Wire Expo 2024 Prequel

Momentum surges with Wire Expo’s Connecticut return

Wire Expo will be held June 11-12, 2024, at a familiar venue as the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, hosted Wire Expo 2016. This prequel presents a broad look at what will await attendees, and there is a lot to cover. This early view covers the framework of the full program. Below are some of the elements. The April preview will present the full picture. To access the most up-to-date updates to the schedule, go to www.wirexpo24.com.

Words of Wisdom

• Part 1: The Fundamentals. The fundamentals always matter, and WAI’s iconic Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing will see a slate of industry specialists share their expertise in this one-day course.

• Part 2: The Mordica Lecture. Encore Wire’s William T. Bigbee is most deserving of this award. A former WAI President, his name is on dozens of patents that helped fuel Encore’s success.

• Part 3: Industry speakers Key officials from Encore Wire, Oden Technologies, Niehoff, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS, Southwire, Prysmian North America, 40Factory and others will collectively address topics from technology to industry trends. A total of 18 sessions are scheduled to be held over the two days.

• Part 4: Keynote speakers On Tuesday, Insteel President & CEO H. Woltz III, with 45 years of industry experience, will share his thoughts with attendees. On Wednesday, Prysmian North America COO Paul Furtado will speak about the path to manufacturing excellence.

• Part 5: Production Solutions. On Wednesday, this industry smarts/troubleshooting session located on the show floor will cover dies, lubricants and wire breaks.

A floor of possibilities

It’s fitting that the March feature is on trade shows, as Wire Expo is more a technical conference with a show floor. That said, trade shows are where suppliers share their latest technical advances, solutions and services, and that is the goal of Wire Expo exhibitors. Event attendees who scroll through the list of 150+ exhibitors will find a wealth of resources to contact. This is an ideal place to find new potential suppliers, for discussions to be held and further meetings planned.

Networking and reconnecting

An increasingly electronic age has not diminished the value of meeting people in person. AI and VR cannot match the warmth of being able to mingle at the Welcome Reception, share a story or two with a friend, and maybe even competitor, to laugh, to catch up, and to recharge the human element that is part of industry.

Industry Awards

Recognition comes with achievements, and four individuals to be recognized during Wire Expo are most deserving: Mordica Memorial Award: William T. Bigbee, Encore Wire; Donnellan Memorial Award: Jan Sorige, Enkotec; the Champion award, H. Woltz III, Insteel; and the President’s Award: Raúl García of Viakable.

WAI tradition last held in 1948 will take place at Wire Expo

On Oct. 20, 1948, U.K. wiredrawers presented the Association with a grandfather clock at its Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since then, it has resided at WAI’s office, but this year it will be at Wire Expo for the annual clock winding ceremony. Much like an eclipse, you won’t want to miss this appearance.

Wire Expo 2024 • Highlights

EXHIBITS

The industry thrives on technology, and more than a hundred tabletops have been taken by suppliers ready to discuss their latest solutions. If you have a project or want to consider alternatives, this is the place to flush out possibilities.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

MORDICA LECTURE

William T. Bigbee

The Mordica Lecture by William T. Bigbee will discuss the role that Encore Wire’s leadership and boldness has had in its amazing success story. The company’s single campus in McKinney, Texas, has grown to more than three million covered sq ft.

Paul Furtado, chief operating officer, Prysmian North America

Furtado will outline key elements of on-going efforts to optimize operational processes through the Prysmian Operating System (POS) approach, highlighting specific tools to build employee engagement and a culture of continuous improvement strategies.

Mordica Memorial Award

The winner is William T. Bigbee, vice president of operations for Encore Wire and the 2019 WAI president, whose name has been on dozens of patents during his years with the company.

AWARDS

President’s Award

The individual chosen for this recognition by WAI President Daniel Blais is Raúl García of Viakable, who has long been a strong supporter of WAI educational programing.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

H.O. Woltz III, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Insteel

The talk by Woltz, who goes by “H,” is “Success Based on Committing to Continuous Improvement and A Passion for Manufacturing.” He will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the ferrous wire industry. He will draw from his 45 years in the industry, including 30 years as CEO, guiding a company during both up and down business cycles.

Donnellan Memorial Award

The winner is Jan Sørige, the president of Enkotec Co., who was chairman of WAI’s Exhibition Planning Committee from 2009-14, and was president in 2020, a tumultuous period due to Covid.

Champion Award

H.O. Woltz III, chairman, president and CEO of Insteel, was chosen by the WAI’s Board of Directors for his company’s support and contributions to the wire industry during his storied career.

CLOCKWINDING

Make time for this

WAI’s will hold its annual Clockwinding Ceremony at Wire Expo, the first such event appearance since the clock was presented to the Association in 1948. The clock will be wound at 9 am on Tuesday, June 11, by U.K. Clockwinder Dave Lane—plant floor supervisor, Northampton Machinery Co., part of the MGS Group—will perform the tradition.

Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Preshow: Monday June 10, 2024

This concentrated one-day introductory course presented by experts in the field provides a solid background in the essentials of wire and cable manufacturing. The Wire Association’s most popular training program and refresher course for new hires, sales teams, and operations personnel, it includes general topics in the morning and then breaks into separate sessions for ferrous and nonferrous/electrical tracks in the afternoon, followed by a combined session. For presenter bios and more details, go to www.wireexpo24.com.

General Track • 8:45 am–noon

Mechanics of Wiredrawing

Matt Reinoehl, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS, USA

Drawing Dies

Tom Maxwell, Jr., Die Quip Corporation, USA

Lubrication in the Wire Drawing Process

Brad Andrews, Condat, USA

Wire Breaks and Surface Damage

Horace Pops, Horace Pops Consulting, Inc., USA

Ferrous Track • 1:00 pm–4:15 pm

Fundamentals of Ferrous Metallurgy

Anand Bhagwat, consultant, USA

Cleaning and Coating of Rod and Wire

Zack McAfee and Chris Porada, Chemetall, USA

Ferrous Testing and Properties

C. Richard Gordon, C. Richard Gordon Consulting, LLC, USA

Ferrous Heat Treatment

C. Richard Gordon, C. Richard Gordon Consulting, LLC, USA

Nonferrous/Electrical Track • 1:00 pm–4:15 pm

Stranding and Cabling

Kevin Dancy, Roteq Machinery, Inc., Canada

Extrusion

Erik A. Macs, Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp., USA

Fundamentals of Electrical Testing

Casey Spradlin, Southwire, USA

Marking and Printing

Huck Hyde, Gem Gravure, Co., Inc., USA

General Track • 4:15 pm–5:00 pm

Wire and Cable Manufacturing Problem Solving

Lyman Ryan, Prysmian, USA

Wire Expo Operations

Operations Summit Program

Day 1: Tuesday June 11, 2024

Exhibitions Open • 10:00 am–5:00 pm

Conference Sessions • 8:45 am–4:00 pm

Keynote & 2024 Champion Award

H.O. Woltz III, chairman, president and CEO, Insteel

Cybersecurity is not an IT Problem, it is a BUSINESS problem

Jacob McLein, VP enterprise information security, Southwire Company

Physical Security Measures for Shipping and Receiving in a Changing World

Matt Perry, security manager, Encore Wire

Workforce Safety

Gladys Billups, director EHS, Southwire Company

Mordica Lecture

William T. Bigbee, vice president of operations, Encore Wire

AI’s Role in Manufacturing Labor Challenges

Willem Sundblad, co-Founder and CEO, Oden Technologies

Maintenance of Aging Machinery – Retrofits

Kutlay Erkan, after sales manager (NIEHOFF Original+ After Sales), Maschinenfabrik NIEHOFF GmbH & Co. KG

Welcome Reception • 6:30 pm–8:30 pm

Operations Summit Program

Day 2: Wednesday June 12, 2024

Exhibitions Open • 10:00 am–3:00 pm

Conference Sessions • 8:30 am–3:00 pm

Awards Ceremony, Annual Meeting and Keynote

Keynote: Elevating Operations: Paving the way to Manufacturing Excellence

Speaker: Paul Furtado, COO, Prysmian North America.

Renewable Energy Generation – Onshore and Offshore Wind Power Current State and Opportunities in the United States

Speaker TBD, Invenergy

ESG and Sustainability Panel

Moderator – Kurt Breischaft, president, SDI LaFarga

COPPERWORKS Panelists: to be listed in April

Fact or Fiction – Copper Wire Demand Now and Beyond

Kandy White, market manager, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS

Production Solutions

Svet Pavlovksky, R&D, Blachford Company; Dr. Horace Pops, Horace Pops Consulting, Inc.; Eric Bieberich, president, Fort Wayne Wire Die

Wire Expo Operations Summit & Exhibits

Event Registration

Registration for Wire Expo 2024 is now open and can be accessed

All-Access Registration*

Monday-Wednesday, June 10-12

Includes access to: the Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course and materials, with lunch and breaks*; Wire Expo Conference Sessions and online proceedings materials; Keynotes; Exhibits and Production Solutions Demonstrations; and Welcome Reception.

Conference & Exhibits Registration

Tuesday-Wednesday, June 11-12

Includes access to: Wire Expo Conference Sessions and online proceedings materials; Keynotes; Exhibits and Production Solutions Demonstrations; and Welcome Reception.

Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course*

Monday, June 10

Choose Your Track — Ferrous or Nonferrous

Includes: Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course and materials, with lunch and breaks.

To take part in all other Wire Expo activities, please purchase the “ALL ACCESS” registration option.

Exhibits Only

Tuesday-Wednesday, June 11-12

Includes access to: Exhibits and Production Solutions Demonstrations.

Opening Reception

Tuesday, June 11

The festivities take place at the Sun Patio, at the Mohegan Sun Resort

Member: $620 New

Nonmember: $720 Not Available

Member: $395

New Mbr: $495**

Nonmember: $495 Not Available

* The Fundamentals course is held on June 10, 2024, one day prior to Wire Expo. ** New Member price includes a one-year WAI membership – SHOW SPECIAL, ONE TIME ONLY PRICING.

Hotel Reservations

Mohegan