Wire Bulletin - Apr 11

VOLUME II | ISSUE II | APRIL 2011

Rs. 125

WIRE BULLETIN India’s Quarterly Bulletin Dedicated to the Wire and Cable Industry

LEONI starts production in India

ASK THE EXPERT Q: What is the standard to calculate

the diameter of the point/tip and the die for extrusion lines? Specifically for a stranded conductor size of 1.2, can we use 1.26 or 1.34? And will the die be 2.16 or 2.24?

See answer on p. 17

NEWS BITES • BGR Energy Systems Ltd. said its Electrical Projects Division had secured a turnkey contract for Rs 36.61 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. for installing fibre optic cable based communication or OPWG backbone.

• A House panel has pilloried the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) scheme, contending that its continuation in its present form needs “serious reconsideration.”

QUOTABLE QUOTES The strong live and the weak die.

“There is some bloodshed, and out of it emerges a much leaner industry, which tends to survive.” ~ Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group to 700 companies from France “areClose in India, engaging around 2,00,000 people.” ~ Guillaume Page, Inward Investment Officer, Embassy of France in India

IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial .............................. 2 Calendar & Event Review ..... 3 Industry News ..................... 4 Business Innovation ............ 6 Corporate Focus.................. 8 Featured Concepts ............ 10 Global News...................... 12 Products, Media, & Technology .................... 13 Production Tips ................. 16 Ask the Expert ................... 17 Technical Article................ 18 Economic News ................. 21 People on the Move........... 22 Ad Showcase..................... 24

LEONI’s virtual development division.

LEONI, a leading supplier of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries, has established a wiring systems manufacturing facility near Pune, and has commenced the supply of diesel engine harnesses to Tata Cummins. By 2012 the group of companies thereof expects annual sales of double digit millions of Euros.

Tata Cummins Ltd. (TCL) is a joint venture between the Indian car maker Tata Motors Ltd. and the American engine manufacturer Cummins Engine Co., Inc. At a special ceremony in December 2010 the factory was

officially opened by Uwe H. Lamann, Member of the Executive Board responsible for the Wiring Systems Division at LEONI. “India is a major growth area of the global automotive market and is therefore strategically important for LEONI,” Lamann said.

“This new plant and our engineering and customer support in Pune emphasises our position as a global supplier of automotive wiring systems and demonstrates LEONI’s commitment to supporting our customers in India.”

The factory area is currently around 1,300 sq metres with expansion potential to more than 6,000 sq metres. The management structure of the Pune facility is in place and ongoing employee recruitment is expected to result in a head count of around 240 by the end of 2011. The overall volumes of diesel engine harnesses are expected to increase as India moves toward Euro 4 vehicle emissions standards.|WB

Bharti Airtel launches IMEWE cable system Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa launched its India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) cable system. The completion of the high-capacity, state-of-the-art fiber optic submarine cable that stretches from India to Europe, is the work of a consortium of nine partners comprising leading global telecom operators. The 13,000 km long three-pair fiber optic cable has a design capacity of 3.84 terabits per second, and is also the most advanced cable connecting India in South Asia to Italy and France in Western Europe via the Middle East with landings en route to Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon.

KEI Industries commissions cable plant New Delhi-based KEI Industries has commissioned a cable plant to make 66-220 EHV cables. Announcing this in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Rajeev Gupta, Director-Finance, KEI Industries, said that the project capacity is nearly 480 kms for the 66, 132, and 220 KV product segments for extra high voltage power cables, amounting to approximately Rs 250 crore of revenue for the full year.

“For 2011 we have got an order from Haryana and we have bid for more orders that include utilities as well on the basis of technical collaborations pre-qualification with Brugg Kabel. We expect major turnover coming from this plant for this particular product in FY2011-12,” Gupta said. The company is expecting around 30 per cent growth this year.

Meanwhile, the company has won three new orders to the tune of Rs 3.79 billion.

Two of these orders are from the Power Grid

Bharti Airtel will now bring Saudi Arabia into the loop.

Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) in the transmission segment and one order is from NMDC limited in the Balance of Plant segment.

The first PGCIL order, worth Rs 1.73 billion, is for the supply and construction of 765 KV double circuit transmission line between Jharsuguda Pooling Station and Dharamjaygarh. It is associated with the phase-I generation projects in Orissa.

The second PGCIL order is for the supply and construction of a 765 kV single circuit transmission line between Satna and Charkhari. These transmission lines are associated with the Rihand-III and Vindhyachal-IV in Madhya Pradesh. continued on p. 5

Sterlite to develop transmission system Sterlite Technologies Ltd., one of the leading global providers of transmission solutions for the power and telecom industries, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary has been selected to develop India’s first privately owned 765 kV transmission system on a ‘Build, Own, Operate’ basis. The transmission scheme for ‘System Strengthening Common for Western Region and Northern Region’ involves the establishment of a 765 kV double circuit line from Dharamjaygarh to Jabalpur (385 kms) and a 765 kV single circuit line from Jabalpur to Bina (250 kms). The project transmission lines would be commissioned within 36 months and the company would operate and maintain the transmission system for a minimum tenure of 35 years thereafter.

This system would evacuate and transmit power from a total of seven power

The deployment of the cable system will enable the company to deliver the much anticipated capacity to meet the connectivity requirements of the Middle East and European countries to Asia transiting through India and vice-versa. While the company’s state-of-the-art i2i and SEAMEWE4 cable systems already provide connectivity to these markets, IMEWE will help provide alternate routes for meeting the bandwidth requirements and diversity needs of the customers at any given time, a company statement said. The upcoming EIG cable system, it said, will also land in Bharti’s cable station in Mumbai.

The combination and seamless connection between the landing stations of IMEWE, EIG, i2i, and SEMEWE4 will allow Bharti Airtel to offer enhanced redundancy and network resilience to the customers in India, the Middle East to North Africa, and Asia Pacific regions.|WB

A D V E R T I S M E N T

See page 7.

Jabalpur will be a nodal point. generation stations located in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, and Jharkhand. The tariff-based competitive bidding process was conducted by Power Finance Corporation (PFC). Sterlite won the project on the basis of its technical and financial credentials. The project cost is estimated at about Rs 1,300 crore. continued on p. 5

APRIL 2011

EDITORIAL

I

recently received an e-mail from a non-resident Indian who works with a prominent company in the United States.

The gist of the writer’s message was that the developed nations do not take kindly to the recent corruption in India and that investors from outside India are becoming antsy about starting operations here with a long-term perspective. That many potential investors would rather look upon India as a destination to sell their products and technology rather than set up manufacturing operations is supposed to be the current wave of opinion.

One would beg to differ. While it is true that certain mammoth corruption cases have taken the shine off India’s rapid economic development, the one fact that cannot be ignored is that progress has not slackened. It does not appear that a few rotten apples in the political basket are going to force the industry leaders to slow their pace. The political equation will have to be segregated from the economic scenario and if one were to consider the recent results of India Inc., that seems to be the way ahead. For example, considering the first 11 months of CY10, India has become the fourth-largest crude steel producer, registering a growth of 7.4 per cent on a YoY basis. And given the fact that the realty and infrastructure sectors are moving forward at a steady gait, the demand is likely to keep growing.

The Government of India has, in fact, set an ambitious target of increasing the proportion of infrastructure investment to GDP to about 9 per cent by the terminal year of the 11th Five Year Plan. Accordingly, the estimated investment in the infrastructure sector during this period is expected to be about Rs 20,000 billion and the thrust is likely to continue into the next plan too.

This should sound like music to the ears of those in the wire and cable space. Further, additional demand is going to come from the increased production of automobiles. In FY11 the domestic sales of commercial vehicles are expected to register strong growth in excess of 35 per cent.

Essentially, the blot of corruption is soon going to be a thing of the past. Every country has its share of leaders who want to milk the national wealth dry. But that isn’t going to impede the Indian industry, which is guided by people with the right focus and mission. Foreign investments will continue despite the occasional negative sentiments. There is only one way for the economic curve to go and that is upward. Meanwhile, the WIRE BULLETIN team is already into the planning stage for the next issue which will provide a curtain-raiser for the big wire show scheduled to take place in Bangkok. See you there!

Huned Contractor Editor hcontractor@wirenet.org

2 | WIRE BULLETIN

WIRE BULLETIN Publisher | Steven J. Fetteroll Editor | Huned Contractor Contributing Writer | Mark Marselli Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications | Janice E. Swindells Graphic Artist | Adrienne E. Simpson Advertising Sales | Robert J. Xeller & Anna Bzowski Printed and published by Steven J. Fetteroll on behalf of WAI Wire and Cable Services Pvt Ltd and printed at K. Joshi & Co., 1745/2 Sadashiv Peth, Near Bhikardas Maruti Temple, Pune - 411 030 and published at 501 Rainbow Plaza, S. No. 7, Pimple Saudagar, Village Rahatni, Pune - 411 017.

Editor: Huned Contractor.

WIRE BULLETIN is published quarterly by WAI Wire and Cable Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wire Association International, (WAI) Inc. ©2011 by WAI Wire and Cable Services Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this document or related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, photocopying or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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CALENDAR & EVENT REVIEW Event Reviews

WORLD CALENDAR April 11-14, 2011: FTTx Summit Europe London, U.K. FTTx Summit Europe, held at the America Square Conference Centre, will unite leading fiber experts from telecoms and cable operators to address the business case for FTTx. Leading fiber experts are expected to gather for the event, which will feature two targeted workshop days focusing on the benefits of different NGA technologies, the regulatory challenges of P2P and GPON architectural solutions and how the regulatory requirements surrounding FTTx deployment will impact the rollout and reach of high-speed broadband.

Contact: Debbie Young | Tel.: +44-(0)-20-73689396, debbie.young@iqpc.co.uk.

bC India debuts with impressive show More than 22,000 visitors from 69 countries attended the first edition of The Bauma Conexpo Show—bC India—held from February 8-11, 2011, at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The international trade fair covered construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, and construction vehicles.

May 2-5, 2011: Interwire 2011 Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI returns to the Georgia World Congress Center for the trade show (May 3-5) and the Wire Association’s 81st Annual Convention (May 2-5). Interwire is an international trade event that draws participation from more than 50 countries around the world. It is the largest and longest running wire and cable marketplace in the Americas.

The exhibits feature technology and information from the more than 400 companies that are represented. More than 90 distinct elements comprise the technical conference, which is the most robust offering ever, featuring technical paper and operational presentations, courses, production solutions, a productivity workshop, panel discussions, guest speakers, and a keynote address from astronaut Mike Mullane.

Contact: WAI | Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, www.wirenet.org.

May 2-5, 2011: Global Continuous Casting Forum Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WAI offers the Global Continuous Casting Forum for copper practitioners from around the world. The program runs concurrently with Interwire 2011.

Contact: WAI | Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777, www.wirenet.org.

May 15-17, 2011: 5th World Wire and Cable Conference Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This year CRU Events’ 5th World Wire and Cable Conference will incorporate the KMI Fiberoptics Conference at the Hilton Hotel. Attended last year by more than 200 delegates, this year the conference theme is “The BRICS and Beyond—the wire and cable of tomorrow” and will once again bring together leading executives from around the wire and cable field to meet and discuss the major topics facing the industry. The 2011 conference programme will cover the vast opportunities in the emerging markets, and will focus on the energy and communication cables markets.

Contact: www.wireandcableconference.com.

An aerial view of the exhibition.

The event, which was a joint venture between Messe München International (MMI) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), exceeded all expectations.

Thomas Löffler, chief executive officer of the show organiser bC Expo India and deputy CEO of MMI India, said: “This result shows clearly that our decision to launch bC India just came at the right time at the right place.”

In particular, the quality of business visitors and the facilities were highly appreciated among the exhibitors. By offering free preregistration and charging an entrance fee to non-pre-registered visitors, a high professional level of business visitors was achieved.

“The quality of visitors was extremely good thanks to the restricted entry policy,” said V. Venkataramana, Vice President, Puzzolana.

Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India, said: “All the visitors at our booth were 100 per cent quality visitors.”

In the run-up to the show, the exhibition space for bC India had been extended to a total of around 88,000 sq meters to accommodate the strong demand from exhibitors.

All in all, 508 exhibitors from more than 30 countries showcased their latest products and innovations in machinery and equipment for construction, mining and building materials. The international character of this trade fair was underlined with the participation of nine national pavilions from Australia, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom—all showcasing state-of-the-art technology.

Michael Schmid-Lindenmayer, Managing Director, Putzmeister India, said: “India definitely needed an event like bC India.”

EEPC organises buyer-seller meet The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India along with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, organised a ‘Buyer Seller Meet’ between Indian engineering companies and their overseas’ counterparts. More than 40 delegates from USA, Canada, CIS, ASEAN and South Asian countries participated at the meet.

Indian engineering is now a global force. continued on p. 5

May 18-19, 2011: National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo is one of the exclusive showcases of the latest technology for the electrical wire harness, wire and cable processing, and related industries.

Contact: www.electricalwireshow.com.

May 23-26, 2011: wire Russia Moscow, Russia. Organized by Messe Düsseldorf, the International Wire and Cable Trade Fair (wire Russia) will be held along Tube Russia at the ZAO Expo Centre Krasnaya Presnya.

Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America | Tel.: 312-781-5180, erowe@mdna.com.

June 15-17, 2011: Wire & Cable Expo China Tianjin, China. To be held at the Tianjin International Exhibition Center, the 15th staging of this event will include a conference, exhibition and featured events.

Contact: AIT Events Co., Ltd. | Tel.: 86-10-85868930, www.bvents.com/event/ 389490-wire-cable-expo.

June 19-23, 2011: JI Cable Versailles, France. This multi-organizer international conference on insulated power cables, last held in 2007, will include a forum about power cables as well as exhibits.

Contact: J1 Cable | www.jicable.org.

Sept. 13-15, 2011: wire Southeast ASIA Bangkok, Thailand. Organized by Messe Düsseldorf, the International Wire & Cable Trade Fair for Southeast Asia (wire Southeast ASIA) will be held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC).

Contact: Messe Düsseldorf North America | Tel.: 312-781-5180, erowe@mdna.com.

November 16-19, 2011: BIMEC Milan, Italy. The Biennial Exhibition for Mechatronics and Automation (BIMEC) will focus on assembly, handling, movement, robotics, and industrial vision. The exhibition is organised by EFIM-ENTE FIERE ITALIANE MACCHINE. Contact: Claudia Mastrogiuseppe, External hat mation t r o f Relations Directorate and Press Office | in e v a Do you h his section?

Tel.: +39 02 26255-299, press@ucimu.it.

in t to: belongs by e-mail it m b u s t.org.

Please @wirene in t e ll u b wire

APRIL 2011 | 3

INDUSTRY NEWS LAPP Group celebrates 50th anniversary A global connectivity solutions provider, the LAPP Group recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its signature cable brand OLFLEX. As a part of this historic moment, an OLFLEX cable drum was rolled across landmark locations globally.

The OLFLEX drum was brought into the Bangalore facility of LAPP from South Africa, after which it headed straight to Shanghai, China, heralding the great success story of the brand. Dr. Ewald Bentz, Director, LAPP India Private Ltd., inaugurated the OLFLEX drum roll in a traditional and ceremonial style that included an enthralling welcome by Karnataka’s very own ‘Dollu Kunitha’ performers. Commemorating this historic moment with waving flags in their hands, LAPP employees ushered Dr. Bentz, who drove in the OLFLEX drum attached to a LAPP India-branded Nano.

The two-day long celebration was honoured by Rolf Salingmann, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Bangalore, that also included entertainment programmes by stand-up comedian Vikram Sathe and an exceptional group of performers called the ‘LAPP Artists’ who flew from Germany for the event.

During this celebration, Srinivas Kamisetty, Managing Director, LAPP India, said, “The fact that India is chosen as part of the OLFLEX drum across the globe is a testimony of how India has increasingly grown to become a user of standardised and quality products.” He further added that the 50th anniversary celebration of OLFLEX has effectively reiterated LAPP’s mission of working toward customisation and providing exactly what their customers want.

Sanco to expand capacity

LAPP started its India operations at Bangalore in 1996 with a manufacturing unit and today it is the third-largest manufacturing facility of the Lapp Group. Each year about 1,00,000 km of OLFLEX connecting and control cables and insulated single cores are produced. LAPP India now operates through a trained regional marketing organisation in Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai with 23 sales offices and a strong network of dealers throughout the country. In the past few years, LAPP India has been credited with a year-on-year annual growth of about 30 per cent, strengthening its operations further.

The LAPP Group, based in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of high flexibility cables, cable accessories, industrial connectors, pre-assembled cables, and communication technology. With more than 40,000 individual products, it is one of the major international suppliers in machine and plant construction, automation technology, and measurement and control technology for the automotive industry as well as for the electrical engineering, installation, transport, and energy sectors, among others.

The LAPP Group has 2,600 employees worldwide, 56 wholly-owned companies, and around 100 representative offices.

New-Delhi based Sanco Industries Ltd., manufacturers of PVC products like conduit pipes, insulated wires and cable, castings, and capings, will raise funds through an initial public offer to expand its existing manufacturing capacity and for working capital requirements. The company intends to utilise Rs 21.4 crore for establishing a manufacturing unit of copper wire rods and Rs 3.1 crore toward the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility based in Himachal Pradesh. Its current installed capacity is 4,800 MTPA for PVC compounds, 3,000 MTPA for PVC conduit pipes, 2,400 MTPA for PVC profiles, 3,240 MTPA for PPR/PVC plumbing pipes, and 18,000 KMPA for PVC insulated wires and cables. The company is planning to expand its manufacturing unit capacity of PVC wires and cables to 36,000 KMPA and of PVC conduits to 8,040 MTPA.

Indian steel sector attracts German companies With the Indian steel manufacturing industry on a roll, many German companies are now looking for cooperation with the Indian steel manufacturing companies. This was evident from the participation of the German companies at the 8th International Exhibition of Minerals, Metals, Metallurgy, and Materials 2011 held in New Delhi in February. As Roland Schuldt, Project Manager, BEDA Oxygentechnik, a Germanybased company, said to the web portal www.indiamart.com, “We are here to make sure that our name is known in India. And let the Indian steel industry see what we have to offer for them.”

BEDA Oxygentechnik has been providing its customers in India products procured directly from Germany.

Cords Cable commissions new unit

Cords Cable Industries Ltd. has commenced production from its new state-ofthe-art manufacturing unit at Kahrani, Rajasthan, where it will manufacture control, instrumentation and special cables such as Fieldbus, Solar PV, and EPR. The Kahrani unit is expected to add about USD 55-60 million to the topline of the company during FY11-12. The commissioning of the Kahrani unit has further strengthened Cords Cable’s position in the control and instrumentation cables sector in India. The company was established in 1987 by a group of industry professionals with the objective of catering to a growing requirement for high-quality customised cables. Its products include LV power and control cables, instrumentation cables, thermocouple extension cables, compensating cables, telephone cables, panel wires, and customised cables.

ISWP and JEMCO celebrate platinum jubilee The Jamshedpur-based Indian Steel & Wire Products Ltd., one of the first wire-

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drawing plants established in India in 1920, celebrated its platinum jubilee on December 24. It was definitely a moment of glory considering the company’s woes in 2003.

Since being taken over by Tata Steel it has, over the past seven years, posted a remarkable turnaround. The company’s wire rod mill was set up in 1935, the first of its kind in the country, followed by the establishment of its fastener division in 1939. In the 1960s its wire rod mill was modernised with the help of Sholeman AG of Germany.

Also sharing the celebrations was JEMCO, a division of ISWP that has been a pioneer in industrial roll and engineering casting manufacturing. This unit was set up under collaboration with Belgium and has been supplying products since 1940. Present on the occasion was H.M. Nerurkar, Managing Director, Tata Steel, who congratulated the management and teams of ISWP and JEMCO for the excellent progress and assured all help in the further growth of the company in wire rods and wire products, rolls, and castings. He also inaugurated a knowledge centre and visited the wire rod mill and wire mill galvanising plant.

Global steel wire market to reach USD 25.4 billion By the year 2015, the global steel wire market will touch USD 25.4 billion. This is the conclusion reached by Global Industry Analysts Inc. in their research report entitled, “Steel Wire: A Global Strategic Business Report.”

The steel industry’s business cycles reflect the general economic activity of a nation. Steel wire, as part of steel industry, is dependent on a number of factors such as the level of economic activity and the state of the end-use industries such as construction and automotive, which are major consumers of steel wire. Growing investments in infrastructure and higher disposable incomes in several developing economies are the key factors driving growth in steel and its derivative products. Besides, the steel wire industry is engaged in the production of a wide gamut of products such as steel cords used in reinforcing tyres and hoses.

In addition, steel wire finds application in furniture, agriculture, and appliance sectors.

Several new steel mill technologies were developed to meet the demand for highquality steel wire rod products from the construction and automotive industries. These technological innovations in the field of dimension measurements, improved finishing operations, and rolling with precision tolerances ensured consistency in dimensions, finish, and mechanical properties. Industrial growth in the developing economies is a major growth driver for the steel wire industry. Asia Pacific constitutes the most significant regional market for steel wire.

Infrastructure expansion and higher disposable incomes leading to greater ownership of consumer durables and automobiles are the major factors driving growth in the Asia Pacific region.

Also, rampant economic expansion in China has catapulted the nation as the largest and fastest growing consumer of steel and steel products in the world. The global steel industry has been marked by excessive capacity in industrialised nations and the introduction of novel and better production methods. The steel wire industry in the developed nations is boosted by stimulus packages issued by the governments to revive the construction and manufacturing industries. In the near future, Chinese export of steel wire products, especially PC strand wires, is expected to increase significantly.

INDUSTRY NEWS There is a plethora of growth opportunities for the Indian steel wire market. Rapidly expanding construction, infrastructure, telecom, and manufacturing industries bode well for the Indian steel wire market.

The global economic downturn affected the steel wire industry adversely in 2008 and 2009 as the demand for steel wire from enduse industries plummeted. The value sales of the global steel wire industry fell in 2008 as compared to the previous year, and plummeted further, exhibiting a negative growth rate in 2009. The developed and mature western markets of North America, Europe, and Japan were the worst hit recording declines during the period. In the U.S., the consumption of steel in the automobile industry witnessed major erosion, mainly on account of the economic slowdown.

The demand for PC strand wire declined in 2008 and 2009, resuming pace again in 2010. Chinese PC strand wire imports into the U.S. increased significantly during the period 2008-10, and domestic production declined drastically. In contrast, the Asia Pacific markets fared well during the recession and suffered only marginal losses.

The Asian region recovered quickly from the recession in 2009 due to the robust domestic demand. The global market on the whole is expected to fare well post 20102011 due to the thriving Asian economies.

Asia-Pacific, led by advances from rapid growth markets including China, India, South Korea, and Indonesia, among others, stands tall as the single-largest market, as stated by the new research report.

Europe, Japan, and the U.S. comprise the other major markets worldwide for steel wires. In terms of growth potential, the Asian region is the clear leader, forecast to surpass all the other markets at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.9 per cent through 2015. By product/segment group, carbon steel wire, segregated by various types, including plain and plated/coated with zinc, among others, towers over the other segments of the steel wire market.

Plain carbon steel wire market is anticipated to display high potential over the years with increased usage and demand levels. On a similar note, the alloy steel wire segment is anticipated to display the highest growth over the years at a projected CAGR of about 2.8 per cent for the analysis period.

The key market participants profiled in the report include Arcelor Mittal, Bridon International Ltd., Carrington Wire Ltd., Davis Wire Corp., Insteel Industries Inc., Kobe Steel Ltd., Leggett & Platt Inc., NV Bekaert SA, Pohang Iron & Steel Co., the Steel Authority of India Ltd., Tata SSL Ltd., Tree Island Industries Ltd., and Wire Rope Industries. The research announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc. provides a comprehensive review of the markets, product overview, recent industry activity, and profiles of market players worldwide.

The study also presents historic data for an insight into market evolution from 2000 through 2006.

Ruia buys German fastener company The Kolkata-based Ruia Group announced the acquisition of the 134-year-old automotive fastener manufacturing business of Acument GmbH & Co. KG of Germany for an undisclosed sum. The all-asset deal includes the acquisition of four manufacturing facilities and a logistics centre in Germany; employing 1,312 people. The Neuss (near Düsseldorf)-headquartered Acument Germany, which went into insol-

vency in August 2009, was earlier a part of the U.S.-headquartered Acument Global Technologies Inc. Ruia Group formed a joint stock company, Ruia Global Fasteners AG, promoted by its Mauritius-based investment arm Wealthsea Ltd., to take over the German company. The deal would be financed from internal accruals and three years’ sellers’ credit. Acument caters to automobile majors such as Volkswagen, Daimler, GM, TRW, MAN, Brose, Ford and SAS, and controls 15 per cent of the automotive fastener market in Germany.

The German company posted a turnover of approximately Euro 227 million (nearly Rs 1,400 crore) in 2010. This is the Ruia Group’s third acquisition in Germany and fourth in Europe in the last two years. The group previously acquired Gumasol-Werke, Dr, Mayer GmbH & Co. (August 2010) and Draftex Automotive GmbH (in 2009) in Germany. The group started its foray in Europe by acquiring the U.K.-based Schlegel Automotive Europe Ltd. in 2008. According to Pawan Ruia, Chairman, Ruia Group, including the latest acquisition, the group’s European business generates total revenues of approximately Euro 335 (over Rs 2,000 crore). The total group turnover is pegged at Rs 4,500 crore.

Bedmutha initiates mega project at Nardana

ment. In India, the 765 kV double circuit lines are being planned for the first time.

Our endeavor is to partner with PGCIL in building these high-capacity power transmission corridors which will be the future of the Indian power transmission infrastructure in the12th Five Year Plan and beyond,” said Ramesh Chandak, MD & CEO, KEC International Ltd.|WB

Sterlite continued from p. 1 “This is the first private 765 kV double circuit project in the world. It will help reduce the gap between power generation and power transmission in India,” said Pravin Agarwal, Wholetime Director, Sterlite Technologies.

Sterlite had earlier been awarded the ‘East North Interconnection Project’ to develop a transmission system with a total line length of about 450 kms for two 400 kV quad double circuit transmission lines in Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal. This project is well on its way to meet the scheduled timelines. With these two projects, the company’s total portfolio stands at about 1,100 kms for the development of transmission systems.|WB

Conclave coordinated by FICCI, and is an initiative to provide a platform to engineering companies for mutual interaction.

In his keynote address, Sumanta Chaudhuri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and chief guest for the meet, stated that India is a major exporter of light and heavy engineering goods and has a well-developed and diversified industrial machinery and capital base. He also said that the exports of engineering goods from India are likely to be more than Rs 50 billion in the current fiscal.

S.C. Ralhan, Regional Chairman-EEPC India, Northern Region, stated in his address that India is one of the countries that produces the highest number of engineers in the world. He also stated that Asia as a continent is going to play a very important role in shaping the destiny of world trade and that the world should look at Asian markets afresh. The next edition of the India show to be coordinated by EEPC India will be held at Toronto, Canada, from October 17-20, 2011.|WB

Event Review: EEPC continued from p. 3 The meet was the second in the series this year organized by EEPC India. The first was kicked off in Kolkata on March 2, 2011. Upcoming locations for the meet include other prominent cities in India such as Bengaluru and Chennai.

The engineering sector is the most important sector in India’s global exports. This event was organised in conjunction with India ASEAN Business Fair and Business

Dhule is now getting industrialised.

Bedmutha Industries Ltd. is in the process of setting up a mega project for the manufacture of GI, LRPC and SS wires at Nardana, district Dhule, in Maharashtra, with a project cost of Rs 152.90 crore. The capacity of the project is 1,62,000 MTPA. An MOU to this effect was signed by K.R. Bedmutha, the company’s chairman and Azeez Khan, Principal Secretary (Industries) in the presence of the former chief minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan in 2010. On the occasion, Khan highlighted the fact that the company is pursuing its unit in a backward area of the state to support the objective of the Government of Maharashtra of achieving balanced growth.

According to Bedmutha, the project would involve an outlay of Rs 266.30 to be spent in five years.|WB

KEI Industries continued from p. 1 The total order value is Rs 1.66 billion.

These projects are part of PGCIL’s plan for an inter-regional system for the strengthening and the evacuation of power from the various integrated power plants being developed in the region.

The contract from NMDC limited is for Rs 400 million in Chhattisgarh. The scope of work includes the construction and commissioning of 132, 33, 6.6, and 0.433 kV power supply systems, including civil and structural works, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and fire-fighting and firedetection systems.

“We are happy to establish our dominance in the 765 kV transmission line seg-

APRIL 2011 | 5

BUSINESS INNOVATION

Rajesh Saigal | Intertek India For more than 100 years, Intertek has helped customers improve performance, gain manufacturing and logistics efficiencies, overcome market constraints, and reduce risk by ensuring that a company’s products meet quality, health, environmental, safety, and social accountability standards for virtually any worldwide market.

WB interviewed Rajesh Saigal, Managing Director, Intertek India, about his company.

The following are excerpts from the interview.

Q: What is the background of your company’s operations?

A: Intertek has a 126-year-old history of innovation. Thomas Edison was one of the founding members. The company has grown over the last century by developing new services and expanding its operations to meet the increasing global demand for quality and safety of products and services.

We have a network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices, and over 26,000 people in more than 100 countries who add value to customers’ products through auditing, inspection, testing, quality assurance, and certification.

Q: What solutions does the company provide?

A: We provide services for design verification, material testing, product testing, international standard compliance certification, and inspections.

6 | WIRE BULLETIN

Q: Have you developed solutions for the Indian wire and cable sector?

A: Our key portfolio has been providing safety compliance and performance norms that include electrical and fire safety, and testing for hazardous substances. Our focus in this part of the world has been on safety testing and certification for the cable and wire industry for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Nigeria, and other Gulf countries; ROHS and ELV testing for cables for household and automotive applications; testing for data and communication cables like Cat 5e, Cat 6 and beyond; and fiber optic cable and connector testing to meet Bellcore, RUS, IEEE, TIA/EIA, and other requirements.

Q: What safety solutions are required by the wire and cable industry?

A: It is important that the safety, performance, and reliability of the products are maintained to avoid fines and property loss.

These are directly dependent on electrical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties and climate. Intertek has the facilities to test as per IEC, ANSI/UL, NFPA, and various cable industry standards.

Q: How do these solutions differ from those required by other industry sectors?

A: Every industry is unique in its supply chain. Compliance requirements are affected by varying factors like buyers, end-users, governance mechanisms, and legal constraints. With the growth and proliferation of both the household and the construction sectors in India, buyers and users in India are aware. They demand better performance and safety-compliant products.

Q: Are the solutions for India different from other countries?

A: Yes, on two fronts: One concerns the harsh climatic conditions and the variance in the electrical supply. The second is that since there aren’t proper building codes for materials use, installation, or maintenance, the

onus falls on cable and wire manufacturers for fire prevention and electrical safety.

Q: As technologies develop in the wire and cable industry, how do you devise new operational solutions?

A: We interact with law-makers, stakeholders, and industry representatives to introduce the required changes. For example for the last five years, we have been associated with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for the star labeling of air-conditioners and refrigerators. Today we have regulations to enforce these good practices.

Q: How large is your company’s operation in India?

A: We commenced our India operations in 1993 and currently the company has a network of 44 offices and laboratories across 31 cities with more than 1,200 employees.

Q: What is the role of Intertek’s testing division in India?

A: Its electrical testing vertical provides dedicated support of many sectors, with special focus on household consumer goods and industrial and IT products. We have an explosion-proof safety test lab at New Delhi for Europe’s stringent Atmosphere Explosive (ATEX) regulation and have been certifying cable lugs, cable glands, motors, and allied industrial equipment.

A view of the testing equipment.

Q: How do you see your growth vis-a-vis the wire and cable sector in India?

A: The huge growth of the infrastructure sector in India has given a fillip to the

growth of the electrical industry, household products, and industrial control equipment.

All directly affect the growth of the cable sector in India. Mega structures, malls, modern households, and even the insurance companies require safe and reliable cable and wire suitable for our climate. With the nation’s huge demand of power and increased penetration of electricity in rural India we do not see the growth stopping.

Q: What are your capex plans in India and elsewhere?

A: Recently the company has invested heavily in setting up a state-of-the-art food lab in Gurgaon, which caters to the whole country with its prime focus on North India.

Also, Intertek has recently acquired an array of companies, including some from Europe and USA. Q: Do you feel that the wire and cable sector in India has been indifferent to installing proper manufacturing, quality, and safety processes?

A: Yes, this is an area of growth and learning for India. We have old-age plants that have high human dependence. Wires and cables are like the arteries of the growing industry and they need care right from manufacturing to regular maintenance and change.

If their safety and health is not given due importance there will be higher maintenance costs and more causality.

Q: How can the Indian wire and cable sector improve operational and quality benchmarks?

A: The sector needs to test products with improved methods including instrumentation and consistency checks to meet national and international standards for safety, fire, and performance. Then, improve on areas of concern as part of the manufacturing process; and increase the awareness of buyers, utilities, and end-users.|WB

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APRIL 2011 | 7

CORPORATE FOCUS-INDIA Cords Cable Industries Ltd. In tune with the times With the demand for power on the rise in India and the government’s thrust on infrastructure development, Cords Cable expands its operations.

N. Sawhney Since its inception in 1987 the New Delhi-based Cords Cable Industries has continued to fine-tune its production outputs to meet the country’s changing demands. As such, the company has introduced cables that will serve the global focus on green technologies for power generation.

“As a result of climate change there has been an increasingly greater interest from governments of various nations towards the adoption of green technologies for power generation such as solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear etc. The west is far ahead of the rest of the world in terms of the adoption of these technologies, but we expect to see a slow catch-up and change towards greater adoption of green technologies around the world especially in Asia and the Middle East which are our focus markets,” said Naveen Sawhney, Managing Director, Cords Cable.

An approved vendor for Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Cords Cable recently

8 | WIRE BULLETIN

Plant overview.

Bunching.

added solar PV cables to its portfolio as well as other recently marketed products including foundation fieldbus cables, fire survival cables, low temperature cables, EPR insulated cables, and specialised cables for oil and gas.

“The primary focus of Cords Cable is the customised design and manufacture of high-quality, value-added special cables in the low voltage category. This gives the company a unique position in the cable industry,” said Varun Sawhney, Vice President (Marketing & HR), Cords Cable.

Naveen Sawhney and D.K. Prashar were among a group of professionals who founded the company to meet the growing demand for high-quality customised cables that included LV power, control, instrumentation, and thermocouple cables. Cords Cable has two manufacturing facilities in the Bhiwadi industrial area in Rajasthan where the company’s R&D efforts have led to new product designs. The company identified the development of specialised rubber cables for the ship-building, material handling, mining, and wind power industries as an area of huge potential.

The company has recently commenced commercial production of customized cables from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Kahrani, which produces high-quality control, instrumentation, and special cables.

“We have carefully selected our machine suppliers with a focus on reducing our

Screening.

Testing.

dependence on manpower and improving efficiency and quality. Much of the machinery has been imported from Europe.

We have also invested heavily on our inhouse copper wiredrawing and tinning facility which should be among the best,” Naveen Sawhney said.

“In the first full year of operation (FY1112) it should give us an additional topline of up to USD 55-60 million and would further strengthen our position as a leader in India for these products. Also, the plant is designed keeping in view the next few years–it gives us scope for addition of new products and further increase in capacity by up to 25-30 per cent.”

In 2010 Cords Cable had several positive developments. It received approval from Power Grid Corporation of India for control and LV power cables that has increased its scope in the energy distribution sector in India. It received approvals and orders from Engineers India Limited (EIL) for its foundation fieldbus cables. And, it successfully developed EPR insulated control and instrumentation cables as also its XtremeTemp range of cables for regions with very low freezing temperatures. These are new markets for the company.

“India was dependent on imports for these special cables used for high-speed digital data transmission which can now be locally manufactured,” Naveen Sawhney said.

Tinning.

Annealing.

Given India’s excellent economic progress, the company is investing in further diversified offerings, specifically the development of more value-added cables.

“We have invested considerable amounts in modernisation and increasing the automation level of our manufacturing process besides introducing strict cost-cutting and disciplinary measures throughout the organization,” Naveen Sawhney said.

Another company goal was to beef up its export division to develop its markets in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and CIS to improve profitability and increase visibility.

“We decided to enter into international business about four years back. At that time almost our entire topline came from domestic sales. We participated in MEEE 2007 exhibition at Dubai where we received an excellent response. Our products were very well-received and over time the quality and level of service appreciated.

Today, our export division accounts for more than 20 per cent of our topline and should see further growth in the coming years,” Naveen Sawhney said.|WB Contact: Cords Cable Industries Ltd. B1/A26, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Estate, Mathura Road New Delhi - 110 044 Tel.: 0091-11-40551200 E-mail: ccil@cordscable.com Website: www.cordscable.com

CORPORATE FOCUS-INTERNATIONAL Medek & Schoerner Innovating its way ahead As producers of cable marking systems and optical fiber coding systems, the company has come a long way in establishing an international reputation.

W. Lichtscheidl Specialisation is the key to success. This is a philosophy that Austria-based Medek & Schoerner adopted 60 years ago and it has since reaped rich rewards. For a company that has the expertise of designing and building marking machines for continuously produced goods such as wires and cables, the journey actually began in 1929 when it was established as a mechanical engineering firm by Josef Medek and Gustav Schoerner. After the 1938 annexation of Austria by the Third Reich, the company was compulsorily integrated into the German armaments industry. After the war it began to produce consumer products such as irons and small radios.

After the difficult years of reconstruction the company made its first contacts with the cable industry and established a relationship that was to lead to its pre-eminence in the field of cable marking machines and, later, optical fiber colour coding lines.

Today its product range extends from simple marking heads to fully automated, highperformance systems for use in advanced production lines. Its cable marking products include high-speed gravure printers that can operate at speeds up to 1,500 m/minute, high-performance hot stamping markers for printing length marks on cables, ring markers for telephone or control wire for speeds up to 2,500 m/minute, and offset markers for printing plastic tubing, hoses, and cable.

Medek & Schoerner developed its concept for coating optical fibers with ultraviolet hardening inks in close cooperation with companies in the cable industry. Its GFP Series optical fiber processing system was specifically designed to coat optical fibers with UV curable inks. It provides a solution for every application—from simple multi-fiber systems for up to 12 filaments with no winding units to complete six fiber coating plants with dedicated winding units—running at speeds up to 3,000 m/min.

Medek & Schoerner covers virtually the entire spectrum of machines for marking cables and coating optical fibers.

The optical fiber coating system offers optical fiber colour coding up to 3,000 m/min, ring marking of the optical fibers, tight buffering up to 1,300 m/min, fiber ribbon production with ribbon planarity and for speeds up to 1,000 m/min, and CFU production of compact fiber units.

“In the cable industry the pace of technical development accelerates continuously and so the specifications for production equipment may often change almost overnight. Medek & Schoerner meets this challenge with a modular system concept that is based on the long-term compatibility of its products,” said Werner Lichtscheidl, CEO, Commercial.

Advanced production machinery.

The implication is that system efficiency can be significantly increased simply by replacing individual components. This method is less costly than replacing an entire system because the actual equipment cost and installation costs are less; shorter downtimes and energy savings are experienced as well.

New components are backward compatible, enabling the customer to react to market changes or to new regulations more quickly and at less expense.

“We are a company that always takes the shortest route. We manufacture virtually all our mechanical, electrical and electronic components in-house, making us largely independent of external suppliers. The fact that we have developed many of our technologies ourselves means that we are very strong in precision engineering, CNC processing and control electronics,” Lichtscheidl said.

This, in turn, enables the company to react to customer requirements quickly and efficiently. For example, its mechanical workshops can cooperate with the electrical controls department to make an industrial production quality prototype in a very short time.

Laser printer. ity on high-speed cable printing machines at various magnifications. The integrated software allows for various evaluations of the displayed print area, offering an alarm in case of bad quality and/or missing prints.

M&S plant in Austria.

The customer benefit of the VST is to save scrap that results from badly marked cables. As such the video monitoring system will pay for itself in short order. Medek & Schoerner also offers a laser printer for direct marking on the plastic insulation of a variety of wires and cables. The new pulsed fibre laser printer is compact and versatile offering the high quality marks that standard marking machines lack. The laser printer requires little maintenance.

Another innovation is a manufacturing concept for precision micro flexible flat cables (FFC), which have widespread use in the automotive and IT industries. Lamination and extrusion are the processes most commonly used for the production of FFCs today. The disadvantages of lamination are its extremely low production speed and hygroscopic problems.

Ring marker.

“Extrusion is unsuitable for the production of micro FFCs due to the high temperatures and pressures encountered in the extruder head: these make it impossible to maintain accurate geometrical dimensions and precise positioning. As a world market leader in coating equipment for optical fibers, we developed a new pressureless cold process for the production of FFCs using UV cured resins, thus ensuring the perfect geometrical accuracy of the cable at high production speeds. The same procedure can also be employed inline with an extruder to position the individual flat cables accurately as they enter the extruder head,” Lichtscheidl said.

For a company to have gone from strength to strength over so many years, there must be a sound theory in place.

“There is,” Lichtscheidl said.

“Not only do we offer superior quality, high-performance products but we also go that extra mile to provide reliable product support and a standard of after-sales service that many of our competitors simply cannot afford to offer. We also believe that we are acting in our customers’ best interests by not compromising our quality for the sake of price.”|WB Contact: Medek & Schörner GmbH Kuefsteingasse 32, POB 27 A-1142 Vienna/Austria Tel.: +43-1-9823204-0 | Fax: +43-1-9827296 E-mail: m+s@medek.at Website: www.medek.at

M&S participation at a wire show in India.

Medek & Schoerner regularly participates in wire and cable shows in India, and with good reason too.

“For several decades now we have been offering our high-performance cable marking machines to companies of the Indian cable industry and have been extremely satisfied with the success and the huge interest of Indian customers in our top-quality cable marking products. We are, in fact, very proud that almost all the high-fliers in the Indian cable industry have become our regular customers. One thing I must add is that the Indian customers are very quality-conscious and of course hard bargainers, too. But what is very important for us is the feedback that we get from the large number of Indian customers that allows us to constantly adapt our machineries to the specific requirements of the Indian market,” Lichtscheidl said.

However, while the company always has one of its senior engineers travelling through India to attend to their clients’ needs, there is no intention currently to start its manufacturing activities there.

“Since the market for cable marking and optical fiber coating systems is more a niche market, all our production facilities will remain in Vienna because of economic reasons. What is more important at this stage is to offer the best after-sales service and that is being done by our agency in India, ASACO Private Limited,” Lichtscheidl said.

Innovation plays a strong role in Medek & Schoerner’s technical operations as is reflected in the company’s new products. One example is its VST video stroboscope, designed to continuously monitor the print qual-

APRIL 2011 | 9

FEATURED CONCEPTS Fiber Optics: The future is here ith the telecom and other sectors now becoming heavily dependent on the use of fiber optics, the industry is all set to witness rapid growth.

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Ask anyone involved in India’s cable market what triggered the big-time entry of fiber optics and the response will always shoot back to the liberalisation of the Indian telecom market that started in the early 1980s. With the government’s emphasis on enabling low-income families to also afford telecom services, the issue of licenses to telecom operators was shed of its bureaucratic restrictions. This is what helped the industry gain momentum.

Village life in India will be transformed with fiber optic technology.

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world and at the end of August 2010 the fixed line segment subscriber base reached 37 million while the total mobile subscribers stood at 652 million. Additionally, the number of broadband connections has crossed 8.6 million. As such, the overall tele-density has increased to 58.17 per cent.

These are impressive figures, indeed, especially for those who still remember what it took to make a long distance telephone call by queuing up for hours in a post office and sometimes returning home disappointed when the connection could not be made. However, a wide gap between rural tele-density and urban tele-density remains, with the former being only to the extent of 15 per cent. The fixed line segment is now lagging behind the mobile line segment and the broadband speed offered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is usually slower than 256 kbit/s which still ranks as one of the lowest broadband speeds compared to other countries. Additionally, the broadband fee is more expensive compared to Western Europe and the United States.

Taking this into account the Government of India has decided to adopt a more aggressive stance for developments in this sector and the targets proposed in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) are: • Total subscribers shall reach up to 700 million.

• Telecom services revenues should reach USD 54 billion.

• The rural sector will be the key driver, with potential of increasing tele-density from 15 to 40 per cent.

• Data revolution to be fuelled by 3G and WiMAX with 25-30 million 3G subscribers and WiMAX touching a user base of 8-10 million.

• Internet users to reach 45 million with affordable broadband connectivity to all villages to reach 25-30 million users, and mobile Internet users to reach 196 million.

Fiber optic market The growth in the fiber optic market has been tremendous since 2003. The demand in 2007 was 8 million fkm, increasing from a level of 2.6 million fkm in 2006. The rate

10 | WIRE BULLETIN

of growth slowed in 2008, and in 2009 the market was 8.7 million fkm. The rise in demand for fiber optic cables is being driven by strong growth in the mobile phone sector and the increasing demand for broadband services.

“As well as the many mobile operators, the Indian rail operators and the gas and power utilities also have fiber optic networks while fiber optic cables are being laid alongside roads so that there are a large number of actual and potential customers for fiber optic cables in India,” said Rajeev Venkat, Director, Teracom Limited.

Given this situation, companies engaged in the fiber optic cable business are set to expand capacity to meet the growing need.

Teracom, offering innovative optical technology solutions, has, for instance, initiated a plan to double its existing capacity in optical fiber cables (OFC) from 1 million fkm to 2 million fkm.

“Our attention is on increasing the share in the international market, and increasing brand visibility in the world telecom market,” Venkat said. The company has developed many new products for fiber-to-the home (FTTH) applications. What holds further promise is the opening up of the 3G spectrum that will usher in a new era in the Indian telecommunication industry.

Another reason why the OFC market in India has potential is that although the optical fiber network in India is the fourthlargest in the world, the optical fiber length per capita is only 39 metres in this country.

It is 197 metres in China and 907 metres in the United States.

Experts believe that the cable demand will reach up to 15-20 million fkm in 2015.

There also are some specific projects that will boost the demand. By 2012, for example, around 2.5 lakh villages will be connected through wireless broadband 3G mobile services. In Gujarat, its chief minister Narender Modi has an ambitious plan to launch an e-gram project to connect all the gram panchayats through OFCs and computers with broadband services.

Innovations With the world fiber optic components market predicted to reach USD 31.3 billion by 2015, the bigger players are focused on capitalising on this boom and developing new OFC-related technologies. In regions that are still not well developed, the continued migration from copper to fiber network in the post-recession period, and the need to offer attractive service packages and capture large volume of subscribers, will witness service providers continuing to invest heavily to replace the traditional last mile networks with an end-to-end fiber access network, thus increasing demand for fiber optic components.

Fiber-to-the-home FTTH is a broadband telecommunications system based on fiber optic cables and associated optical electronics that enables the delivery of a quadruple play of high-speed broadband, high-definition video, unlimited ‘anywhere’ telephony, and real-time surveillance. With FTTH, consumers will enjoy amenities like IPTV, high definition and interactive television, video-on-demand, per-

sonal video recorder, smart appliances, and electronic homes. FTTH will significantly improve the speed and quality of Internetbased services like file and photo sharing, music download, movie downloads, multiplayer online gaming, virtual networking, interactive distance learning, telemedicine, and several other applications. The subscriber base for FTTH is expected to cross 100 million globally by the end of 2012.

Fiber optic cables.

Compared to conventional telecommunication, in which copper cables carry electrical signals, optical fiber cables carry data at more than 40Gbps, which equates to nearly a million voice calls running simultaneously. A number of technologies have been developed to provide broadband on copper networks but they are limited by the inability of copper cables to carry highspeed data for distances of more than 70-80 metres, and interference due to electromagnetic fields.

“Even basic services like file sharing and online music/video sharing require large bandwidth that cannot be provided by most of the current copper cable-based broadband networks. With optical fiber based systems, however, providers for telephone services, Internet service and cable TV operators will terminate their cables at a central location in a residential or commercial complex and there shall be just one optical fiber cable going to each premise,” said Manish Agarwal, Head-Marketing (Fiber Optic Cables), Sterlite Technologies, in an article published by CyberMedia.

Expanding applications In-flight infotainment systems are completely dependent on OFCs. They are becoming increasingly sophisticated and advanced.

Since fiber optic solutions are much lighter and transmit more data than copper within a single line, fiber optic solutions are a good choice for use in aviation infotainment systems. Also, many modern trains use fiber cable and optical transceivers, receivers, and transmitters. Optical fiber connects the controller to devices and sub-systems such as power electronics, motor controllers, brakes, and radios. It also connects equipment in a coach to control lights, doors, air-conditioning and passenger convenience displays for train station and arrival information.

MRI application.

Fiber optic technology has also become common in medical imaging equipment such as MRI and X-Ray machines. In the entertainment area, casinos have machines connected to the central computer/server for data processing, marketing programs, and video surveillance. The renewable energy

UNDERSTANDING OFCS • An optical fiber is a single, hair-fine filament drawn from molten silica glass.

These fibers are replacing metal wire as the transmission medium in high-speed, high-capacity communications systems that convert information into light, which is then transmitted via fiber optic cable.

• A fiber optic cable consists of a bundle of glass threads, each of which is capable of transmitting messages modulated onto light waves. There are three types of fiber optic cables commonly used: single mode, multimode and plastic optical fiber (POF).

• An optical fiber cable is a cable containing one or more optical fibers. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed.

• A basic fiber optic system comprises a transmitting device, which generates the light signal, an optical fiber cable, which carries the light, and a receiver, which accepts the transmitted light signal.

• Fiber optic cable functions as a light guide, guiding the light introduced at one end of the cable through to the other end.

The light source can either be a lightemitting diode (LED) or a laser.

• An optical fiber is manufactured from silicon dioxide by either of two methods.

One is the crucible method in which powdered silica is melted, produces fatter, multimode fibers suitable for shortdistance transmission of many light wave signals. The second is through the vapour deposition process that creates a solid cylinder of core and cladding material that is then heated and drawn into a thinner, single-mode fiber for long-distance communication.

• Optical fibers in a cable are normally protected in one of two ways, either being tight buffered or contained in loose tubes.

When tight buffered the individual optical fiber is covered directly with a layer of thermoplastic material or one or more fibers can be contained within a loose tube which is filled with a thixotropic gel.

These processes are performed on specially equipped extrusion lines.

• Fiber optic cables are not sensitive to electromagnetic fields or atmospheric conditions that can degrade signaling in wireless and copper. This advantage prevents data loss and data from being obtained from the fiber itself.

market, too, has adopted fiber technology.

In some wind farm applications, fiber optics is the only suitable communications technology. Fiber links are used inside the wind turbine nacelle, which can be more than 100 meters above ground or sea level, as well as for data links between turbines and remote management locations.|WB

FEATURED CONCEPTS National Broadband Policy: A revolutionary step ahead ith the dependence on wire line connections expected to grow, cable manufacturers in India can expect increased business.

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Kapil Sibal According to telecom minister Kapil Sibal, the National Broadband Plan (NBP) will connect 160 million Indian households with high-speed Internet by 2014. The immediate concern is that for the first time the plan has more emphasis on the wire line infrastructure, which is both robust and able to meet the demands of future services that will require speeds that exceed 2 Mbps.

Thankfully, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also recognised the value of cable networks in delivering broadband to millions.

The backbone may be structured as a single monolith network or as an interconnected hierarchy of national, regional, and state networks with presence in district headquarters and other important cities.

This IP network will interface with Ethernet and time division multiplexing (TDM) streams and will handle multiple protocols.

The access network is deployed by the licensed service providers using various wire line and wireless technologies. This net-

work will be delivered to the subscribers’ premises and must be designed to meet the customers’ service and application needs.

The number of broadband connections is expected to be 75 million by 2012 and 160 million by 2014. Wire line is expected to contribute 54 million connections by 2012 and 95 million by 2014. Out of these wire line connections, cable broadband will be 28 million by 2012 and 72 million by 2014.

Wireless broadband will be 60 million by 2014. The average number of broadband households in 2012 and 2014 would be 23 and 63 million, respectively, in rural areas.

To provide access, the copper-based popular version, ADSL 2+, can theoretically support up to 24 Mbps. On very short loops it can support only 2 Mbps to a distance of about 3.5 kms. Since DSL functionality depends on the quality of the copper loops, such copper-based technologies play a limited role of about 20 per cent deployment by 2014.

Coaxial cables provide another option for broadband delivery. Today India’s broadcasting sector comprises 550 television channels and about 85 million cable television households. Cable television networks offer a less expensive and convenient means to provide broadband service because of the existing access to a large number of households.

Assuming that the average cable length laid to each of the 85 million cable homes is 100 metres, the total cable length is around 8.5 million kms. Further, the cable operator is provided connectivity by Multiple System

Comparison of Broadband and Wireline Connections–as on March 2010 Broadband Connections in Millions

DSL Broadband Connections in Millions

Wireline Connections in Millions

% of Wireline Connections Having DSL Broadband

8.75

7.93

36.96

21.45

Year

2010 2012 2014

Projected Ratio Of Wireline And Wireless Broadband Wireline Broadband Subscribers Total Broadband Subscribers DSL BB Cable BB Wireless BB Subscribers Total in Millions in Millions in Millions 11.0 11.0 11.0 16.6 28.0 44.6 26.5 71.1 22.2 72.0 94.2 59.7 153.9

Operators (MSOs) on optical fiber that averages 1.5 kms in length. Cable Quest magazine reported that MSOs have laid around 30,000 km of optical fiber to cable operators and large backbone fiber networks for inter- and intra-city connectivity. In many places the fiber networks use telecom service providers. The digitisation of the cable TV network would involve upgrades to the distribution network and cable head-ends.

Fiber optic plant.

Additional requirements including encryption, subscriber management system (SMS), and skill development, factor into the estimated costs, which vary from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 crore. The TRAI has proposed several possible incentives for stakeholders so that digitisation is implemented quickly and in a sustainable manner.

A National Broadband Network will be established in two phases. The network will

be an open-access optical fiber network connecting all areas with a population of 500 and above. The first phase covering all the cities, urban areas, and gram panchayats will be completed by 2012; the second will extend the network to all areas populated by 500, with completion by 2013.

A National Optical Fibre Agency (NOFA) will be set up to establish this broadband network. NOFA is proposed to be a 100 per cent central government-owned holding company. It will also establish the networks in the 63 cities covered under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM).

The TRAI said a State Optical Fiber Agency (SOFA) would be formed in every state with 51 per cent equity held by the NOFA and 49 per cent by the respective state governments.

NOFA would be the holding company of all the SOFAs. All the SOFAs will establish the networks and backhaul in the rural areas and in the urban areas other than those cities covered under the JNURM. TRAI has made it clear that it is skeptical of relying on wireless broadband to increase Internet penetration due to spectrum constraints. This will benefit the Indian cable industry.|WB

APRIL 2011 | 11

GLOBAL NEWS ABU DHABI—Nexans will complete a Euro 9 million contract for Hyundai Engineering & Construction to supply power and communication cables featuring advanced, environment-friendly insulation technology for GASCO’s Habshan 5 Utilities and Offsites project in Abu Dhabi. Around 345 kms of Nexans’ medium voltage, high voltage, and communications cables featuring either HFFR or HYPRON® insulation have been installed.

CHINA—Bekaert NV, the world’s largest maker of steel cord for tyres, will expand production capacity in China because of accelerating growth in its higher-margin Asian businesses. According to the company’s CFO, Bruno Humblet, Bekaert’s plants in the Asian country, with a capacity of 4,50,000 metric tonnes, were running flat out by the year-end.

He expects the Chinese market to expand to about 1.5 million tonnes this year.

telecommunications service provider, has selected NEC Corporation to carry out a multimillion upgrade to its 9,620 km EAC Pacific Cable Network. The submarine link, which represents two of the five fiber pairs of the Unity Cable System, connects Chikura, Chiba, Japan, to Los Angeles, California, USA. It has a capacity of 1.92 terabytes per second and went live in April 2010.

BANGLADESH—In its Sixth Five Year Plan the

EGYPT—Elsewedy Electric, Egypt’s largest

Bangladesh government aims to connect all the rural areas with a national road network to provide basic social access and promote pro-poor growth through regional cooperation forums.

Over the next five years, the government will invest about Tk 14,876 crore in developing the transport system. Additional construction will include 45,107 metres of bridge, culverts and overpasses.

publicly traded cable maker, will delay a USD 65 million investment to build a plant in Libya after unrest in the North African country.

Elsewedy had signed an agreement in 2007 with the General Electricity Co. of Libya and the Libyan Economic Development Fund to build the plant in Tripoli with an annual capacity of 13,600 tonnes of cable.

Tinto Alcan, has established a separate corporation, Alcan Cable de Mexico, to reinforce Alcan Cable’s continued commitment to the Mexican market. Alcan Cable entered the Mexican market in 1995 and was the first company to introduce 8000 Series aluminum alloy Type MC (Metal Clad) cable and low smoke, single conductor aluminum alloy feeder cable, XHHW-2 LS. The company’s STABILOY® brand of aluminium alloy cables has become the standard for commercial, institutional, and industrial building applications in Mexico.

BRAZIL—Japanese cabling group Fujikura plans to invest around USD 12 million to open a factory in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The facility will focus on the production of special cables for power transmission and telecommunications. Fujikura has cable factories in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

BRAZIL—Gerdau, Brazil’s largest maker of long steel products, will invest USD 1.5 billion on expanding a wire rod and rolling mill in Rio de Janeiro state, where some of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects will occur. The project will more than double capacity at Gerdau’s Cosigua mill in Santa Cruz, an industrial compound in Rio state. Cosigua, a 40year-old plant, produces rods, bars, and other steel products for the construction industry.

CHINA—China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced that it will impose temporary anti-dumping measures on optical fiber imported from the U.S. and EU. The preliminary ruling requires importers of dispersion unshifted single-mode optical fiber, a material used in high-speed and long-distance telecom transmission, to place deposits starting February 18, according to a statement on the MOC website.

12 | WIRE BULLETIN

GERMANY—Europe’s leading trade exhibition for the fastener and fixing industry, Fastener Fair Stuttgart 2011, ended with record results.

On an enlarged exhibition area, covering 12,500 sq meters in three halls at Stuttgart’s exhibition grounds, 667 exhibitors from 40 countries showcased a comprehensive range of products and services for the fastener and fixing industry. With some 8,300 visitors, an increase of 38 per cent compared with the previous exhibition, this year’s fair was the biggest ever.

JAPAN—Hitachi Cable Ltd. plans to install production equipment for industrial wire and to begin production of wires for rolling stocks and heat-resistant wire at Hitachi Cable (Suzhou) Co., a member of the Hitachi Cable Group in China. These plans also call for the construction of a new building at the facility.

Under its medium-term management plan, the Hitachi Cable Group is moving ahead to establish core manufacturing facilities that will produce a multitude of strong products, with the goal of strengthening its overseas businesses.

JAPAN—Pacnet, formed from the operational merger of Asia Netcom and Pacific Internet and described as Asia’s leading independent

MEXICO—Alcan Cable, a business of Rio

NEW ZEALAND—The ntk/Balfour Beatty UGL consortium has signed a cable manufacturing and installation contract with Trans Power worth 82 million New Zealand dollars corresponding to approximately Euro 47 million to manufacture and install a cable of 18 kms length. The NAan project is part of the country’s major electricity grid upgrade.

PACIFIC ISLANDS—The Government of Samoa is moving forward with another undersea fiber optic cable connecting the independent state with Australia, New Zealand, and California, which may mean competition for the American Samoa Hawaii Cable LLC (ASH-Cable). A weekly news release by the Samoan government, the cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the fiber optic cable provided by Pacific Fibre Co.

POLAND—Automotive component and wiring harness manufacturer Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems was reportedly poised to lay off workers at its manufacturing unit in Leszno, Poland. The layoffs are said to be due to declining orders and “crisis within the automotive

industry.” Sumitomo closed its manufacturing facility in Radwicz, Poland, in 2009, resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs.

SOUTH KOREA—LS Cable Ltd. clinched a deal worth more than USD 20 million to build and maintain a communication network in Doha, the largest city in Qatar. In an USD 18 million project from Vodafone Qatar, LS Cable will establish broadband networks using optical cables to provide fast Internet service in the city. The order also includes a project worth USD 2.5 million for network maintenance.

USA—Alcoa, the largest U.S.-based aluminium producer, will buy TransDigm Group’s fastener business for about USD 240 million to expand its presence in the aerospace market where demand for the metal is expected to grow rapidly.

USA—Philatron Wire & Cable was recently certified for ISO 9001:2008 compliance for the designing and manufacturing of electrical wire and cable. The certification is based upon international standards of consistency, in addition to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

USA—Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) announced that its subsidiary, CTC Cable Corporation, has entered into an agreement with Taihan Electric Wire Co. under which Taihan will manufacture ACCC® conductors for sale in the Korean market. Taihan is currently constructing a new facility for the manufacture of conductors and will be introducing state-of-the-art technologies for the manufacture of ACCC conductors under license.

TAIWAN—Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corp.

Ltd., a leading manufacturer of wire and cable products for the telecommunications and electric-power industries in selected Asia-Pacific markets, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pacific Wire and Cable Shenzhen, has been recognised as one of the top wire and cable companies in China.|WB

PRODUCTS, MEDIA, & TECHNOLOGY Products

SNAP compact fiber optic patch panel

New wire compound in Medalist®

American company DINSpace recently announced the release of the SNAP Compact Fiber Optic Patch Panel. The rugged SNAP patch panel allows users to terminate field distribution fiber optic cable in field enclosures requiring far less enclosure footprint than traditional IT hardware. Up to 24 fiber strands of multimode or singlemode fiber can be terminated in the SNAP’s compact 6.25" x 5.125" x 2.75" enclosure.

Adapter interfaces are available for singlemode or multimode fiber in ST, SC, and LC form factors. SNAP patch panels are in compact size and are useful for limited space enclosures.

For further details contact: E-mail: sales@dinspce.com, www.dinspace.com.

The first wire and cable compound in the Medalist® family of medical elastomers is formulated and produced to meet stringent medical-industry requirements, yet draws on technology successful in non-medical insulation and jacketing applications. The Medalist MD458 compound is a high-purity formulation that has passed ISO 10993-5 cytotoxicity testing, is RoHS and REACh compliant, and is manufactured in Teknor Apex’s dedicated medical compounding facility in St. Albans, Vermont, USA. The new compound provides the same electrical performance, elevated service temperature rating, and resistance to chemicals and sunlight as the company’s Elexar® EL8431 thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

Medalist MD458 has a Shore A hardness of 70, a flammability classification of HB (UL-94), and a maximum continuous operating temperature rating of 105ºC (UL1581). It has passed standard tests for oil resistance after seven days at 60ºC and UV resistance after 720 hours. These properties lend themselves to applications in hospital and healthcare environments requiring excellent flexibility, durability, and chemical resistance.

For further details contact: apactpe@teknorapex.com.

FO BreakOut cabling system German company Daetwyler Cables has added another time and money-saving solution to its portfolio of complete copper and fiber optic technology solutions for data centres with the BreakOut System (BO System), which is based on compact multiple-cable trunks with 12, 24, and 48 mini fibre optic cables housed in a single outer sheath. The mini cables are pre-assembled with LC connectors on both sides. Daetwyler Cables supplies them with OM3 grade multi-mode fibres (G50/125μ) or OS2 grade single-mode fibres (E09/125μ), each of which is protected by aramide yarn and has its own sheath.

With a diameter of 1.8 millimetres each, even the BO multiple cables are very thin: the external diameter of trunks with 24 mini cables is only 1.1 cm and that of trunks with 48 individual cables only 1.84 cm. The latter can easily be terminated in a 1U height distribution panel. The pre-assembled BreakOut cables with LC connectors on both sides are as easy to handle as pre-assembled copper patch cables. This means that BO System installations in data centres are sped up considerably compared with other solutions, especially with on-site splicing. The BO multiple cables exhibit a very small permissible bending radii.

For further details visit: www.daetwyler-cables.com.

Second generation (2G) HTS wire U.S.-based Superconductor Technologies Inc., engaged in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, has successfully produced second generation (2G) HTS wire samples that meet the requirements specified by customers for HTS AC power cable, superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL), and HTS wind turbine applications. The delivery of the samples for customer testing is expected to begin shortly.

STI’s strategic 2G HTS wire program utilises its specialized HTS material deposition processes and volume manufacturing expertise to produce energy efficient, cost-effective, and high performance HTS wire for next generation power applications and other attractive new markets.

For further details visit: www.suptech.com.

trap wires without friction up to the cabling block and guaranteeing the perfect position of trap wires in the conductor layers.

For further details contact: Philippe Letout, 3, Rue Gustave Eiffel, ZI, F-77506 Chelles, France, Tel.: +33-1-64-218400, Fax: +33-1-64-266110, E-mail: pourtier@gaudergroup.com.

Junction box for solar power cabling Offering a specific and inexpensive solution to the problem on photovoltaic panels of standard cables being too short, U.K.based Spelsberg’s new PV48 junction box is designed to seal cable diameters of between 4 and 7 mm. It allows simple cable extension, providing a quick, secure cage clamp connection within a discrete IP65rated junction box. The PV48 junction box has two in-line cable entry points that use M16 cable glands to ensure quick and secure cable entry. Connection is made using a cage clamp terminal—a 5.5 mm flat blade screwdriver is used to open the connection point, through which the exposed wire is pushed. When the screwdriver is removed, a secure connection is made automatically.

The box cover clips into place forming an IP65 seal that can easily be removed if required at a later date.

“As standard photovoltaic panels rarely have more than a maximum of two metres

of cable attached, this means that installers regularly need to use a junction box or install expensive extension cables to extend the cabling length. The PV48 is the first junction box on the market designed for this specific job, as such it fulfils all the requirements for the application, and is designed to be as discrete and simple to use as possible,” said Chris Lloyd, Spelsberg’s sales and marketing manager.

The box has been ergonomically designed to be the ideal size and shape to allow for quick installation, at the same time allowing it to be placed discretely in most environments. Due to its high IP rating (IP65), the PV48 can be located outside—and because it is halogen-free it can be used in many industrial areas.

For further details visit: www.spelsberg.co.uk.

Halogen-free fiber distribution cables U.S.-based General Cable has added optical fiber non-conductive riser (OFNR) tight-buffer distribution fiber cables to its 17 free line of halogen-free cables. According to General Cable, the UL-rated OFNR cables will be offered at a competitive price and feature substantiated green properties.

“NextGen’s 17 free line OFNR tight buffer distribution cables, which are environmentally friendly, also feature a lightweight, flexible design that simplifies installation, said Greg Carnes, product manager for General Cable’s fiber-optic cables.

“These tight-buffered fibers are easy to handle and strip for field connectorisation.”

General Cable calls its halogen-free product line 17 free because halogens fall into Group 17 of the periodic table. Cables in the 17 free line do not contain chlorine, fluorine, bromine, or iodine, reducing the continued on p.14

New rigid stranding lines for trapezoidal wires The new rigid standing lines type ‘RFS 630-TZ’ and ‘RFS 800-TZ’ have been designed by Pourtier, a member of the Gauder Group, to cope with the increasing demand for overhead conductors using trapezoidal wires. This new generation of conductors is used to increase the transmission capacity of the existing lines, thus avoiding costly and time-consuming projects for completely new lines. These conductors use a central core made of steel (ACSS/TW and ACSR/TW) or made of composite material (ACCC™). ACCC is the last innovative overhead conductor made of composite centre and soft aluminium wire with trapezoidal shape.

Pourtier Rigid Stranders are characterized by fine tension control, a straight and smooth passage for the trapezoidal wires all along the line to avoid wire deformation, an exclusive use of rollers—instead of eyelets—to avoid wire friction, and large-sized cage bearings for the straight passage of wires. The cages are equipped with the innovative ‘TZ’ heads enabling guiding on the

APRIL 2011 | 13

PRODUCTS, MEDIA, & TECHNOLOGY cable’s overall toxicity and, according to General, resulting in a more environmentally friendly green product.

“As part of our green commitment, we continue to find innovative ways to exceed the requirements of our customers,” said Bob Kenny, vice president and general manager of General Cable’s communication cables.

“Our 17 free product line is a great example of turning end-user feedback into reality and we are working to continue to develop other sustainable 17 free options, including electronic cables and cord products.”

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the LEED Pilot Credit 2 in late 2009. The pilot credit is a credit geared to reducing the release of persistent bio-accumulative toxic chemicals, or PBTs, associated with the lifecycle of building materials, including electrical wiring and cable jacketing. Based on this LEED credit and earlier requests for green products, General Cable had its R & D staff examine the jacket of its fiber and premises cables, which led to the successful engineering of these 17 free halogen-free versions.

For more details visit: www.generalcable.com.

IntelliSAM test suite with Y.1564 Sunrise Telecom, a provider of test and measurement solutions for telecom, cable, and wireless networks, has announced the launch of its new IntelliSAM Carrier Ethernet Service Activation Test Suite. The solution is based on the ITU Y.1564 standard that was formerly known as Y.156sam, and adopts an advanced test methodology to comply with service activation. It has also been customised for the bandwidth profile parameters being sold. With the help of IntelliSAM, service providers will be able to conveniently verify the service configura-

14 | WIRE BULLETIN

tion and performance that they are offering to their customers. The solution is a comprehensive suite of tests available to fulfill the needs of the carrier Ethernet services.

IntelliSAM offers a number of enhanced tools to the service providers that help them in verifying service level agreements, eliminating the laborious and excessive test permutations that had been established by the older test methodologies. The solution also enables them to test multiple streams and test each frame on a consistent basis to enhance the latency tests.

For further details visit: www.sunrisetelecom.com.

Media Directory for power sector “IndiaCore Who’s Who In Power Industry” is a comprehensive industry reference source of key professionals and organisations in the Indian power and allied infrastructure industry. The directory has been published over the last eight years by India Core, a pioneer organisation dedicated to facilitating the development of the Indian energy and infrastructure sectors through access to reliable information. The edition offers a snapshot of the prevailing scenario in the Indian power sector along with the existing policy and regulatory framework. It tracks the growth and performance of the Indian power sector, the ongoing reform initiatives, and offers statistical updates on generation, transmission, and distribution areas.

According to a promotion mailer issued by the company, the directory is regularly displayed and distributed at major conferences and exhibitions on energy and infrastructure sectors like Elecrama, Powergen, India Electricity, Power India, Asia Power,

Energy Conclave, Green Power, Distribution India, Thermal Power India, Energy Expo, Coaltrans, REFF, AMR China, and Asia Power.

For further details contact: Ms. Priya Kapoor, India Core Publishing, 106, 2nd floor, F Block, PVK Ansals Palam Vihar, Gurgaon 122 017, Tel.: 0124-3201521, Fax: 0124-4073946, E-mail: icore@vsnl.net.

Global report covers copper markets Global Industry Analysts, a publisher of market research reports, announced the release of “Copper: A Global Strategic Business Report,” which provides a comprehensive review of the industry and product overview, copper substitutes, end-use markets, copper demand, production, recent industry activity, and profiles of market players worldwide.

The market, forecast to reach 24.82 million metric tonnes by the year 2015, is driven by increasing demand from existing and niche market applications such as building and construction, electrical and electronic equipment, consumer products, and telecommunications. Future growth in world copper consumption is expected to stem from the possible expansion of copper applications in electric/battery-powered cars, copper cables for digital transmission, and renewable sources of energy.

The key participants profiled in the report include Anglo American PLC, Antofagasta Plc, BHP Billiton Group, Cambridge Lee Industries LLC, Codelco, Vale Ltd., First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Phelps Dodge Corp., The Furukawa Electric Co., Grupo Mexico S.A. de C.V, Global Brass and Copper Inc., Inmet Mining Corp., Jiangxi Cop-

per Co. Ltd., KGHM Polska Mied, KME AG, Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. Ltd., among others.

Analysis and overview is provided for major geographic markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Market analytics are provided in terms of volume (metric tonnes) for end-use segments including building and construction, electrical and electronic, industrial machinery and equipment, transportation, and consumer and general products. The study provides historic data for insight into market evolution from 2000 through 2006.

For further details contact: E-mail: press@strategyr.com, www.strategyr.com.

Technology Compact HTS cables offer promise for electrical grids A researcher at U.S.-based National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has invented a method of making high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables that are thinner and more flexible than demonstration HTS cables now installed in the electric power grid while carrying the same or more current. The compact cables could be used in the electric grid as well as scientific and medical equipment and may enable HTS power transmission for military applications.

The new method, described in detail in a paper just published online1, involves winding multiple HTS-coated conductors2 around a multi-strand copper “former” or core. The superconducting layers are wound in spirals in alternating directions.

One prototype cable is 6.5 millimeters (mm) in outer diameter and carries a current of 1,200 amperes; a second cable is 7.5

PRODUCTS, MEDIA, & TECHNOLOGY

Photo courtesy of: van der Laan/NIST.

mm in diameter and carries a current as high as 2,800 amperes. They are roughly one-tenth the diameter of typical HTS cables used in the power grid. (Standard electrical transmission lines normally operate at currents below 1,000 amperes).

HTS materials, which conduct electricity without resistance when cooled sufficiently (below 77 K, or minus 196°C/minus 321°F, for the new cables) with liquid nitrogen or helium gas, are used to boost efficiency in some power grids. The main innovation in the compact cables is the tolerance of newer HTS conductors to compressive strain that allows use of the unusually slender copper former, says developer Danko van der Laan, a University of Colorado scientist working at NIST.

Cross section of a high-temperature superconducting cable design invented at NIST. In the centre are copper wires bundled with nylon and plastic insulation. The outer rings are a series of superconducting tapes wrapped in spirals around the copper. The cable is 7.5 millimeters (0.2953 in.) in outer diameter.

“The knowledge I gained while working at NIST on electromechanical properties of high-temperature superconductors was very

important for inventing the initial cable concept,” van der Laan said.

“For instance, my discovery that the conductor survives large compressive strains3 made me realize that wrapping the conductor around a small diameter former would most likely work.”

Van der Laan and NIST colleagues demonstrated the feasibility of the new concept by making several cables and testing their performance. They used an HTS material with a critical current that is less sensitive to strain than some other materials.

Although the prototype cables are wound by hand, several manufacturers say mass production is feasible.

NIST researchers are now developing prototype compact HTS cables for the military, which require small size and light weight as well as flexibility to pull transmission lines through conduits with tight bends. Beside power transmission, the flexible cabling concept could be used for superconducting transformers, generators, and magnetic energy storage devices that require high-current windings. The compact cables also could be used in high-field magnets for fusion and for medical applications such as next-generation magnetic resonance imaging and proton cancer treatment systems.

The work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy.

1. D.C. van der Laan, X.F. Lu, and L.F. Goodrich.

Compact GdBa2Cu3O7-ä. coated conductor cables for electric power transmission and magnet applications.

Superconductor Science & Technology. 24 042001, doi: 10.1088/0953-2048/24/4/042001.

2. The superconducting compound used in the work is gadolinium-barium-copper-oxide, or GdBa2Cu3O7-ä.

3. See the NIST Feb. 15, 2007, Tech Beat article “Strain Has Major Effect on High-Temp Superconductors,” at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/ tb2007_0215.htm#htc.|WB

APRIL 2011 | 15

PRODUCTION TIPS the drawing operation or on the finished product. A rule of thumb is that the maximum allowable chlorides in a coating tank should never exceed 550 ppm.

Pickling House Controls

By Dane G. Armendariz Quality begins in the pickle house for most drawing applications, where there is less margin than ever for errors. As operations become even more automated, it is vital that control parameters be closely monitored. Remember, the first step in producing quality rod is properly preparing and coating the surface. This article reviews some of the basic dos and don’ts that should be followed.

Lime, borax, and sodium stearate coatings

C-hook for pickling.

Record keeping The first control is maintaining detailed records. Problems inevitably will happen but when one develops on the floor, a good record keeping system can help identify the cause. It is important to learn the root cause, formulate a short-term plan to correct it, and install long-term controls to prevent a reoccurrence. That takes solid information.

Log sheets for each pickle house tank should contain the parameters checked by the operators and the time of the readings.

Normal data will include items such as free acid, total acid, iron content, pH, temperature, addition rates, and other items deemed critical to controlling the bath.

Process instructions Your chemical supplier should provide you with control data for each line process, including information on how to initially charge the tank, control methods, operation parameters, action to take if the process deviates from set parameters and a troubleshooting guide. It’s also a good idea to develop a “Who to Call” list for operators who need immediate technical help.

16 | WIRE BULLETIN

Training Your suppliers should provide operator training at least twice a year. The training should follow the process operation instructions so that operators are familiar with it and the tools they will be using. It should also cover aspects such as safe handling of chemicals and the proper response to a spill.

Pickling Whether hydrochloric or sulfuric acids are used, certain minimum and maximum iron and acid levels should be maintained. Chemical testing on a shift or daily basis is recommended. Proper control of inhibitors used to minimize the effect of acid on base metal is imperative for consistent results. Using too much or too little will cause problems.

Rinsing This step is frequently overlooked but it is critical to preventing contamination of subsequent tanks. Water quality standards and controls must be set for each stage.

Control parameters are frequently pH, iron,

chloride, or sulfate content. Everyone tries to minimize the amount of water flowing to the drain, but it is critical that the rinses be kept clean enough to prevent water contamination. Rinses should be “back flowed” to conserve water.

Zinc phosphate The standard controls for this process are free acid, total acid, and acid ratio. Replenishments, product additions that maintain the process within the specified parameters, should be made after each hook leaves the tank. Longer immersion time does not mean better coatings. To reduce sludge, minimize the amount of iron carried in from previous rinses and always use an ambient rinse prior to phosphate. Zinc phosphate is a very complicated chemical process. If the ratios are out of line the result will be either no coating or a poor one, improper crystal growth, and a variety of coating weights.

Follow the process instructions carefully for this process. Chlorides carried into the phosphate tank will build and eventually cause a corrosion problem that appears in

These tanks provide the final coating before the rod sees the drawing operation.

These coatings must be controlled prior to the coating tank. Contaminants from prior tanks—especially iron and zinc—will cause problems. One common occurrence is blushing that appears to be rust but is actually caused by iron being carried into the carting tank from poor rinsing or improper rinse pH. Common controls are suspended solids, iron, alkalinity, titration, pH, and the Babcock test for fat content (sodium stearate products).

By focusing on the above aspects, you can provide consistently better results in your pickling operations.|WB

Biographical information

Armendariz Dane G. Armendariz is the Business Development Manager at Henkel Corporation.

He served as the WAI President in 2010.

ASK THE EXPERT ASK THE EXPERT

One book.

5,000 answers to wire and cable questions.

continued from p. 1

Q: What is the standard to calculate the

diameter of the point/tip and the die for extrusion lines? Specifically for a stranded conductor size of 1.2, can we use 1.26 or 1.34? And will the die be 2.16 or 2.24? I’ve heard we could use the bigger diameter of tip, but some say it will create off centeredness; others say it will create a wire break.

I’m working with a stranded conductor for building wires (450/750V for 7 wire NYA and 600V for 19 wire THHN). The values are in millimeters, 1.2 mm for 18AWG. The insulations are pressure extruded PVC and XLPE.

A: Since you are using pressure extrusion, the inside bore of the die defines the outside diameter of the insulation. Increasing the die diameter is not required because you would be giving away plastic for nothing. The diameter of the die is therefore fixed.

As far as the tip is concerned, the clearance between the tip and the conductor or core should be sufficiently close enough to hold center without causing wire breaks or jamming of the core. For small stranded conductor, it should be three or four mils (thousandths of an inch). If you are experiencing high spots on your strand, the issue is at stranding (tension control, starting and stopping and so on) and not at extrusion.

Check by installing a laser diameter on the bare conductor as it enters the cross head or at the stranding machine. Be sure, however, to protect the laser from damage or destruction if the wire breaks. If you are flying this bare stranded wire off at the extruder, do you have tight control as to the flying direction? I personally prefer live (driven) pay-off reels with no twisting at extrusion.

Pressure setup.

Tubing setup.

If your tips are plugging with copper dust, the problem is with the drawing lubricant making the emulsifier in the drawing lubricant suspect. If you are having such a technical issue, contact your drawing lubricant supplier immediately. If you recharge your lubricant system, make sure to use deionized water to dilute the drawing lubricant and clean fresh water in the drawing machine annealer. (Although lubricants are not my specialty, please do not assume drawing lubricants are low technology nuisance because it is not the case.)

will have to manually center the insulation by adjusting the position of the die holder (if possible).

I have actually witnessed annealed, preheated, solid copper wire (24, 26 and 28 gauges) broken by high pressure plastic via diameter reduction of the conductor (Plastic pressure say in the area of 7500 psi.) but breaking a larger stranded conductor like yours by having too much clearance in the tip would be very unlikely. There are often pressure gauges on primary, high speed extrusion lines after the breaker plate to make sure that the tooling in the cross head has been designed and installed correctly.

Do you have an accurate procedure to set the position of the tip relative to the die or is this all fixed?

If you use a larger than recommended tip, always keep in mind that the conductor runs on the bottom inside surface of the tip, thus you

Q: Is this advice also applicable to tube

toolings? For tube toolings the diameter of the tip will be much bigger, right?

A: Generally speaking, tubing is used to

pull down a plastic sheath by vacuum on to a rather uneven core so the tip clearance would be more in that particular situation.

The tip also has a longer bearing than that in a pressure set up and that in itself could necessitate larger tip clearance. In tubing, the sheath wall thickness is maintained without giving away excess plastic. For example, it is commonly used for sheathing PVC insulated, paired, stranded, and cabled inside telephone cable.

The die, however, would have a larger inside bore because of the pull down of the plastic on to the core. In extrusion, the ratio of the thickness of the die opening to the final thickness of the sheath is known as the drawdown ratio.|WB Excerpted and edited from the WAI Forums | Nonferrous Section – March 2011.

Post your questions or join the discussion at: www.wirenet.org/forum/index.cfm

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APRIL 2011 | 17

TECHNICAL ARTICLE Cold pressure welding: Cutting costs and labour In this article the author elaborates on how the long-established form of solid phase welding can benefit modern wire and cable production and provides a peep into what its future will be

By Steve Mepsted, Managing and Sales Director, Pressure Welding Machines (PWM) Limited, Ashford, England

The ancient technique of cold welding offers today’s wire and cable manufacturers many benefits. It provides a fast, straightforward, and a cost effective method of welding nonferrous wire and strip without heat, flux, filler, or fumes. The process creates a reliable, permanent weld that is stronger than the parent material without sacrificing electrical integrity. Cold welding has a wide range of applications, from fine wire measuring 0.08 mm to large rod sections of up to 35 mm. Its main use is in the wire and cable industry but it is also used in other industries in different ways.

Modern cold pressure welding machines are extremely easy to operate and maintain.

No set-up time is required and the weld cycles are completed quickly. Operators require only basic training to work a cold welding machine, reducing labour costs.

Smaller cold welders are usually manually operated and even the largest rod welding machines are notable for their low power consumption. Compared with the large electrical flash butt welders, which require huge amounts of power to heat up large rod sections, cold pressure machines are extremely energy-efficient. Manually operated cold welders have the added benefit of being portable and without the need for an electrical connection so that they can be taken quickly to the work area when needed, saving the operator’s time and effort.

High quality bonds Cold welding reduces energy consumption and waste. There is no need to trim the material before inserting it into the die since the cold weld process forces any impurities out of the weld interfaces and creates a clean, high-quality metallurgical bond. This in turn means there is less likelihood of the weld breaking down during the drawing process.

Because cold welding takes place at ambient temperatures, no thermal changes occur in the materials being welded and there is no splattering or material waste.

Whilst this may only represent minor savings when it comes to copper and aluminium, where precious metals are concerned, the saving is far more significant.

No dangerous or unpleasant fumes are generated and there is no risk of burning, any of which could endanger the health of the operator. Even materials such as cadmium, which emits toxic fumes when subjected to heat, can be joined safely and satisfactorily with cold pressure.

at elevated temperatures (although these temperatures are high, the material is not molten, merely more ductile). Cold welding is also used extensively in the canning and packaging industries, the transformer industry, and in the making of capacitors and refrigeration equipment.

The first known example in Britain of hammer welding at ambient temperatures (and therefore true cold pressure welding) dates to the late Bronze Age, around 700 years B.C. Excavations have unearthed gold boxes made by this process. The first scientific observation of cold pressure welding was made by a British clergyman, Reverend J.I. Desaguliers, in 1724. He discovered that if he took two lead balls about 25 mm each in diameter, and pressed them together at the same time as twisting them, then the two pieces would join together.

The joint strength was measured on a steelyard and although the results were erratic, good bonds were produced, with some as strong as the parent material.

Reverend Desaguliers demonstrated the phenomenon to the British Royal Society and later published the details in the scientific journals of the time. Despite this promising start in the 18th century, it appears that very little cold pressure welding took place until the Second World War. This accelerated developments, especially in Germany, where light alloy cooler elements for aircraft were pressure welded, although it is understood that this welding was carried out at elevated temperatures.

The cold weld process People who are unfamiliar with the cold weld process often find it almost magical, particularly if they are sceptical about a method of welding that does not involve heat, power, and some form of flux to make the joins. There have been several explanations as to the actual mechanism by which a cold pressure weld is obtained. For example, it has been suggested that it happens via re-crystallisation of the material or by an energy hypothesis, but most explanations have been either experimentally disproved or refuted on theoretical grounds.

Ancient technique Although it accounts for over half of all welding of nonferrous wire and rod worldwide today, cold welding is not a new technique. As early as 3,000 B.C., the Egyptians prepared iron by hammering a metal sponge to weld the red hot particles together.

Blacksmiths have also hammer-welded wrought iron for centuries. However, this type of welding was always carried out at high temperatures.

Cold welding is a form of solid phase welding, which is unique because it is carried out at ambient temperatures. Other types of solid phase welding are conducted

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by a metallic ‘bond,’ so called because it is peculiar to metallic substances. The bond can be described as a ‘cloud’ of free negatively-charged electrons, enveloping ionised positively-charged atoms into a unit as a result of attractive forces. So, if two metallic surfaces are brought together with only a few Ångströms separation (there are 300 million Ångströms to one centimetre), interaction between the free electrons and ionised atoms can occur.

This will eliminate the potential barrier, allowing the electron cloud to become common. This, in turn, results in a bond and therefore a weld. A simpler way of explaining this rather complex process is that if two surfaces (both surfaces being atomically clean and atomically flat when considered on an atomic scale) are put together under pressure, a bond is effected equal in strength to that of the parent material.

Cross section of aluminium weld showing direction of movement of the grain of the material.

Difficulties with bonding Although bonding seems straightforward, in practice, however, it is virtually impossible under most conditions because of surface irregularities, organic surface contamination, and chemical films such as oxide films. To obtain maximum weld efficiency, any form of contamination on the material surface must be reduced to a minimum, while the area of contact—the weld area—must be made as large as possible.

Early applications In the early applications of cold pressure butt welding, the upset and radial displacement of the two interfaces was undertaken in a single step. However, this technique had several disadvantages. Both ends of the material to be joined had to be squared off and the surfaces had to be kept free of contamination. Another problem was caused by the amount of material that projected from the gripping dies: if this was not correct it could cause bending and lack of coaxiality, thereby spoiling the correct flow of metal.

The ‘multiple upset’ technique Close-up of cold welded aluminium rod, showing the flash where the excess material is squeezed out from the interfaces.

The currently accepted hypothesis that accounts for a cold pressure weld is as follows: The atoms of metals are held together

These problems were resolved when a British company, General Electric Company (GEC), developed a new system, which uses a ‘multiple upset’ technique to join materials. With this process, each time the cold welding machine is activated, the material fed into the dies is gripped by the dies and fed forward. As the material moves forward, the two opposing faces of the material are pushed against each other and are stretched

and enlarged over their entire surface area.

As a result, the oxides and other surface impurities are forced outward from the core of the material and a bond is effected. To ensure all the impurities are squeezed out of the interfaces, a minimum of four to six ‘upsets’ is advisable.

Diagram indicates the flow of the grain of the material from the core outward during the cold weld process.

Dotted line marks the weld joint and arrows top and bottom show the movement of the extruded material.

Round wire or rod sections, dissimilar materials, and materials of different sizes can all be welded using this technique. This type of welding has several advantages in terms of saving the operator’s time and effort. The ends of the wire or rod do not need any preparation prior to welding and the alignment of the two butt ends takes place automatically as the material is placed in the die. The operator does not need to select a heat setting, or make a decision about a gap setting, as this is built into the die.

Nor is there any need to set spring pressure.

If any of these things is incorrectly set on a resistance butt welder, it will result in a weld failure.

Precision-engineered dies The dies obviously play a vital role in the cold butt weld process. Cold weld die design and manufacture is a specialist process, requiring considerable skill and engineering expertise. Top quality dies are usually individually hand-made in matched sets to ensure they have the required accuracy to produce consistent, reliable welds. The dies must grip the material firmly. To improve the grip, the inside of the die cavity is either etched with an electric pencil or, when the die is to be used for welding large pieces of aluminium, grip marks are put in the cavity before the die is heat treated. The gap between the two faces, or noses, of the die is also extremely important. If it is too large, the material will just collapse or bend away.

This dimension is carefully calculated during the process of die manufacture and cannot be changed. Finally, there is the offset of the die noses, which has the effect of making the weld look out of line around the circumference of the material.

The purpose of the offset is to break the flash (the spare material containing impurities that is pushed out from the core of the weld) into two halves. This enables the flash to be removed easily: otherwise it is likely to remain as a loose ring around the material and will have to be cut off. The noses of the die also have to be sharp enough to virtually pinch off the flash around the weld, thus ensuring that complete flash removal is simple. continued on p. 20

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TECHNICAL ARTICLE nothing new about the process of cold welding, this ancient technique remains the fastest, cleanest, most reliable, and costeffective way to bond nonferrous materials, and as such, is likely to retain its popularity among manufacturers worldwide.|WB

of the aluminium winding. The usual methods of joining dissimilar metals such as copper and aluminium, namely resistance welding, friction welding or flame brazing, will all result in a rapid breakdown of the joint. This reaction in a copper/aluminium joint begins to take place as soon as the two metals are placed together.

Cross section showing 8 mm diameter copper rod joined to 9.5 mm aluminium rod.

The hardness and the temper of the die are most important as well. In the early days of cold welding, die breakage was very common. For example, many years after a machine was designed to cold weld 8 mm copper rod, there were still problems containing the necessary forces within a die of this size.

Different profiles and diameters Dies can be manufactured to suit round or profile wires and rods to meet individual specifications and manufactured to suit various profiles, as long as the profile allows the die to be made in two halves—which is necessary for the removal of the welded wire—and the cross-sectional area is within the capacity of the machine. Materials of different diameters can also be welded successfully, providing the larger diameter is not more than 30 per cent greater than the smaller diameter. If, for example, a copper wire or rod is considerably smaller in diameter than an aluminium wire or rod, the copper will merely embed itself into the aluminium and no weld will be achieved.

Materials and applications Cold welding is a versatile process and can be used for a variety of applications and materials. Most nonferrous metals can be cold welded. While copper and aluminium are the most common, various alloys such as Aldrey, Triple E, Constantan, 70/30 brass, zinc, silver and silver alloys, nickel, gold, and many others have good cold weldability. Extremely tough materials, such as tantalum, which are difficult to electrically weld, can be joined satisfactorily with cold pressure, as can copper cadmium, which emits toxic fumes when subjected to heat. Plated wires, including tinned copper, silver-plated and nickelplated, can all be welded to themselves or to plain copper.

Precision-engineered dies play an important role in the cold butt weld process.

Examples of copper and aluminium welds on wire and strip.

The problem is created by the oxides and the air space, which are left between the interfaces during these methods of welding, rather than by the dissimilarity between the metals themselves. However, with cold pressure welding, these oxides and air spaces are squeezed out in the weld process and, since no heat is applied, only the metallurgical changes that operate at ambient temperatures occur. Cold pressure welding provides the most satisfactory way of joining copper to aluminium without the formation of brittle inter-metallic compounds.

The weld quality is excellent because it produces a worked structure as opposed to the cast structure obtained in fusion welding. Also, there is no heat-affected zone with unsuitable properties. To test weld strength, most people rely on a tensile tester. Alternatively, a reverse bend test can be made. However, the most stringent test is to pass the weld though a number of dies in a wiredrawing machine.

Dissimilar metals Dissimilar materials, such as aluminium and copper, can also be joined using cold welding. For example, cold welders have been used by transformer manufacturers to weld a copper rod termination onto the end

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Gold is often the medium used in this type of ‘ring welding.’ As well as being very decorative and very expensive, it is one of the most unique and stable materials known to man. Gold is unique in that oxides never form on its surface, and therefore do not have to be removed before cold welding takes place. Cold pressure welding is also used in the making of capacitors—to lap weld the tabs to the wound aluminium foil, and then weld the other end of the tabs to the terminal rivets in the lid, and finally to weld the lid to the container.

Can manufacturers use cold welding to join the input and output copper wire on can body welding machines. Unlike electric welders, hand-held portable cold welders can be used anywhere. Even if the wire breaks inside the can body welding machine, a cold pressure welder with a flat wire die can repair the damage in seconds.

Refrigeration tubing is often cold welded, using a pinch-off die, which both cuts off the tube and makes a gas tight weld at the same time. In fact, many people will have made a cold pressure weld themselves without realising it. For instance, they may have cut through some aluminium tubing with pliers or side-cutters and almost certainly have effected a cold weld.

Nonferrous materials Materials which contain carbon cannot be joined by cold pressure welding. Carbon interferes with the flow of the material and stops the cold weld process from taking place. Trials have been carried out on low-carbon steel wire, but even with this material, heat had to be introduced into the wire in order to lower its tensile strength and cause the material to flow together during the cold weld process. There are cost and safety implications involved in incorporating a heating facility to a cold pressure welder, so it is more practical and cost-effective to use hot welding to join ferrous materials.

Wide-ranging applications

Cross section of copper rod showing extruded material being squeezed out from the core.

Biographical information

In addition to the wire and cable industry, many other industries use the cold pressure welding process successfully. For example, a French company that manufactured transistor cans used the technique to join the gold-plated mating faces of the can and lid together. This was a highly automated process in which the welds were made by a special ring die and punch.

Cold-welded copper rod after deflashing and rubbing down ready for the drawing machine.

Extrusion welding is another form of cold welding, which is very similar to ring welding, in that it provides a circumferential joint. This technique lends itself to joining lids to cans and tubes to plates, for example. Cold welding has also been used to join aluminium sheathing used to encompass polythene and PVC insulated cables. In this instance, the absence of heat in the welding process was essential to avoid damaging the plastic-insulated core.

The future for cold welding As the cost of raw materials and energy continue to escalate, wire and cable manufacturers will continue to search for new processes that enable them to reduce costs and improve production without compromising quality. Despite the fact that there is

Mepsted Steve Mepsted, managing and sales director of Pressure Welding Machines (PWM) Limited, Ashford, England, has more than 40 years’ experience of cold weld technology and machine and die development, as well as a wealth of expertise in wiredrawing and rod breakdown machinery. He works with wire and cable manufacturers across a wide spectrum of industry sectors, helping them identify the best cold welding solutions to improve quality, productivity and profitability.

ECONOMIC NEWS Upgrade technology: MSME secretary

bers of the CII National MSME Council, Varma mentioned that a notification of the proposed policy after due approval by the cabinet will offer a much-needed and less optimally used avenue for increased consumption of MSME products by the government departments and PSUs.

India to double wind power capacity by 2015

Manufacturing sector records higher growth Uday Kumar Varma The growth of the MSME sector in India is inevitably linked with increased productivity and thereby increases competitiveness. Technology is going to be the key instrument in enhancing their productivity.

Technology upgradation, therefore, has to be the critical and key element of both government policies and industries’ endeavour, according to Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of MSME. While speaking with the members of the CII National MSME Council in New Delhi, Varma mentioned that the adoption of improved technology is the key opportunity that MSME enterprises need to seize without delay. “It is the use of technology that is going to define their future growth and sustained relevance,” Varma said.

Stressing the need for R&D investment, Varma underlined the importance of intellectual property rights (IPRs) with regard to technological inventions and innovations.

Highlighting the priorities for the Ministry of MSME, he added that CII should actively partner with the government to take this to the grassroots MSMEs, spread across the length and breadth of the country.

Two such IPR cells are already in the process of being established in Mysore and Indore. Reacting to the call for expediting the Public Procurement Policy by the mem-

The performance of the Indian industry confirmed improvement during April-December 2010 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, according to the latest CII ASCON survey. The survey was released in the second CII ASCON meeting, held in Mumbai. Reacting to the survey, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said: “While an increasing number of sectors are showing excellent growth, many sectors remain in the moderate growth zone including some core sectors such as cement and steel.”

India’s manufacturing sector to hit new highs.

Among the sectors reporting excellent growth rates are electrical and cable wires (27.24 per cent), air-conditioners (35 per cent), tractors (25 per cent), LT and HT capacitors (20.6 per cent), ball and roller bearings (35.3 per cent), auto components (26.7 per cent), earth moving and construction equipment (30 per cent), vehicles (30.3 per cent), electric fans (32.8 per cent), and tyres (28 per cent).

A report by the IHS Emerging Energy Research states that India will more than double its installed capacity of wind power generation to nearly 24,000 MW by the end of 2015 and will triple its installed base to more than 34,000 MW by the end of 2020. India had 11,800 MW of wind power installed at the end of March 2010, according to the Indian Wind Energy Association, making it the world’s fifth-largest wind power market.

In this developing market, American Superconductor Corporation, a global power technologies company, has received a USD 9 million follow-on order for the supply of wind turbine electrical control systems from Inox Wind Limited (IWL), part of India’s Inox group of companies.

In August of 2010, Inox placed an initial order for 17 of AMSC’s wind turbine electrical control systems, which, as the ‘brains’ of the wind turbine, monitor and control its operation and the flow of zero-emission electricity to the power grid. The systems are being used in 2 MW doubly-fed induction wind turbines that Inox is manufacturing under a global AMSC Windtec™ license.

“India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” said Devansh Jain, Director, Inox Wind Limited (IWL).

“When considering our rapid urbanisation and industrialisation combined with our need to reduce pollution and increase electricity generation, it is imperative that

we continue to promote and produce zeroemission electricity from sources such as wind. Our partnership with AMSC has enabled us to enter full-scale manufacturing quite rapidly, taking us one step closer to our goal of becoming a leader in the global wind power marketplace.”

IWL currently has the ability to manufacture 400 of its 2 MW wind turbines annually at its facility at Una in Himachal Pradesh.

Today, approximately one-third of India’s 1.1 billion people do not have access to electricity and the demand for electric power in India, from wind and other energy sources, is expected to continue to grow strongly for decades to come.

“India is expected to be a major market for clean technology solutions, and Inox Wind is well-positioned to be a leader in this sector,” said AMSC founder and chief executive officer Greg Yurek. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the global wind power installed base is expected to more than double from 1,58,505 MW in 2009 to more than 3,47,000 MW by the end of 2013.

SIDBI to launch venture capital fund Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has planned to launch a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital (VC) fund, aiming at the high growth industries. “We are going to launch this fund to support industries in the SME sector,” SIDBI’s deputy managing director N.K. Maini said. The fund would be launched by its subsidiary SIDBI Venture Capital Limited. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a CII seminar on SMEs held at Kolkata, Maini said that the institution had sanctioned Rs 35,000 crore last fiscal and disbursements made were to the tune of Rs 32,000 crore. He said target disbursements during the current financial year were Rs 41,000 crore.|WB

APRIL 2011 | 21

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Al Duailej

Miller has been with Dow for more than 20 years and previously served as Global Business Director for Dow Fiber Solutions.

He also has held a number of commercial roles in Dow’s chemical and plastics businesses. Miller holds a B.A. degree from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. degree from Indiana University. He will be located at Dow Wire & Cable headquarters at Houston, USA.

MESC announces new CEO

Award for H.M. Nerurkar

UAE-based MESC Specialized Cables, announced that its board of directors has appointed Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al Duailej as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this appointment, Al Duailej has held executive positions in various companies and advised the boards of a number of companies specialised in industrial, real estate, and oil and gas on value creation, corporate structuring, market, product, and corporate development. Al Duailej is a graduate of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and he holds a degree in industrial management.

Tata Steel Managing Director, H.M. Nerurkar, has received the CEO with HR Orientation Award from Star News in recognition of his outstanding contribution to human resources development, leadership, and capability-building within the organisation. Nerurkar joined Tata Steel in 1982 and took over as its managing director in 2009. He has 35 years of experience in the steel industry that includes project execution, manufacturing, quality control, supply chain, and marketing.

Nerurkar has officiated in several positions and has been actively associated with various academic and professional bodies and clubs in different capacities such as the Indian Institute of Metals, ULSAC / ULSAS / ULSAB of IISI Brussels, INSDAG, AIMA Governing Council, XIM, Bhubaneshwar Governing Council, Institute of Environmental Management Studies, and several others.|WB

Brad Miller joins Dow Wire & Cable Dow Wire and Cable, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company and its subsidiaries, announced the appointment of Brad Miller as its Global Marketing Director. Miller will drive strategic growth initiatives utilising Dow Wire & Cable’s portfolio of products, technologies, and power industry expertise. His efforts will include global product launches for solutions in the traditional power and alternative energy industries as well as the personal electronics, building and construction, and transportation wires, cables and accessories market segments.

22 | WIRE BULLETIN

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