May 12, 2021 – Prysmian Group strengthens its commitment to Diversity & Inclusion with the aim of further enhancing its human capital made up of around 28,000 employees worldwide. The increase in the percentage of women, both among white-collar workers and at the level of top managers, is among the sustainability parameters to which the payment of the company managers’ variable remuneration has been linked.

As evidence of the strategic importance of gender and cultural diversity, Prysmian has also set up a new global Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee, tasked with overseeing the achievement of the objectives that the Group has set itself. The Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee has the responsibility to define D&I objectives at each organisational level and support the definition of the actions to achieve and to promote a cultural change to facilitate Diversity & Inclusion within the work environment. The Committee is composed by Prysmian Turkey Human Resources Director Aysun Kalmik, acting as Leader, and Product Development Manager of the Lincoln (Rhode Island) plant Prasha Sarwate, as Deputy Leader.

In order to improve the gender balance in its workforce, the Group has committed to achieving the following Diversity & Inclusion objectives by 2022:

• Ensuring 40% of women hired (female white collars hired with a permanent contract) on total hirings (34% in 2020 compared to 30% in 2016);

• Increasing from 21.9% to 25% the percentage of women managers (from junior to top positions);

• Improving gender balance with regard to executive positions: from 6% in 2016 to 18% in 2022.

In addition, fundamental indicators (e.g., security) have been implemented in all the Groups’ 104 plants.

The D&I parameters are part of the sustainability objectives, to which the payment of the company managers’ variable remuneration has been linked.
In addition, the Group’s first Global eNclusion Week, a five-day digital event, will take place from 17 to 21 May, featuring a series of digital panels and workshops on the importance and advantages of building diverse and inclusive workspaces. The programme will focus on four main themes: Gender Diversity; Diversity & Inclusion in all its forms; Inclusive Culture in the workplace; and Generational D&I.

The Global eNclusion Week will be opened on 14 May by Fabrizio Rutschmann, Prysmian Group CHRO, followed by speeches by: Valerio Battista, Prysmian Group CEO; Mimi Kung, Prysmian Group Independent Board Member; Eric Rondolat, Signify CEO; Sabrina Ritossa Fernandez, Sycomore Asset Management; Maria Cristina Bifulco, Chief Sustainability Officer & IR Director Prysmian Group; and Massimo Battaini, Prysmian Group COO. For further details on all the events click here. The Global eNclusion Week will offer the opportunity to know more about how Countries, Companies and Associations are promoting Diversity & Inclusion around the world.

With the participation of an international and multicultural community, this initiative will feature one week of events open to everyone, where speakers from different industries and with different background will share their knowledge and best practices related to Diversity & Inclusion.
“We strongly believe that leveraging on gender, age and cultural diversity means creating more value and we are constantly building a work environment where all our employees can feel understood, respected and included, just as they are. This event is more than an aspiration: it is a necessity, or better, a business case for a Group that has to work with customers, suppliers and shareholders with different backgrounds and cultures. In order to improve this approach, it is necessary to raise awareness and build a positive dialogue, which can contribute to advancing the Group’s corporate culture”, commented Fabrizio Rutschmann, Chief HR Officer Prysmian Group.

Prysmian Group believes in the value of individuals, backgrounds, leadership styles and attitudes because each person has the potential to generate value to the Company. Its global footprint enables the Group to promote an inclusive environment, encouraging the development of corporate culture and identity. Side by Side is Prysmian Group’s project that promotes Diversity & Inclusion across the organisation.

The Prysmian Group
Prysmian Group is a world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. With almost 140 years of experience, sales of €10 billion, about 28,000 employees in over 50 countries and 104 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and offers the widest possible range of products, services, technologies and know-how.

May 12, 2021 – Leoni AG continues positive trajectory in the first quarter of 2021, which saw the initial WCS carve-out achieved. 

“We continued our operational recovery of the preceding quarters in the first quarter of 2021,” stated Leoni AG CEO Also Kamper. “We reached initial milestones in the improvement of our portfolio with the sale of Leoni Schweiz AG as well as the agreement on the disposal of business units of Leoni Kerpen GmbH. Overall, our progress in operational and strategic terms gives us confidence that we have embarked on the right course to stabilise our business on a sustainable basis. Our focus continues to be on diligently implementing all measures needed to further improve LEONI’s performance and efficiency in the future.” He cited the following positive news.

• Consolidated sales well up on the previous year in the first quarter of 2021

• EBIT before exceptional items as well as before VALUE 21 costs was, with earnings of €39 million, up substantially from the level of same quarter of the previous year (a loss of € 7 million) thanks to a sales increase and operational improvements

• Resolute implementation of our VALUE 21 performance and strategy programme; about €600 million of the gross cost savings potential realised as of 31 March 2021

• As expected, negative free cash flow of € 100 million substantially below the previous year’s neutral figure, which benefited considerably at the time from sale-and-leaseback transactions; free cash flow in the first quarter of 2021 was weighed down by the trend in net working capital related to the operational recovery

• Progress made with respect to strengthening our portfolio by having closed the sale of the first WCS unit, namely LEONI Schweiz AG, at the end of March 2021

• Agreement signed with a consortium of buyers on sale of LEONI Kerpen GmbH’s low-margin business units based in Stolberg; more than 160 jobs could be saved by continuing to operate these units in the hands of new owners at the site

• Sales and earnings outlook for fiscal 2021 raised: despite the persisting Covid-19 pandemic and bottlenecks in our global supply chains, outlook for Group sales now lifted to a significant increase (previously only a low double-digit percentage range); EBIT before exceptional items as well as before VALUE 21 costs should also improve significantly and now reach at least the break-even point

5/7/2021:  Kinderhook Industries, LLC (Kinderhook) announced that it has acquired Cameron Wire & Cable, Inc., a leading distributor of commercial and industrial wire, cable and related accessories.

A press release said that Robert Cameron, who founded the company and served as president, will continue his involvement and be on the board of directors. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Cameron Wire & Cable supplies Cameron-branded copper, aluminum and specialty wire and cable products that are sold to the renewable energy, building wire, industrial and utility end markets. It also provides value-added services that include paralleling, cutting, kitting, harness assembly and development of custom engineered products for unique applications. It serves its customers out of a strategic footprint of distribution centers spanning the continental U.S.

The release did not cite the sales price, but Kinderhook Managing Director Paul Cifelli said that Cameron is “retaining a significant minority stake.” Kinderhook will add two of its operating partners—Ed Flynn, former CEO of International Wire Group, and Craig York, CEO of Kinderhook portfolio company, Copperweld—to Cameron Wire & Cable’s management and board of directors. The two men, who have more than 40 years of collective experience in the wire and cable industry, will provide operational and strategic expertise in support of Kinderhook and management.

Partnering with Kinderhook will allow us to accelerate our growth plan in Cameron’s core and adjacent industry verticals, said Robert Cameron. “In particular, I’m very excited to pursue complementary add-on acquisitions that will help continue to grow our franchise and value-added capabilities.”

“Robert Cameron has successfully led the company to a position of industry leadership in just over a decade, and we look forward to working with him on expanding the Company’s products, services and end markets,” Cifelli said. “Cameron Wire & Cable is a valuable addition to Kinderhook’s rapidly growing wire and cable franchise, and we are excited to help facilitate the acceleration of the company’s already impressive growth.”

Founded in 2003, Kinderhook Industries, LLC, is a private investment firm that manages over $3.3 billion of committed capital. In 2019 it acquired the Copperweld Group, Inc., which last November acquired Copperhead Industries, a Minnesota-based provider of specialty tracer wire products and related equipment.

5/7/2021:  NKT reports that it has been awarded a long-term frame agreement with French Transmission System Operator, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE) to supply it high-voltage power cables.

A press release said that the agreement builds upon a decade of successful collaboration between NKT and RTE. “This new frame contract is a testament to NKT’s presence in France and a confirmation of the mutually rewarding business relationship between NKT and RTE.”
NKT will supply 25 kV high-voltage AC XLPE underground power cable systems, and install accessories such as joints and terminations. The contract covers from 2021 through 2023, with an option for one additional year, as RTE furthers its goal to renew and modernize the transmission power grid in France to support energy transition.

“We are fully committed to accelerate the sustainability journey as we are the first major power cable manufacturer to commit to the Science Based Target initiative and to become a net-zero emissions company supporting RTE in their ambition of making ‘the Greener Choice,’” said NKT President and CEO Alexander Kara.

NKT is currently supporting RTE by executing a 225 kV high-voltage retrofitting power cable project in Marseille, where old cables installed in steel pipes are being replaced with new armored extruded XLPE type cables. The power cables for both the retrofitting project and the new frame agreement are to be made at NKT’s factory in Cologne, Germany, which runs on 100% green electricity.