Wire Expo 2020 Feature Sample

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WIRE EXPO 2020

Event is a ‘no go’ for June 2-4, options being considered This preview should have been a full outline of what would await attendees at the WAI Operations Summit and Wire Expo 2020, but the coronavirus that has roiled much of the world has made that date impossible. WAI’s board of directors agreed that, even if the return to the Mohegan Sun Casino, the 2016 host, was allowed, it should not be held on June 2-4.

WAI is exploring whether a later date is feasible. As the role and purpose is virus-proof, this abbreviated preview presents the essence of the event, including photos from Wire Expo 2016. The listings remain an industry resource, and some exhibitors are included in industry comments about the current situation. For the latest details, go to www.wirenet.org.

What’s here & what’s not: an overview of WAI’s traveling event A lot of time and effort go into putting on an industry event, much of it done by WAI volunteers. Staff, which carries out the direction from the Association’s Board of Directors and committees, had high expectations for WAI Operations Summit and Wire Expo 2020. At this time, it is not know whether WAI’s traveling event will be able to either find a new day and/or location.

That it cannot be held June 2-4 is disappointing on many levels, but staff agreed that there was still value in presenting the essence of the event. Thus, this preview presents a pared-down version of what had been arranged. The bulk of these pages are the booth listings, which represent an industry resource. It also presents the winners of the Mordica and Donnellan awards, the President’s Award, the best technical papers in 2019, three essential bodies (the Board of Directors and the Education and Exhibition Planning committees), and recognition of the sponsors that make it possible for WAI to out on industry events.

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What’s not here? Sadly, a lot, some of which includes: • The Fundamentals of Wire & Cable Manufacturing • Keynote speaker Brett Culp (The making of industry superheros) • Keynote speaker Adam Schefter of ESPN • WAI’s first-ever Clockwinding ceremony out of office • Winding of said stately grandfather’s clock by U.K. Clockwinder Martin Thacker • The WAI Awards Progam and the Annual Meeting • Life/25-Year Members • Southwire speaker Kathleen Edge (Manufacturing Next Gen) • Speaker Dr. Carrier of MIT (Industry 4.0) Speaker David Fisher of James Monroe Wire & Cable Co. (Commitment to Continuous improvement) • The Product Directory and Production Solutions • New & Noteworthy and the reception!

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WIRE EXPO 2020

P R E VI E W O F E X H I B I T O R S Ace Metal Inc. Tel. 610-623-2204 www.acemetalinc.com richard@acemetalinc.com Exhibiting: Ace Metal is a manufacturer of high-quality, fine wire metal spools. Our spools are used in the ferrous, nonferrous, tire cord, fiber optic and aerospace industries as well as many other applications.

Our spools range in size from 6-in.flange diameters to 14-in. flanges.

Our other lines include tubular wire carriers for shipping large diameter wire and rod as well internal wire carriers and payoffs. Ace Metal is a custom stamping house and custom tube bending house for automotive, furniture and other industries.

We will introduce two new 12 in. and 12-3/4 in. spools to our family of spools.

ADVARIS GmbH Tel. 49-7251-981760 manfred.moser@advaris.de Exhibiting: ADVARIS will present

the latest version of its cutting-edge ERP/MES software for Smart Cable Factory. The ADVARIS Cable Solution is the most comprehensive, fully integrated operations management system for wire and cable makers. It supports and optimizes all aspects of cable manufacturing: product data management, production scheduling, shop floor control and data acquisition, warehouse management, logistics and plant maintenance. Headquartered in

Bruchal, Germany, the branch offices in the U.S. and India provide their customers with around the clock support worldwide.

AITMAC Inc. Tel. 905-761-6165 www.aitmac-ca.com sales.aitmac.ca@gmail.com Exhibiting: See how our best in class equipment and accessories from world leader manufacturers will keep you at the leading edge

CO M PANY S TAT E M E N T S

Wire & cable industry to Covid-19: we bend, but we do not yield Sometimes, features and industry news transcend trade shows, orders, plant expansions or acquisitions, and the like. The industry, and global manufacturing as a whole, face a harsh period. Below are edited statements, either posted or supplied by manufacturers and suppliers—including some in the Wire Expo booth listings—that share their thoughts at this time.

To sum them up, conditions vary, and some operations are disrupted, but the wire and cable industry will fight the good fight, and not just in the name of the bottom line, but for the lives and well-being of their customers, employees, their families and the communities they live in and help support. The WAI is part of this, and while we cannot provide respirators or vaccines, we can serve as a conduit. You are welcome to send your company’s message to us at editor@wirenet.org.

COVID-19 related restrictions have yet to materially impacting Paramount’s ability to supply. Although the situation is changing on a daily basis, Paramount’s very large die inventory should allow uninterrupted supply for 2-6 months of demand. This combined with creative methods for maintaining mission critical raw materials supply, have enabled the continued production and distribution of our products. Paramount Die Company.

We are always close to our customers! Eurotek Italy continues to offer its support, respecting the current regulations to face and deal with the COVID-19 emergency.

We keep fighting and giving our support to our customers despite this hard to deal with situation. A special support to

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the Italian companies courageously struggling during this hardship. We don’t give up! Olivier Di Rico, sales department manager, Eurotek Italy.

Government-mandated lockdowns, customer shutdowns, and preventative actions implemented by Bekaert have now led to a number of temporary plant shutdowns.

Bekaert has also taken the decision to temporarily reduce the working hours of teams around the world. These actions are projected to significantly impact our business performance in the current year. The current crisis forces us to focus on a number of mitigation and stabilization priorities for the short term. The first and foremost priority is safeguarding the health and safety of our people and

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PREVIEW OF EXHIBITORS

of technology and maximize your productivity, with wire straightening, guiding and feeding equipment by Cometo; butt-welders, wire and cable cutters/shears, rod straighteners and flat bar cutters by Tramev; a display of steel reels for shipping and processing and reel handling equipment

by Appiani. Aitmac, Inc., is also the official supplier of Lesmo and Eurodraw Energy machine spare parts and service requirements.

Allied Industrial Group, Inc. Tel. 401-351-8801 www.alliedindustrialgroup.com melanie@alliedindustrialgroup.com Exhibiting: Industrial equipment installation, preventative maintenance service and turn-key plant relocation is our specialty. Allied Industrial Group provides a full range of services for our domestic and international clients in the manufacturing and processing industries. Our organization is a fully insured and bonded corporation. Our trained staff of craftsmen is licensed and certified to handle your next project.

Alphagary/Mexichem Specialty Compounds Tel. 978-537-8071 www.alphagary.com Exhibiting: Alphagary designs and manufactures a variety of compounds for wire and cable applications built to meet stringent fire testing for both Underwriters Laboratories and European CPR standards. Brands include SMOKEGUARD for plenum cables, MEGOLON low-smoke halogen-free, GW series specialty FR, GARAFLEX TPE, GARATHANE urethane alloys and GARATONE color concentrates. New developments are focused on improving flexibility of materials designed for patch cords, improving abrasion and mechanical ruggedness for materials designed for industrial cables and promoting our solutions for electric vehicle charging cords.

C O M PA N Y S TAT E M E N T S their families. We are employing telework, and some teams are on temporary unemployment. Another priority is to stay in close contact with our customers to understand their current and projected needs, and to adjust our supply chain decisions and actions in an agile way. Finally, we will seek to mitigate as much as possible the impact of the pandemic on our liquidity and bottom-line result. NV Bekaert S.A.

focused on safe working conditions for our people, facilitating smartworking and exceptional hygiene and sanitizing measures in all our plant and offices. We are focused on the continuity of our supply chain for our customers, and we confirm that all of our worldwide facilities, both offices and plants, are operative, including those located in Lombardy and in the rest of Italy. Prysmian Group.

Our Healthcare and Sourcing teams are busy managing demand tied to COVID-19, including orders from our automotive suppliers who are diverting production to healthcare products. As of 3-27, nine of our top 10 ship-to states are now under essential-business-only mandates. With the uncertainty of new stay-at-home restrictions forcing more manufacturing facilities to close, we are introducing added internal reviews relative to new orders to minimize the risks of stranding needed working capital in inventory.

M. Holland is open for business, deemed essential and will continue to operate at full capacity. M. Holland.

Since COVID-19 first appeared, we’ve had a special appointed team of Southwire leaders meeting regularly to proactively manage our response. Our business continues to operate and, at this time, there have been no major interruptions to our business as a result of the virus. We are in contact with our suppliers and are working to prioritize pending orders and work in process, as well as investigating alternative sources of supply and assessing our safety stock of inventory. Currently, we believe any impact we might experience in the coming weeks due to tightness in our supply chain would be minimal. We remain proactive and will continue following preventative measures.

Southwire President and CEO Rich Stinson.

We continue to closely monitor the evolution of the #CoVid19 spread in real time, with the aim of preventing/minimizing impacts on our people and operations.

The contingency plan we implemented soon after the crisis outbreak has proven to be effective so far. We are

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At Gem, we are committed to our customers and our people, and these priorities are key to the coming days, weeks, and months. We continue to manufacture inks

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WIRE EXPO 2020 Amacoil Inc. Tel. 610-485-8300 www.amacoil.com beisele@amacoil.com Exhibiting: Amacoil will display Uhing traverse winding drives and assemblies which are designed for spooling a wide range of materials from hair thin fiber to heavy gauge wire, cable, rope and chain. A working model of a Uhing assembly will be displayed that includes the Amacoil SLS load carrier, which prevents the Uhing traverse from slipping. The assembly will also include an option for fine-tuning travel distance. There are 19 sizes of Uhing spooling drives and numerous accessories to help assure smooth level winding. Accessory products on display will include EasyLock and U-Clip quick release shaft collars and the GS Guide System for wire take-ups. As the exclusive North American value-added distributor for Uhing brand rolling ring traverse winding drives, Amacoil provides sales, parts and repairs.

Ambrell Induction Heating Solutions Tel. 585-889-0286 www.ambrell.com Exhibiting: Founded in 1986, Ambrell Corporation, an inTEST Company, is a global leader in the induction-heating market, and renowned for our application and engineering expertise. Exceptional product quality and outstanding service and support are at the core of our commitment to provide the best customer experience in the industry.

We’re headquartered in the United States, with operations in Europe.

All products are engineered and made at our manufacturing facility in the United States, which is ISO 9001-certified. Over the last three decades we have expanded our global reach, and today we have more than 15,000 systems installed in over 50 countries.

Appleton Manufacturing Tel. 920-751-1555 bmau@appletonmfg.com Exhibiting: Appleton Mfg. will exhibit its RollMover™ and

and solvents in our Massachusetts and Missouri facilities to meet customers’ needs. Many of our staff are working remotely. While we have currently suspended customer visits, we offer phone support and can provide on-site service for urgent matters. I continue to be positive about the future, and am inspired daily by the dedication of our people to our customers, no matter the situation. Gem Gravure Executive Vice President Paul Gemelli.

To date, we have been able to continue our standard production schedule, while making weekend shift adjustments to allow for our employees to be able to spend those days at home with their families. We are meeting daily to assess the situation and will make announcements at our website (https://pelicanwire.com/news/) as necessary.

Pelican Wire Marketing Manager Trent Dunn.

Our supply chain is not affected now. Northern Italy is a main hub for mechanical and engineering businesses, and many of our sub suppliers are located within a 100-mile radius from our plant. We are highly specialized: we do not depend on large-scale supply of components from foreign countries, and the vast majority of our machine components

CartMover™ material-handling product lines. Powerful, compact, ruggedly built and battery-operated, the RollMover and CartMover are perfect additions to wire industry production lines and warehousing.

The RollMover is an indispensable tool for moving large spools of wire and the CartMover can be used for moving a variety of work carts and other material carriers. Visit our booth and find out how you can dramatically increase safety and efficiency in your operations with Appleton material handling products.

Appleton: we move heavy!

Arkema Inc. Tel. 610-205-7929 www.extremematerials.com dwana.gresham@arkema.com Exhibiting: Arkema’s Technical Polymers are commonly used for applications where extreme protection and reliability are required.

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are built locally. We are, however, experiencing a disruption in our technical service and support to customers as air travel is basically at a standstill. We are helping customers through remote connection, over-the-phone, and by contracting local resources when possible. Shipping spare parts worldwide using air cargo is not affected, although we have reports of minor delays when shipping sea freight containers with complete machinery. That is largely due to logistical and safety restrictions implemented at the various ports but for now, the delays seem to be days, not weeks.

Now more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of serving our customers. Anthony DeRosa and Marco Gerardo, MFL Group.

We are a manufacturing entity and will remain open until our hand is forced. I believe in humanity’s resilience and that, somehow, we will overcome. John Tomaz, Wardwell Braiding.

Around the world, businesses are managing through the COVID-19 crisis and establishing the new normal, as we all adapt to new ways of getting work done. CommScope’s main factories are currently operational, and our China (Continued on p. 44)

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SO M E O F WAI ’ S

G R E AT E S T

WAI Board of Directors Jan Sørige Chairman Enkotec Co., Inc. Joe Barrett Davis Wire Corp.

Daniel Blais Prysmian Kurt Breischaft SDI LaFarga LLC

Eric P. Bieberich Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc.

Brian Burr Sumiden Wire Products Inc.

W.T. Bigbee Encore Wire Corp.

Tim Fingeroos Charter Steel

David Fisher James Monroe Wire & Cable Raúl Garcia Viakable SA de CV Marco Gerardo Frigeco USA, Inc. Thomas Heberling Southwire Co.

Harvey McDowell Berk-Tek LLC, Nexans Robert McKinzie Leggett & Platt Inc. Richard R. Miller Consultant Brian Parsons Interstate Wire Willem Sunblad Oden Technologies Inc.

Robert Wild Niehoff Endex North America Inc. Dave Winebarger Sonoco James R. York Insteel Industries John Zachow Davis-Standard LLC

Exhibition Planning Committee Andrew R. Richards Chairman RichardsApex Inc.

Robert L. Fulop Wire Lab Co.

Jay D. Luis NDC Technologies (Beta LaserMike)

Georgia Allen Sikora International Corp.

Jason Garrison Zumbach Electronics Corp.

W.T. Bigbee Encore Wire Corp.

Marco Gerardo FRIGECO USA Inc.

Timothy Moore iNOEX LLC

Anthony R. De Rosa FRIGECO USA Inc.

Al Kozlowski Morgan-Koch Corp.

Jeffrey N. Dewberry Southwire Co.

Monica J. Lepper Esteves Group USA

Barry Mosemann Quality Machinery & Services Inc

David C. Ferraro Carris Reels Inc.

Thomas H. Maxwell, Jr Die Quip Corp

Rahul Sachdev Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp.

Brad Scherer Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc.

Jan Sørige Enkotec Co. Inc.

Robert W. Sears North America OMCG Inc.

Mark S. Spencer W Gillies Technologies LLC

Daniel L. Shelander Windak Group David Skaggs Bechem Lubrication Technology

Edmond T. Torbey Niehoff Endex North America Inc.

Joseph F. Snee Joe Snee Associates

Education Committee Eric Bieberich Chairman Fort Wayne Wire Die Inc.

Tracy Gooding Mar-Mac Wire

Erik Macs Wire and Plastic Machinery Corp.

Dale Olp Special Metals Corp., A-1 Wire Tech Inc.

Stacy Martin Prysmian Group

Brian Parsons Interstate Wire Co. Inc. Horace Pops Horace Pops Consulting, Inc.

Peter Blackford Cable USA Inc.

C. Richard Gordon C. Richard Gordon Consulting LLC

Donald Dodge Calmont Wire & Cable

Doug Grover Chemetall US

Richard Medoff Ace Metal, Inc.

Joseph Domblesky Marquette University

David Gzesh Blachford

Isaac Muller Nexans

Steven Ford Southwire Co.

William Jarae Charter Steel

Donald Neville RichardsApex Europe Ltd.

Jason Giebfried Paramount Die Co.

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Peter Power Power Innovative Technology

Chris Reeve Insteel Industries Inc. Matt Reinoehl SDI LaFarga Robert Shemenski RMS Consulting, Inc. Eric Wagner Charter Steel Bhaskar Yalamanchili Gerdau Tampa

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