Kris-Tech Wire, a supplier of wire and cable to the building, commercial and utility industries, recently broke ground at its location in Rome, New York, where the company plans to expand its operations, doubling the facility’s production, warehouse and office space.

Per published reports, the Kris-Tech Wire expansion is part of a multi-year campaign to expand operations and product lines into emerging markets. “We’re excited to

continue investing in our people, customers, and community,” President and CEO Graham Brodock said in a press release announcing the project. “This expansion is a statement of our belief in our business and team, and we look forward to yet another one soon.”

When construction ends in early 2024, the Otis Street building will house several added production lines, including Kris-Tech’s recently expanded tray cable division, stocking and storage areas, training rooms and more. The expansion project will also bring a nearby production facility back to Rome. Last year, the company opened a stocking facility in Houston, Texas. A third-generation, family-owned business, Kris-Tech Wire was founded in 1984 by twin brothers Gerry and Glenn Brodock.

Hellenic Cables has been awarded a contract from TenneT for the turnkey delivery of approximately 36 km of HVAC offshore grid connection cables for offshore wind farms to be developed in zones (N-3.7 and N-3.8) in Germany.

A press release said that the project, being done in partnership with the Jan De Nul Group, is for the cabling that will connect the wind farms to the DolWin kappa converter station, from where HVDC cables transfer the produced energy to shore. Hellenic Cables will be responsible for designing, manufacturing, supplying, terminating, and testing of three 155kV HVAC grid connection cables and associated accessories.

Manufacturing is planned for 2025 in Hellenic Cables’ submarine cable plant in Corinth, Greece, and delivery is expected in Q3 2025. The Jan De Nul Group will handle the cable transportation, laying and protection works. A single cable will be installed between zone N-3.7 and the DolWin kappa converter, covering a length of 16.5 km. The N-3.8 zone will connect to the converter station by two cables, each about 10 km long.

Hellenic Cables is part of Cenergy Holdings, which itself is a subsidiary of Viohalco SA, a Belgian-based holding company that specializes in manufacturing aluminum, copper, cables, steel and steel pipes.

MW Components has acquired Western Wire Products Company (Western Wire), a wire forming manufacturer with a storied history.

A press release said that the acquisition bolsters the scope of MW Components, which is active in the spring and wire forming industry. Its holdings include Century Spring, Fox Valley Spring, Maryland Precision Spring and over a dozen other locations that produce precision metal components. 

The addition of Western Wire will result in an increased selection of stock, standard, and custom wire forms including cotter pins, hitch pins, spring pins and an array of highly engineered precision metal components. “We are thrilled that Western Wire is joining the MW Components portfolio and hope to strengthen Western Wire’s service and 100+ year history of entrepreneurship.”

The Western Wire website spells out the company’s rich history of the business that was owned by members of the Young family for more than a century before being bought out in 2016 by its CFO, Michael Basler. Below are just two innovations it cites.

Western Wire Products Company was a “family business” even before its 1914 incorporation in St. Louis, Missouri. The company’s origins date back to 1907 when the uncle of its founders invented a machine that made woven wire fabric. The patent on this machine is considered by some historians to be the original precursor to today’s chain link fence.

In 1912, family inventor Ira J. Young, under a different company name (Wire Manufacturing Products) applied for a patent on a machine for forming split pins, later to be known as Cotter Pins. That business later became part of Western Wire, which serves customers in all parts of the U.S., and exports to Europe, South America, Mexico, Asia, Australia, and Canada.

Taihan Electric Wire (TEW)N announced that it has won a significant power grid project to boost electricity service to Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait.

 A press release said that the order from the Kuwait Ministry of Electricity and Water & Renewable Energy (MEW) is for an extra-high voltage power grid turnkey project valued at in excess of $65 million. The order calls for building an underground power grid between existing substations to help meet electricity demand in Kuwait City. TEW will supply materials such as 300 kV extra-high voltage cables and connectors, and perform power grid design, installation, connection and testing all at once.

The release noted that the bidding conditions were very stringent, and for the 300-400 kV EHV power grids, “only a handful of European and Japanese companies are qualified to bid.” It noted that TEW, which has successfully completed a number of ultra-high voltage turnkey projects ordered by the Kuwait Water and Electricity Authority, “won the project through fierce competition with leading global companies based on its project execution capabilities and technological prowess.”

In other news, the company notes that it has started construction of a factory that will be the first optical cable production corporation in Kuwait. The goal is to complete the construction by the end of the year.

Keir International, a Saudi Arabia-based business that serves multiple sectors, reported several orders for its wire and cable business.

A press release said that Keir International has secured two contracts from Saudi Electricity Transmission Company worth approximately $44.2 million for extension of high-voltage underground cables. The projects are scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2025.

The first contract is for the extension of 110 kV underground cables to connect Al Haram station within the program to strengthen the major cities in Madinah. The second contract calls for extending high-voltage underground cables to connect the West Taiba station within the Haram station as part of the Greater Cities Enhancement Program in Madinah.

In other news, KEIR International reported that it had also signed a contract worth approximately $8 million to provide a fiber optic network. The project, which is expected to take two years, is aimed at expanding the infrastructure of the fiber optic network of the Ministry of Interior by connecting sites belonging to the ministry in the regions of Riyadh and Makkah Al-Mukarramah to the network.