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Wire Journal News

February 2020

U.K.-based Elmeridge Cables Limited (ECL) reports that it recently delivered two contracts for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

A press release said that the company was asked by BAS to supply two lengths of double-armored CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth) cable for two Royal Research Survey vessels. The separate contracts were for a single 8,000-meter length for the RRS James Clark Ross and a single 10,000-meter length for the RRS Sir David Attenborough. Both vessels work in very sensitive and often extreme weather environments, so production had to be perfect.

“BAS stipulated that to avoid slippage on the winch during deployment and recovery, no grease or oil could be applied on or to the armor wires of Galvanized Improved Plow Steel (GIPS), an assurance we were happy to give,” said Des Smith, owner/managing director at Elmeridge Cables Ltd. He added that BAS gave strict specifications for the diameter and width of the cable drums, even down to hole size for the spindle, to allow direct loading and unloading of the drums to and from the winches on board both vessels.

Published in Industry News

NTT Ltd. announced it will start the construction of MIST, a large-capacity submarine cable connecting Singapore, Myanmar and India.

Per a press release and published reports, the MIST cable system will have a total length of 11,000 km, connecting the three countries, and will include capacity for future expansion. The construction of the submarine cable network in South East Asia is part of a strategic joint venture with Orient Link Pte. Ltd. (Orient Link), a strategic joint venture of NTT, JICT and WEN Capital.

The cable will have 12 fiber pairs and 240 Tbps capacity, able to transmit a six-hour high-definition video (approximately three movies) in one second. The cost for the project was estimated at approximately US$400 million. NTT aims to link its large-scale data centers in Singapore, Myanmar and India with the MIST cable system. Orient Link is expected to get additional funds for the MIST cable system from its anchor customers, which might include Google, and certain Chinese OTT players and operators.

NTT’s existing offerings through cable systems such as Asia Submarine Cable Express (ASE), Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), Pacific Crossing -1 (PC-1) and JUPITER Cable (under construction) provide global connectivity from Asia to the US. The MIST cable system, along with these existing offerings, will allow for NTT to grow its offering and expand into India and beyond.

NTT Ltd. was established in London on July 1, 2019 as the global operating company of NTT Corporation (NTT Group), the merger of 28 brands. On October 10, 2019, NTT Ltd. established Orient Link. Ownership is as follows: NTT (42%), JICT (38%) and WEN Capital (20%).

Published in Industry News

Loos & Co., LLC (Loos) was acquired by Canada’s Central Wire Industries (CWI). That news was reported in a July 2018 announcement by Carter Morse & Mathias (CMM), which served as a financial adviser, but that press release did not make a splash on the news wires.

To date, WJI has still not been provided any official comment. Thus, the only news to officially report is the statements from the CMM press release. In it, CWI President Paul From said, “The addition of Loos to the Central Wire Group of Companies continues our strategy of broadening and diversifying product offerings and markets served around CWI’s industry-leading stainless and nickel alloy wire business.”

The press release also included comments from one of the owners of the second-generation family-owned company. “We were looking to find a synergistic buyer that would continue the company’s commitment to its employees, customers, and business partners, to accelerate the development and production of the highest quality products and to uphold the company’s legacy in the industry and our communities. We found the perfect buyer with Central Wire,” said Joan Loos.

This news may already be known, especially as the CWI website has Loos listed among its acquisitions. Prior ones included Hempel Wire Limited (2015), Strand Core (2014), Charter Specialty Steel - Fond du Lac, Wisconsin facility (2010), Techalloy, Inc. (2005), Greening Donald (2003), Nucor - Lancaster, South Carolina facility (1998) and National Filtration (1989).

Per the release, Loos has manufacturing operations in Pomfret, Connecticut and Naples, Florida, and is the only vertically integrated manufacturer of aircraft control cable, cable assemblies and hardware accessories - drawing wire, stranding into cable, manufacturing end fittings, and producing cable assemblies in North America.

Published in Industry News

IWCS and UL announced that they have made “the difficult decision” to cancel the UL and IWCS China 2020 Cable & Connectivity Symposium due to the widespread threat of the Coronavirus.

A press release said that the fourth annual UL and IWCS China 2020 regional Asian conference—a forum for information exchange in cable and connectivity—was to be held in Shanghai, China on March 24-26, 2020 at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all of our friends and colleagues in China as they take every precaution to battle this serious Coronavirus crisis,” said IWCS CEO/Director David Kiddoo.

“We have made the difficult decision to cancel the UL and IWCS China 2020 Cable & Connectivity Symposium with great concern for the health and safety of our attendees, presenters, and their families,” said L.F. Lai, vice president and general manager of UL’s Wire and Cable division

The release said that both organizations are committed to the future of the conference, and that plans are already in process to hold the 2021 conference in Shanghai.
As information becomes available, further announcements will be made on the symposium at www.ulandiwcschina.org.

Published in Industry News

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