Group to supply caster as part of upgrade for Spain’s Global Steel Wire S.A. The SMS Group reports that Spain’s Global Steel Wire S.A. (Global Steel), part of the Celsa Group, has placed an order for the upgrade of the company’s continuous billet casting machine.

A press release said that the current caster of Global Steel, which specializes in wire rod in special steel grades for the automotive and engineering industries, currently produces some 900,000 metric tons of steel per year in 180 mm-sq sections. The modernization will see a broadening range of cast formats by the addition of 200 to 240 mm-sq sections, increasing the casting speeds, and consequently enhancing the productivity and the quality of the cast products. Start-up of the upgraded machine is scheduled for early 2021.

TRAXIT acquired by Klüber Lubrication Germany’s Klüber Lubrication München SE & Co. KG has acquired TRAXIT International GmbH, whose operations include TRAXIT North America.

A press release said that with the acquisition, the TRAXIT Group now becomes part of the Klüber Lubrication Group. Based in Germany with manufacturing

sites also in China and the U.S., TRAXIT provides the wire drawing industry with a complete range of lubricants for all wire applications. It has subsidiaries, agents or representatives present in over 150 countries.

TRAXIT will continue to be responsible for the operative management of its businesses. The company’s headquarters will remain in Schwelm.

Questions sent by WJI about whether any organizational changes were planned, led to the following reply: “There are strategic and operational synergies that are currently being examined, prioritized and then implemented.”

Transmission record set during test on 10,200 km-long Brusa submarine cable Telefonica’s infrastructure subsidiary Telxius announced that its Brusa (Brazil-Puerto Rico-U.S.) submarine cable reached record 550 Gbps single-wavelength channel speeds.

Per a report in telecompaper, the transmission was made across 10,200 km during an advanced trial using Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) optical platform. With the Ciena’s technology, the Brusa cable is now able to reach a

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total transmission capacity of more than 160 Tbps. In addition, the partners confirmed that a commercially deployable solution for a total capacity of more than 20 Tbps on a single fiber pair was verified.

Prysmian Group reports 2 cable contracts, 1 for Mexico and the other for Italy The Prysmian Group announced two recent contracts, including one that represents the largest communication cable project ever launched by the government of Mexico.

Per the press release, the contract from Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE)—government-owned company—is for “Proyecto de Conectividad Fibra Óptica Red Eléctrica Inteligente REI,” a project that will connect remote regions of Mexico with broadband TLC cable.

The deal, valued at about $38 million, calls for Prysmian to design, supply and install some 9,800 km of OPGW cables and 5,100 km of ADSS cables. The OPGW cables will be made at Prysmian’s plant in Vilanova i la Geltrù, Spain, and the ADSS cables at its plant in Durango, Mexico. Prysmian took part in an international tender. “We wouldn’t have been able to succeed in this project without the extremely efficient cooperation among our local sales team and global operations, R&D, procurement, logistics

and legal teams,” said Juan Mogollon, CEO LATAM at the Prysmian Group.

The second contract, signed with Terna through its subsidiary Terna Rete Italia S.p.A., calls for Prysmian to supply two power cable systems. The first, worth some €50 million (inclusive of safety costs), is for development of an HVAC 150 kV power cable link between the Zuel and Somprade electrical substations in the province of Belluno in Italy. Installation is to be completed by 2020.

The second award, also for an HVAC 150 kV cable system, will improve the performance and reliability of the power transmission system in Southern Italy. The frame agreement is worth €26 million, with an option for an additional €26 million.

The cables for both projects will be manufactured at Prysmian’s plants in Pignataro Maggiore, Italy, and Gron, France.

India sets penalties on copper rod from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam India has imposed anti-subsidy duty for a period of five years on copper wire rods from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after concluding a probe that these imports have impacted domestic players.

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Per published reports, India’s finance ministry said that it has imposed anti-subsidy or countervailing duties that range from 2.47% to 10.27%. It did so after considering the final findings of the commerce ministry’s investigating arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which had recommended the duties because the evidence showed that the products had been exported to India by the countries at subsidized prices.

“The countervailing duty imposed under this notification shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier)...,” the notification said. The investigation had been prompted by complaints filed by domestic players that alleged that the producers/exporters of the goods in these countries have benefited from the “actionable subsidies” provided at various levels by the governments of these countries.

Reel company expands capacity, mulls possible second U.S. production plant Madem-Moorecraft Reels USA (MademMoorecraft), part of Brazilian-based Madem Reels Group, reports that it has just completed the installation of a new, fully automatic production line for nailed wooden reels at its U.S. plant in Tarboro, North Carolina.

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Madem-Moorecracft has expanded its Tarboro plant capacity.

A press release said that the new line uses the latest technology for automated CNC machines and the company’s proprietary ink jet printing system. The investment is projected to increase annual sales capacity up to $35 million dollars. Madem-Moorecraft will potentially serve more than 25 cable manufacturers in the North American market.

“These new machines will support our sales growth and planned expansion of assembly and distribution centers throughout North America,” said Vice President of Sales Steve Redhage.

Leandro Mazzoccato, global sales director of Madem Reels Group, said that the investment confirms Madem Group’s intention to increase its U.S. market share. “We also plan to open five more

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distribution and assembly centers within the U.S., during 2020. For 2021, we are starting studies for a second production plant in the U.S.” The Madem Reels Group has manufacturing plants in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, U.S., Spain and Bahrain. It projects 2020 revenues of $130 million from supplying nailed wooden reels to some 150 cable manufacturers in 45 countries.

DoC initial finding: steel staples from China were dumped, margins are set at 301% The Department of Commerce (DoC) announced on Jan. 3 that its preliminary determination in its antidumping duty (AD) investigation of imports of collated steel staples from China found that such suppliers had sold at less than fair value.

A press release said that DoC assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 301.64% for mandatory respondent Tianjin Hweschun Fasteners Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Jin Xin Sheng Long Metal Products Co., Ltd. as well as to “non-selected respondents eligible for a separate rate and the China-wide entity.” The penalties had been sought by Kyocera Senco Industrial Tools, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2018, imports of collated steel staples from China were valued at an estimated $88.8 million.

If DoC makes an affirmative final determination and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) follows with a similar finding, the order will go into effect. The DoC is scheduled to vote on May 18 and the ITC on July 2.

Per DoC, in 2018, China shipped 63,640,957 kg of such steel staples, up from 57,512,126 in 2017 and 52,507,421 in 2016.

LLFlex to open plant in North Carolina LLFlex, a global supplier in packaging materials and industrial laminate solutions for sectors that include wire and cable, is set to open a new 73,500-sq-ft fully integrated

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An artist’s rendering of the new LLFlex plant in North Carolina. manufacturing facility in High Point, North Carolina, that will provide products and services to customers in the U.S. and abroad.

A press release said that the company will invest some $7.6 million in the project. The initiative will significantly expand LLFlex’s output capacity, and include equipment supporting both of its two main business segments: packing (consumer products) and industrial laminates.

The latter business includes wire and cable, for which the company offers its Reyshield™ cable wrap.

The investment, the press release said, will include a new laminator with multiple coating stations and a dedicated slitter that will be complemented by a new steel, copper and aluminum slitter with an annual capacity of 40 million pounds. “The new facility is a culmination of our commitment to customer service, production excellence and market share growth,” said Victor Dixon, CEO of LLFlex.

NEC qualifies 20 subsea optical cables NEC Corporation and its subsidiary OCC Corporation announced that they have completed full qualification of subsea repeaters and optical cable containing up to 20 fiber pairs (40 fibers).

A press release said that the 20 fibers represent a 25% improvement in fiber count over 16 fiber pair systems previously built by NEC. Mass production of the newly-qualified subsea repeaters and optical cable has already started. “This development allows cable owners

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INDUSTRY NEWS

worldwide to construct subsea telecom cables capable of the highest traffic capacity, while optimizing the cost per bit of the wet plant.”

NEC reported that the milestone was made by optimizing key repeater components, and proving that its existing cable design could easily accommodate more fibers. The 20 fiber pair repeaters continue to use quadruple pump sharing technology, first introduced by NEC in 2010, for high optical and electrical efficiency.

OCC’s 20 fiber pair cable can be manufactured using a wide range of existing optical fibers, according to the needs of each new cable system. “Further significant increases in the fiber pair count of NEC’s wet plant are coming soon,” said Takaaki Ogata, Executive Technical Manager of NEC’s Submarine Network Division.

Efforts underway to repair 2 cable systems Two separate submarine cable outages have resulted in angst as repairs are to be made to both FALCON and WACS networks.

Per multiple media reports, Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania are reportedly in the midst of a major internet outage caused by cuts to the FLAG Alcatel-Lucent Optical Network (FALCON) in Yemen. Yemen has suffered the

most with an 80% drop in capacity due to its underdeveloped infrastructure.

Fixing the cable will not be so simple, as a report in Wired notes that Yemen has three submarine cable landings: a Falcon connection in the east, another Falcon connection in the west, and a third landing in the port city of Aden, which connects to two other cables. “Due to an ongoing civil war, Aden is the temporary capital of Yemen, controlled by the Hadi government; Houthi-controlled territory geographically divides the country. ... Even under ideal circumstances, it can take weeks to repair a cut cable.”

According to reports, the cuts happened on Jan. 9, and in a statement by Global Cloud Xchange (GCX) which manages the system, it suffered “two major cable cuts off-shore Port Suez. The cable routes impacted include FALCON between Muscat and Suez and FEA between Mumbai and Suez.”

Initial findings from the company indicate that the cause of the break was “an anchor drag by a large merchant vessel in the immediate area,” GCX has already deployed repair ships and is working to “apply for required permits,” and it says that the time of repair will depend on how long it takes to procure the permits.

A description at fiberatlantic.com notes that FALCON went into service in September 2006. The cable has six fiber pair(s), and an initial estimated design capacity of 2.56 Tbps. The system is 10,300 km long, with landing

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The Leon Thevenin is among the vessels that will be part of repair efforts. One report said it was carrying 150 km of cable. points in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, India, Sudan and Egypt.

The second outage is to the West African Cable System (WACS) and the South Atlantic 3 (WASC/SAT-3) submarine cable systems, both of which run from Africa to Europe. The cables broke down on Jan. 16. The SAT-3 problem is believed to be near Libreville, Gabon, while the WACS system is believed to have suffered two faults, one off the coast of Congo and another near the U.K. The WACS system is owned by a consortium of telecom companies ranging from Tata, Vodafone, and various African, Spanish, and Portuguese telcos. SAT-3 is owned by a mix of European, African, and Chinese companies.

Per one report, the repair crew must first investigate the nature/severity of the breaks and then determine what’s required for restoration. Further, “even the simplest of repairs at great depths in the middle of the ocean would be quite complex. Much would depend on the wind speeds and weather conditions faced during the repair.”

The Leon Thevenin is was identified as one of the vessels that would be deployed for repair work.

Harbour Industries gets approvals for some of its cables to be used on F-35 jets Harbour Industries LLC (Harbour), a Marmon | Berkshire Hathaway company, announced that it is now an approved manufacturer for a number of low-loss coax and high-speed data cables used on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lighting II 5th generation fighter aircraft.

“We look forward to supporting the 2020 F-35 Sustainment Contract just released by the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin,” company President Robert Canny said in a press release. It noted that Harbour’s data and coaxial cables were chosen based on the company’s composite fluoropolymer insulation that ensures light- weight and high-speed transmission.

Declared “combat ready” by the commander of the US Air Combat Command, the next generation F-35 aircraft is designed to provide air superiority, interdiction, suppress

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enemy air defenses and close air support with unprecedented situational awareness of the battle space that will be more extensive than any single-seat platform in existence.

Times Microwave reports that it has opened its 1st distribution hub in Europe Times Microwave Systems (TMS) has opened a new distribution facility in the Netherlands, the company’s first in Europe.

A press release said that the hub, located in Houten, will supply quick delivery to local distributors and customers. A European based team will provide sales and technical support. “TMS has significantly grown its European presence over the past two years, and the new facility represents our continued investment in the region,” said TMS General Manager Bill Callahan.

DoC finds that some wire rod from Mexico was sold in U.S. below market value A preliminary ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) found that Mexico sold carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod to the U.S. market at prices lower than fair value.

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A press release said that period in question was from Oct. 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018. As a result, Mexican wire rod producers and exporters that include Deacero, Ternium, ArcelorMittal México, Grupo Villacero and Talleres y Aceros received a preliminary weighted-average dumping margin at 6.7%. “The rate will be greatly lower than Ternium’s current rate of 40.52% while it will be higher than Deacero’s 3.94%, and the rate for all other producers or exporters will be kept at 20.11%.”

Sheaves sold to Loos & Co. The Cableware Division of Loos & Co., Inc., reports that the company has acquired Sheaves, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of pulleys and sheaves to the wire and wire rope industry.

A press release said that the deal broadens the solutions that the Cableware Division, based in Naples, Florida, can provide customers. The acquisition of Sheaves, Inc. unifies three brands known in the wire and wire rope industry under the Loos & Co., Inc. product umbrella. That includes: QSheaves, which supplies customizable lifting sheaves; Process Sheaves, which supplies pulleys used in wire and cable manufacturing; and ESheaves, which will be the source for both stock and custom metal/plastic sheaves.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Operations will continue under the brand names established by Sheaves, Inc., and through the existing websites for the foreseeable future. Sales, customer service, and manufacturing operations have been moved to the Naples, Florida location and shipments will be fulfilled from there.

Anixter agrees to be acquired by WESCO Anixter International, a global distributor of network and security solutions, electrical and electronic solutions, and utility power solutions, has agreed to be acquired by WESCO International for approximately $4.5 billion.

A press release said that the deal will bolster WESCO— a provider of electrical, industrial, and communications MRO and OEM products, construction materials, advanced supply chain management and logistics services—creating “a premier electrical and data communications distribution and supply chain services company.” The combined companies had proforma revenues of $17 billion, with some 12% of that from outside of North America.

Anixter provides approximately 130,000 customers access to innovative supply chain solutions, nearly 600,000 products—which include wire and cable—and more than a $1 billion in inventory, 316 warehouses/branch locations with over 9 million sq ft of space and locations in over 300 cities in approximately 50 countries.

Pelican Wire Group reports that it now has a new name: Wire Experts Group Pelican Holdings Group, Inc.—the parent company of Pelican Wire, Rubadue Wire, and Precision Resistance Technologies—has officially changed its name to Wire Experts Group, Inc.

“This updated brand for our company better captures the intent to be the solution provider for wire and cable products for our customers,” said Wire Experts Group CEO Ted Bill. “Pelican Wire and Rubadue Wire will continue to be our go-to-market brands; however, this new corporate brand will be our guide as we look to grow our business organically and through acquisition. We wanted a strong overall brand that speaks to our experience and expertise.

The combined strength of all our Business Units, including Precision Resistance Technologies and Wire Experts team truly does make us ‘Wire Experts’ and our employee-owners work daily to earn the distinction.” n

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PAT E N T R E P O R T

Technical advances are a necessity for any industry, and to that end, companies invest considerable resources in R&D. This section lists the abstracts of recently approved U.S. patents. Most are direct to wire and cable while a few may be more indirect/downstream.

Halogen-free flame-retardant polyolefin insulation composition and cable having an insulating layer formed from the same U.S. Patent No.: 10,497,491 Patent date: Dec. 3, 2019 Filed: June 26, 2017 Assignee: LS Cable & System Ltd., South Korea Inventors: Ik-Hyun Rye, Jae-Ik Lee, Won-Suck Lee, Ji-Wook Shin, Tae-Hyun Lee A halogen-free flame-retardant insulation composition including: halogen-free resin serving as base resin; and a flame-retardant agent. The halogen-free resin includes: first polyolefin resin having a melting point of 90 to 170.degree.

C.; and second polyolefin resin having a melting point of 50 to 80.degree. C. Content of the flame-retardant agent is 100 to 200 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the base resin, and an insulating sample formed of the insulation composition has an elongation rate of 125% or more.

Fiber optic cable spool U.S. Patent No.: 10,495,835 Patent date: Dec. 3, 2019 Filed: Sept. 23, 2016 Assignee: CommScope Technologies LLC, USA Inventor: Erik Gronvall Installing an optical cable at an installation location includes routing a second end of the optical cable towards the installation location; wrapping the second end of the optical cable around a portion of a cable spool at the installation location; attaching the second end of the optical cable to a connector holder disposed at the cable spool; and turning a crank arm to wind the cable spool, thereby winding slack length of the optical cable around the drum.

Some types of crank arms are removable from the cable spool. Other types of crank arms are collapsible relative to the cable spool.

Cable U.S. Patent No.: Patent date: Assignee: Inventors:

Charging cable for an electric or hybrid vehicle and charging system having such a charging cable U.S. Patent No.: 10,493,854 Patent date: Dec. 3, 2019 Filed: May 26, 2017 Assignee: LEONI Kabel GmbH, Germany Inventors: Sebastian Goss, Roland Schropp A charging cable for an electric or hybrid vehicle has a charging line with a number of conductors for conducting a charging current of at least 2 A. An outer sheath surrounds the conductors and a plug can be attached at an end side for connecting the charging line to a current source or to the vehicle. The charging cable has at least one display area on the outer sheath for displaying an operational state.

A passive function element is integrated, which extends along the charging cable, which has a coupling point for light at the end side, and which is designed for guiding the light along the charging cable and for scattering the light in a radial direction. A charging system has such a charging cable for connecting a charging station with a vehicle.

10,497,489 Nov. 19, 2019 Filed: Sept. 30, 2015 Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Japan Makoto Iwasaki, Motoharu Kajiyama, Yoshiaki Nakamura, Hiroshi Okikawa, Mitsuru Hashimoto, Kenichiro Fujimoto, Akinari Nakayama; A cable includes a conductor, an insulation coating layer on the conductor, and an outer coating layer on the insulation coating layer. The insulation coating layer is made of a composition containing 100 parts by mass of a base polymer (A) and 100 to 250 parts by mass of a non-halogen flame retardant. The polymer (A) contains 70% to 99% by mass of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (a1) containing an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer having a melting point of 70.degree. C. or higher, and 1% to 30% by mass of an acid-modified polyolefin resin (a2) having a glass transition point of -55.degree. C. or lower. The polymer (A) contains 25% to 50% by mass of a vinyl acetate component derived from the copolymer (a1). The outer coating layer is made of a composition containing 100 parts by mass of a base polymer (B) and 150 to 220 parts by mass of a non-halogen flame retardant. The polymer (B) contains 60% to 70% by mass of a linear low-density polyethylene (b1), 10% by mass or more of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (b2) having a melt flow rate of 100 g/10 min or more, and 10% to 20% by mass of a maleic acid-modified polyolefin (b3).

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Medical guide wire U.S. Patent No.: 10,492,806 Patent date: Dec. 3, 2019 Filed: Sept. 28, 2017 Assignee: FMD Co., Ltd., Japan Inventors: Tsuyoshi Terashi, Seiji Shimura In a medical guide wire having a connecting structure formed by three members: a tubular connector; a first core; and a second core, when a torsional rigidity of one member is lower than the torsional rigidity of the materials of both W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

P AT E N T R E P O R T

T H E I P P AT E N T P R I M E R

U.S. Patent Law is threatening our IP sanctity Who is ‘Alice’ and why does this particular court case matter?

Our patent system is in a state of confusion and primarily threatens IPR in important technologies like computers and medicine. But, more recently this confusion has been moving into other technologies.

The confusion began with the Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS. The case involved the question of whether a computer-implemented escrow service was an abstract idea and couldn’t be patented.

The Supreme Court stated that “merely requiring generic computer implementation fails to transform an abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.” This decision has led to confusion and inconsistent application. The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently reported that more than 400 decisions have found claims invalid under Alice. This organization applauds the decision and the loss of these patents. Others are just as strongly against the decision and its result.

No matter which side you are on, the problem is the uncertainty. There is no clear direction on what can be patented, and innovation suffers.

Why the confusion?

Alice added a new test to determine whether an invention is entitled to patent protection.

The patent code asks four familiar questions: 1. Is the invention a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter?

2. Is it useful?

3. Is it new?

4. Is it obvious to one of ordinary skill in relevant technology?

Court-made law added that abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomenon could not be patented.

Under Alice, the question of patent protection requires two more steps: 1. Is the invention directed to a patent ineligible concept, which includes abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomenon?

If so, 2. Is there something extra that is an inventive step, one that takes it beyond an ineligible concept?

If the invention doesn’t pass these new questions, the other four questions are never asked. Unfortunately, no one knows what the new questions mean. The courts have not given clear guidance, and the law is in a state of flux. So how did this issue come to be raised?

The confusion is expanding The gist of the patent case in American Axle & Mfg. Inc. (AMM) v.

Neapco Holdings LLC. At issue was whether the essence of the patent request was a law of nature. AAM’s submission was for a way to reduce vibrations transmitted through a shaft assembly of a driveline. It maintained that its claims were not directed to a law of nature, but rather to an industrial process for manufacturing parts of a motor vehicle.

However, the Appeals Court held that the stated method unto itself could not be patented. The claims, it stated in its ruling, represented

an application of a natural law of mechanical engineering, Hooke’s law, and therefore were abstract and not patent eligible.

The Appeal Court’s decision is troubling because a lot of valuable, patented inventions apply the natural laws of engineering. Are they at risk?

Does this mean that when a patent application is written, the petitioner must prove that there is more than that?

Why this case matters The patent office, courts, lawyers and innovators struggle to interpret the law and understand what can be patented. Without guidance, it is difficult to know how to value inventions and how to protect them. How much has been lost from patents found invalid? How many innovations have been refused patent protection?

How many inventors didn’t attempt patent protection? How many license deals have broken down? How many infringement suits haven’t been brought? There are no answers to these questions, other than IP is critically important to the U.S. and everyone involved deserves clarity.

Clarity is needed across the board Improving protection for innovation and preventing the theft of IP rights is in the best interest of the U.S. Pushing China to make changes is important, but what happens on the home front also matters. Congress needs to make sure that new laws reduce confusion on both fronts, as innovators need clarity if they are to continue furthering technology.

-Bill Honaker

Bill Honaker has been an intellectual property attorney for more than 30 years, helping businesses—from Fortune 100 firms to individual entrepreneurs—protect their patents, trademarks and copyrights. A former Patent Office Examiner, he is a partner with Dickinson Wright, PLLC. He notes that he is especially good at keeping clients out of court. He can be contacted at whonaker@dickinson-wright.com, tel. 248-433-7381.

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PAT E N T R E P O R T end portions, for example, the twist is unevenly generated between the members and the rotation transmission performance to the distal end side is significantly reduced. In such a case, there is a technical problem for improving the rotation transmission performance to the distal end side. In the connecting structure formed by three members, as a result of focusing on the torsional rigidity of the three members and considering the torsional rigidity ratios between the members, the technical problem for improving the rotation transmission performance to the distal end side can be solved when the torsional rigidity ratios satisfy a predetermined relation.

Superconducting wire and superconducting coil U.S. Patent No.: 10,490,321 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: Oct. 31, 2016 Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Japan Inventors: Tatsuoki Nagaishi, Takashi Yamaguchi A superconducting wire includes a main body portion, a substrate, and a cover portion. The main body portion includes a first main surface and a second main surface located opposite to the first main surface, and includes a superconducting material portion. The substrate supports the second main surface of the main body portion. The cover portion is formed at least on the first main surface of the main body portion. In the cover portion, surface rough-

ness in a central portion in a width direction of the superconducting wire is smaller than surface roughness at an end portion in the width direction.

Long straight high-frequency transmission cable U.S. Patent No.: 10,490,320 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: AUg. 24, 2018 Assignee: Bellwether Electronic Corp., Taiwan Inventor: Jie-Yau A long straight high-frequency transmission cable includes a plurality of transmission wires, at least one ground wire, first and second insulating laminates, and first and second shielding layers. The transmission wires and the ground wire are parallel to each other. The first insulating laminate and the second insulating laminate are laminated with each other to cover the transmission wires and the ground wire. The first shielding layer and the second shielding layer are respectively laminated on the first insulating laminate and the second insulating laminate. The first insulating laminate has a plurality of first conductive plugs separately arranged along a length direction of the ground wire, and each two adjacent ones of the first conductive plugs have a spacing therebetween that is at least greater than 50 mm.

(Patent Report continued on p. 67)

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ASIAN FOCUS

Local governments in China face harsher times Rapid infrastructure GDP growth and China have been synonymous the last few decades, but per recent reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, those heady numbers came at a price. Below are excerpts, some edited, that highlight some of the concerns.

Per a WSJ report, local-government debt in China reached an estimated $6.3 trillion in 2018, a sum that was approximately 49% of China’s gross domestic product, according to UBS, which combined official debt with its estimates of borrowings through informal lending channels to come up with its findings.

Last March, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the national legislature that Beijing was encouraging financial institutions to adopt market-oriented ways of dealing with hidden debt to avoid having to halt projects in progress. Yet local governments have continued to borrow more because the country has a slowing economy, and infrastructure spending matters. Local governments are expected to issue $431 billion in bonds to fund public projects this year, up from $287 billion the prior year.

Of note, the report said, some of the $6.3 trillion debt is not all “on the books.” With nearly 3 trillion yuan ($428 billion) in bonds coming due in the next two years, on top of bank loans and hidden debt, local governments need to find ways to refinance. Some of those expenses will be offset by taxes and returns from the investments, but a considerable amount will not be covered. Further, the weakening economy has hurt land sales.

Economists say officials have encouraged banks to extend old loans, which is problematic, especially for smaller Chinese lenders. Another factor that has made funding difficult is that Beijing has imposed new restrictions on informal lending. “Previously, local governments could just keep on rolling over debt, but now they can’t do that,” Allen Feng, a China analyst for consulting firm Rhodium Group in Singapore, was quoted as saying.

One cited case was Zhenjiang, a city of 3.2 million people in the eastern Jiangsu province. Debt owed directly by the city government amounted to $10 billion at the end of 2018. Adding in debt issued by various municipal funding vehicles, and the total was close to $57 billion at the end of 2017, according to an analysis by Guosheng Securities.

In March 2017, Zhenjiang said it had undertaken $290 billion in construction projects over the previous five years, including work on railroads, water channels and residential communities. An office tower built in 2013 in the city’s new district, financed by a funding vehicle owned by the Zhenjiang government called Jiangsu Hanrui Investment Co., is still largely empty. Jiangsu Hanrui occupies a few floors, with the rest mostly vacant.

Earlier in 2019, as authorities grappled with ways to address the debt, the city explored receiving credit from China Development Bank in exchange for giving the policy bank local assets to manage. When asked about the discussions and the debt estimate, a Zhenjiang government

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spokeswoman said it was “inconsistent with the facts.”

China Development Bank didn’t immediately respond to a WSJ request for comment.

Per The New York Times, the city of Ruzhou is an example of the trillions of dollars in debt threatening the Chinese economy. In Ruzhou, a city of one million, local doctors and nurses were asked by their bosses to loan money for an urgently needed new hospital. To pay for it, the administrators were asking health care workers for loans. If employees didn’t have the money, they were pointed to banks where they could borrow it. China’s doctors and nurses do not get paid a lot, and many complained online and in the media that they could not afford to give.

A convention center, complete with an auditorium built in the style of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, contributed to Ruzhou’s debt problems. New York Times photo.

“Whether it is a financial lease or trust, they are just all tools for local governments to borrow,” said Chen Zhiwu, director of the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong. “Officials stop one today, and they come up with another tool tomorrow. ... That’s why China has been talking about curbing local government debts for many years and it’s still not solved.”

Increasingly these deals are going sour, as they did in Ruzhou, and the loans are going unpaid. Lenders have accused three of Ruzhou’s hospitals and three investment funds tied to the city of not paying back their debts.

Local officials have long used big spending to keep the economy growing. Ruzhou is home to a number of white-elephant projects, including a stadium and sports complex turned e-commerce center, now largely unused. A shantytown redevelopment project, begun four years ago to give rural residents new homes, has been slowed for lack of money, locals said.

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ASIAN FOCUS

Wire & Cable Philippines, to be held in July, has wide support Wire & Cable Philippines 2020, which organizers call the largest and most influential cable industry exhibition event in the country, will be held July 13-15 at the SMX Convention Center Per the organizers, Century Expo Group, the event covers a variety of cable technology, products and accessories. More than 135 exhibitors are expected from China, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. Wire & Cable Philippines 2020 has support from more than 18 trade unions and other Philippine industry organizations.

The exhibition itself will cover more than 8,000 sq m of floor space, with exhibitors offering technology that covers the industry spectrum, from wire and wire products to the equipment and materials used to make it as well as the technology to test and ship it, and as specialties.

Wire & Cable Philippines will be held in conjunction with two sister events: The Electric Power Equipment Technology Show and I.C.T. Comm Philippines.

The exhibition is one of three Asian wire and cable events being staged by the organizers. The other two are Wire & Cable Malaysia, to be held Aug. 12-14, 2020, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, and Wire & Cable Vietnam, to be held Oct. 8-11, at the Phu Tho Indoor Sports Stadium.

A company stops for a group shot prior to entering Wire & Cable Philippines.

The series of events, which started out just in Vietnam, represents the largest exhibition series in Southeast Asia.

The Century Expo Group notes that it offers comprehensive services in major conferences, meetings, trade shows and exhibitions. For more details on Wire & Cable Philippines, go to www.wire-philippines.com. ď Ž

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PEOPLE CORNER

NDC Technologies has named John Perry as vice president of sales and marketing. He has more than 18 years of sales and leadership experience in the technology sector, having come from Emerson Electric, where he was the Americas regional leader.

Prior to that he held sales and Perry sales leadership positions at GE, Danaher, Johnson Controls and York International Corporation. He will be responsible for leading NDC’s global sales organization, executing the company’s go-to-market strategy and accelerating pipeline growth across the company’s key vertical markets. He replaces Randy Luffman, who is retiring from the company. Luffman joined NDC in 2012, and his sales leadership and strategic acumen played a key role in positioning the company in the global market.

Based in Dayton, Ohio, USA, NDC Technologies is a global Luffman provider of precision measurement and control solutions for manufacturing processes that include wire and cable.

Rubadue President Sean Toland has taken on the additional title of executive vice president of operations for Wire Experts Group, which is the parent company to Pelican Wire and Rubadue Wire.

His new responsibilities include overseeing wire production at both locations and implementing Toland process improvements across all business units. He will be based in the Rubadue plant in Colorado, but will also spend some of his time at the Pelican Wire plant in Florida. He has served in key positions for Rubadue Wire for nearly seven years.

He holds an MBA degree and a B.S. degree in business management from Colorado State University. The operations of Wire Experts Group produce a range of wire and cable products.

Ken Consalvo has joined Alphagary as quality assurance manager. He most recently worked as operations manager/ engineering manager for Data Guide Cable, where he worked for seven years. His career began with Mohawk Wire, which he joined as a process engineer in 1982, and was manufacturing manager for 16 years, and continued there for seven years after it was acquired by Belden CDT in 2004. Based in Leominster, Massachusetts, USA, Alphagary is a global supplier of polymer compounds.

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Bartell Machinery Systems reports that Shawn Lawlor will assume the role of vice president of sales and marketing. Most recently director of marketing and new business development, he joined the company in 2015 as sales and marketing manager.

He previously held management Lawlor positions at Fiber Instrument Sales Inc., and UTC Aerospace Systems, a United Technologies Company. He holds a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Marist College and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. He replaces Kevin Greenow, who retired in December 2019 after 45 years of service at Bartell. Based in Rome, New York, Bartell Machinery Systems is a global supplier of manufacturing equipment for sectors that include wire and cable.

OBITUARY Anthony L. Urbano, who founded Urbano Associates in 1985, died Dec. 12 in his sleep at age 90, the day after he suffered a stroke.

A WAI Life Member, Urbano was born in Newark, New Jersey, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955. He earned a B.S. degree in chemiAnthony Urbano, 2nd from cal engineering at the Newark r, in a 1980s photo from a College of Engineering, then business trip. At far left worked at Wilbur B. Driver is the late Tsune Fukase, Co. in New Jersey, and then at founder T. Fukase and Co. Videk. In 1973, he moved to Avon, Connecticut, where he worked at Gavlick Machinery Company. He was known for his talkative nature, sense of humor and corny jokes.

Urbano began Urbano Associates in 1984. One of his longest representations was for T. Fukase and Company Ltd. He said he would not retire, and he never did, sending e-mails on their behalf up to the day before his passing in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Per his son-in-law, Kenneth Byrne, “This is a man who worked on a concrete floor (sometimes on his knees) rebuilding wire welders into his late 80s, and when his strength gave out, he designed lifting fixtures to bring the welders to a working level, and to pallet them for shipment. He was a one of kind for sure.”

Urbano was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Jeanne Urbano (D’Alessio), who died in 2011, and granddaughter Regina, who died in 2003. He is survived by three children, Karen, Anthony and Lauren; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. n

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OFC 2020 to celebrate 50 years of ‘light-speed’ connections The 2020 Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) conference and exhibition, the world’s largest event for optical communications and networking professionals, to be held from March 8-12 at the San Diego Convention Center, will focus on two very important technical advances.

Per the organizers, OFC will celebrate the half-century milestone of two breakthrough technologies—low-loss optical fiber and room-temperature semiconductor lasers— under a celebration titled “Celebrating 50 Years of Light-speed Connections.” Low-loss optical fiber and room-temperature semiconductor lasers technologies came together in 1970 to transform global communications and enable light-speed connections across continents and

oceans. The development of high-performance, low-loss optical fiber coupled with the critical technology of room temperature semiconductor laser created a watershed moment in telecommunications. Subsequent improvements in these and other technologies paved the way for greater bandwidth, faster speeds and a more resilient architecture for communication networks.

The collective advances in technology led to increases in bandwidth and a greater reach for fiber links, enabling the World Wide Web, video streaming, trans-oceanic high capacity links, high-capacity wireless communications and many other data services. “Today, thanks to these innovations, nearly 100,000 gigabytes of data travel the globe every second through millions of kilometers of optical fibers.”

The 50th anniversary event will include a show-floor exhibit that encompasses the first demonstration of low-loss fiber in 1970 to efficient 400 gigabit Ethernet transport. Infinera Corporation Founder Dr. David Welch will make the keynote presentation on Tuesday, March 10.

He will look back at advances in optical fiber technology and its impact on society, and look into the near-term future as to how fiber optics will continue to extend and enhance light-speed connections. For more details about the event, go to www.ofcconference.org. 

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F A S T E N E R U P D AT E

Fastener Fair USA to be held this May in Charlotte The theme for the 2020 Fastener Fair USA, to be held May 18-20 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, is “Holding Industry Together,” and the organizers report that the three-day program will do just that.

“Supply chain, assembly, measurement and other processes are becoming increasingly integrated,” said Carroll Henning, Fastener Fair USA show manager, “And the fastener industry needs an event like Fastener Fair that brings all the sectors together.” The theme reflects the expanding mission to serve all industry segments that touch fastener and fixing, including: fastener manufacturing, fastener processing, distribution, OEM applications, fastening tools, measurement systems and integrative supply chain software The event begins with a day-long, three-track conference on May 18. Two of the tracks, developed in partnership with the Fastener Training Institute, emphasize applied technology and new developments in materials. Facets of fastener engineering and distribution will be highlighted. The third track, focused on sales and business development, will be conducted by Paul Reilly, a training expert. All three tracks will open with a joint keynote before breaking into their respective subject matter.

The next day sees the start of the two-day expo on May 19-20.

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Activity at Fastener Fair USA 2018.

There will be morning keynote speakers and tech talks on the show floor.

Fastener Fair USA notes that it is the only U.S. exhibition dedicated to the full supply chain–distributors, mechanical and design engineers, purchasers, wholesalers and OEMs. Some 2,200 fastener professionals took part in Fastener Fair USA 2019, which was held in Detroit, where it topped the results for the 2018 inaugural show in Cleveland. More than 270 exhibitors from 15 countries connected with customers in the aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, construction, energy, machinery and other industries. For more details, go to www.fastenerfairusa.com. n

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WAI CE L E B RAT ES

WIRE, CABLE, 90 YEARS AN D MANY HAP PY R E T U R NS You’re in for a win-win as the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo returns to the Mohegan Sun Resort Casino in 2020.

PLANNING STARTS NOW. It’s GAME ON for visitors, ace speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors who want to replay the event’s 2016 success at this popular New England attraction.

And in the Wire Association’s 90th year, this event brings to light the latest in Manufacturing Best Practices.

MORE SUNSHINE. This is your chance to take home valuable insight you can use right away to achieve more positive, profitable results at your wire and cable plant.

Featuring: A Plant Operations Focus | Inspriational speaker: Brett Culp | Guest Speaker and NFL Insider: Adam Schefter | Exhibits | Bright New Products | Welcome Reception | WAI Awards | Production Solutions Demos | Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course | Prysmian Willimantic Plant Tour | Plus+ New England Chapter & WAI-member Activities Ask about booth space and sponsorship opportunities!

Contact: Bob Xeller or Shannon Timme, sales@wirenet.org

DETAILS www.wireexpo20.com

Conference June 2-4 | Exhibits June 3-4, 2020 Mohegan Sun Resort Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA

WIRE EXPO 2020

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WIRE JOURNAL DÜSSELDORF

SPOTLIGHT 39 Must-See Displays you will not want to miss

HALL 9 A-06

SAMPSISTEMI HALL 9 C-60

WITELS

HALL 9 E-39

NIEHOFF

HALL 10 C-06

WAFIOS

HALL 10 F-22/40

AIM

HALL 11 A-21

WTM

HALL 11 D-78

Wire Journal International is the official publication of the Wire Association International, which organizes the Interwire and Wire Expo tradeshows. © Cover photo: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

9A Lämneå Bruk Hall 9 A-06 What’s to see? The No Twist Coiler NTC 1200: a machine that will revolutionize your wire drawing process.

What makes it special? The No Twist Coiler 1200 can streamline your wire production like no other machine. How? The NTC 1200 can effectively serve as both a take-up and a payoff, providing considerable in-line space-savings. The innovative design allows it to be used as a take-up for the drawing machine, while the model’s inverted carrier is used as the payoff in the next production step, with finished product placed directly on the floor. The result? The package is handled as an undriven payoff for twist-free and straight wire with lower downtime due to continuous production abilities. For live demonstrations and details about this groundbreaking machine, visit our stand.

Sikora AG Hall 9 A-41 What’s to see? FIBER TENSION 6003: a new stand-alone gauge head for tension measurement of optical fibers in drawing towers.

What makes it special? The tension of the optical fiber influences crucial online and offline fiber parameters. Sikora’s new FIBER TENSION 6003 gauge head ensures the highest quality with a more precise and faster tension measurement. The gauge head, based on birefringence, can be used for hot and cold measurement of the bare fiber independent of the fiber position in the measuring field. For example, installed before forced cooling, the system generates reliable and stable measuring values for immediate tension control.

Woywod/PLASTICOLOR Hall 9 A-42 What’s to see? New PLASTICOLOR 3500 dosing unit eliminates ages-old “dead spots” concern.

What makes it special? The newest PLASTICOLOR dosing unit design uses round material flow channels throughout the unit to eliminate dead spots caused by “hung up” pellets that can create scrap. The mixer’s patented material inlet ensures precise and constant dosing.

The sealing of the screw shaft controls blocks the majority of powders and materials, but optional additional sealing is available for the most challenging production conditions. Backpressure is used to protect the motor and gearbox, and the quick discharge has a larger diameter and easy action slide for quicker and easier material discharge.

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Düsseldorf Spotlight 2020

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9 A-B Rosendahl Nextrom GmbH Hall 9 A-60 What’s to see? RoSET: new insulation technology for MV cables that replaces XLPE.

What makes it special? RoSET (Rosendahl Superior Extrusion Technology) is a new MV cable-manufacturing package from one strong source. The polypropylene-based compounds (PPC) can be used to insulate power cables up to 30/36 kV. RoSET includes a dedicated MV line-type RM-A, a PPC insulation material starter package, process know-how and a type-test guarantee. Many tests on our production line showed that polypropylene is an equal or better alternative to XLPE. Manufacturers benefit from lower production and material costs, higher production speeds, smaller floorspace needs, and more.

OMCG Hall 9 B-14 What’s to see? A bending advance that makes it stunningly fast at going from a file to a completed part.

What makes it special? OMCG’s new CNC eccentric-bend head machine with EP4 program and P8/16 inspect function simplifies creation of new parts from the get-go from a file. Just sequence the CAD file to the EP4 to simulate the first part, and the P8/16 inspect unit returns corrected data to the bender to start production. How easy!

The new, flexible eccentric-bend head (pictured) with quick-change bend pin and mandrel on bearings allows for smooth generation and bend radii forming. When sharp bends are required, the mandrel nose can be used and is perfect for the exact radii.

PWM Hall 9 B-41 What’s to see? A new version of the ST40 cold welder for strip.

What makes it special? The ST40, developed specifically for nonferrous strip, can now be used with the welding head positioned either vertically or horizontally on the cart. This versatility gives manufacturers more options for tailoring the position of the machine to suit individual production set ups and applications. The air/hydraulic-powered ST40 is the only cold pressure welding machine able to join end-to-end strip as thin as 0.2 mm and as wide as 45 mm, and is low maintenance, straightforward and cost-effective to operate. See it at the PWM stand.

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Düsseldorf Spotlight 2020

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9 C-D Boockmann GmbH Hall 9 C-34 What’s to see? Boockmann GmbH will display a new cascaded threestep, wire-washing machine.

What makes it special? Many types of wire and similar products, due to surface structure and quality needs, require substantial amounts of solvents. Our newest wire-washing machine, based on our well-established HELICORD® technology with multiple 360° contact between the wire and cleaning medium, provides consistent quality of the cleaning medium for reliable cleaning efficiency. It adds the best features of conventional washing tanks filled with lots of organic solvents or other cleaning liquids, but the integrated treatment and circulation of the cleaning liquid used results in a significant decrease of cleaning liquid consumption.

SAMPSISTEMI Srl Hall 9 C-60 What’s to see? New extrusion technology and our continuing commitment to be your long-term, reliable industry supplier.

What makes it special? The upgraded SAMP 80-25 extruder for thermoplastic and thermosetting compounds ensures excellent cable insulation quality by a new, more accurate control system of melt temperature and pressure. This makes it ideal for applications such as insulation, filling and sheathing of power, datacom, signal and automotive cables. Customers benefit from a wide production range with different compounds (e.g. PVC, PE, PP, PU, XLPO, XLPE, HFFR and LS0H) using a limited number of screws to minimize non-productive times. The displayed solution is a plug-and-play version for a fast and easy installation, engineered according to the latest innovations of Industry 4.0.

LLFlex Hall 9 D-16/05 What’s to see? Stunning advances in cable wrap armoring and shielding tapes.

What makes it special? LLFlex is one of the few suppliers that can produce aluminum, steel, copper and stainless-steel armor and shielding from 75 to 500 microns thick. Using the latest film technology, our Reyshield ™ products create superior bonds, while our patented armoring/shielding tape excels at preventing water ingress, and our specialty peelable films make jacket removal easier. More importantly, we also provide the expertise that cable manufacturers need to deliver an optimum solution. Stop by to ask for the specifics as to how we do it!

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Düsseldorf Spotlight 2020

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9 E-F Teknor Apex Hall 9 E-06/1 What’s to see? Answers for the voracious compound needs of 5G. What makes it special? Making the 5G scope for wireless infrastructure a reality will require compounds that work for every single wireless carrier. Teknor Apex is ready to serve those needs through each step via its family of Apex® PVC, Flexalloy® PVC elastomer, and Halguard® halogen-free low-smoke compounds that make the most complex antenna cable possible. These advanced solutions can be used for buffering high-speed data fibers at the core of the cable, the core jacketing and for bundles of 600-volt control cable surrounding the core, and sheathing for the entire construction. We supply specialty formulations as well as non-halogenated alternatives to PVC.

FENN Hall 9 E-10/02 What’s to see? A new automated tabletop swager that excels for both rod and tubing.

What makes it special? FENN’s newly designed, integrated tabletop swaging solution with automated feed provides increased efficiency and higher production rates. Internal electronics incorporated into the compact base allow the system to be easily moved/incorporated into production cells. Multiple units can be used to create a single “daisychain” line controlled by a single operator. FENN’s NF-2 rotary swager is specialized for small solid rod and tubing, commonly used in medical, aerospace, and energy industries. Some examples are hypodermic tubing, catheters, small insulated cables, and pointing of titanium wire.

Witels-Albert GmbH Hall 9 E-39 What’s to see? The revolutionary revision of the traditional concept for straightening wire and tubing.

What makes it special? Witels-Albert introduces its SM series of straightening modules, a completely new concept for the design, manufacture and use of straighteners and straightening systems. They reduce the essence of straightening to the absolute minimum. Each module is equipped with an adjustable roll that represents the smallest unit of a straightener or straightening system. This allows customers to be much more innovative in terms of deployment, as other straightening configurations can be quickly created. Customers benefit from lower costs and greater freedom in production design and agility.

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9 F / 10 A Fine International Corporation Hall 9 F-25 What’s to see? A new oil-free (/OF) rotary braider that does away with a burdensome oil lubricant component.

What makes it special? Fine International, with partner Shanghai Nanyang Electrical Equipment Company, introduces the /OF series that eliminates the standard oil lubrication systems of standard models.

A redesign now makes it impossible for process oil to find its way to the surface of braided constructions. That capability makes the new / OF line especially attractive for demanding fields such as medical and aerospace. The series comes in 16- and 24-carrier versions housed in a safety enclosure with integrated payoff and take-up. A 16-carrier/OF model will be operating at the event at our booth.

August Strecker GmbH & Co. KG Hall 10 A-21 What’s to see? Control “V30 smart”: the next-generation control for the company’s welders.

What makes it special? The V30 smart, with a 7-in. color screen, offers an intuitive operating concept, including a rotary knob to jump directly to the most important functions. It is fully compatible with previous models, so it is easy to install as an upgrade in existing welding machines. The keyboard can be connected to enable more complex programming directly at the machine, and customer-specific programs from predecessor devices can be uploaded via an easily accessed USB port. Optional pyrometer annealing (maximum of five segments) offers optimum repeatability for joining high carbon special steels.

AESA Cortaillod Hall 10 A-38 What’s to see? A new automatic HV AC & DC Low Frequency-High Frequency multiple wire tester.

What makes it special? The new GAIA automatic HV, low/high frequency tester for up to 208 wires dramatically reduces testing time.

It measures dielectric strength up to 5kV AC & DC and insulation resistance on cables, pairs or quads. It measures LF and derives HF parameters. The modular unit comes in three sizes with connecting frames and self-cutting knives for quick mounting of different cable packages and sizes up to 2.5 mm. It is equipped with several safety systems, and the operating unit can be locked in a software-sensor controlled protection cage thanks to the separated control unit.

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10 B-C Rautomead Hall 10 B-52 What’s to see? A vertical continuous casting machine that sets an industry benchmark for oxygen ppm in CuOF rod.

What makes it special? Rautomead’s latest graphite furnace technology now makes it possible to further reduce oxygen content to below 2 ppm, a huge plus for producing bar for wound electric motors and other specialist applications The key is the upgraded graphite crucible electric resistance furnace design that—with enhanced tooling and production techniques—improves the oxygen-reduction capability to a level not possible with other casting processes. Supported by Rautomead’s excellent customer service capability, this process will help manufacturers seek out and enter new high-quality markets for copper rod.

Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH/NENA Hall 10 C-06 What’s to see? Niehoff/NENA’s booth will include a new wiredrawing model and an upgraded braider with new Industry 4.0 features.

What makes it special? The MMH 112 + RM 202 + S 632 embodies a new generation of multiwire drawing lines. It will be shown in operation several times a day—an industry first— with a moderator explaining its features and capabilities. The BMV 16 + BAS 800 braider to be displayed is connected with digitizing technologies which enable a considerable increase of rotational speed, material savings and quality improvement.

It is designed for 16 bobbins, and has several control systems enabling a safe and automatic operation.

Maillefer Hall 10 C-22 What’s to see? The “Smart Circle” at the heart of our stand.

What makes it special? Complementing the hardware exhibits, Maillefer’s “Smart Circle” highlights the leading technologies built into lines and components: experience smart buffering, roundness optimization, defect detection, SIM factory, NCC curing calculation, and more. See where AI, neural networks and predictive models are going. Smart Monitoring will take live data, then crunch, correlate and consolidate it into an informative display. Take a virtual reality tour of future fiber optic secondary coating or high-voltage CCV capacity technology. Understand how sustainability has taken hold of Maillefer’s product designs, and reveals how we operate as a leading provider in the industry.

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10 C-F Cerrini Srl Hall 10 C-41 What’s to see? A new rubber/silicone extruder for high-speed extrusion lines.

What makes it special? Italy’s Cerrini Srl will introduce its newest extruder: the TG.120/15D. This model is designed especially for highspeed silicone cable lines. Its infrared vulcanization system guarantees high process repeatability and stable cable characteristics. The mode has perfectly matched anti-wear materials for extended barrel and screw life, even for highly loaded compounds. Its new thermoregulation system guarantees exceptional compound cooling and a perfectly controlled extrusion temperature. Cerrini offers new special silicone/ rubber extruders from 45 up to 160 mm.

Maguire Europe Hall 10 D-37 What’s to see? Advanced Maguire + Syncro™ extrusion technology optimizes gram-per-meter yields.

What makes it special? The system controls the entire production line. It uses data from digital post-extrusion encoders to adjust extruder screw RPM and capstan speed for tight coating tolerances and product consistency. The ratio control provides accurate dimensions for multiple sheathing layers or identifying stripes in coextrusion via three components: the Maguire® WXB™ Weigh Extrusion Blender, which uses a gain-in-weight weigh bin and a loss-in-weight mix chamber; the Maguire 4088 controller, which controls the loading, blending and metering of raw material; and the Syncro® controller, which uses consumption data from the controller and downstream encoders to adjust line speed and haul-off.

WAFIOS AG Hall 10 F-22/40 What’s to see? A newly re-designed, high-speed CNC wire bender, model BM 36.

What makes it special? The newest single-head, wire-bending machine series from WAFIOS will make its trade fair debut. The model, with its prominent hood, has been completely redesigned. Trendsetting developments include the chamfering device, a motor-driven displacement of the infeed and straightening unit with a pneumatically controlled tubular wire guide and highly flexible drives. It also has numerous options for flexibility, quality and output. Operators will appreciate the reliable control unit’s intuitive WPS 3.2 EasyWay user interface. The trade fair package includes a 5-year license for iQsmartbend, a superb process optimization tool. Also, see our SNA Wave Springs showcase in WJI’s March preshow issue for wire Düsseldorf.

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10 F / 11 A Flymca Hall 10 F-78 What’s to see? A novel advance for producing steel wire strand.

What makes it special? Flymca has developed an environmentally friendly stranding line for manufacturing high-tensile steel galvanized wire strands for the agro industry. The product supply is paid off directly from stems directly to the machine to twist the wires, in a two, three or four strand configuration. The machine produces high-quality strand that is totally straight and perfectly laid up into packaged coils, ready to be shipped to the customer. The design allows for efficient production and simple operation. Our staff will explain the technology in depth to attendees.

AIM Hall 11 A-21 What’s to see? A new U.S.-made CNC bender with a fast servo cutter at an attractive price.

What makes it special? The AFES-3DxT, a five servo-axis toolchanger machine with a servo cutter, is offered at a very attractive price. AIM’s robust model has a turret head indexing tool changer for flexibility in wire-forming capability, while our 200 m/sec. servo-cut unit assures fast, quiet production. Standard features include DXF, LRA and XYZ import, “Dial-A-Service” Internet support, a 5-HP wire payoff, and a maintenance module that reminds users of needed work to eliminate downtime. Options include: production statistics, online AIM Academy, CMM integration for automatic corrections, robots integration and STEP file import.

GEO-Reinigungstechnik GmbH Hall 11 A-32 What’s to see? New LS-WST modules for mechanical cleaning in the smallest space.

What makes it special? Originally designed for the coating of wires with liquid media via continuously moving textile tapes, GEO has supplemented its space-saving system LS-WST by additional modules for light cleaning tasks. The first module has hot-air nozzles at the infeed and outfeed and an extended liquid dispenser that supplement the basic unit. The second module has an extended process zone with flexible roller guides to ensure secure contact of the textile tape on both sides of the material to be cleaned. This provides maximum flexibility, smaller space needs and lower material costs.

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11 B-D Otomec Srl Hall 11 B-26 What’s to see? New OTO F.A.S.T. technology for plating lines.

What makes it special? The manual method of threading a wire into a plating machine through the capstans and galvanic cell was tedious as well as potentially dangerous due to possible contact with process chemicals. The OTO F.A.S.T. device ends those concerns. It enables quick and precise wire placement, with the wire secured in the grooves of plating cells capstans, while providing the necessary back tension.

We will also show a new silver-plating machine that works cyanidefree, and is supported by a Software Process Supervisor. Both systems will be in operation at the event.

TapeFormers Ltd. Hall 11 C-22 What’s to see? The new USA Building Wire TapeFormer turns a traditional two-step, paper-tape wrapping process into a single-step process.

What makes it special? Intended for the U.S. market, this new system uses two TapeFormers fitted together with ceramic guides to accommodate the copper drain wire insertion. A key advance is that this is a single-unit model. It can wrap the ground wire in paper tape, then the ground wire and the cores prior to the outer sheath being applied.

Our engineers can customize it for your specific needs. We just need wire samples plus your paper tape widths, cable and drain wire diameter. It can also work for other applications. Stop by to find out more.

Cimteq Ltd. Hall 11 D-15 What’s to see? The latest release of CableBuilder3D auto-generates a print-ready file for your 3D printers.

What makes it special? 3D printing is still new to cable manufacturing, but innovative manufacturers are increasingly adopting it.

CableBuilder3D supports this technology as part of its industry 4.0 arsenal. Specialty cables and subsea cables require an element of prototyping, so creating a 3D model before manufacturing is smart. A 3D model is tactile and conveys information better than a printed description or even a 3D image. A customer with a 3D model will find it far easier to talk with a designer. CableBuilder3D makes it quick and easy to generate the models.

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11 D Zumbach Electronic AG Hall 11 D-41 What’s to see? Super-reliable, measuring system family now has an addition with even greater capabilities: the Rayex XT.

What makes it special? The Rayex family series is known for being highly reliable and stable. Now, that range has been bolstered by the addition of Rayex XT, which offers an extended range. The model can be connected to a central processor/controller (USYS Series), along with a host of other measurement sensor types (ultrasonic, OD laser, lump/neckdown, etc.). That range is unique to the industry. The model’s unparalleled flexibility for measuring wire (10 mm to 115 mm) makes it ideal for production of products such as coax/antenna, low, medium and high voltage cables, building wire (tandem or coextruded THHN) automotive and more.

Sjogren Industries Hall 11 D-49 What’s to see? A revolutionary dead block straightener.

What makes it special? Sjogren’s new dead block straightener improves life expectancy, productivity and efficiencies. Based on the LD Series of straighteners, the lightweight aluminum unit has a specially designed seal that maintains high-speed grease within the bearings to enhance roll life. It provides a simple and cost-effective solution, while maintaining a high level of rigidity. Custom high-speed bearings and labyrinth seal resist centrifugal forces while processing wire at speeds up to 40 m/sec. The rolls (either vee groove or radius groove) are easily interchangeable and can be rebuilt/re-greased.

NDC Technologies Hall 11 D-68 What’s to see? A revolutionary solution for measuring length and speed of bouncing products.

What makes it special? Unique in the marketplace, NDC’s LaserSpeed Pro M Series gauge accurately and reliably measures the length and speed of long, continuous cylindrical products that cannot be well-guided, and tend to move off-axis and out of measurement range. The patent-pending gauge, part of the BETA LaserMike products family, uses a revolutionary LDV optical technique to effectively measure products such as bare conductor wire, insulated primary wire, metal bar/rod, metal cord, and other challenging applications. Benefits include reduced product give-away, minimized scrap, more productivity and less downtime.

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11 D-J WTM Srl Hall 11 D-78 What’s to see? WTM’s new advanced VISIO SYSTEM® for taping process quality inspection.

What makes it special? This new VISIO SYSTEM model, with high-definition cameras, excels at detecting. It replaces traditional photo-cell detectors, and avoids potential issues from mistaken mechanical settings. It also allows a customer to collect much more important process information for tape width, tape stretching, taping angle, actual taping pitch and overlapping. The integrated software can use the collected production data for statistical analysis (Con, Cpk index, etc.). Visit our booth to see a model inspect extruded cables for marking, coloring and surface defects.

MFL Group Hall 11 G 59/60 What’s to see? A new digital era for the wire, cable and rope industry.

What makes it special? We are going to totally revolutionize the concept of how a leading OEM is seen. We will introduce all our latest innovations and solutions through a full digital booth and amaze you with a week full of presentations on how the 4.0 concepts are shaping the industry and how MFL is leveraging these new technologies to create machines for the future. Digitally experience our latest advances in wiredrawing, stranding, extrusion and more.

Tramev Srl Hall 11 J-14 What’s to see? Tramev Srl’s new H series of butt welding machines.

What makes it special? This new-generation butt welder assures energy savings, increased productivity, reliability and improved final product quality. Available in a wide range of manual and automatic models, the butt welders are compact and easy to use, able to weld wire up to 39 mm. The automatic series (H) works with a PLC that memorizes the programs for each type of steel rod processed, eliminating downtime and providing more cost savings. All Tramev welders have a four-wheeled base unit with safety lever, a grinding device for welding seam deburring, and clamping jaws for the welding function and the annealing procedure.

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12 / 14 QED Wire Lines Inc. Hall 12 B-11 What’s to see? QED AutoCoat™: the latest generation coat-weight control system.

What makes it special? QED AutoCoat, an upgrade to existing high-speed zinc and Galfan® process lines, ensures a consistent, precision zinc or Galfan coating and significant material savings. Using independent measurement and fine-tune control, this elegant design provides a uniform coating weight accurate to +/- 10g/sq m. The result is a premium quality finished product. The latest Siemens PLC hardware provides data acquisition and networking with remote monitoring.

All this is backed by QED’s excellent customer service. Feedback has been great. Stop by to find out more about this innovation.

Alphagary Hall 14 E-18 What’s to see? Compounder has added stabilizers to create the ideal ‘one-stop’ supplier.

What makes it special? Alphagary, best known for its compounds, has optimized its line of VINASTAB 4001 PVC stabilizers. With the CaZn-based one-pack stabilizers, customers can get REACH- and RoHS-compliant materials (stabilizers, antioxidants and lubricants) that are ideal for high-temperature flexible PVC (cable) extrusion. A key was a $6 million plant investment in complete cycle automated material handling that allows customization, cuts contamination, eliminates waste and saves energy, while increasing efficiency and the precision distribution of individual components within unique formulations.

Saint-Gobain Hall 14 G-10 What’s to see? New 3D-printed ceramics that enable energy-efficient wire galvanizing and annealing.

What makes it special? Saint Gobain will debut its patented 3D-printed ceramics for the wire industry that offer galvanizers a new system for immersion tube furnaces. It features a futuristic flame diffuser, SpyroCor®, and a twisted-channel ceramic recuperator, HeatCor®, that deliver burner efficiencies up to 85%. These two additively manufactured components—coupled with a reinvigorated line of ceramic heating tubes that include Silit® SKD tubes for maximum heat transfer and Cryston® Max tubes for maximum durability—allow wire galvanizers to customize their heating package. Need to increase melting capacity? Minimize gas use? Reduce emissions? We have a tailored solution for you.

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Schlatter AG Hall 15 A-20 What’s to see? A new mesh welder.

What makes it special? Schlatter Industries AG’s MG950 model— new for mesh widths up to 2700 mm—is an industrial mesh welding system that manufacturers of wire products have been using successfully for years. Wherever great flexibility, speed and premium quality are required from the first mesh, the MG950 will be your first choice.

We have not only optimized its qualities, but also extended the MG950 for a mesh width of up to 2700 mm. This will inevitably lead to higher productivity numbers, since this width also allows for double-track production.

Gema s.r.o./Vinston Hall 16 C-17 What’s to see? New software to launch wire formers and benders into Industry 4.0.

What makes it special? The newest software system available can supercharge the company’s line of wire formers and wire benders for Industry 4.0 operations. The software’s user-friendly interface will be complemented with additional modular options to facilitate easy replications of standard sections of a component. Its network capabilities and a camera system provide easy documentation and technical inquiries. The new infrastructure can also facilitate more multimedia notes for current projects, such as critical point designations and video documentation. It allows aggregate data on machine runtime, setup and idle durations to be available at the server level.

Enkotec A/S Hall 16 E-37 What’s to see? ENKOsmart: A digital makeover of ENKOnail+ makes it the most reliable and operator-friendly, nail-manufacturing machine ever built.

What makes it special? ENKOsmart brings the ENKOnail+ to the next level of high-performance machinery by enabling data-driven, easy decision-making combined with an intuitive interface. With innovative sensor technology and latest generation HMI—including a digitalized video manual and user/event registration—ENKOsmart maximizes operating efficiency. Features such as Intelligent Error Tracking, nail quality monitoring, remote access and easy guidance access end unplanned downtime and maximize your wire rod use. It takes manufacturers one step closer to 4.0 and maximized Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

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MEET US HERE 11B.21

>

2021

Interwire unites the North American wire & cable market

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Interwire, now in its 4th decade, is North America’s largest trade show for the wire and cable industry. In 2019 Interwire drew participants from 47 countries, 39 states, and representatives from more than 400 manufacturing plants.

GEORGIA World Congress Center EXHIBITS May 11 - 13 > 2021 CONFERENCE May 10 - 13 > 2021 INTERWIRE21.COM

These are the people you want to meet, especially if your company supplies industry equipment, auxiliary products, or services.

WAI can help you access this thriving North American market. Stop by Hall 11 B-21 to reserve your stand for 2021.

400+ EXHIBITS > EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS > PLANT TOURS > LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS > INSPIRING KEYNOTE SPEAKERS > GLOBAL APPEAL > MARKET FORECASTS > SPEAKING, SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITING OPPORTUNITIES

FAMOUS FOR INK Gem Gravure and our partners at FC Tech will be exhibiting at the Wire 2020 conference in Dusseldorf, Germany on March 30 to April 3, 2020.

• Band Marking • Contact Printing

Join us in Hall 9 at Stand E41 and learn why we are Famous for Ink. Executive Vice President Paul Gemelli, Director of Sales Mark Kristoff, and Northeast Regional Sales Manager Derek Olson look forward to seeing you at Wire 2020!

Visit us online to learn more about Gem Marking & Coding GEMGRAVURE.COM or call us at 781.878.0456

• Wheels • Continuous Inkjet Printers • Specialty Colors • Accessories • First Class Service Headquartered in Hanover, MA since 1952.

LEARN MORE AT

WIRE EXPO E X H I B I T O R S Ace Metal Inc. AITMAC Inc. Allied Industrial Group, Inc. Alphagary/Mexichem Specialty Compounds Amacoil Inc. American Kuhne Appleton Manufacturing Arkema Inc. Auto Link Technology / Allied Machine AWT Machinery Inc. Aztech Lubricants LLC Balloffet Die Corp.

Bartell Machinery Systems Baum’s Castorine Co. Inc. Bechem Lubrication Technology LLC Beta LaserMike/NDC Technologies Cablogic Technologies Inc. Carris Reels Inc. Cavallero Plastics Cemanco LC Chemetall/BASF Clinton Instrument Co. Commission Brokers Inc. Condat Conneaut Industries Inc. CTS - Cincinnati Thermal Spray Inc. Die Quip Corp.

DuBois Chemicals/Heatbath E-Beam Services Inc. Ebner Furnaces Inc. Elkem Inc. ERA Wire Inc. Esteves Group USA Eurodraw Wire Equipment Srl EuroWire/Intras George Evans Corp.

Fenn LLC Filtertech Inc. FMS USA Inc. Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc. Gem Gravure Co. Inc. Graham Engineering Corp.

Guill Tool & Engineering Co. Heany Industries Inc. HONTA Inc. Howar Equipment Inc. Huestis Industrial IDEAL Welding Systems Incom America Integrated Control Technologies International Wire Dies

IWM International Joe Snee Associates, Inc. Joe-Tools King Steel Corp.

Kinrei of America KN Manufacturing Solutions Lamnea Bruk AB LaserLinc, Inc. Leggett & Platt Wire Group Leibinger Coding and Marking Systems LLFlex Lloyd & Bouvier Inc. M. Holland Madem-Moorecraft Reels USA Magnetic Technologies Ltd. Maillefer Extrusion Oy Mathiasen Machinery Inc. Metalloid Corp.

MFL Group The MGS Group Micro Products Co. Microdia USA Morgan-Koch Corp.

Nexeo Plastics Niehoff Endex North America Inc. OMCG, Inc. Overview P & R Specialty Inc. Paramount Die Co. Parkway-Kew Corp.

Phifer International Precision Die Technologies Inc. Properzi International Inc. Proton Products Inc. Q8Oils QMS America, Inc. Quaker Houghton Radcliff Wire Inc.

WWW.WIREEXPO20.COM

Rainbow Rubber & Plastics Reel Options by Vandor Corp.

Refractron Technologies Corp.

RichardsApex Inc. Rockford Manufacturing Group FELM Rosendahl Nextrom Roteq Machinery Inc. Saint-Gobain SAMP USA Inc. Schlatter North America Sikora International Corp.

Sivaco Wire Group Sonoco Reels and Spools Stolberger Inc. DBA Wardwell Braiding Super Seal Corp.

Taubensee Steel & Wire Co. Teknikor Tensor Machinery Ltd. Traxit North American LLC Ultimate Automation Ltd. United Wire Co. Inc. Vandor Corp.

Vision Engineering W. Gillies Technologies LLC WAFIOS Machinery Corp.

Windak Inc. The Wire Association International, Inc. The Wire Journal International, Inc. Wire & Cable Technology International Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.

Wire Lab Co. Wire Machine Systems Inc. Witels Albert USA Ltd. Woodburn Diamond Die Inc. Yield Management Corp.

Zumbach Electronics Corp.

*List as of 1/29/20

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LIVE D E M O S

NEWS

ASSOCIATION HIGHLIGHTS Baker wins Mordica Memorial Award Dr. Gil Baker, a long-time engineer at Superior Essex and award-winning author of technical papers, is the winner of the Mordica Memorial Award, which honors a person for contributions to the wire and cable industry.

Baker, who holds PhD and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, won the WAI’s 2011, 2008, and 1993 awards for best nonferrous paper and the 1999 award for best general paper, as well as a 1998 Essex Technology Award. He was a senior metallurgical engineer at Superior Essex for nine years, where he co-authored papers and worked closely with Dr. Horace Pops, a former Mordica award winner (1988).

In 2003, Baker launched Confident Instruments, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, USA, which develops custom instruments for QC labs. His research led to a fines potential analyzer that allows nonferrous wire drawers to greatly reduce fines by optimizing rod coil routing of rod coils and by identifying die pass problems.

In his nominating letter, Pops wrote that Baker was well-deserving of the award. “His accomplishments and

performance were exemplary, and he was one of the most accomplished employees under my supervision. ... During this period, he developed an on-line E-Mat based ultrasonic system for detecting internal voids in copper rod moving at very high speeds. He also pioneered the Baker use of FEA to determine the change of these void dimensions during subsequent wire drawing.”

“Gil Baker’s hallmark ... is his combination of extraordinary ‘bench’ skills and gifted creativity, practiced in the most deliberate, plain-spoken manner,” wrote Dr. Roger Wright, a second nominator and a former Mordica award winner (1993). “He has applied this modality in making ... widely utilized contributions to the wire industry. He received one of the greatest awards of all, namely the application of his original surface characterization methods to ‘cutting edge’ wire technology.”

Baker will be honored at Wire Expo 2020.

Talbot wins Donnellan Memorial Award Andy Talbot, vice president and general manager of Mid-South Wire Co. Inc., in Nashville, Tennessee, is the winner of the Donnellan Memorial Award, which honors an individual for their contributions to the Association.

Talbot joined the WAI in 2010. He was a member of the Conference Programming Committee that developed several technical programs for Interwire and the Wire Expo Operations Summit. He joined the WAI Board of Directors in 2013 and he served six years.

He served in officer roles culminating with his being appointed to president in 2016. He remains active as the chairman of the Nominating Committee.

Talbot hosted a tour of Mid-South Wire in conjunction with the 2018 Operations Summit Wire Expo and has facilitated tours of the company for several Wire Link Traveling Scholars. He was also instrumental in the creation of the HardWIRED video series and facilitated the production of multiple HardWIRED videos.

Prior to joining Mid-South Wire in 1999, Talbot served as plant manager of the Metrock Steel & Wire Plant (now Leggett and Platt) in Montevallo, Alabama, and as plant engineer for Elco Industries/Anchor Wire

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Division. He worked for several years as an independent wire processing consultant, traveling to Russia, China, Peru, and various parts of Europe and the U.S. Wrote one nominator, “I have come to know Andy as a true professional. Andy has given tirelessly as a volunteer on boards, committees Talbot and with his presence at the events.

During my tenure on the Executive Committee, Andy volunteered his headquarters for us to hold Executive Committee meetings.”

Commented another nominator, “Aside from the multitude of career achievements, he is a very personable guy and is able to make people feel at ease from the moment you meet him. Andy is also very good at listening to people he is engaged with and is always offering his know-how and support before you even get the chance to ask for it.”

Talbot will be honored at Wire Expo 2020.

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NEWS

MEET YOUR PEERS. ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS. JOIN WAI TODAY. The following individuals either recently joined WAI or became Platinum Members through their companies.

Meng Chong Chief Executive Officer Triangle Cables

Tim Leeth Operations Master Planner Encore Wire Corp

Jordan Noone CTO Relativity Space

Richard Trahan Sales Engineer Champlain Cable Corp

Rod Fischer Director of Sales Teknor Apex Co

Daniel McCaulley Research and Development Manager Encore Wire Corp

Jon Ringhofer Senior Buyer Relativity Space

Ben Weatherford R&D Project Specialist Encore Wire Corp

Bruce Tharp Quality Control Encore Wire Corp

Max Xu President Hebei Beyde Trading Co

Scott Thompson Process Engineer Encore Wire Corp

Barry Zeidenberg Director of Marketing Communication Nexans Energy

Dennis Force Director, Corporate Accounts W L Gore Yoon Hwa Jo Asia Journal Sharon H Labelle CEO Resistance Welding Controls LLC

George Miller Process Engineer Wire & Cable Miller Consulting LLC Alan Nix Plant Manager Encore Wire Corp

Carino to speak on ‘Improving Hiring Practices’ at Feb. 27 WAI webinar Peter Carino, the principal of Wire Resources, will share knowledge gained during his 37 years as a head hunter working exclusively in the wire and cable industry, during a WAI webinar that will be held at 11 am EST on Thursday, Feb. 27.

In his “Improving Hiring Practices” webinar, Carino will cover a range of topics, from what a company should include in their search process for new talent as well as a couple of critical questions many hiring authorities miss asking before making a job offer.

Wire Resources was founded in 1967, and Carino joined the company in 1982. He specializes in mid-senior level management positions in sales and marketing, manufacturing, engineering and general management.

As this production represents a relaunch of the Association’s webinar series, registration will be free and open to everyone. The webinar will last for 45 minutes, and participants will be able to send in anonymous questions. WJI Editor Mark Marselli will serve as moderator.

To register in advance for the webinar, use this url: bit.ly/WAI-Hiring.

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Energized by electrical wire.

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WIRE. It moves the unseen. And it delivers energy far beyond our vantage point.

If you are on a mission to learn about electrical wire, you will want access to the flow of current information from this global sector. But don’t go it alone.

Think of the Wire Association International (WAI) as a collection of connections that can help you meet your educational and manufacturing goals straightaway. That’s our mission and it has been for 90 years.

Join forces with peers who are centered on electrical wire. Get training and industry news.

Meet influencers and experts. WAI is the only choice for wire industry professionals unless, of course, you’d rather get to “B” on your own.

Use the QR code to reveal why members around the world rely on WAI for career advancement.

JOIN TODAY: www.wirenet.org

NEWS

Attendee registration is now open for Wire Expo 2020.

Exhibitors can now access everything they need online.

New system makes online Wire Expo registration simpler for attendees and exhibitors WAI has simplified the online registration process for attendees and exhibitors, with one of the improvements making it easier to sign up multiple individuals.

All past WAI event attendees were sent an e-mail with their unique passcode to register. Anyone in the system should see their fields auto-filled, and those who need to create an account should find it easy.

For attendees, the new system offers a clear starting point. Enter http://bit.ly/we20attend in a search engine,

and you will find four registration options: all access, Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing, conference registration and exhibits only.

For exhibitors, you can enter http://bit.ly/we20exhibit, and then either access or create an account, and visit the exhibitor resource center. The one-stop site will cover everything from the exhibitor manual to registration, entering booth personnel, hotel reservations, and more.

Keynote speaker, lauded filmmaker, will focus on the most important role there is A keynote speaker for WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2020 will be unlike any who has previously appeared at a WAI event.

When Brett Culp, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, takes center stage on Wednesday, June 3, he has a message for attendees. Each person has a superhero within and their own path to “everyday leadership.”

If that sounds like it might be a rah-rah, touchy-feely experience, it’s not.

The presentation will be passionate, energetic and engaging, without a trace of sappiness.

Culp is best known for his films, such as Legends of the Knight, and Look to the Sky, both of which explore the power of heroic stories and heroic individuals to inspire us to believe in a better tomorrow. His films are featured on Netflix, iTunes, Hulu and other top digital platforms.

In his approach, Culp has pioneered the art of creating “mini-movements” that inspire the super-human spirit in us all. His unique approach to community-building and relationship-driven engagement invites people to connect with a noble vision and make a difference together. His goal is to inspire people to engage in a passionate, meaningful mission that leaves a positive impact on the world and brings out the heroic spirit in us all.

Culp’s insights connect individuals to an organization’s mission and goals, helps them realize their greatest personal and business potential, and renews their collective sense of hope for the future and belief that their efforts can make an impact.

He also is the founder of the not-for-profit, The Rising Heroes Project.

For more details about this extraordinary person, go to www.brettculp.com.

WAI will have three keynote speakers. See future issues for more details.

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NEWS

The ‘book’ on WAI Technical Advisor Dane Armendariz has an open chapter Dane Armendariz, a WAI past president (2010), was recently named the Association’s first Technical Advisor. Below he shares his thoughts on what he hopes to do in this one-year post.

The WAI has been a great resource for me, and has led to a lot of good friendships over the years. When I was asked to come back and assist the education department, I was excited, but also not sure what would be expected.

It made me think back to a physics class I had taken long, long ago. The professor entered the room, stared at all us students, many of whom were in a state of uncertainty if not utter fear of what was to come, and uttered a single unexpected statement: “Life is an open-book test.” At the time, I did not truly understand what he meant, but over the years it began to make sense. While the class did not transform me to a physics maven, his “intro” led me to think differently, and that goes for how I want to approach this new opportunity.

The WAI has a great Fundamentals program, technical papers, a growing library of HardWIRED videos, webinars and Production Solution presentations at its trade shows. So what can I do to improve it? That’s where I want to employ a “life is an open book” theme. Rather than guess what readers want, I want you to help us develop a meaningful outline of where this should go.

The first part is simple: what programs and topics would you like the WAI to develop? We have plenty of venues, so it could be a simple topic or something very complicated. Let’s take this one level higher. What topics should we be developing now that will be useful to you in the next three to five years? Where does your company want to be in the future, and how might the WAI assist in that journey? We want to be a strong

resource, but it has to start with your ideas.

The second part is also simple, but requires more participation. Each of us becomes an expert in an area as we move through our careers.

Are you willing to share your experience? That could be Armendariz participating in a webinar or similar venue. Volunteering to be part of a program is a great way to share your thoughts and ideas. Most meetings and venues are done by conference call, so time demands are reasonable.

I have one firm goal I hope to achieve in my short time as technical advisor: in the future, I want as many of you as possible to be able to look at the educational resources available to you from the WAI, and feel a sense of pride because you had a part in their creation and direction!

The funny thing about an open-book test is that it can still be tricky to find the right answers in the allotted time. Think of this journey as creating an industry “textbook.” I’m asking you to please take a few minutes to think about what issues should be covered in those pages. Your ideas matter, so e-mail me your thoughts and suggestions. Let’s create a legacy that reflects the best of who we are and what we did in this industry.

Dane Armendariz, darmendariz@wirenet.org

Points Meeting for Interwire 2021 to be held at WAI headquarters on March 12

From the back of table, left, around, at the Interwire 2019 Points Meeting are Tom Siedlarz, a WAI volunteer, WAI’s Jennifer LaValley, WAI volunteer Joe Snee, WAI’s Chuck Szymaszek, Steve Fetteroll, Bob Xeller and Shannon Timme.

At right, WAI’s Dave LaValley updates the results.

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The Points Meeting for Interwire 2021 is set for Thursday, March 12, at WAI’s headquarters in Madison, Connecticut, where WAI volunteers Tom Siedlarz and Joe Snee are expected to help staff complete the process.

At the 2019 Points Meeting for Interwire, 120 booths were contracted for, representing approximately 60% of the available floor space. “This is always a team effort, and we appreciate Tom and Joe helping out,” said Sales Director Bob Xeller, who added that the process is yearround. He predicted that the results would be similar.

One unknown is the status of Chinese exhibitors.

At Interwire 2017, some 80 to 90 Chinese exhibitors accounted for 10,000 sq ft of floor space, but the numbers dropped drastically in 2019 due to trade tensions. That status may or may not change, Xeller said. n

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CHAPTER NETWORK New England Chapter continues to thrive The New England Chapter’s strong base was once again on display at its annual dinner meeting, with more than 120 attendees at the Mohegan Sun getting a recap of a good past year and plans for 2020.

Outgoing Chapter President Richard Goyette thanked all those involved with making possible the golf tournament and educational programs, such as the Nov. 7 tour of Davis Standard, and the scholarship program. He introduced his successor, Jeff Lawrence, who said he expects an active year.

“I look forward to working with this talented group of officers, directors and members,” he said. “WAI is an organization with a distinguished past, a successful present and an exciting future.”

The 2020 officers were officially introduced. President: Jeff Lawrence, Elkem, Inc.; Vice President: John Accorsi, M. Holland; Secretary: Jim Evans, Web Industries; Treasurer: Mark Sarni, Insulated Wire; and Past President: Richard Goyette, EIS Wire & Cable Co. While mingling is always a prime attraction, the meeting saw an unexpected chapter “quiz” (see p. 4) that kept those sitting at each table busy. Attendees also got to hear the story of 2013 scholarship winner Alex Cooper, the son of Mark Cooper, PolyOne. Alex was hired as a systems analyst by Raytheon. One of his first projects for the defense conglomerate? It was testing the automated tolling system of the Mass Pike, driving from gantry to gantry from 11 pm to 3 am. He worked for Raytheon for four years, then shocked his parents by going to Dalkia Energy Solutions, a much smaller business, one with a different culture and experience. He thanked chapter members for the scholarship that helped him pursue opportunity and direction in his career.

Attendees were also reminded by John Rivers of upcoming industry events, including WCMA’s awards dinner on April 18, Wire Expo on June 2-4, the chapter golf tournament on Sept. 15, and the Monterrey ITC on Oct. 27-29. Look for more news in this section in future issues.

Sponsors for the event included the following. Platinum: Elkem Inc., Insulated Wire, Inc., Gem Gravure, James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp., and Lloyd & Bouvier. Gold: Carris Reels, Chroma Color, Fluoropolymer Resources; M. Holland, Multi-Cable Corp., PolyOne, Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp., and Quirk Wire. Silver: Accel, Conneaut Industries, Electric Cable Compounds, Fluorogistx, SCC Specialty Cable Corp., and Rainbow Rubber & Plastics.

Bronze: Arkema, iNOEX and W. Gillies Technologies. n

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Outgoing chapter President Richard Goyette with 2020 President Jeff Lawrence.

Alex Cooper with parents Mark and Cindy.

The 2020 board: ft. row, l-r: Pres. Jeff Lawrence, Treasurer Michael Sarni, Vice Pres. John Accorsi, Secretary Jim Evans and Past Pres. Richard Goyette; middle: Jonathan Rufe, Jessica Foss, Bob Swanson, Bill Wright, Lori Parent, Joel Cacopardo and John Rivers; back: Jason Sterndale, Harish Panchal, Michael Roussel and Chris Brooks.

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Staffing Crisis Wire and cable staffing is a tale of tide-like unequal extremes. At one end of the work force is an incoming trickle of young people, while at the other end is a steady outflow of retiring industry veterans. Many potential candidates simply do not aspire to work in a factory. So where does that leave employers?

This feature focuses on what one manufacturer, Radix Wire, has done to make the factory experience attractive to top talent, and more.

Finding future key staffers can be an academic experience In 2017, Radix Wire & Cable (Radix Wire), based in Cleveland, Ohio, launched a co-op program initiated by Director of Engineering Dean Moore, who linked up with the University of Akron. Below, he discusses what has happened. This story, however, is not a “one-parter” as the collective pieces—which include the rationale for doing this, and comments from the university liaison and two of the interns—present a fuller sense of what has been done. Of note, it is a template that can be employed elsewhere.

WJI: Before we go into your co-op program, we want to ask how and why Radix Wire changed its approach to finding new employees: how did that come to be?

Moore: I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. We’d hire an engineer for a specific role or opportunity, whether it be manufacturing or engineering or product development. That would kind of be their role, and they would move on from that. What’s changed is that I’ve seen that we miss out when we pigeonhole positions. Now, I look to see if a person fits the organization culturally, not just for a particular job. That goes especially for someone young in their career.

WJI: What do you look for?

Moore: You can get somebody to fill a job. I want a person who can help move things forward, someone whose reply to a challenge isn’t “I can’t.” That takes a person who can look beyond what’s right in front of them. What I mean by that is that for an engineer, things are always changing. So maybe a project or a product is not feasible today based on costs or the manufacturing process, but technology changes so quickly that maybe an ambitious person can look beyond what’s right in front of them and see potential solutions.

WJI: Assuming a candidate has to be pretty smart to earn an engineering degree, isn’t that enough?

Moore: You’d be surprised, but an engineering curriculum kind of drains some of that big view out of a person. Someone who’s been in the field 20 years has seen things work or fail, and unless they have the right personality, it’s hard to have the ambition, the ability, to see things differently. Most of the younger or less experienced engineers, you can help teach them that approach.

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Carino to speak on ‘Improving Hiring Practices’ at Feb. 27 WAI webinar

Carino

Peter Carino, the principal of Wire Resources, will share knowledge gained during his 37 years as a head hunter working exclusively in the wire and cable industry, during a WAI webinar that will be held at 11 am EST on Thursday, Feb. 27.

In his “Improving Hiring Practices” webinar, Carino will cover a range of topics, from what a company should include in their search process for new talent as well as a couple of critical questions many hiring authorities miss asking before making a job offer.

Wire Resources was founded in 1967, and Carino joined the company in 1982. He specializes in mid-senior level management positions in sales and marketing, manufacturing, engineering and general management.

As this production represents a relaunch of the Association’s webinar series, registration will be free and open to everyone. The webinar will last for 45 minutes, and participants will be able to send in anonymous questions. WJI Editor Mark Marselli will serve as moderator.

To register in advance for the webinar, use this url: bit.ly/WAI-Hiring.

WJI: So how did your desire to find young engineers with the right “big picture” outlook lead you to the University of Akron?

Moore: We started this program two and a half years ago and to date we have nine students taking part. Through the College of Engineering at the University of Akron, a student who completes his or her sophomore year can get placed in the program.

They begin alternating school with 16 weeks of full-time work here. Three of the interns are graduating this May, and the other six are in the rotation. So, this is our first class that’s graduating, and I’m pleased to say that all three have expressed interest in the field. Two want to join us, and the third relocated to Oregon, and through references, he was able to get a job out there.

Moore

WJI: So what did your three interns do?

Moore: We wanted to help shape the students who came here. We built the program to get what I see as the full spectrum experience, with transferable skills. They got to experience process engineering, product engineering and product development in a factory. We started off by having them run equipment with the operators so they would be familiar with all the processes we have, then we began to tie them into development projects. They ran those with guidance from either me or some of our engineers. They got involved with stage gate processes and concept design development. They not only had project management, but project ownership, and that included having them make presentations to the executive team as they progressed and at the end of each rotation. That included their impact on the company. They experienced engineering on a level that classes can prepare you for but cannot replicate.

WJI: How much were they able to learn?

Moore: A lot. By the time they’re done with our co-op program, if they go through the rotations, these interns are not entry-level engineers. They can compete with a two- to five-year engineer. So it’s worked out very well.

WJI: Could other companies do what you’ve done here, working with a local university?

Moore: Absolutely. The negative that I would see for mid-size or smaller companies is that the co-op arrangement takes time to get up to speed, and it obviously is a drain on resources. You’ve got to get the students and integrate them into the company and what you’re trying to do. We made sure that they were fully engaged with all the process product development. We sent them to large tech testing labs, and they’ve 

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 traveled with commercial guys to see stuff. Our whole approach is to see them integrated into what you’re trying to do. Then you can really see them either blossom or decide, “Hey, maybe this isn’t the right thing for me.”

WJI: How big an investment was this for Radix Wire?

Moore: There is a cost to being part of a co-op program, but we planned this so that if we hit a tough period, like a recession, we could protect the program, instead of just “cutting out the temps.” I make sure that for every rotation, the co-ops have high-value engineering activity. Our interns look for ways to improve process efficiencies, take cost out of a process or optimize a design. Jacob Bezon, for instance, led a value engineering project that resulted in improvements that add up to about $150,000 a year in savings. He obviously didn’t make $150,000, so the program more than paid for itself. Another big advantage of co-op interns is that they are not consumed by day-today stuff completely. They’re here for 16 to 18 weeks, and these are all projects that they can complete within their

rotation. They’re getting integrated into our system, and essentially they’re paying for themselves, and in doing so, there is a sense of pride at what they have achieved. That’s pretty impressive.

WJI: Any final thoughts on use of interns?

Moore: It might be tempting to see engineering interns as “cheap labor” from a technical standpoint. You could put them in an office cubicle and give them drawings to file or something like that, but that would be a real waste of potential, especially considering what they can offer.

WJI: What about the hiring of machine operators?

Moore: That continues to be difficult. I see that as a borderline skilled/unskilled labor. We’re trying to make it more of a skilled labor, but it’s not easy to compete with large warehouses with good starting pay. I think a future with us is brighter, but it remains a challenge.

The HR perspective on the Radix Wire experience Faced with lackluster results from its traditional hiring practices, Radix Wire Engineering Director Dean Moore lobbied for a co-op program ... and got it. Below, Human Resources Manager Pamela Kochman shares her thoughts on the results to date.

WJI: Prior to your co-op program, how did your company find new employees, and how would you describe the results in terms of hiring and retaining?

Kochman: Radix utilized job posting boards, and in some instances, outside recruiters.

Kochman For the most part it took three to six months to fill a position. After investing a considerable amount of time recruiting and interviewing, the results were a mixed bag, and oftentimes the culture fit was not good.

WJI: This program took a considerable, long-term investment of staff time: did you struggle some before giving Dean the go ahead, or were you fairly confident?

Kochman: Initially there was pushback throughout the organization, and especially in engineering. It was felt that there would be a lot of hand-holding with the co-ops, and instead of working on projects, our valuable engineers would be training co-ops who would be on board for only a brief period of time.

Dean sold me on his past experience with co-ops. He promised that their enthusiasm and fresh ideas would

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re-energize our staff and allow us to move forward on projects in a timely manner. It turned out that being able to evaluate the interns in a learning environment over a period of time was huge for us. Not only could we gauge their skillset, we could also determine their work ethic and culture fit, and we definitely agreed with Dean’s assessments of what he saw.

WJI: Your first “class” has resulted in two energetic, motivated interns committed to Radix Wire: how big is it to add such engineers to your workforce?

Kochman: The benefits are immeasurable. During orientation, the interns spend time with operators running machinery. They gain an understanding of the workforce and earn mutual respect.

At the same time, our incumbent engineers have the chance to mentor and transfer knowledge to eager learners. They, in turn, are refreshed by the influx of energy and can-do attitude. Having senior engineers and interns working side by side on projects yields amazing results.

WJI: Anything else you would like to note?

Kochman: The University of Akron has an outstanding co-op program. They prepare their students well to enter the workforce.

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F E AT U R E

A search for employees could find success at a co-op program Helping college students with engineering degrees might seem simple, but Deanna Dunn, executive liaison, engineering industrial placements and development at The University of Akron, reports that the right fit matters. She currently works with employers and alumni for the College of Engineering. Below, she shares her thoughts on job placements.

WJI: An engineering degree is seen as a ticket to a field with a wealth of opportunity: so what is it your office does to help students? What is it they need beyond that degree?

Dunn: The College of Engineering, under Director Stephanie Schindewolf, has a decentralized Co-op and Placement Office (Co-op). I was director of it until I retired in June 2017. I now work with employer relations and alumni engagement. We assist students in their career efforts from start to finish, through co-ops, interns as well as full-time placement. Relevant learning is extremely important, not just for the additional technical learning and soft skills, but for the students to discover what they like and don’t like.

WJI: How do manufacturers and your students meet?

Dunn: Employers connect with us when they have needs, and we then post the opportunities to students. When the posting closes, we send candidates to the employer, who takes it from there. Our career fairs are also a good avenue.

WJI: We hear that Radix Wire’s program through the University of Akron has been stellar. How does it work?

Dunn: The Engineering Co-op Program, the fifth oldest in the U.S., is part of the College of Engineering. It offers eight engineering disciplines to students who complete sophomore requirements. They then alternate school with work (up to four co-op work periods) until they enter their senior year, when they are in school both semesters. The five-year plan combines traditional campus academic work with practical on-the job employment. It enables students to gain one year of practical experience within industry as well as give employers the chance to train and develop promising young students in the operations of their firms.

The Co-op helps orient students to the work-a-day world.

This contributes to a greater sense of responsibility, maturity and confidence in their own judgments; the ability to

The University of Akron’s College of Engineering partners with manufacturers through its Co-op programs.

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earn money while getting a quality college education, and—most importantly—a competitive edge in the job market.

WJI: In terms of completing a degree, do some students find it hard to transition back into school mode after working? Have you tallied results for how students in this program have done?

Dunn

Dunn: In my opinion, Co-op is definitely a retention success. The students take a break from academics, earn money, apply what they have learned, and time moves very quickly. Having the alternating piece provides diversity of college life versus corporate life. Placing a student in the real life of a training engineer helps them find out if this degree is what they want before they invest any further.

Most students come back rejuvenated and ready to tackle the academics in a different way. The Co-op builds three skills crucial for a young engineer: technical aptitude, technology proficiency and strong soft skills. Those that do not co-op have a far tougher recruitment time in their senior year.

WJI: Have more manufacturers contacted your office to take part in this? Do you see this approach being accepted and offered more elsewhere?

Dunn: Yes. I think the Co-op recipe is a success for employers. Recruitment is expensive. Making a wrong choice is also expensive. Co-op lends itself to the saying, “Try before you buy.” Employers have the opportunity to train, mold and evaluate critical skill sets.

WJI: Anything you would like to add?

Dunn: The more a company puts in the program, the better it works. I’m not surprised about the success at Radix because its engineering director, Dean Moore, is an alum.

He co-oped as a student here. Upon graduation and being in the workforce for a few years, he came back to us (which we very much appreciate) and went on the other side of the table. He recruits and trains young engineers. Thus, our program is full circle. Many start as Co-op(s), graduate, work a few years, then come back to our college and recruit for their own departments/companies. Those are the best managers. They understand the concept of Co-op.

For more details about the program, contact Director Stephanie Schindewolf at tel. 330-972-7867, stepha1@ uakron.edu.

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The take from 2 co-op students headed to Radix Wire & Cable So what matters to a young potential engineer candidate? WJI asked Jacob Bezon and Cannon Morgan, both seniors at The University of Akron, who each have completed three co-op rotations with Radix Wire & Cable, about their experiences.

WJI: Had you any knowledge of the wire and cable industry before you became an intern at Radix Wire?

Bezon: I had no previous knowledge. I did, however, have a strong understanding of manufacturing through previous family and work experience. What caught my eye at the career fair was the interesting certification testing and fascinating wire configurations.

Morgan: Before I interned at Radix Wire, I had some experience of polymer/rubber processing, but not of the specifics of the manufacturing of wires and cables.

WJI: What were your expectations of the experience, and what was the reality? How important was the mentoring?

Bezon: My expectations were different for each co-op rotation. I wanted the first to be more a “get your feet wet” kind of experience, and then gain more trust and responsibilities in later rotations.

In all honesty, my expectations were blown out of the water. I learned more than just engineering Bezon in my first rotation. I was able to experience the manufacturing, quality and even sales part of the company. Even better, I got a “hands on” approach in every task that I was given, and gained more responsibilities after each rotation.

Morgan: My expectations were that I would learn the ins and outs of the manufacturing process and the science behind it. The reality of it was exactly that, and a bit more.

I learned the entire process the company goes through to create a product, all the way from purchasing and routing of materials to the fabrication process to the sale/delivery to the consumer. The mentoring was important. It helped advance my knowledge in wire and cable but it also helped me grow as a young engineer. I realized that I did not want to spend my career working in a lab because working in R&D and in a production plant allowed for much more opportunity and allowed me to expand my knowledge in many different areas of expertise. I have also always been a hands-on learner, and I do not mind getting my hands dirty.

WJI: Did you feel that you were able to be a meaningful contributor? Did this work make your school classes seem more “real-world”?

Bezon: Yes, I definitely was. One of the most important opportunities was being able to contribute to our engineering technical meetings. Not only was I able to give updates on projects that I handled or assisted in, but I got the chance to speak up and give opinions on other projects. As for W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

school, I believe there is a disconnect between real-world industry and academia. I think there should be a “team-up” of the two, especially in engineering.

Morgan: I feel that I was a meaningful contributor. I had several product development projects as well as cost-reduction projects that I saw to completion that brought new sales/savings.

I was able to help the company fulfill production orders and to help other engineers complete Morgan their projects. It did make some of my classes seem more “realworld,” but not all of them. I’m a chemical engineer, so a lot of my classes are geared towards learning the processes and use of chemicals. We spend a lot of time learning how different reactors operate and things of that nature. Most of the knowledge I gained from school and used at Radix Wire was material science and physics.

WJI: How does it feel to be finishing school, knowing that you have a full-time job waiting?

Bezon: It is a huge relief. It is a great feeling knowing all the hard work that was put in before receiving a co-op and then all the hard work put in after is finally paying off.

Morgan: It is a good feeling. It takes some pressure off of the last semester. It is nice to have one less stressful thing to think about as I close out my college career and finally move into the real world.

WJI: Any other thoughts you would like to share?

Bezon: I would like to thank Radix Wire for this amazing experience and making myself a better, more rounded engineer. I expected to see a lot of hard work going on in the plant and having to get down and dirty for certain tasks.

I didn’t expect that I would actually be able to get hands-on experience doing many of the duties on the plant floor, which made my work experience even more valuable.

Morgan: When I entered the program at the University of Akron, it was optional to take the co-op track. I could have skipped it and graduated in four years instead of five. I am very happy about the path I took. I learned much through my co-op experience at Radix, and I got to meet many great people along the way. I originally did not want to co-op all three of my potential rotations at one company, but Radix was so amazing I did not want to leave. The work is fascinating and the people there are great. It has been an absolute pleasure working here as a co-op, and I am excited to continue my professional career here.

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Recruiter: industry story needs to be part of the hiring process The people who help companies find new staff well understand the challenge of the process. Below, Pati Kelly, executive recruiter for Egret Consulting Group (www.egretconsulting.com), responds to a single question about her field.

WJI: Why is labor such a dire problem for manufacturers, and what can they do to get better results when it comes to finding good employees?

Kelly: As a recruiter in the industry, I have spoken to more than a few industry leaders over the last six years.

Companies are having a harder time getting college graduates or younger people, and it’s not a surprise.

A 2019 Manufacturing Institute report, The Aging of the Manufacturing Workforce, finds that the extended economic expansion and record-low U.S. unemployment has led to a huge labor shortage.

A 2018 study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute estimates that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled between 2018 and 2028 because of the skills gap. That means there are fewer applicants, but more competition for them. Further, by 2030 one in five Americans will be 65 years old or older. By 2035, for the first time in U.S. history, retirement age Americans will outnumber the Americans under 18 years old. One last statistic, and it’s meaningful: as of 2017, nearly one-quarter of the manufacturing workforce was age 55 or older, and by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older.

This chart created for the Manufacturing Institute shows that personnel shortages are of utmost concern to companies.

Three hiring challenges stand out: younger people perceive that manufacturing work is dangerous or behindthe-times; there is not enough emphasis on vocational education and apprenticeships; and there is a geographic mismatch between younger “talent” that prefers to live near large growing cities, whereas manufacturing factories are often located outside large urban centers.

Some leaders I have talked to have loosened up their requirements. They try to reach outside of the industry to

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find new talent, while others have partnered with community colleges and local colleges.

They are educating the younger workforce that there is a lucrative and strong career path in the wire and cable and manufacturing industry. What we have seen is that companies Kelly that are successful in getting new employees tend to have the same approach.

The employers realize that they need to market their company, not the job. Candidates have a lot of choices, and they are interviewing you as a company as well as you are interviewing them. They have a lot of questions. They want to find out if there is a cultural fit, if they will be challenged, will they like who they are working with, will they have opportunities to move up and stay with the company, and what kind of impact the company has on the world.

It’s always about the money to some degree, but possibly not as much as you might think. When surveyed, both Gen Z and Millennials said they would take a job that had work flexibility over salary. They saw a work-life balance as a top priority. This flexibility can mean more vacation time, but it could also mean the opportunity to work flexible hours, or if feasible, to be able to work from home one or two days a week.

Some companies have streamlined the interview process.

There are several ways to do this. You can set up personal interviews, having candidates meet some of the team members they would be working with. You can have informal meetings, over a meal, so candidates and companies can open up in a more relaxed atmosphere. Companies that provide quick and immediate feedback will find candidates who are engaged and enthusiastic about joining the team.

We have seen companies lose good candidates because they had a great face-to-face interview, but then they wait more than three weeks before getting back to the candidate for the next step.

So do remember that while you are the one doing the hiring, the candidates are judging you on how you conduct business: if a company takes three to four weeks to make a decision, what might happen if the candidate is representing the company, and they need a quick answer to a solution for a customer or for pricing on a bid?

As an industry, we will continue to struggle finding employees. Good employees are hard to find. We all need to continue to tell people that the wire and cable industry has a great career path, and we will hopefully continue finding great leaders for our future.

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Hiring: the search within often is a better direction to take One common problem companies make in their hiring practices is that they are based on a yesteryear mindset that can be hard to change, notes Peter Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School. Below are excerpts from a recent presentation.

From the end of World War II through the 1970s, when many employees were “lifers,” companies filled some 90% of job openings by promotions and lateral assignments.

Today, that figure is a third or less.

Two reasons for going outside is to avoid paying to train and develop their employees, and the restructuring waves since the early 1980s has made it easier to find experienced talent. The result? Far fewer internal promotions. Retention has also become tougher: as companies hire from their competitors and vice versa, they have to keep replacing people. Per Census/Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 95% of hiring is done to fill existing positions, most of which came from a voluntary turnover. LinkedIn data shows that most employee moves were for career advancement, which can be traced back to a lack of opportunity.

Is outside talent sought because no current employee can handle a different, bigger role? Per one report, outside hires take three years to perform as well as internal hires in the same job, while internal hires take seven years to earn as much as outside hires are paid. Outside hiring also causes current employees to spend time and energy positioning

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themselves for jobs elsewhere. It disrupts the culture and burdens peers who must help new hires figure out how things work. Below are a few words of advice.

• Don’t post phantom jobs. Ads posted at a company website may simply be “fishing” or could be legit but many are never taken down. That leads to such ads being scooped up online, and the resulting “statistics” make the job market look tighter than it actually is.

• Focus on active job seekers. The top factors for people actively looking to go elsewhere is seldom just the money, but more often better work and career opportunities. In contrast, passive job seekers (those sought out by recruiters) are primarily interested in higher pay.

Who do you think will be more motivated?

• Less is more. Avoid the desire to see lots of applicants.

Instead, seek a smaller but better-qualified applicant pool. Here’s why: Every applicant costs you money— especially now, in a labor market where applicants have started to “ghost” employers, abandoning their applications midway through the process.

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Staffing: shortages are really felt if one wants to grow Dave Fisher, president of James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp., based in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, has a challenge. He has longterm ambitious plans for his company that will require more employees, yet finding the machine operators he expects to need is not going to be simple. Below, he shares his thoughts.

WJI: You have observed that finding a basic machine operator is very challenging. Why is that?

Fisher: We have always had issues filling machine operating positions in the shop. The biggest challenge is the 60-hour work week. A lot of people today do not want to put in those hours, and they don’t want to get their hands dirty. We need people who fit our culture. The crazy part is that our culture is good: yes, we work hard, and it’s not always easy, but if you pull your share, you will be treated with respect, and you will be rewarded for it.

WJI: Does a machine operator today have to know more?

Has the position gotten any easier or harder?

Fisher: The position isn’t any harder. In a way, that’s the easy part, because we know that we can teach new employees to run our equipment properly. What we can’t teach is a work ethic, the willingness to be flexible and to learn, and to just show up every day. Those that we have now do have that, but when you lose people to retirement or they move on or just want to do something different, we have to find new employees.

WJI: What do you do to find good employees?

Fisher: The best way, without a doubt, is through our existing employee base. They understand what we need here, and if someone gives us a recommendation for a prospect, we have a very good chance of getting a good fit. It’s not always that easy though, which is why we also use a local staffing agency to provide hopefully qualified candidates. They do a good job screening candidates, but overall we still get the best results from our “word-of-mouth” employee referrals. One benefit of the agencies is that we can “lease to own” for 90 days, and not have them on our

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books or benefits until we are sure one way or the other regarding full-time employment. I’d estimate that 95% of our referrals work out.

WJI: What happens when it’s not a single employee, but a lot more?

Fisher: That’s where it gets tricky.

We have plans to expand our capacity, and if we need to fill six or seven Fisher positions, or more, it puts a lot of stress into an operation. It’s one thing to teach a single person, but teaching/mentoring multiple people during a period that itself is going to see a lot of change makes it that much more difficult. It would be great to be able to hire a halfdozen veterans who know what to do, but that’s not reality.

For us to go forward with our plans, the easiest part may be adding the capacity. Getting staff to make that capacity a reality is crucial, and planning for it makes you very aware of the limitations you have as management. You need good people.

WJI: Would you favor more of a focus on trade schools?

Would you hire someone out of high school?

Fisher: I definitely support any approach that presents the manufacturing experience to young people fairly. I would welcome new hires out of high school for the sole reason of not having to unteach bad habits. I can start fresh with an individual, and teach and train them to fit our culture.

I recognize that this works both ways. We have to show potential employees that we care, and that means providing a “home” atmosphere that they can be comfortable in.

Manufacturing as a whole needs that opportunity.

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NAM: the positives of manufacturing have to be better known The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and The Manufacturing Institute have teamed up to reshape the public’s perception of manufacturing. Below are edited excerpts from a Q&A they did of their new joint “Creators Wanted” campaign (www.creatorswanted.org).

What is the “Creators Wanted” campaign?

It is meant to address Generation Z and Millennials.

Modern manufacturing provides the chance to create the future, but emerging workers aren’t flocking to our careers or even to apprenticeships and educational pathways. We have a perception problem.

Creators Wanted will travel to at least 20 states in 2020 as part of a long-term campaign to get more emerging workers to look at manufacturing careers as prizes to be had, not as consolation prizes. Creators Wanted is about building connections, growing in a career, and scaling up workforce programs to add more veterans, women, diverse communities and youth to manufacturers’ talent pipeline.

That’s going to take young people who either have a good

Why should students want a career in manufacturing?

First, we have plenty of opportunity. About half a million jobs are now open, and by 2028, we’ll need to fill 4.6 million jobs. Second, modern manufacturing jobs are rewarding. You can be a part of teams that are doing exciting work and have a job with a clear purpose, where you know your contribution makes a difference. Also, they often pay well, more than $80,000, and allow one to climb in their career without incurring massive college debt.

What will the campaign achieve?

Our goal is to reshape how most Americans view modern manufacturing. By 2025, we want to reduce the U.S. skills gap by 600,000, increase students in technical/vocational schools or reskilling programs by 25% and increase the 27% positive perception of industry by parents to 50%. 

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The effect of bearing length on the surface quality of drawn wires Research shows that bearing lengths from 20% to 40% had little difference on surface topograhy, but at 60%, the resulted was a flattened surface with less roughness.

By Joakim Larsson, Patrik Karlsson and Lars Pejryd

Introduction

is combined with the diameter of the die the two parameters that usually are specified when ordering dies. The die In the wiring drawing process tools called dies are used angle is an important parameter for the drawing process, it to deform the wire. The dies have been developed throughaffects how successful the lubrication will be. When the wire out the history. In the beginning of the wire drawing history surface moves in the die angle before it hits the die surface, wires were drawn through drawing stones, and still in some there is the gap between the wire and the die. As this gap companies the drawing dies are called stones. The oldest gets smaller when the wire is approaching the deformation drawing stones that have been found are from the 200 B.C. zone, the lubricant will be sucked into the deformation zone.

In the end of the 1800s diamond drawing dies was introLonger and tighter cone can improve the lubrication, but the duced around 30 years later dies made of cemented carbide process might get less stable. If the wire does not enter the was developed1. These are the materials that are still used in die perfectly straight, it might encounter one side of the die drawing dies today. already in the beginning of the cone. If this happens, that In the drawing die the properties of the finished wire is side of the wire might not be fully lubricated, leading to set, both the mechanical and the geometrical properties. immense problems in the drawing process. In the first draw Changing the geometrical properties of the die might change of a drawing machine it is common to have larger die angle the mechanical properties of the drawn wire. to compensate for the wire rod being not perfectly straight.

In the wire drawing process the dies are effected by wear Additionally, the die angle has a big impact of the inhomoas wire passes through them. This results in an increase of geneous deformation of the wire. drawn wire diameter, and when the wire are out of dimenAfter the die angle the drawing die has a straight part called sion the die need to be exchanged. During the exchange the bearing, often specified as a percentage of the diameter of the drawing machine has to be stopped. The changeover can be die. Many manufactures of drawing dies do not specify the quite time consuming. It has been shown that the changebearing length, but if it is specified it is often done using a 2 over times may range from 35 to over 230 minutes . Poorly wide span. It is in this straight part of the die that the diameter chosen drawing die properties can increase the die wear. It is and roundness of the wire is set, so it is of highest importance. therefore important to understand how When the bearing is worn out, the wire the drawing die should be designed for will be out of tolerance. After the bearoptimum performance. ing, is the exit angle, seldom specified Fig. 1 shows a typical schematic by the drawing die manufacturer. The sketch of a drawing die. The wire enter purpose of this is to ease the escape of the die from the left and the first part of residual lubricant from the drawing die. the die is called entrance angle/radii.

An important factor for the wear of This is a part which is seldom specithe dies and the energy consumption fied when buying drawing dies. The of the drawing process, is the force purpose of this area is to collect the required to pull the wire through the lubricant to follow the wire into the drawing die; the drawing force (F). This drawing die. force is dependent of the geometry of In the wire drawing process the wire the die, the material properties of the starts to deform as it hits the angled wire and the friction between the wire surface called the die angle or semi and the drawing die. The drawing force die angle (Îą). The semi die angle have been studied by many researchers Fig. 1. Key elements of a drawing die.

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and can be calculated in different ways 3–5. One of the most common ways to do this calculation is to use the formula (Eq. 1) derived by Sibel and Kobitzsch3.

(Eq. 1) where: A0 and A1 are the cross-sectional area of the wire before and after the reduction, Rem is the mean yield stress of the wire material before and after the draw and μ is the coefficient of friction between the wire and the die. The coefficient of friction in a dry drawing process normally lies between 0.01-0.076.

As can be seen the equation has no parameter for the bearing length, this is a common factor for most of the equations for drawing force. Thus, theoretically the bearing is assumed not to have any effect on the drawing force, meaning that there is no contact between the wire and the drawing die in the bearing area. This would mean that it would be possible to use very long bearings, which could possibly make the die life to increase. However, in practice this does not seem to be the case. Normally the manufacturer of dies specifies a bearing between 20-50%.

Long after the drawing force equations were derived, researchers have studied the drawing process using the finite element method, FEM7-18. Research studies that have included the bearing in the model show results that there actually is contact between the wire and the die in the bearing area, how much is however unclear. The contact between the wire and the die will lead to friction between the two surfaces.

This friction will create a frictional force working against the drawing direction. The frictional force will generate heat that will go into the die, leading to an increased die temperature. An increased die temperature might shorten the life of the die18,19. In the bearing area, the lubricant may have lost some of its functionality due to the heat that was introduced during the deformation of the wire. Metallic contact between the wire and the die might appear in the bearing, which could cause damages to the wire surface. A longer bearing might increase the risk of metallic contact, since, the contact length between the wire and the die will increase.

Choosing the optimal bearing length is a challenge. It is desirable to have a long bearing because that will generate more material that can wear before the die becomes out

Fig. 2. Measurement of drawing die with sharp and rounded transition from die angle to bearing.

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of tolerance. But it should not be too long because this can increase the heat in the drawing die, which might cause the lubricant to decay and cause the die to wear at an increased rate6. Even if the choice of bearing length is well thought through, it might be difficult to verify that the actual length is corresponding to the ordered specification.

The bearing length is in the literature specified as the straight part of the die. In schematic figures of a drawing die the transition from the die angle to the bearing area is normally presented as very sharp, as shown in Fig. 1. In reality the transition can vary, from sharp to smooth. There are different thoughts of which type is the most preferable. Fig. 2 show drawings of two drawing dies with the same bearing length but with different transitions from the die angle to the bearing. If only the absolute straight part of the die is considered as the bearing, measurements of the bearing length for the two example dies would differ. However, this type of measurement is not reliable since it is difficult to define when the geometry changes from being slightly curved to being straight. The only repeatable way to measure the bearing length is to analyze where the cones created by the die angle and exit angle cross the cylinder made by the bearing. Fig. 2 shows this type of measurement. This measurement was used in the present study.

The optimum bearing length would give a die that would last long, but even if the life time of the die is satisfying the wire that is produced needs to be useable (with desirable surface quality). According to the theory the bearings interaction with the wire is limited3–6. However, the trend in the industry seems to be to use rather short bearing lengths.

This study was, therefore, performed with the purpose to try to give some clarity on the influence of the bearing length on the drawing process. In this paper particularly on the surface of the processed wire. In the study wire drawing experiments were performed drawing the same type of wire through drawing dies with different bearing lengths.

Materials and methods Experimental setup. The experiments involved in this study were all performed at the wire drawing research lab at Örebro University in Sweden. The drawing line contains of a single block drawing machine and a driven rotating payoff shown

Fig. 3. Research drawing line at Örebro University..

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Table 1. Geometrical parameters for the drawing dies used in the experiments. in Fig. 3. The drawing machine have been equipped with sensors to measure all the process parameters.

Four different wire drawing experiments were performed, all using the same type of wire from the same batch, pre-drawn in the same sequence. The experiment is performed on the last draw in a four die drawing series. The wire used for the experiments was a high strength carbon steel.

The drawing dies were measured before the experiments using a contour measurement device measuring the bearing length (Mitutoyo Contracer CV-1000) with a measurement error of less than 3%. Die diameters was measured using an optical micrometer with an accuracy of 2 Îźm. The results from these measurements are presented in Table 1.

After the performed experiments, wire samples from each experiment were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a ZEISS Gemini Sigma 300 VP. The surface topography was studied using white light interference profilometry using a WYKO NT9100. Since the definition of a good wire surface is different for each type of wire product, the investigation is made to give understanding how the surface is affected when the bearing length is changed.

Results and discussion Before the experiments, the wire rod and wire drawn in one step was investigated using SEM, to give understanding of the origin of the wire drawn in the experiments. Fig. 4a shows the SEM analysis of the wire rod, the results show a continues surface layer with some small scratches. Fig. 4b show the wire after one draw, cracks in the wire surface can be seen.

These cracks are perpendicular to the drawing direction.

After performed wire drawing experiments the resulting wire surfaces was investigated. In addition to surface anal-

ysis using SEM, surface roughness of the drawn wire was measured by mean of optical profilometry. Results regarding surface roughness, Ra, are mean values from three performed measurements on each wire sample. See Fig. 4. It shows that the shortest bearing gives the roughest surface and that the longest bearing gives the smoothest surface.

Investigations was also performed using SEM, the presented images are typical for each sample. The top layer of the wire surface (grey in the SEM pictures), has cracked perpendicular to the drawing direction and got flattened in different manners depending on the bearing length. Two different types of SEM detectors were used in each spot on each sample. A detector for secondary electrons (SE2) which was used to study the topography of the wire surface and a backscattered electron detector (BSD) which was used to study differences in the metallic wire surface. In the images captured using the SE2 detector residual lubricant can be seen on the wire surface. This is shown as white spots in the images and indicates that drawing process had a functional lubrication process. The BSD detector used in the present study gave a better view of the wire surface.

Fig. 6 shows results from surface analysis of wire surfaces by means of SEM, using the SE2 detector, after wire drawing experiments using dies with different bearing lengths.

Fig. 6a-c show typical surfaces from the experiments where dies with 20%, 30% and 40% bearing lengths were used. As seen in Fig. 6a-c the surfaces had similar appearance in SEM and residual lubricant can be observed on areas of the wire surface. Fig. 6d shows the wire drawn with 60% bearing, the image shows a surface which seems to have less residual lubricant.

Fig. 4. Wire surface prior to testing analyzed by means of SEM at 500x magnification. a) Wire rod used in the experiments. b) Wire surface after one reduction.

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Fig. 5. Surface roughness values (Ra) of measured wire samples from each wire drawing tests.

Fig. 7. Surfaces of wires drawn with different bearing lengths analyzed by means of SEM at 500x magnification using the BSD detector. The different bearing lengths seen are a) 20%, b) 30%, c) 40% and d) 60%.

Fig. 6. Surfaces of wires drawn with different bearing lengths analyzed by means of SEM at 500x magnification using the SE2 detector. White spots are residual lubricant.

The different bearing lengths seen are a) 20%, b) 30%, c) 40% and d) 60%..

Fig. 8. Analysis of proportion of grey top layer in SEM images captured using an BSD detector of the wire samples drawn with different bearing lengths.

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Fig. 7 shows images from surface analysis of drawn wires

by SEM using the BSD detector. As can be seen the images can be arranged in the same manner as in Fig. 6. The wire samples in Fig. 6ac have similar width of the grey top layer islands. Fig. 6d show the surface of the wire drawn using 60% bearing and it seems to have larger islands of top layer material. Since the perpendicular cracks probably occurs due to the elongation of the wire, Fig. 4, and as the same ingoing wire was used for all the experiments, the width should be similar in all images. This indicate that there might have been more deformation on the wire surface in Fig. 7d, causing the top layer to be flattened. This is supported by the surface measurement showing a smoother surface for the wire drawn with 60% bearing.

However, to verify that there is more area covered with the top layer an image analysis has been performed on the SEM pictures captured with the BSD detector. The result of this analysis is presented in Fig. 8. The results show that the grey area cover more of the wire surface for the wire drawn with 60% bearing, Fig. 7d.

Fig. 9 compares two results: a) 60% and b) 30% in higher magnification (3000 x). The islands in Fig. 9a show indications of micro cracks which cannot be seen in Fig. 9b. Fig. 9a also shows that the pockets between the islands, which in the other samples are filled with lubricant, seems to be filled with material from the islands (since the area is grey instead of black when using the BSD detector). This can be interpreted as that the surface have been subjected to higher deformation forces for the 60% bearing case. This could indicate that there has been metallic contact between the wire and the die, causing a heavy deformation of the peaks of the top surface layer.

This might have smeared out material from the islands, resulting in coverage of previously observed lubrication pockets seen in wire samples drawn with 20-40% bearing lengths.

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Fig. 9. Surfaces of wires drawn with different bearing lengths analyzed by means of SEM using a BSD detector at 3000x magnification, a) 60% and b) 30%. SEM images captured using an BSD detector.

of the methods indicated the same phenomena. The wire drawn using dies with 20-40% bearing length do not show any significant differences. The results from analysis of the wire drawn using the drawing die with 60% in bearing length, however, shows a different surface than the other wire samples.

The surface roughness measurement indicates that the wire drawn with 60% bearing is smoother than the other wire samples, Fig. 5. Results from the SEM analysis of the drawn wire with the same bearing indicate that there is less cavities, Fig. 7d and 9a. Hence, both methods indicate that wire drawing using 60% bearing length results in a smoother surface than wire processed with shorter bearing. This may indicate that there was more metallic contact between the die and the wire in the case with the longest bearing. Other studies have shown that when this type of wire is drawn with poor lubrication the surface gets smoother, before the wire starts to tear due to galling and becomes rougher20. In the SEM images of the wire drawn with the die with 60% bearing there is very little residual lubricant compared to the images of the other samples. This is in agreement with the hypothesis that longer bearings may lead to higher temperatures in the die and thereby to potential problems with the lubrication in the bearing area.

In the case with longer bearing the metallic contact can be caused by two things. The lubricant might decompose by the increased temperature created by the additional frictional heat, which is suggested by the literature6. This is probably what have happened in the performed experiments since there is less lubricant left on the 60% sample. This would in turn lead to increased risk of metal contact between the wire and the die. Secondly, longer bearing does in itself increase the risk of metallic contact since the possible contact length between the wire and the die is longer.

Conclusions The effect of the bearing length on the quality of the wire surface was investigated. Bearing lengths from 20-40% and 60% were included in the study. The results showed that for bearing lengths 20%, 30% and 40% there is no significant difference in the surface topography. The results from the

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experiment drawn with 60% bearing however, shows a flattened surface with 30% lower surface roughness (Ra), possibly due to the longer contact area in the bearing.

Further studies need to be carried out, where a wider span of bearing lengths are included. Also, experiments using different wire materials should be performed. This study only used one type of carbon steel. Additionally, it would be interesting to run longer experiments, investigating the wear rate depending on the bearing length.

References 1. L.E. Persson, A short history of wire drawing, Wire Ind., 72, 2005, pp. 387–390.

2. K. El-Amine and L. Pejryd, Study and optimization of changeover procedures in wire drawing, 7th Swedish Prod. Symp. (SPS 16), 2016.

3. E. Siebel and R. Kobitzsch, Die Erwärmung des Ziehgutes biem Drahtzienhen, Stahl Und Eisen, 63, 1942, pp.

110–114.

4. J.G. Wistreich, The fundamentals of wire drawing, Metallurgical Reviews, Rev., 3, 1958/online July 2013, pp. 97–142.

5. B. Avitzur, Handbook of metal-forming processes, Wiley, 1983. https://books.google.se/books?id=0_ ZTAAAAMAAJ. 6. R. Shemenski, Ferrous Wire Handbook, Wire Association International, 2008.

7. N. Neimarlija, L. Škerget and M. Delic, The BEM analysis of heat transfer in technological process of drawing wire, Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, Vol. 20, Issue 3, Oct. 1997, pp. 261-267.

8. H. Överstam, The influence of bearing geometry on the residual stress state in cold drawn wire, analysed by the FEM, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 171, Issue 3, Feb. 1, 2006, pp. 446-450 9. M. Jarl and H. Överstam, Simulation of temperatures in the wiredrawing process, Wire Journal International, Feb. 2008, pp. 150–155.

10.S.M. Weygand, H. Riedel, B. Eberhard and G. Wouters, Numerical simulation of the drawing process of tungsten

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wires, International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, Vol. 24, July 2006, pp. 338-342.

11. D.J. Celentano, M.A. Palacios, E.L. Rojas, M.A. Cruchaga, A.A. Artigas and A.E. Monsalve, Simulation and experimental validation of multiple-step wire drawing processes, Finite Elements in Analysis and Design, Vol. 45, Issue 3, February 2009, pp. 163-180.

12. D.J. Celentano, Thermomechanical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Wire Drawing Processes, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, Vol. 25, July 2010, pp. 546-556.

13. H.M. Baek, Y.G. Jin, S.K. Hwang, Y.-T. Im, I.-H. Son, and D.-L. Lee, Numerical study on the volution of surface defects in wire drawing, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, April 2012, pp. 776–785.

14. T. Massé, L. Fourment, P. Montmitonnet, C. Bobadilla and S. Foissey, The optimal die semi-angle concept in wire drawing, examined using automatic optimization techniques, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Sept. 2013, pp. 377–389.

15. H.G. Hosseinabadi and S. Serajzadeh, A coupled stream function-finite element analysis for wire drawing processes, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 57 (2011) 917–926. doi:10.1007/s00170-011-3344-0.

16. J. Larsson and M. Jarl, Högre draghastigheter / Temperaturens inverkan, NTTF, 2011, pp. 51–58.

17. J. Larsson, H. Johansson-Cider and M. Jarl, Temperatures in the wiredrawing processmeasurements and simulations, presented at IWCS 2013, Wire Journal International, Feb. 2014.

18. J. Larsson and M. Jarl, Högre draghastighet, Nordisk trådteknisk förening (NTTF), Årsb., 2012. pp. 63–70.

19. L. Pejryd and J. Larsson, Additively manufactured tool holder for wire drawing processes, European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA), 2018 proceedings.

20. J. Larsson, A. Jansson and P. Karlsson, Monitoring and evaluation of the wire drawing process using thermal imaging, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, April 2019, pp. 2121-2134.

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Pejryd Joakim Larsson is a research engineer in the mechanical engineering department of Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden. He has been working in wiredrawing research and development for the last nine years, both in the industry and in academia. He has more than 15 publications to his credit in the field of wiredrawing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Patrik Karlsson is a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at Örebro University. He is experienced in experimental research related to mechanical and materials engineering, and his current work includes research on complex material systems and manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing and wiredrawing. He is also involved in higher education, and serves as the program director for the BSc mechanical engineering program at Örebro University. Lars Pejryd is a professor of mechanical engineering at Örebro University. For more than three decades he has been active in industry as well as academia in research and development of materials and manufacturing methods that are in use by the mechanical industry. His scientific work comprises more than 100 scientific papers and three patents. His publications cover a broad field of manufacturing methods and materials. His current work includes additive manufacturing, wiredrawing, and development and use of computed tomography methods (CT). This paper was presented at Interwire 2019, Atlanta, Georgia, May 2019.

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Technological progresses in the coating and lubrication of wire rod and a new type of tungsten carbide dies by a new experimental equipment simulating wiredrawing This paper, a collaboration between staff from two universities and the companies Tecnovo and Koner of Tkt Group, Italy, presents research about a new environmentally friendly lubricant carrier and a new tungsten carbide wiredrawing die.

By Eng. Giancarlo Arrighetti, Dr. Thomas Morge, Dr. Lorena Emanuelli, Eng. Giovanni Garoli and Dr. Enrico Cazzulo

Introduction In wiredrawing, in particular for steel, the presence of an additional layer of a different material over the wire is required before actually drawing the wire: this is the so-called “lubricant carrier.” Placing an additional layer between the wire and the drawing dies—in addition to the solid lubricant—provides more protection against wear and helps retain the lubricant inside the dies thanks to an increased surface roughness. Often, several others feature are required, such as: high-water solubility to easily remove the coating at the end of the drawing process, alkaline pH to neutralize residual acidity coming from pickling; corrosion inhibitor properties to protect the metal during and after the drawing; and flame retardant properties, as well as others.

The most widely used carrier is sodium tetraborate (borax), which is not expensive and performs extremely well for the cost. However, borax is toxic to fertility and to the environment, and its low solubility makes it difficult to remove at the end of the drawing process and to deal with it in the treatment baths. For such reasons, research of substitutes of borax in the wiredrawing industry is important.

New formulated products have been investigated and studied to replicate borax’s properties: the research involved an electrochemical study of different corrosion inhibitors, then a characterization of the physical properties of the product (morphology and thermal stability of the layer, viscosity of the treatment solution) and, finally, tests on a drawing machine.

In this study, both organic and inorganic chemicals have been investigated as a “filming agent” for the formulation of

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the carrier coating. The formulation is labelled as F1 and F2 for those based on inorganic salts, and F3 and F4 for those that are polymer based. Different results have been obtained, and are discussed here from a practical point of view.

Formulation and characterization of lubricant carriers: experimental setup Corrosion tests: measurement of the open circuit potential and polarization scans. Drawn wire typically is stored for long periods with lubricant left on the surface until they are to be used. Such wire often undergoes pickling treatment that removes the original passivation layer, leaving the metal exposed to air and corrosion. For these reasons, a strong corrosion inhibitor is needed in the formulation. Borax is a strong corrosion inhibitor, and thus this study aimed to replicate those properties.

First, the properties of borax as a corrosion inhibitor, and those of other inhibitors, have been evaluated by measuring the open-circuit potential of a 9-cm, carbon-steel wire rod that had previously been treated with the desired inhibitor solution. It had been immersed for 5 cm in 200 ml of a 0.05 M sodium-sulfate solution for 30 minutes. The measurements were taken by a Gamry Interface1000 potentiostat equipped with an AMEL R1/4MMSKT calomel electrode as reference.

The wire rod serves as a working electrode. The potential of the working electrode, with respect to a reference one, was precisely measured with a Luggin capillary. The solution has been kept at room temperature (≈ 25°C) without stirring during the experiments.

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The best performing inhibitors have been tested both alone and as part of a formulation by anodic polarizations of a carbon steel plate. The tests have been performed using a Gamry Interface1000 potentiostat, an AMEL R1/4MMSKT saturated calomel and a platinum wire, respectively, as reference and counter electrode, with the steel plate acting as the working electrode. The potential of the working electrode with respect to the reference one was precisely measured with a Luggin capillary.

The anodic potentiodynamic setup had the following characteristics: the initial delay in open circuit is five minutes; the starting potential is equal to the final open circuit potential (OCP); the final potential is equal to +1.3 V vs. SCE; and the scan rate is mV/s. See Fig. 1.

The two techniques provide different types of results. The first, the open circuit potential measurement, provides an overall idea about how the electrochemical process of corrosion happens in normal conditions. It also helps predict how prone the metal—and the metal treated with the inhibitor— will be to corrosion. The second, anodic polarization, helps predict what happens when operating conditions worsen.

It provides a quicker, better interpretation of the corrosion phenomena in the presence of the desired corrosion inhibitor. The scan will provide information about how long the material will be protected against corrosion Surface morphology (SEM). The surface morphology of the films obtained by deposition of the lubricant carrier solution can provide useful information about surface defects, roughness, type of crystallization, homogeneity of the coverage and distribution of the formulation component. The type of crystallization can provide good information about the resistance to wear of the film. A needle-like structure can be particularly brittle and easily break.

The morphology of the films obtained by deposition through dip coating of the different studied formulations has been investigated using a scanning electrode microscope (SEM) with an acceleration voltage of 10 kV and a working distance of 12 mm. The film deposition procedure replicates the industrial one: 10 seconds immersion of a metal plate in an 80°C solution containing the desired lubricant carrier, followed by drying with hot air.

Fig. 1. Electrochemical tests setup.

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Thickness and roughness of deposited films. Film thickness relates to the amount of material (lubricant) deposited on the wire. The thicker the film, the more material over the wire. A thicker coating increases protection against wear, but it also increases material consumption. It also takes more power, as the thicker film requires more energy to be compressed inside the die. A balance between the two desired functions of the thickness must be found.

Another factor to consider is the ability of the film to entrain the lubricant. A rougher surface is more able to trap the lubricant inside the micro-porosity.

The thickness and roughness of the same samples were also studied using a Bruker DektakXT profilometer. The SEM sample preparation was used except for the metal substrate, which saw the metal has polished with abrasive paper until the average grit size was 15.3 μm. This removed defects from the metal surface, making the results more accurate.

Thermal analysis. During wiredrawing, interior die temperatures can reach more than 200°C because of the extreme pressure. A lubricant carrier coating must be able to resist this thermal shock without degradation. A partial melting of the coating may actually be good as during solidification it might help entrap the lubricant, providing more anchorage.

The thermal stability of different prepared formulations has been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) with a Mettler-Toledo TGA/DSC 2 Star® System. The operative conditions are as follows. The atmosphere was Air, the ramp time from R.T. to 300°C was 5°C/min; the ramp time from 300°C to 600°C was 10°C/min; the crucible was alumina; and the sample weight was from 13-17 mg.

Viscosity measurements. The solution viscosity is important since it influences the energy required to mix the treatment bath and the amount of material deposited on the wire, as well as the layer thickness and bath consumption. The greater the solution viscosity, the more material will be deposited over the wire along with the bath consumption, hence producing a thicker film. However, increasing the viscosity also results in an increase in the time required to dry the film.

Absolute viscosity of different solutions at 80°C based on the best performing formulations was investigated. The measurements were performed with an Anton Paar rheometer MCR 302 using a Peltier Plate system. Viscosity values have been considered adequate after four minutes, where the system reaches stationary conditions.

Drawing dies. To increase wiredrawing performance, the drawing dies are in continuous optimization for all facets, including the production process, the composition and the carbide grain size to improve the mechanical properties of a cemented carbide die. The compaction stage and the sintering process are crucial to obtain a cemented carbide without any defects—such as an eta phase, carbon-free, cobalt lake, compositional inhomogeneity, porosity and microporosity—can drastically reduce a die’s working life. At the same time, increased hardness (an increase of the wear resistance) without a lost in terms of toughness is possible by acting on the WC-Co microstructure. Some standard WC-Co grades F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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produced by Koner were optimized by working on the grain size and production process as reported below.

Optimization of microstructure: carbide grain size. Since the goal is to increase a drawing die’s wear resistance without losing toughness, recent studies have focused on the continuous reduction of the carbide grain size without change in the binder amount. Fig. 2 shows micrographs of a standard WC-Co grade (a) and a new WC-Co grade with a reduction of the carbide grain size (b). A decrease in the DWC by adding more grain growth inhibitor leads to a higher increase in hardness without drastically affecting the fracture toughness.

This modification can double a die’s working life.

Development of the production process. Another important aspect is the residual porosity in the sintered WC-Co. This defect can be reduced at the compaction stage by increasing the compaction pressure. See Fig. 3. This results in a reduction of the macroscopic and microscopic porosity, and helps optimize mechanical properties. See Table 2. Further reductions in residual porosity can be gained during the sintering process. Switching the sintering atmosphere from N2 to H2 facilitates the debinding process, results in a grade with a higher hardness yet not a significant loss in toughness. Table 3 summarizes potential drawing die improvements.

Roughness improvement. Figs. 4 and 5 show the resulting reductions of roughness in the working area of the nib made possible by the reduction of friction between the wire and nib.

This limits the increase in generated temperature during the wire deformation process, and helps extend die life.

Tests on experimental drawing machine. Tests were done on a single-step drawing machine that replicates a real drawing machine. It monitors critical parameters such as: the pulling force required to draw the wire, the wire temperature exiting the die and the drawn wire diameter. All data are collected by the on-board computer.

The setup has a bath holding the coating solution heated to 80°C, a drying chamber heated at 115°C by hot air, a drawing die holder, the solid lubricant and the machine, which has a piston that provides a pulling force of 70 cm of stroke. A laser measures the wire temperature 5 cm after leaving the die, and a few cm after that, another laser reads the wire diameter.

The test sample is a 2 mm, low-carbon steel wire. It was drawn through a Koner® tungsten carbide die with an inlet angle of 10° and an outlet diameter of 1.63 mm.

Fig. 2. Standard WC-Co grade (a) new WC-Co grade (b).

Fig. 3. Reduction of residual porosity increasing compaction pressure: low pressure (a) and high pressure (b).

Table 1. Effect of DWC on the mechanical properties of WC-Co.

Fig. 4. Degrees of roughness in working die.

Table 2. Porosity and mechanical properties of a WC-Co grade (6 wt.% Co and DWC = 0.6 mm) by varying the compaction pressure.

Table 3. Porosity and mechanical properties of a WC-Co grade (6 wt.% Co and DWC = 0.6 mm) by varying the sintering atmosphereo.

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Fig. 6. Display of deployed technology.

It should be noted that when a drawing process starts, the pulling force uses more energy, and the initial results will not appear good. Soon after that, the value of the drawn wire will be fixed in a narrow range. The narrower the range of values, the better the lubricant and its carrier.

Corrosion tests Measurement of the open circuit potential and polarization scans. First, the properties of borax as corrosion inhibitor has been evaluated registering the open circuit potential (OCP) of a metal treated with borax for different times. The The wire was inspected visually after the wire was drawn. A right side of Fig. 7 right shows the influence of the residence consistent shiny, bright appearance would mean that the wire time: for a short time, a lower ennoblement of the metal metal had contact with the die metal, “polishing� the surface, is observed, and the potential and the kinetic of corrosion but that is not good. A dull surface, where the wire is still are faster. Between average and longer time no differences covered by lubricant, is preferred. The greater the percentage are observed, but higher potential and, so protection, are of shiny spots on a wire, the bigger a problem exists in the observed when compared to shorter times. form of either a bad lubricant carrier or a bad lubricant as the The left side of Fig. 7 shows the OCP of other corrosion protective layer was not able to fully isolate the two metals. inhibitors.

In those case several inhibitors have been tested In such spots, the metal microstructure is more susceptible in order to find the best performing ones, like sodium nitrite, to forming zones that are more prone to corrosion or break. sodium silicate or sodium molybdate.

The technique replicates real conditions but it does not provide much information about the effect of the inhibitor. Thus, the authors studied them by anodic polarizations. See Fig. 8. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the potential required to reach specific conditions, like passivity, transpassivity or activity regions. The higher the breakdown potential, the higher will be the protection against corrosion.

Several inhibitors showed results comparable to borax, making them suitable for the desired final applicaFig. 7. OCP of a wire rod treated with: borax (r) and wire rod with different corrotion. The Tried in the test formulations, sion inhibitors (l) Below, Fig. 8: anodic polarization curves of inorganic inhibitors (r) and anodic polarization curves of organic inhibitors (l).

Fig. 5. Reduction toughness inspection results.

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Considering some of the results, borax shows a quite smooth and compact surface covered by cracks. One can hypothesize that the main result of using borax as a lubricant carrier is not due to the surface rugosity but to its ability to partially melt and form the so-called “borax bead.” As the soap solidifies, it is trapped inside the bead kept over the wire.

Fig. 10 also shows images of a salt, mainly based on sulfates, with typical needle-like Fig. 8. Anodic polarization curves of anodic polarization curves of organic microstructure. In wire drawing, this type of inhibitors (l) and inorganic inhibitors (r). crystals should be avoided because they are extremely brittle.

Thickness and roughness of deposited films. The measurement of thickness and roughness of the films previously seen with SEM provided coherent results. Inorganic films are definitely more compact and smoother than polymeric ones. Again, borax showed the lowest values. See Table 4.

However, a rougher surface helps entrap soap inside a die, so too-low values are not particularly necessary. Instead, the desired values for lubricant thickness is a steady average range. If it is too thick, too much energy is required to compress the layer inside the die, and if it is too thin, there will not be enough wear protection.

The company’s tested inorganic formulations (F1 and F2) show an amorphous microstructure (See Fig.11) that is more suited for the studied application than a crystalline one that can be quite brittle and prone to breaking. The inorganic formulation is more compact and better bound to the substrate, and its amorphous structure makes it better for plastic deformations.

Fig. 9. A anodic polarization curves of new formulation Tests of polymeric-based formulations (F3 and F4) showed the inhibitors behaved the same as when tested alone, proving a multilayer structure with several amorphous layers covertheir efficiency. See Fig. 9. ing the surface and providing a rougher surface. See Fig.12.

Surface morphology. The morphology of several films Polymers, especially when rapidly cooled, easily form amorobtained by deposition of the solution of different formuphous structures. lations, followed by drying, has been studied in order to Viscosity measurements. The viscosity of the solution predict the resistance to wear, adhesion to the surface and highly influences the amount of material deposited on the soap entrainment properties. wire, hence the treatment bath consumption. Also, highly viscous solutions require more energy to be mixed and more time and heat to be dried. A polymeric solution has higher viscosity values due to the low mobility of the polymer chains, so not all water-soluble polymers can be used in this application unless if used in low percentage. See Table 5.

Table 4.Thickness and roughness of deposited films.

Thermal analysis. Since internal die temperatures can top 200°C, a lubricant carrier must be stable at those temperatures. A partial melting of some of formulation components is acceptable as that can help trap lubricant over the die, but coating degradation must be avoided.

Table 5. Viscosity measurements.

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Fig. 10. borax (15 wt. %) 500 x (r) and sulfates-based product (l).

Fig. 13. Example of a TGA analysis.

Fig. 11: Formulations F1 200 x (r) and F2 200 x (l).

Fig. 14. Wiredrawing bench test for different carrier coatings.

Fig. 12. Formulations F3 200 x (r) and F4 200 x (l).

Toxic products could be formed or some incrustations can be formed on the wire leading to bad lubrication problems.

All the formulations studied reveal complete stability for temperatures lower than 230째C with the exception of some low-percentage additives.

Tests with Tecnovo pilot drawing machine. To confirm the results of laboratory studies, the best formulation has been tested on a drawing machine to evaluate the real efficiency of the lubricant carriers. The only test limitation is that operating speeds are slower and the the temperature is lower, but overall interesting information can be observed.

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Initially, the lubricant properties of the carrier have been tested without using a solid lubricant. A soap has been added later to see how well the carrier was at trapping and entraining the lubricant.

The most important data the machine provides are the force required to pull the wire, which is expressed as Newton vs. time. The beginning of the drawing shows a peak of high force values as more energy is required to initiate the plastic deformation of the wire and thus its movement. After that, the curve will fluctuate around values specific for each carrier.

The higher the fluctuations, the less constant and efficient is the lubricant carrier.

Fig. 14 shows that a cleaned metal and borax require more energy to be pulled since they do not have any lubricating properties. For borax, this results in frequent wire breaks.

Using the formulated products, less energy is needed to pull the wire, especially in the case of polymer-based formulations (F2 and F3) due to their lubricating properties. Lower energy needs also means lower temperatures inside the die.

While borax will result in temperatures over 200째C, the rate for the formulated carriers is between 100째C and 130째C.

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Arrighetti

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Garoli

Fig. 15. Wiredrawing bench test of a sodium soap with different carrier coatings.

Fig. 15 shows the results of tests done of the carrier with the lubricant. Two types of Tecnovo sodium-based lubricants have been used. Both have the same composition but the granulometry is different: soap A is a powder while soap B is a beaded product. For this test, the power soap (A) is preferred since low-drawing speeds are achieved. However, for higher industrially used speeds, the beaded product (B) is preferred because it produces better results, although it does cost more because of the expense related to using a slightly higher pulling force. The effect of the lubricant is evident.

The pulling force is lower for the borax and cleaned metal.

This also happens with borax, but it is less notable as pure borax has no lubricating properties. However, the effect is evident looking at temperatures, as those range between 80 and 110°C. Also, the visual aspect of the wire is better. Fewer bright spots were visible, confirming that the lubrication has been present and effective.

One of the inorganic formulations (F1) has been tested on a 10-step drawing machine process at the plant of a customer.

The tested sample was a C15 steel wire used for nails production. It underwent mechanical descaling and cleaning, and a carrier coating and drying have been performed in line.

The 5.50 mm wire rod was drawn down to 1.53 mm using a K340 pressure die.

Good results have been obtained during this test. A welldrawn wire has been obtained, with no sign of coating degradation or defects on the wire.

Conclusions An electrochemical approach to the selection of a suitable corrosion inhibitor has resulted in promising results for two new lubricant carriers for wire-drawing that are free from boron derivatives, non-toxic and well suited for the waste management. A wide range of research techniques have been used and evaluated by the TKT Group, in collaboration with two universities. The results show that they represent a promising alternative to a boron-based carrier coating for wiredrawing. n

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Cazzulo Giancarlo Arrighetti is technical and production director of Italy’s TKT Group, which he joined in 1980.

A senior chemist and metallurgical engineer, he has managed R&D, plants and presented papers at major international technical conferences. Thomas Morge has a master’s degree in industrial chemistry from the University of Milan, Italy. He joined the R&D division of Tecnovo in 2019. His focus is on carrier coatings, lubricants and their application in wire drawing.

Lorena Emanuelli has a PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Trento, Italy. She focuses on powder metallurgy production. In collaboration with the TKT Group, she studies cemented carbides and their application in wiredrawing. Giovanni Garoli is plant director of Koner S.r.l. He is a senior metallurgical engineer, and joined Koner in 2005 after various professional experiences in production departments and quality control laboratories of metalworking Italian companies. Enrico Cazzulo is a master’s student in industrial chemistry at “University of Milan, Italy. In collaboration with TKT Group, he studies carrier coating, lubricant and their application in wire drawing.

This paper was presented at Wire & Cable Verona 2019, Verona, Italy, October 2019.

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CALL FOR PAPERS You are invited to share your technical expertise at WAI’s 2020 International Technical Conference for wire and cable manufacturers. Ferrous and nonferrous wire topics are welcome.

Suggested subjects include: • data cable manufacturing • medium carbon steel • flame retardant jacket compounds • annealability • aluminum alloys Questions or to participate, contact WAI’s Steve Fetteroll at sfetteroll@wirenet.org or Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, ext. 115.

Use the online form to submit your abstract today!

Manuscript Deadline: August 30, 2020

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27-29 October, 2020 Crowne Plaza Monterrey Monterrey, Mexico

Acceptance Notification: May 4, 2020

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Abstract Deadline: April 1, 2020

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Correction: Due to an editor’s error, the wrong photo was used for the Lloyd & Bouvier entry in the January issue. Below is the entry with the correct photo.

Design of new 2-position payoff allows it to offer enhanced low-range tension control Lloyd & Bouvier’s newest product—a two-position, dual-shaft payoff, model LB LT 500—is a low-tension unit designed to maintain consistency.

Per the company, the payoff has two linear, servo-controlled dancers with load cell feedback that integrate with a servo-powered, driven payoff shaft and a speed regulator with real-time tension feedback.

The integrated dancers set and maintain tension as the reel is depleted. Each shaft is driven by a vector AC inline drive motor, and all inlet and outlet pulleys are made from ceramic-coated, lightweight aluminum.

Shafts, rollers and sheaves are fitted with double preloaded angular contact bearings.

This unique solution provides very stable and consistent tension throughout the payoff reel. It also can be made to accept multiple shafts and reel sizes based on customer needs. The payoff includes a touch screen HMI interface that has multiple operator controls with real-time tension displays. As with all Lloyd & Bouvier products, a wide range of safety features is available, including a full surround safety cage.

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Contact: Jason Sterndale, Lloyd & Bouvier, tel. 978-365-5700, jason@lloydbouvier.com, www.lloydbouvier.com.

New nano diamond coated die that is ideal for conductor cable applications Fort Wayne Wire Die (FWWD) has introduced a new product to its family of stranding die options: Nano Diamond Coated Dies (Nano DCD).

Per the company, the Nano DCDs are an ideal solution for stranding, bunching and compacting applications of conductor cable. They offer a better surface finish, reduced die resistance, minimum die wear and longer life compared to tungsten carbide. The Nano DCDs are available in sizes up to 3.9 in. (100 mm).

The Nano DCD dies are tungsten-carbide dies coated with a 30-micron-thick layer of nanocrystalline diamond particles. After polishing, they become extremely smooth compared to carbide or polycrystalline diamond dies. This highly polished die surface minimizes die pull for improved energy efficiency in stranding machines, alleviates safety concerns by reducing fines and dust generation and creates a smoother cable surface finish for better conductivity.

Compared to carbide dies, Nano DCD die life is about 10 times longer while the cost is only three to five times more, suggesting a strong value proposition for cable manufacturers to consider when purchasing stranding dies. Minimizing die wear also affects the overall cost of production in regards to how much raw material is being given away when the die wears. Nano DCD dies wear very

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little, and not in the traditional manner that carbide and polycrystalline diamond dies wear. Their failure occurs with sudden delamination of the diamond coating thus minimizing the amount of extra material being given away to the end customer.

Other stranding die options available from FWWD include tungsten carbide dies, solid PCD dies and tungsten carbide split dies.

Contact: Fort Wayne Wire Die, tel. 260-747-1681, sales@fwwd.com, www.fwwd.com.

Dies designed to draw aluminum strands that will meet exacting ASTM standards India’s Ajex & Turner Wire Technologies reports that the company’s PCD and carbide drawing dies excel for producing ACSR conductors (trapezoidal wire).

A press release said that the company’s TW dies are designed to ensure accurate quality parameters to obtain aluminum strands that are shaped to provide a smooth outer surface that can meet applicable ASTM standards.

The dies are made from high-quality raw materials that enable them to be both efficient as well as long lasting. The drawing shows an example of sector-shaped compacting.

To resolve the issue of smaller diameter conductors, Ajex & Turner’s trapezoidal-shaped dies can be enlarged

to provide a greater cross-sectional area of aluminum and match the diameter of the conventional round conductor.

Contact: Ajex & Turner Wire Technologies, sales@ajexturner.com, www.ajexturner.com.

World’s 1st chemically-foamed ADCA material for telecom cables is launched Borealis announced the global commercial launch of HE1355, a high density polyethylene (HDPE) grade free of azodicarbonamide (ADCA) that it described as the world’s

Wire & Cable Customized Compounds ECC offers a broad portfolio of customized elastomeric or polyolefin based compounds utilized for medium/high voltage as well as certain low voltage flame retardant applications including: EPR and Polyolefin Compounds Elastomeric, Crosslinkable, and Thermoplastic Compounds Flame Retardant and Halogen Free Compounds Moisture Crosslinkabe Compounds Specialty/Custom/FR Masterbatches Insulation, Jacketing, and Bedding Compounds ISO 9001 certified manufacturing process ensures quality, efficiency and ultimately customer satisfaction.

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first chemically-foamed, ADCA-free material intended for the production of telecommunications cables.

A press release said Borealis is using its innovation expertise to enable cable manufacturers to future-proof their production operations: the use of HE1355 allows them to bypass altogether any issues arising from the planned inclusion of ADCA on the EU’s Annex XIV of REACH (Authorization List). ADCA is classified as a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC). Thus cable manufacturers can rely on being able to maintain seamless production, irrespective of any potential disruption caused by legislative changes.

Anticipating the potentially disruptive effects to the cable industry, Borealis developed HE1355. Free of ADCA and all other SVHCs, HE1355 matches the technical performance of other chemically foamed HDPE grades currently on the market. It combines the proven advantages of its predecessors, Borealis compounds HE1345 and HE1344: superb processability, excellent stabilization, and the requisite toughness for fast multi-pair assembly.

The optimal cell structure of HE1355 makes it highly suitable for applications such as foam or foam-skin insulation for telephone singles and data cables with a typical expansion of 35%-40%, as well as for dry core and petroleum jelly-filled cables. The new compound was success-

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS ISO9001 OF PAYOFF & TENSION CONTROL REGISTERED EQUIPMENT FOR WIRE & CABLE

fully tested in a series of customer trials before its global launch in 2019.

“Going ADCA-free with HE1355 is a win-win all around,” said Bart Verheule, head of marketing, energy, for Borealis. “It not only future-proofs cable producers from the effects of a potential ADCA ban, but also allows us to help them bring energy all around.”

Based in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently has around 6,800 employees and operates in more than 120 countries.

Contact: Senior Manager, Virginia Mesicek, Borealis, tel. 43-1-22-400-772, virginia.mesicek@borealisgroup.com, www.borealisgroup.com. 

With all of the suppliers out there...why should you call Wyrepak Industries for your manufacturing needs?

Quite simply, Wyrepak is a name you can trust for reliable and dependable products. With our many years of experience in creating cost-effective manufacturing applications, backed by a solid guarantee and excellent customer service – Wyrepak has it all!

For more details on any of our manufacturing product solutions, call us at 800-972-9222 or email sales@wyrepak.com

WYREPAK INDUSTRIES — A Huestis Industrial Company • www.WYREPAK.com

68 Buttonwood Street, Bristol, Rhode Island 02809-0718 USA • tel: 800.972.9222 or 401.253.5500 fax: 401.253.7350 2C_WYREPAKHuestis_WhyCallWyrepak_WJI_halfHoriz_VariousCombos_withShowInfo_v7_04022019_press.indd 1

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P AT E N T R E P O R T

Technical advances are a necessity for any industry, and to that end, companies invest considerable resources in R&D. This section lists the abstracts of recently approved U.S. patents. Most are direct to wire and cable while a few may be more indirect/downstream.

(Continued from p. 24) Flexible crosslinked cable insulation and methods for making flexible crosslinked cable insulation U.S. Patent No.: 10,490,319 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: Aug. 22, 2016 Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC, USA Inventors: Bharat Chaudary, Juan Tuberquia, Rennisha Wickham, Philip Fontaine, Colin Shan, Morgan Hughes, Jan Bazen, Edward Madenjian, Gregory Brennan Crosslinkable polymeric compositions comprising (a) 10 to 89 weight percent of an ethylene-based interpolymer having the following properties: (i) a density of 0.93 g/cm3 or less, (ii) a high-shear viscosity (V100) at 190 C and 10% strain of 1,200 Pas or less, (iii) a shear thinning ratio (V0.1/ V100) at 190 C and 10% strain of at least 8, and (iv) a melt index (I.sub.2) greater than 1 g/10 minutes; and (b) 10 to

less than 90 weight percent of a filler, where the ethylenebased interpolymer is not prepared in a high-pressure reactor. Such crosslinkable polymeric compositions may be employed as insulation layers in flexible power cables.

High-carbon steel wire rod with excellent wire drawability U.S. Patent No.: 10,487,379 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: Sept. 14, 2017 Assignee: Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, Japan Inventors: Makoto Okonogi, Daisuke Hirakami Provided is a high-carbon steel wire rod with excellent wire drawability, containing predetermined chemical components and the balance: Fe and impurities. In a cross-section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction, an

ToroidalÂŽ Steel Reel

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PAT E N T R E P O R T

area fraction of pearlite is equal to or more than 95% and equal to or less than 100%, an average block size of the pearlite is 10 .mu.m to 30 .mu.m and standard deviation of block size is 20 .mu.m or less, and when Ceq.=C (%)+Si (%)/24+Mn (%)/6, a tensile strength is equal to or more than 760.times.Ceq.+255 MPa and equal to or less than 760.times.Ceq.+325 MPa, reduction of area in a tensile test is -65.times.Ceq.+96(%) or more, and standard deviation of the reduction of area is 6% or less.

Cable sheathing composition U.S. Patent No.: 10,487,201 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: Feb. 23, 2018 Assignee: AEI Compounds Ltd., U.K. SACO AEI Polymers, Inc., USA Inventors: Mike Slevin, David Roberts Polymer composites, which are commonly for use as sheathing materials in wire and cable applications, are provided. The sheathing materials exhibit flame retardant properties and include a polymeric blend, which includes olefin/unsaturated ester copolymer and olefin (co)polymer, a hydrated metal oxide flame-retardant, such as magnesium hydroxide, and an antimony compound.

Crosslinkable polymeric compositions for flexible crosslinked cable insulation and methods for making flexible crosslinked cable insulation U.S. Patent No.: 10,487,200 Patent date: Nov. 26, 2019 Filed: Oct. 13, 2016 Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC, USA Inventors: Bharat Chaudhary, Rennisha Wickham, Morgan Hughes, Juan Tuberquia Crosslinkable polymeric compositions comprising: (a) a polymer blend comprising: (1) 10 to 94 weight percent, based on the total weight of the crosslinkable polymeric composition, of an ethylene-based interpolymer having the

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following properties: (i) a density of 0.93 g/cm.sup.3 or less, (ii) a melt index (I.sub.2) at 190.degree. C. of greater than 0.2 g/10 minutes, and (iii) a shear thinning ratio (V0.1/ V100) at 190.degree. C. and 10% strain of less than 8; and (2) 5 to 90 weight percent, based on the total weight of the crosslinkable polymeric composition, of a high-pressure polyethylene; and (b) 0 to less than 40 weight percent, based on the total weight of the crosslinkable polymeric composition, of a filler, where the ethylene-based interpolymer of component (a) is not prepared in a high-pressure reactor or process. Additionally, the polymer blend has the following properties: (i) a shear thinning ratio (V0.1/ V100) at 190.degree. C. and 10% strain of at least 5, (ii) a high-shear viscosity (V100) at 190 C and 10% strain of less than 1,300 Pas, (iii) a melt strength of at least 4 centiNewtons at 190.degree. C., and (iv) a flexural modulus, 2% secant, of less than 25,000 psi. Such crosslinkable polymeric compositions may be employed as insulation layers in flexible power cables.

Wire and method for manufacturing the same U.S. Patent No.: 10,483,130 Patent date: Nov. 19, 2019 Filed: Sept. 14, 2017 Assignee: Kunshan New Flat Panel Display Technology Center Co., Ltd., China Inventors: Kun Hu, Li Lin, Qi Shan, Shixing Cai, Xiaolong Yang, Shengfang Liu A wire and a method of manufacturing are provided the wire for use in an organic light emitting diode device includes three parts, a first part and a third part are located at both ends of the wire respectively and each of the first part and the third part is a single wire, a second part is located between the first part and the third part, and the second part is a composite wire, wherein the composite wire comprises at least two wires. By dividing a middle part of one wire into multiple wires, the purpose of changing a wire width of a single wire is achieved, ductility of the wire can be enhanced, thereby avoiding the occur-

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rence of the problem that the device cannot normally work caused by wire fracture during folding, and improving the using efficiency of the device.

Flame retardant resin composition, cable using same and optical fiber cable U.S. Patent No.: 10,483,017 Patent date: Nov. 19, 2019 Filed: Aug. 25, 2017 Assignee: Fujikura Ltd., Japan Inventors: Nao Nishida, Seiichi Taira, Shoichiroi Nakamura A flame retardant resin composition including a base resin including 18 to 85% by mass of a high density polyethylene, 9 to 69% by mass of a low density polyethylene, and 3 to 25% by mass of an acid-modified polyolefin compound, and 25 parts by mass to 110 parts by mass of calcium carbonate particles, more than 1 part by mass to 10 parts by mass of a silicone-based compound, and 2 parts by mass to 20 parts by mass of a fatty acid-containing compound, each on the basis of 100 parts by mass of the base resin.

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Insulated wire excellent in bending resistance, as well as coil and electric or electronic equipment using the same U.S. Patent No.: 10,483,013 Patent date: Nov. 19, 2019 Filed: June 23, 2017 Assignee: Furukawa Magnet Wire Co., Ltd Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Japan Inventors: Makoto Oya, Tsuneoe Aoi An insulated wire having an insulating coat layer on the conductor outer peripheral surface having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and also having a long side, a short side, and a corner portion with a curvature radius Rc, wherein a thickness t1 of the insulating coat layer covered on the surface, and which layer includes a long side, a thickness t2 of the insulating coat layer covered on the surface, and which layer includes a short side, and a corner portion thickness t3 of the insulating coat layer satisfy formula (1): t3/{(t1+t2)/2}.gtoreq.1.2 Formula (1) wherein the t1 and t2 are each independently from 20 .mu.m to 50 .mu.m, and wherein a ratio of the conductor cross-sectional area Sc to the insulated wire cross-sectional area Sw satisfies formula (2) 1.0>Sc/Sw.gtoreq.0.8; Formula (2) as well as a coil and an electric or electronic equipment using the same. n

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Sector Update: DIES AJEX & TURNER INDIA

ESTEVES GROUP USA

An assortment of tips and dies from Ajex & Turner.

The Esteves Group offers wire dies as well as extrusion tools.

What do you offer?

What do you offer?

Ajex & Turner extrusion tips and dies are an excellent choice for manufacturing products from power and control cables to optical fiber and speaker cables. We manufacture our high-quality tips and dies in various shapes and sizes, using rust-free steel. Our tools are made in alloy steel, carbide and diamond to meet a customer’s requirements.

We use thermal treatment procedures that make them applicable to all types of machines, and we offer tool designs from standardized to fully customized tools to meet every extrusion requirement.

Esteves Group offers wire dies and extrusion tools for the wire and cable manufacturing industry designed and engineered to help our customers manufacture wire better, faster and at a lower cost. We are introducing and testing a new type of wire die for drawing hard wire alloys where surface quality and die life are critical. Initial results are extremely promising and potentially game changing.

Contact sales@estevesgroup.us.com to ask about a possible free trial of this exciting new die.

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. We offer excellent lead times of four weeks or less, and our on-time delivery performance exceeds 95%.

2. Our advanced engineering methods help customers achieve their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

Since 2013, we have applied science and proprietary software to calculate the optimal wire die. By analyzing your process and the alloy you need to draw, the resulting solution helps you reduce wire breaks, improve wire quality and run your machines faster. This leads to industry-leading production with increased throughput, machine up-time and the lowest cost to produce.

3. Our website (estevesgroup.com) has a wealth of information and tools, including sections for “Solutions” and “Frequently Asked Questions.”

1. Each of our dies is tested for 0% ID/OD concentricity to ensure smooth production. This matters especially to wire insulators that must meet demands for superthin wall constructions.

2. Our quality is equivalent to the European standard, and our prices are lower than European and U.S. manufacturers as wages are economical in India, and supported by the government.

3. We have served the global industry for more than 60 years, and since 1962, we are technically supported by companies like Dee-Beers, GE, Kay Diamond, Widia, Hoosier Ajax, and Turner & Stott for tooling.

We also offer sector, TW and trapezoidal dies; rollers and rework job services; and staff training. See p. 65.

Contact: Ravi Bansal, sales@ajexturner.com

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What three things should readers know about your company?

Contact: Gary Kantz, gkantz@esetevesgroup.us.com

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S E C T O R U P D AT E

This section presents quick looks at suppliers for wire and cable manufacturing. It also may include some details about a supplier you might not know.

FORT WAYNE WIRE DIE USA

INTERNATIONAL WIRE DIE (IWD) USA

FWWD recently expanded its full line of wire drawing dies.

Products offered by International Wire Die.

What do you offer?

What do you offer?

Fort Wayne Wire Die is a U.S.-based manufacturer of wire drawing dies and wear parts for the global ferrous and nonferrous wire industry. We offer dies and tools produced from the most wear-resistant materials on earth, including: tungsten carbide, single-crystal diamond, polycrystalline diamond, and nano-diamond-coated tungsten carbide. We produce shaped profile wire drawing dies, extrusion tips and dies, stranding, compacting and bunching dies, enameling dies and tin wiper dies. Also, equipment and machinery for cleaning, inspecting, repolishing and measuring wire dies; services such as the recutting and repolishing of dies and die management services; and consultation for die and set design, as well as educational seminars once a year at our corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

IWD founder/owner Simon Farjoun has used more than 25 years of experience as a wire and cable maker to create products that are the best fit for the wire die industry. We specialize in high quality natural diamonds, PCD dies (SF-diamond blanks/New Asian Sumidia & Diamond Innovative blanks) from sizes D6 to D36, and CVD.

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. A full-line die supplier for 82+ years, we just launched our new line of Nano Diamond Coated dies. See p. 64.

2. We are a U.S.-based, family-owned business, now in its third generation that values the high experience level of its team members. Our corporate-wide average employment tenure is more than 14 years.

3. We serve the global wire industry with multiple manufacturing locations and sales/service centers in the U.S., Canada, Germany, China and the Philippines, with a seventh location to be announced soon.

Contact: Brad Scherer, bscherer@fwwd.com

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What three things should readers know about your company?

1. With IWD, there is no limit to your profile specifications and troubleshooting your machine, and we can add our own recommendations for your specific product. Our team is ready to help any company facing problems with high scrap, unsatisfactory wire surface, low efficiency of the drawing or bunching process, poor tension or shaving, elongation between the dies that affects capstans speed, and more.

2. We can maintain your inventory by re-cutting and polishing your dies to a mirror-like finish. Our Recut team will ensure you have a personal place for the inventory of your company. In doing this, we can recreate the same desired results over and over again.

3. We check lines that use multi-wire drawing dies with a physical elongation tester based on a one-meter draw to ensure the dies are as close to the machine drafts as possible because measurements and profile surface are not enough.

Contact: Simon Farjoun, simon@dshaidies.com

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NANO-DIAMOND AMERICA, INC. USA

The Nano-Dies® alternative.

MIKROTEK INDIA

A view of dies offered by Mikrotek.

What do you offer?

What do you offer? ®

The essence of our Nano-Dies technology is the multiple layers of uni-directional nanocrystalline diamond coating that results in a die offering multiple benefits: reduced material waste, as they retain their original size/tolerance during their life; a better finish due to less surface friction; a longer life; the ability to deliver lower electrical resistance for a given cable size; and more. We provide our dies for wire, cable and tube production. We advise customers how using Nano-Dies makes sense, in comparison to PCD or TC dies.

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. Yes, the Nano-Dies® trademark is ours. The Nano-Die experience and feedback from our customers builds and complements our technical product, application and process appreciation. We respond to all questions and listen to everyone’s feedback. We are pleased to note that more die manufacturers are seeing the benefits gained from Nano-Dies, and are offering their own versions of nano-coated dies.

2. Our range now includes the latest advances in low-tolerance (ultra) fine wire diameter precision PCDs in sizes as small as 12 microns.

3. A global company, we plan to open new offices this year on the east coast of Australia.

Contact: Matt Thornton, admin@nano-die.com

Mikrotek manufactures superfine natural diamond dies (0.013 mm to 0.050 mm); natural diamond dies; PCD dies; mono-diamond dies; enameling dies with diamond inserts; TC dies that include taper and pressure inserts; TC extrusion tools; PCD shaped dies and shaving dies; and related diamond die-polishing equipment products such as diamond powders and paste, diamond suspension, diamond angle pins, GHCS pins and measuring pin sets. We offer precision with economy. Mikrotek also provides re-polishing and resizing services for used diamond dies and TC Dies, which will give new life and prolonged performance.

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. Mikrotek is world renowned for its transparency and reliability in producing quality precision drawing dies.

2. Mikrotek helps wire drawing companies improve productivity. Our technical team will visit a drawing plant and study the drawing conditions and historical data. Then we will discuss ideas, make simple corrections and conduct trials to improve the plant’s overall efficiency, not just the die life.

3. Mikrotek can undertake turn-key projects to set up a complete repolishing and resizing plant for diamond and TC dies. That would include the plant and machinery testing equipment, QA, training and installation.

We are the “one stop shop for die shops.”

Contact: R. Manjunath, rm@mikrotek.org

U P C O M I N G S E C T O R U P D AT E S

• April: Braiding Equipment • May: Packaging Equipment • June: Springs • July: Lubricants & Filtration • August: Plating Equipment & Welders (moved from March) 72

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PARAMOUNT DIE CO. USA

PRECISION DIE TECHNOLOGIES USA

Paramount Die offers everything a wire drawer could need.

Dies from Precision Die Technologies.

What do you offer?

What do you offer?

Paramount Die offers die solutions for every wire drawing challenge across the globe. Customers recognize us worldwide for our ParaLoc™ Pressure System, but we also deliver die solutions for “All Shapes and Sizes.” For over 50 years, Paramount has supplied technology that allows for increased speeds and improved quality, resulting in significant cost savings for customers. Our new bar drawing dies and shaving dies are designed with the same meticulous engineering processes as our smaller worldclass insert systems. Other products include extrusion dies, stranding dies, and polycrystalline diamond dies as well as custom-machined parts used with our products.

We manufacture a vast array of dies to meet our customers’ needs in nearly every sector related to the wire and cable industry. This includes: drawing, stranding, bunching, coating, tubing, shaped, insulating and guide dies.

Each of these can be made with natural diamond, PCD, monocrystalline-diamond, carbide, or something as simple as stainless steel. Since 1989, our focus has been honesty and integrity. We collaborate with customers and provide solutions. We do this by understanding what your true need is, discussing and developing strategic plans, providing recommendations, and working alongside you every step of the way.

What three things should readers know about your company?

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. Every Paramount die is manufactured in the U.S. from our facility located just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Our highly automated facility sets Paramount apart from traditional die manufacturers.

2. We deliver added value via the on-site expertise of our commercial team, all wire industry veterans. We work closely with customers to design dies which deliver ease of use, high value and optimized productivity.

3. Paramount parts are shipped in a matter of days because we maintain a large inventory to reduce lead times.

Contact: Jason Giebfried, jgiebfried@paradie.com

1. We became the second largest die company in the U.S. by partnering with our customers, listening to their needs and wants, and providing solutions.

2. Every week, we ship over 3,000 dies with a one-week turnaround time. PDT has an overall on-time delivery rating of 94% with an external reject rate less than 1%, 0.13% to be exact.

3. Our growth is based on saving you money and growing your business. Furthermore, we offer a 100% guarantee on everything we manufacture. No hassles!

Contact: Brad Freiburger, sales@pdtinc.com

• September: Straighten-and-Cut Equipment • October: Tapes, Yarns & Strength Members • November: Bending Equipment • December: Spoolers and Respoolers W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

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PREMIERE WIRE DIE USA

TKT GROUP/KONER ITALY

Premier Wire Die’s Dave Rascati.

Koner’s focus is to offer complete process solutions.

What do you offer?

What do you offer?

We manufacture the finest quality draw dies, made to the tightest tolerances, while remaining focused on exceptional customer service. We continue to invest in resources and machinery that will improve our processes, enhance our quality and enable us to provide superior customer service.

Keeping up with the latest in die processing technology is one thing, but having the technical aptitude to do more with it is what allows Premier Wire Die to exceed our customers’ expectations.

Koner, a leader in the field of wire drawing dies, is committed to a policy of research and innovation —for both the process and die technology—and constantly seeks ways to co-operate with customers to provide them complete solutions. Koner produces and supplies a complete range of auxiliary products that it distributes worldwide. Our lines include: TC drawing nibs, dies, wire guides, bushes and rings; K340 pressure dies; TC shaped and large dies; machinery and instruments for die production and regrinding; and wire pulling-in-dogs.

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. We provide consulting for just about any wire drawing process. We have experience in drawing copper, aluminum, stainless and other raw materials.

2. Our expertise extends well beyond dies, including related process elements such as lubricants and raw material inspection. That matters because when a customer has a problem, they tend to blame it first on the die, but it could be the lube and the raw material.

We have the expertise to understand where the problem is, and how to solve it.

3. We’ve heard it all. If you have a problem drawing wire, you want answers. We know what to ask, the first step in finding a solution.

Contact: Dave Rascati, dave@premierwiredie.com

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. Koner’s production cycle starts from the selection of the proper tungsten carbide powders, powder pressing and sinter process. Then, the rough nibs are assembled and grinded to customer requirements. Thus, Koner manages the whole production process, from powders to finished dies.

2. Koner technicians work in close cooperation with the lubricant experts from sister company Tecnovo. Joint trials with dies and lubricants mean high performance achieved under all conditions 3. We focus on quality and product customization: the powders as well as the die specifications are studied

by Koner’s technical departments based on customer specific needs to optimize the drawing process.

Contact: Fabio Bellina, fabio.bellina@tktgroup.it

For inclusion, submit your entries via the online form at bit.ly/WJISector. You can include a high-resolution image or logo (200 dpi min). Questions? Send them to editor@wirenet.org.

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AT Woodburn Diamond Die Inc. supplies new material in single-crystal diamond from as small as .0008 in. and polycrystalline diamond as large as 1.25 in., a range that covers most drawing needs and subsequent bunching/ stranding operations, especially for the aluminum sector where PCD material is critical in cable processing. Carbide materials in nib sizes ranging from R-2 thru R-14 support both the ferrous and nonferrous industries. Each die type is supported with repair capabilities.

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Woodburn Diamond Die’s Bill Schwehn.

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WOODBURN DIAMOND DIE USA

  ...

...    

What three things should readers know about your company?

1. From humble beginnings of servicing the “local” magnet wire industry in 1957, Woodburn has grown into three groups supporting the “global” market through our facilities in the U.S., Mexico and India.

Each group can provide a broad range of products and services, and working together as a combined entity helps to improve the range of services each can offer.

2. Physical elongation of multi-wire sets—ranging from seven strings to 28 wires/set—have been a primary part of Woodburn’s history over the past 30 years, and have made us a leader in this market.

3. Other specialty areas include split-case carbide dies, enameling dies, inventory management and inspection services, and training support for tooling room staff.

Contact: Bill Schwehn, bschwehn@woodburndd.com

EDUCATION CENTER

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WAI STORE IR E N ET . O RG

Have an entry for this section? Then go here to enter it!

bit.ly/WJISector W W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

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This section is part of an information exchange between KabloSanTurkey, www.kablosanturkey.com, and U.S.-based Wire Journal International.

Enformak AŞ Marketing Director Rıdvan Yılmaz:

“Enformak, which exports to over 40 countries, is Turkey’s most modern and one of Europe’s most select production facilities in its field” Enformak, the first and only company that has earned a Design Center title in its sec-tor as of 2018, exports 35% of its production to over 40 countries, amongst which are Germany, America and Russia. We talked to Enformak AŞ Marketing Director Rıdvan Yılmaz about the company and its products.

Would you give us some information about the founding of your company?

Enformak PT has been manufacturing shell-bolt groups for plastic processing machines since 1980. Our story started in a small work-shop in Bayrampaşa and expanded to become Turkey’s most modern and one of Europe’s select facilities in its field with the factories first in İkitelli then Beylikdüzü. The company is a leader in the sector with both experience and the importance it places on innovation and r&d work needed in the sector.

What are your products/services?

Our company basically produces shell-bolt groups for machines that process plastic and elastomer as well as other elements used in the plastic processing industry like extruder filters without any compromise on quality.

Our main product groups can be classified as; - Injection shell bolts, - Single and double extrusion shell bolts, - Rubber shell bolts, - Extruder dilution filters.

We also provide technical support with the training we organize at our customer’s company or our own company utilizing our 40 years of experience, presenting our distinction in the sector.

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Where do your products end up? Can you tell us about your market?

The Turkish market, which is in 2nd place in Europe and 7th place in the world, has become one of the important players of the sector both in Europe and the world with plastic processing machine investments reaching 6 billion TL annually.

We are moving forward with solid steps to increase our market capacity both domestically and internationally in this sector. We are a company with our export reaching 35% at present, exporting to over 40 countries like Germany, Holland, Italy, Egypt, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Saudi Arabia and America.

Why do people choose your products and your company? Can you evaluate your quality standards?

As the first and only company in the sector that has earned the title of Design Center as of 2018, we are able to provide our customers with customized designs in line with their needs and solutions to their problems. This technical ability and our quality enable us to be the preferred choice in the sector. We are very familiar with Soft- PVC, XLPE, HFFR and other materials the cable industry uses so we design and produce shells and bolts to process these in the most efficient way possible.

We are and have been for many years, the best partner for many cable producers in Turkey and abroad.

We present the products, which we design and pro-duce based on our long years of experience achieved through serving companies over the years, to the sector providing high efficiency and the best quality. Rather than just a seller-buyer relationship we provide our customers with technical support as a solution partner and build long lasting relationships.

In our company, where we have adopted the quality first approach, we produce at ISO 9001:2015 quality standards.

Each part that we produce is checked at every stage of production in the framework of the ENFORMAK quality policy aiming to provide customers with a flawless product quality.

Can you summarize the problems in the market today? What kind of precautions do you take as a company?

During these days, in which fluctuations in the exchange rate is ongoing, our strong financial structure, our production with no compromise on quality and the export we do enables us to keep moving forward without being impacted by these issues.

However it is inevitable that the financial difficulties other companies are experiencing have a negative effect on us. The biggest problem we have been having lately is that the cash flow remains under the expected levels. We are trying not to be affected by this too much by capitalizing on exporting. By participating in the most important fairs of our sector for many years we have been able to reach almost every region in the world. We participate in the leading fairs of the sector like the NPE fair in the U.S., the K fair which is the European summit of the plastic sector organized in Germany, Plastavrasya held in Istanbul, Interplastica in Russia and Plastex in Egypt. This W W W. K A B L O S A N T U R K E Y. C O M

enables us to introduce our quality to the entire world and by taking advantage of the opportunities these fairs provide we minimize how much we are impacted by problems in the domestic market.

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Niğdelioğlu Metal General Manager Bekir Niğdelioğlu:

“In 2019 our expectations are earning less if necessary while avoiding risk to maintain continuity rather than earning a lot”

We cannot say that the year 2019 went well up until the last quarter in our sector just like many other sectors.

We were forced to reduce prices in order to maintain what we have and ensure continuity in production while the market went into a recession with excessive competition. During this time we made risk analyses and changed our sales terms with companies we were likely to have collection problems with.

In 2019 our expectations are earning less if necessary while avoiding risk to maintain continuity rather than earning a lot. Our sales goals were as we predicted for 2019 in terms of amount but fell short in terms of profitability.

Niğdelioğlu Metal produces copper and aluminum cable cores and wires for the cable sector which is our main customer, in aluminum as a deoxidant in the iron and steel sector, in metallization work for the packaging sector and to be used in bobbin wire production in flat and round form copper and aluminum.

As Niğdelioğlu Metal we have always regarded our customers as business partners and we operate with a win-win approach. Despite all of these adverse conditions we never compromise on

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quality and we have even increased our twisting line so that we can deliver faster. We will continue to increase our capacity according to market conditions and the demands of our customers.

At present the following products are manufactured in our facility: At our Grade A cathode copper consisting of maxi-mum 5ppm oxygen wire rod in diameters of 8.00 mm and 12.50 mm facility: • 0.8 -15 micron copper wire tin coating in the diameter range of 0.80 mm - 3.00 mm, • Mono copper wire in the diameter range of 0.10 mm - 3.50 mm, Tin covered mono copper wire in the diameter range of 0.10 mm - 3.00 mm, • Heat treated, multiple copper and tin coated cop-per wires, copper and tin coated copper twisted wires in the diameter range of 0.12 mm - 0.50 mm At our permanent casting from electrolytic aluminum ingot facility (min.%99,8 al) we produce aluminum wire rod in the diameter range of 9.50 mm -12.0 mm – 15 mm and aluminum wire in the diameter range of 1.30 mm - 4.60 mm.

The problems continue

process, the conflicts in our region, the unforeseeable exchange rate fluctuations caused by the power struggles of global powers, the attack on our economy and the fact that most of our main ingredients are USD indexed (copper, aluminum) we had to make a large portion of our sales in USD. The capacity in our sector that is excessive com-pared to the demand in our market has caused the competition to be excessive as well. No matter how much we work on the prices it is not possible to achieve the profitability we need in this competitive environment. According to what we perceive, the sale prices in the market are figures that reflect ridiculous profit margins and even sales at cost. Unfortunately low price stands out and is the most influential parameter in the competition our sector rather than quality, reliable delivery and good relations.

The companies in the cable sector, which are our main customers, are mostly financially weak establishments that operate on loans from financial institutions instead of their own capital so they are greatly impacted by adverse conditions and this poses great risk for us. This has forced us to review our customer portfolio and our sales terms. n

Unfortunately the tenseness in the markets continues. Due to the election

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MATERIALS WATER BLOCKING TAPE & YARN www.gepcoinc.com Please contact: Mike Kim E-mail: mkim@gepcoinc.com Tel. No.: 678 236 0800

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Proveedores e soldadoras eléctricas y manuales; impresoras y discos; cilindros, bandas y anillos para recocedores, bobinas/ carretes de plástico y acero; carretes p/ enmalladoras; bandas para caterpillar; tapes; conos y anillos de cerámica y tungsteno p/estiradoras; maquinaria p/ producción; cabezas de extrusión, etc.ayala1953@gmail.com.

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FOR SALE 3 - OMA 24-C Braiders, Model TR24/1-104 HC/EC 1 - OMA 24-C Braiders, Model TR24/1-190 MV/ECFX 24 - OMA 16-C Braiders, Model TR16/104G2 1 - NEB 72-C Braider, B10-72, Motor 1 - RATERA 36-Carrier Braider 2 - TMW 36-C, 24-C Cable Braiders, 7” Horn Gears 1 - NEB 36-C CB-1 Horizontal Cable Braider, Motor 1 - LESMO 1250mm D.T. Buncher 1 - ROYLE 48” Belt Wrap Capstan 1 - VITECK 36” Belt Wrap Capstan, CBW-36-D 1 - COOK BH30 Cabler 1 - DAVIS STANDARD 3.5” 34:1 Foam Extruder 2 - DAVIS STANDARD 2.5” 24:1 Extruder Lines 1 - DAVIS STANDARD 2” 24:1 Extruder w/X-Head 1 - DAVIS STANDARD 1.5” 24:1 Extruder 1 - ENTWISTLE 1.5” 24:1 FEP Extruder w/X-Head 1 - ENTWISTLE 1.25” 20:1 Extruder Line 1 - AMERICAN KUHNE 1.75” 20:1 Vertical Extruder 1 - SKALTEK 2600mm Payoff, Model UX-26 1 - SKALTEK 1600mm Payoff, Model A16-4K 1 - SKALTEK 1250mm Payoff, Model A12P-4K Commission

B r o k e r s

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4 - TEC 24” Neutralizer Payoffs 1 - BARTELL 3+1 630mm Tubular Strander 1 - DYNAMEX Tape Payoff, Model TPB30-2-D 1 - TULSA 36” Dual Take-up 2 - REEL-O-MATIC RD5, RD10 Rim Drives 1 - REEL-O-MATIC ELPT-10 Shaftless Take-up 1 - REEL-O-MATIC HJ/3KN Take-up 1 - REEL-O-MATIC FWR-101 Respooler w/Sparker 1 - USM Respooler, Model RT24 1 - TULSA 24” Tangential Taper 1 - NASHOBA 3-Head Taper 7 - WATSON KINREI 560mm D.T. Twinners 2 - WATSON KINREI Model NB450 Twinners 1 - CORTINOVIS 1+3 1600mm Bow Twister, 2004 1 - METEOR Model ME301 3-Head Winder 1 - EDMANDS 3+1 30” Bow Twister 1 - ENTWISTLE 4WDT24 4-W 24” D.T. Twister 2 - NEWMCO 16” D.T. Quadders 1 - MAGUIRE Micro Blender, Model WSB-MB 600 - HAFNER 500mm Reels, Type VM500, ABS Plastic

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

Alphagary ................................. inside front cover Amacoil Inc..............................inside back cover Boxy/Howar Equipment Inc .............................. 31 Cable Consultants Corp ....................................... 5 Candor................................................................... 14 Carris Reels Inc ...................................back cover Cimteq Ltd ............................................................ 20 Clinton Instrument Co......................................... 69 Commission Brokers Inc ................................... 79 Electric Cable Compounds Inc ......................... 65 Esteves Group USA ............................................. 47 George Evans Corp ............................................. 67 Fenn LLC ............................................................... 17 Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc ..................................... 1 Howar Equipment Inc............................. 18, 27, 68 Howar Equipment Inc/Boxy .............................. 31 Howar Equipment Inc/Unitek ........................... 48 Huestis Industrial ............................................... 49 InnoVites .............................................................. 20 Inosym Ltd ...................................................... 16, 64 KEIR Manufacturing Inc..................................... 79 Lamnea Bruk AB ................................................... 9 The MGS Group ................................................... 24 Paramount Die Co ................................................. 4 Pressure Welding Machines Ltd...................... 19 Queins Machines GmbH .................................... 15 Rainbow Rubber & Plastics Inc ......................... 2 REELEX Packaging Solutions Inc..................... 29 SIKORA AG ............................................................. 7 Sjogren Industries Inc........................................ 27 Teknor Apex Co ................................................... 25 Unitek/Howar Equipment Inc ........................... 48 Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp ....................... 13 Witels Albert USA Ltd ........................................ 17 Woodburn Diamond Die Inc .............................. 21 Wyrepak Industries ...................................... 30, 66

W I R E A S SOC AT ION IN T ’ L A DS WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2020 .........................................32-33 WAI Membership ................................................ 36 ITC Monterrey...................................................... 63 WAI Brands .......................................................... 75

NEX T AD DEADLINE April 2020 Booth listings: February 28 Reservation: March 2 Materials: March 10 • Preview: WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo • Sector Update: Braiding Equipment Official Show Program Reservation: April 2 Materials: April 10

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Europe U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, & Scandinavia Jennie Franks David Franks & Co. Tel/Fax: 44-1223-360472 franksco@btopenworld.com

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Zumbach Electronics Corp ................................ 43 80

W I R E J O U R N A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

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