M. Holland Company, a U.S.-based international distributor of thermoplastic resins and ancillary materials for sectors that include wire and cable, has been acquired by the Ravago Group, a Swiss-based business that has more than 45 manufacturing plants in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed,

but a press release said the founding Holland family will retain a significant stake. Following the close of the transaction, M. Holland will continue to operate independently as a subsidiary of the Ravago Group family of companies, and its existing management team—including CEO and Board Chairman Ed Holland and President and COO Marc Fern—will continue to lead it.

“This transaction is an important inflection point for M. Holland as it places the company on a clear path to continued and long-term success,” Ed Holland said. “Following an exhaustive review of strategic paths, we determined the best way to serve our stakeholders and set up M. Holland for success over the next 70 years was to partner with an organization that shared our passion for employees, customers and suppliers. Ravago Group is that partner.”

Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, M. Holland has over $1.5 billion in annual sales, partners with more than 4,000 customers annually, and serves over 70 countries across North America, LATAM, EMEA and Asia. M. Holland has offices located in the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.

The Ravago Group, a global plastic production and distribution company, specializes in polymer and chemical distribution, building materials, recycling and raw materials. Its activities include distribution, resale and manufacturing, as well as business services and supply chain solutions. It has operations in more than 325 locations across North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, with its American headquarters located in Orlando, Florida.

“M. Holland is a well-known and respected name in the plastics industry, and we are thrilled to welcome (it)to the Ravago Group family of companies,” said Ravago Holdings America President and CEO Jim Duffy.

The transaction is subject to closing conditions

NKT confirms that it has a capacity reservation from SSEN Transmission for Scottish power cable projects that it was previously given status as a preferred bidder.

A press release said that NKT has now reserved production and offshore installation capacity for SSEN Transmission for power cables for the two HVDC transmission lines that link Western Isles and Spittal-Peterhead. The projects will strengthen the interconnection of the Scottish transmission grid.

The parties have agreements ensuring production and offshore installation capacity for the 525 kV XLPE high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power cable systems for the two Scottish projects. NKT will be responsible for both on- and off-shore cable systems for the two links. The combined value of the two projects has not been set but is estimated to top €1 billion. Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2030.

“The reservation of production and offshore installation capacity is an important milestone in the great collaboration with SSEN Transmission and our continuous support of the green transition in Scotland,” said NKT President and CEO Claes Westerlind. “The projects are an excellent fit with our decision to expand our high-voltage production capacity in Karlskrona and add a new market leading cable-laying vessel to our fleet.”

The Western Isles and Spittal-Peterhead offshore HVDC transmission links are part of The Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design (HND) which is a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain that is required to help meet U.K. and Scottish Governments 2030 renewable energy and climate change targets. The Western Isles cable route calls for some 160 km of 525 kV HVDC cable, to be completed by the end of 2024, and the Spittal-Peterhead cable route calls for some 220 km of 525kV HVDC, to be completed by the end of 2025.

Orion S.A., a global specialty chemicals producer, is investing €12.8 million to further develop and demonstrate a climate-neutral process for producing carbon black—used in multiple products, included wire and cable—from alternative carbon sources.

A press release said that a research facility is being built for the project at Orion’s main innovation center at its plant in Cologne, Germany. The technology is designed to improve Orion’s yield and throughput in the production of carbon black using circular feedstocks and thus potentially reduce the carbon footprint of the process by a significant amount. This could accelerate the shift to a circular economy and feed the growing demand for sustainable materials in the tire industry.

Half of the €12.8 million Orion plans to invest in this initiative, called the “Clean Carbon Black Research and Development Project,” will be provided by the decarbonization program of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It will also be supported by the EU’s NextGenerationEU fund.

“We are grateful for the funding from the EU and the German government,” said Orion CEO Corning Painter. “It shows a great commitment to innovation and creating a circular economy.”

Service Wire announced that it plans to double its footprint in Phoenix, Arizona, where the company has been operating for nearly three decades.

A press release said that the company will significantly expand its warehouse and distribution, in turn increasing their manufacturing capacity. “This project has been in the works for some time,” said Scott Olson, director of sales in Phoenix. “It will position us to provide customers a greater selection of on-hand inventory and even faster delivery. We’ve had tremendous support from our customers and suppliers, who have been encouraging us to expand.”

“During our time in the region, we have seen tremendous growth in the surrounding markets,” said Mark Gatewood, vice president of sales and marketing. “We continually reinvest to keep pace with that growth. With this expansion, we are poised to support customers well into the future. It’s a very exciting time for the company.”

“We are reinvesting in a big way,” said Louis Weisberg, CEO of Service Wire. “This project exemplifies our long-term commitment to our customers and growing workforce out West.”