The WAI’s Midwest and Southeast chapters have set dates for their respective golf tournaments, so there are now three firm dates that can be planned for.
The Midwest Chapter will return to St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, Sept. 30. In 2023, the team of Cliff Goss and Brock Braun of SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS, and Chris Skidmore of OmniSource, shot a very respectable 10 under par 72 to walk away with the bragging rights.
The Southeast Chapter will return to the Rock Barn Country Club & Spa in Conover, North Carolina, on Thursday, Oct. 10. In 2023, the winning Vannais Outing team was Travis Card, William Godwin, Andrew Godwin and Paul Godwin, all of Technical Development Corp., who finished 14 under par.
As previously noted, the New England Chapter will return to the Tunxis Country Club in Farmington, Connecticut, on Monday, Sept. 9. In 2023, the Fluorogistx-sponsored team of Jim Elliott and Rick Larson from New England Wire Technologies, and Jim Bliss, Marmon IEI, who won with a score of 60, 12 under par.
Of note, the collective chapter golf tournaments bring together professionals from the wire and cable industry for a day of camaraderie and sportsmanship. Beyond the obvious attraction of golfing, the events serve as an excellent platform to build new connections, exchange knowledge, and strengthen existing relationships within the industry. Register online for tournament, sponsorship, and dinner-only participation: wai.configio.com.
For more details, contact WAI Member Services Manager Corey Flynn at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
WAI News
The Ohio Valley Chapter (OVC) will hold its annual golf tournament on Aug. 22 at Kensington Golf Club in Canfield, Ohio, followed by an educational program and the awards dinners, but participants will have the option of going a different route.
Per the chapter, members who are not avid golfers can instead visit The Training Range, Inc., a state-of-the-art firearms training, indoor range and firearms center in Austintown, Ohio. Some non-golfers have chosen that path on their own in past years, and now that option has been clearly spelled out.
Those that wish to do this need to be at the target range, at 4445 Mahoning Ave, Austintown, about 15 minutes away from the golf course and the Courtyard Hotel. Per Rick Bray, WAFIOS Machinery Corp., participants will sit in on a brief range safety course at 8:50 am, and the range will be available from 9 am to 11 am. For further details contact Bray at tel. 475-414-6130 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The program will allow participants to go to the site in the morning and return to the golf course in plenty of time to sit in on the educational program and awards dinner. The following speakers are scheduled.
Dave Brambert is president of Fifth Wire Manufacturing, which covers innovations both inside the equipment and outside the industry that are making inroads into today’s advanced manufacturing plants. He helps customers develop multi-platform marketing strategies that work.
Tim Moury, president and CEO of Vericheck Technical Services, Inc., will be joined by Technical Director Marco Degasperi. Their company supplies metal analyzing equipment and ISO17025 accredited training and services throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The third speaker is Steve Lebischak, founder of Polara Golf, who will discuss the process of developing their scientifically driven, self-correcting golf ball technology.
For more details and to register, go to the Chapter website or contact WAI Member Services Manager Corey Flynn at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128,
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WAI has made significant headway with its innovative training and development initiative that is designed to enhance industry knowledge and skills through a structured and comprehensive approach.
Industry experts and staff have completed most of the first of five training modules. Each one consists of short videos, none lasting more than five minutes. Each module includes knowledge checks throughout the videos. Upon completing a module, learners receive a certificate of completion.
WAI is collaborating with a motion designer who specializes in manufacturing “explainer” videos. Each one will feature a blend of shop floor footage and animated segments that clarify complex concepts. Narration is done by a professional voiceover artist to ensure that the material is engaging and easy to follow. Each module is developed under the guidance of primary and secondary subject matter experts to ensure
the content is both accurate and relevant. The first four videos of the inaugural module, Ferrous Metallurgy, were showcased last month at Wire Expo 2024.
In parallel with content creation, WAI staff evaluated various learning management systems (LMS) to host the online training. WAI’s Education Committee has provided their input, and now it is advancing to the Executive Committee. The aim is to finalize the LMS selection by the end of July 2024. Key features being considered for the LMS include group enrollment and progress tracking, white-label access for large companies, the ability to host custom content, a user-friendly interface with Single Sign-On (SSO), and scalability to support future growth.
The Ferrous Metallurgy module is slated for completion by late summer/early fall 2024, along with the soft launch of the LMS. The second module, Single Layer Extrusion Overview, is expected to be ready by the end of 2024. n
The New England Chapter will hold an educational event that includes a Nov. 7 plant tour of Accel International’s wire drawing plant in Meriden, Connecticut, followed by a networking dinner in the surrounding area.
More details will follow, but from the “small world” files, this is not the first time that the New England Chapter has held such an event. In 2022, at a different plant located in Meriden—RFS Technologies, now owned by Amphenol—the plant tour followed by a networking dinner proved to be quite successful. That tour saw some 50 chapter members and guests see up close the operations of RFS, a global designer and manufacturer of total-package solutions for wireless and broadcast infrastructure. The tour started with a half-hour presentation on the markets that the company serves, followed by the tour, and then by dinner at a waterfront restaurant.
Accel International, Inc., manufactures silver and nickel plated, tin plated copper and copper alloys for the wire and cable market, serving markets such as aerospace, medical, telecommunications and industrial markets.
More details will follow about the event in future issues.
Ohio Valley Chapter (OVC) has a third confirmed speaker for their golf tournament & educational event to be held Aug. 22 at Kensington Golf Club in Canfield, Ohio, and it’s hard to think of one that will draw more attention.
Steve Lebischak of Polara Golf will be discussing the process of developing their scientifically driven, self-correcting golf ball technology. Go to the Polaris website and what words do you see? “Flies straight -- guaranteed.” Is this a golfer’s dream come true? It may or may not work, but it feels as if there is plenty of incentive for golfing enthusiasts to want to attend this OVC presentation. You can find out more about this at
www.polaragolf.com.
As noted above, the OHV event will again couple the golf outing with an educational seminar, where guest speakers speak on current topics and trends in the manufacturing industry. The combination has proved to be quite popular, as golfers have their day, but the educational program offers another dimension.
Joining Lebischak will be scheduled speakers Dave Brambert of Fifth Wire Manufacturing, and Tim Moury and Marco Degasperi of Vericheck
It’s never too early for a golfer to plan a tournament, so it’s time for members of WAI’s Southeast Chapter to get out their minders to mark in bold letters that the annual golf tournament will be held Oct. 10.
The chapter will return to the Rock Barn Country Club & Spa in Conover, North Carolina. Last year, a total of 83 players took part at the Sept. 12 event, called the Vannais Outing in memory of the late Stephen Vannais, a founding member and president of the chapter. The 2023 winning team was Travis Card, William Godwin, Andrew Godwin and Paul Godwin, all of Technical Development Corp., who finished 14 under par.
Who will win this year? All that is known for sure is that you can’t win if you aren’t there, so again, set aside Oct. 10. Start hitting a few baskets. Golf destiny may await.
The Wire Association International is seeking presentations for its return to the Georgia World Congress Center in 2025 for both Interwire as well as what will be the fourth staging of the Global Continuous Casting Forum (GCCF) to be held May 12-15, 2025.
Interwire is held every other year whereas the GCCF was on a four-year schedule (2011, 2015 and 2019) prior to Covid. Presenters are needed for both events.
Chris Tucker, Encore Wire, will head the GCCF organizing committee. He will be joined by Richard Baker, Cableforce Consulting; Kurt Breischaft, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS; John Hugens, Hugens Metallurgy & Combustion; Martin Lecours, Rio Tinto; Giuseppe Marcantoni, Properzi International; Juan Sanchez, Freeport McMoran; Janusz Sekunda, Prysmian; Patrick Slaughter, Southwire; Robert White, Hazelett; and Florin Teglas, Nexans.
Suggested topics for the 2025 event include: casting technologies, electrical energy, global copper and aluminum markets, cost-saving opportunities, filtration concepts, molten metal, combustion systems, furnaces, degassing, metal flow, refractories, aluminum and copper alloys and sustainability. The submission date is Oct. 2, and questions can be sent to WAI’s John Markowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Presentations for Interwire are also being sought. The organizing team is being led by Conference Co-Chairmen WAI President Daniel Blais and Eric Biebrerich. Preferred topics for Interwire will include topics that address key industry needs. Future articles will address the specific topics. At this point, companies are welcome to suggest presentations for the committee to consider. Those also can be sent to WAI’s John Markowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Wire Association International will once again partner with two other industry associations—IWMA and ACIMAF—to hold Wire & Cable Krakow. The one day event will be held on Oct. 14, 2025, at the Holiday Inn Krakow City Centre.
In addition to the three industry associations, Wire & Cable Krakow has the support of the University of Science and Technology (AGH) and Czestochowa Technical University (CTU).
The Conference Committee includes Don Neville, RichardsApex Europe, Ltd., IWMA; Ferrucio Bellina, TKT Group, ACIMAF; Eric Bieberich, Fort Wayne Wire Die; Jessica Bennett, IWMA; Dr. Beata Smyrak, Prof. Tadeusz Knych; both of AGH University, Poland Chapter; and Steve Fetteroll, WAI.
While planning for the event continues, the format will be similar to that for Wire & Cable Milan in 2023, which got very good reviews. Wire & Cable Krakow will have an electrical and a nonferrous track, each with up to 12 slots that will last 20 minutes. Look for more information to follow in future issues.
MADISON, Connecticut, USA – June 14, 2024 – The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc. reports another successful staging of its Wire Expo trade event on June 11-12, 2024, at the Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
1108 participants from 38 states and 21 countries filled the exhibit hall and conference rooms for this much-anticipated occasion. The biennial event was last staged at the Mohegan Sun in 2016.
WAI’s popular Fundamentals of Wire Manufacturing Course on June 10 preceded the activities with 130 participants.
The exhibit included a full complement of products and supplies from 168 participating companies. Conference attendees represented 300 discrete companies.
Describing the event WAI 2024 President Daniel Blais said “What a great turnout at this year’s Wire Expo. We held the annual clock winding ceremony outside of the WAI headquarters for the first time. Breaking with tradition reminds us that our industry is in constant evolution and that we should never be afraid to try something different. The increased attendance and energy this week show how important it is for our members to stay connected and learn firsthand what is happening within our industry. A truly great week!”
Added highlights:
Keynote Speakers
This year’s keynote speakers shared their perspectives on improvement and manufacturing excellence, both to a full audience.
On Tuesday, June 11, H.O. Woltz, Chairman, President, and CEO of Insteel Industries presented his keynote address “Success based on committing to continuous improvement and a passion for manufacturing.” On that same day he accepted the 2024 WAI Champion Award, an honor given to an individual from the wire industry in recognition of being a strong supporter of The Wire Association International and the wire industry.
Paul Furtado, COO, Prysmian presented his keynote address on Wednesday, June 12, titled: “Elevating operations: Paving the way to manufacturing excellence.”
Top Honors
WAI presented its highest honors on Wednesday to award recipients: William Bigbee – Mordica Memorial Award; Jan Sørige - Donnellan Memorial Award; Raúl García Martínez - President’s Award.
Welcome Reception
This year more than 400 attendees gathered outside for WAI’s Welcome Reception on the Sun Patio to network and relax with refreshments and live music.
WAI had the generous support of the following sponsors:
Elite: Encore Wire; James Monroe Wire & Cable Corp., Lloyd & Bouvier Inc.; Prysmian; SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS; Southwire Co.; and Wire & Plastic Machinery Corp; Platinum: Carris Reels Inc.; Gem Gravure Co. Inc.; and Insteel Industries Inc. Silver: Blachford; Niehoff Endex; RichardsApex Inc.; Sikora International Corp.; and Sonoco Reels & Spools Bronze: Baum’s Castorine; Cable Components Group; Fort Wayne Wire Die; Gendon Polymer Services Inc., Graham Engineering; and Precision Payoff Systems.
The Wire and Cable Industry Suppliers Association (WCISA) is an industry partner with WAI.
WAI’s Operations Summit & Wire Expo will be held in the spring of 2026.
About the Organizer:
WAI, founded in 1930, is a not-for-profit association with 1,800 individual members in 50 countries. The association serves the educational needs of the wire and cable manufacturing industry through a variety of products and services. WAI manages the Interwire Trade Exhibition and the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo and publishes the Wire Journal International and the Wire Journal International Reference Guide.
The Ohio Valley Chapter (OVC) will hold its annual golf outing on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, at Kensington Golf Club in Canfield, Ohio.
The OVC will once again couple the golf outing with an educational seminar, where guest speakers speak on current topics and trends in the manufacturing industry. The combination has proved to be quite popular, as golfers have their day, but the educational program offers another dimension.
The scheduled speakers are Dave Brambert of Fifth Wire Manufacturing, and Tim Moury and Marco Degasperi of Vericheck.
Dave Brambert has B2B communications experience dating back to the early 1980s, with deep roots in technology in the markets of networking, web infrastructure, software, machine vision, and machine tools. His experience in the machine tool market dates to 2003. For five years he owned and operated the technology integration company Gilbert Information Systems, doing network integration, web development and hosting, and network equipment testing. During his three-decade B2B media career, he launched and acquired brands and repositioned titles to better fit their home markets. With Fifth Wave Manufacturing, he brings to bear all of his technology and manufacturing background, combined with B2B product development and management.
Verichek Technical Services, Inc., is dedicated to serving the analytical needs of the metals industry by supplying metal analyzing spectrometers and servicing the equipment throughout the United States and Canada.
Be on the lookout for more information soon, for what is sure to be an equally fun and educational day for the Ohio Valley Chapter.
3 other chapter golf tourneys will soon follow, so plan accordingly
The New England Chapter has a firm date for its annual golf tournament (Sept. 9), but you can expect to see other dates posted soon for the Midwest and Southeast chapters.
The collective chapter golf tournaments bring together professionals from the wire and cable industry for a day of camaraderie and sportsmanship. Beyond the obvious attraction of golfing, the events serve as an excellent platform to build new connections, exchange knowledge, and strengthen existing relationships within the industry. Register online for tournament, sponsorship, and dinner-only participation: wai.configio.com.
In related chapter news, the New England Chapter has a firm date for its annual golf tournament (Sept. 9), but you can expect to see other dates posted soon for the Midwest and Southeast chapters.
The collective chapter golf tournaments bring together professionals from the wire and cable industry for a day of camaraderie and sportsmanship. Beyond the obvious attraction of golfing, the events serve as an excellent platform to build new connections, exchange knowledge, and strengthen existing relationships within the industry. Register online for tournament, sponsorship, and dinner-only participation: wai.configio.com.
For more details, contact WAI Member Services Manager Corey Flynn at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The WAI planning committee for the Association’s Global Continuous Casting Forum—last held in 2019, met April 6 to discuss details for the event that will be held in conjunction with Interwire 2025 on May 12-15, 2015.
Taking part in the Committee, chaired by Chris Tucker of Encore Wire, were Richard Baker, Cableforce Consulting; Kurt Breischaft, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS; John Hugens, Hugens Metallurgy & Combustion; Martin Lecours, Rio Tinto; Giuseppe Marcantoni, Properzi International; Juan Sanchez, Freeport McMoran; and Janusz Sekunda, Prysmian. Also part of the committee but not able to participate in the meeting were Patrick Slaughter, Southwire, and Florin Teglas, Nexans.
The committee discussed ways to improve the event, including educational content, networking or in the execution stage. It will continue to review the possibility of expanding the content and the number of total days. The consensus was that offering both an aluminum and a copper focus was appropriate, and that adding a plant tour would be a plus.
The committee discussed the need to solicit papers via a “call-for-papers” and by recruiting. The timeline for submission of abstracts is Oct. 3, with notifications by Nov. 7 and papers submitted by a deadline of Feb. 13, 2025. A call for papers was distributed at the wire 2024 show in Düsseldorf and will be shared at the Wire Expo event in June as well as in the WJI.
On April 4, WAI volunteers and staff joined forces at the Points Meeting for the initial allocation of exhibitor booth space for the 2025 Interwire Trade Exposition, which will be held on May 13-15, 2025, in Atlanta.
The Points Meeting is important because it is used to decide where booths will be placed based on a formula that uses the number of years of participation and the size of booth. A total of 118 companies took part in the Points Meeting that was held online at the WAI’s office in Madison, Connecticut. By the end of the day, 64,000 sq ft of exhibit space was reserved.
The team that managed the process included volunteers Erik Macs of Wire & Plastic Machinery; Harish Panchal, consultant; Joe Snee of Joe Snee Associates; and John Zachow of Davis-Standard. WAI staff representative included the sales team of Anna Bzowski and Shannon Timme; Corey Flynn, manager of member services; Chuck Szymaszek, director of technology; and Sheila Kuever, controller.
Also there was WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll, who said that the smoothly run kick-off bodes well for Interwire, which requires extensive planning in many stages. “I am grateful to the entire team for their efforts. The process works well, and during it a lot of elements have to be addressed so that when attendees walk the show floor next year, all is right.”
Fetteroll, who served as an observer during the day-long meeting, said that the results for the kick-off were inspiring. “It’s hard to appreciate just how widespread and committed the industry support is for Interwire. Of the 118 exhibitors that reserved floor space, 110 had participated in previous shows, with many having done so since the event was launched in 1981.
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