The Interwire trade exposition held in Atlanta from May 8-11, 2023, provided the perfect backdrop for two remarkable Chapter Board meetings which demonstrated commitment to growth, collaboration, and fostering the next generation of leaders.

Western Chapter. After an eight-year hiatus, the Western Chapter emerged from its slumber with a renewed sense of purpose. Committed volunteers from the region, including California and Texas, took the reins to form the new Western Chapter Board. Their primary objective: to revitalize the chapter, forge connections and promote the benefits of joining the vibrant wire industry.

The board used this in-person meeting opportunity to begin discussing the groundwork and layout. Essentially, a roadmap of what is needed to set their plans in motion. The first order of business is to build a strong member base, actively reaching out to professionals and organizations throughout the Western region. Emphasizing the power of networking, the board aims to create a dynamic platform where industry experts can exchange knowledge, establish meaningful connections, and foster collaborations.

Again, this is still the early stage, but it is an exciting one that will take time to develop, and the leadership roles in the Western Chapter will be defined as more progress is made.
As part of their revitalization efforts, the Western Chapter Board discussed hosting a small golf tournament in 2024. Stay tuned as details develop over the coming months. If you are interested in becoming involved with the Association’s Western Chapter at this time, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Service Wire reported multiple personnel news. Matt Shumway has been promoted to national sales manager for the utility market, responsible for driving specification approvals and increasing market share nationwide. He joined the company as a regional sales manager, utility. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio. Shane Berry has been promoted to vice president, manufacturing and distribution. He joined the company as director, human resources, in 2018, and in 2021 became director, manufacturing and distribution. Prior to that, he served for about two years as general manager/project manager for ArcelorMittal USA. He holds an MBA from Virginia Tech, and an M.S. degree in industrial and organizational psychology and a B.S. degree in psychology from Radford University. Tanner Beckett will serve the wire and cable electrical distribution markets of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and the Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. He has more than six years of industry experience and holds a B.A. degree in geography from Marshall University. Hillary Rowe now represents accounts in the greater Houston metropolitan area. She has more than five years of sales experience in a variety of industrial markets. Based in Culloden, West Virginia, Service Wire is a family-owned wire and cable manufacturer.

Claes Westerlind was named CEO of NKT. He became part of the company in 2017 when NKT acquired ABB HV Cables in Sweden. Since 2019, he had served as executive vice president, Solutions Karlskrona, and was a member of the global leadership team. He was instrumental in the company’s achieving record orders for high-voltage cable as well as leading the investment and expansion programs in Karlskrona that were launched in 2020. He previously worked in various technical, sales and managerial roles at ABB (now Hitachi Energy) from 2006-2017. He replaces Alexander Kara who left the company for personal reasons. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, NKT manufactures power cables and power cable accessories for the on- and offshore energy sector. n

LaserLinc has two recent hires. Danielle Van Auken is the company’s newest buyer. She has more than 20 years of professional and managerial experience. Col Mogdlin has joined LaserLinc’s engineering department as a mechanical draftsman, where he will assist with technical documentation and fixture building. Based in Fairborn, Ohio, LaserLinc supplies testing and measuring equipment.

Obituary
Larry Dean Fitzgerald, a long-time extrusion industry veteran, died May 9, 2023, after a short illness at age 78. The Connecticut resident passed on the first full day of Interwire 2023, a fitting departure as he had long been a fixture at industry trade shows. Known as “the godfather of wire & cable,” he had a gruff exterior that was paired with a willingness to share his expertise. He held decades of key sales and marketing posts prior to his retirement from Graham Engineering late last year. Past employers included Ramco Inc. (1970-76); Xaloy, Inc., (1976-80); Maillefer Co., (1980-85); Nokia, Inc., (1985-88); Bristol Corp/Electrical Systems Division, (1988-90); Davis Electric Co./Merritt Davis Corp., (1990-2000); Entwistle Co. (2000-02); Merritt Extruder Corp., (2002-05); Davis-Standard LLC, (2005-12); then American Kuhne/Graham Engineering, where he retired but kept active until early in January, when medical issues forced the end of his lengthy career. A WAI Life Member, he was a member of its New England Chapter since 2006. He held a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University. He served with distinction in the military, including two tours in Vietnam. Survivors include a daughter, Alena Fitzgerald, and a son, Phillip Fitzgerald.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – IEWC has been named a “2023 Top Workplaces USA” award-winner. This is the second consecutive year that IEWC has been recognized with the Top Workplaces honor. In 2022, IEWC received its first Top Workplaces award as a regional winner. For 2023, IEWC has been recognized as a national winner.

The Top Workplaces honors are awarded by Energage, a company that specializes in surveying employee engagement. The awards are given to those companies that demonstrate “exceptional workplace cultures.” The global survey allows US-based companies to measure their performance against other companies, and awards are given for regional, national, and market-specific categories.

IEWC performs this annual survey for its 600+ global employees, measuring employee engagement and assessing various aspects of IEWC’s culture. The employee feedback is used to identify and ultimately address areas where IEWC can continue to improve as a company. It’s that commitment to continuous improvement which allows IEWC to build upon its successful culture.

“The fact that we are being recognized in two consecutive years, and that we’re being recognized on a national level, is something all of us at IEWC can be very proud of,” said Brian Hinton, Chief Human Resources Officer at IEWC. “Our wonderful culture is built on a foundation of strong values, none of which is possible without an incredibly engaged workforce. The IEWC team is thrilled to be recognized once again as a “Top Workplaces” winner.

“The companies recognized as Top Workplaces have high performance, people-first cultures,” said Greg Barnett, Ph.D., Chief People Scientist at Energage. “These companies are successful because they put their people at the center of all they do. By prioritizing the employee experience, they are known to out-produce, out-innovate, and out-deliver the competition.”

About IEWC - (www.iewc.com)
IEWC is a global distributor of wire and cable products, manufacturer of custom fiber assemblies, and provider of value-add solutions that advance a connected world. As a partner to thousands of companies in a wide array of manufacturing and infrastructure industries, IEWC has been an entrusted partner supporting customer supply chain, logistics and product quality initiatives for 60 years. IEWC is an employee-owned company with nearly 30 locations in seven countries, serving customers in almost 100 countries. Having grown organically and through acquisition during its 60-year history, today IEWC spans the globe with divisions in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe (under the Premier Cables brand) and serves the telecommunications industry under the Cablcon brand.

Bekaert is delighted to have been selected as a member of the new BEL ESG index and see our sustainability performance and progress recognized.
The BEL ESG index comprises the leading sustainable, Belgian listed companies and tracks those demonstrating the best environmental, social and governance practices. The index also highlights the market’s growing demand for sustainable investments. The company celebrated the inclusion of Bekaert in the BEL ESG index during a bell ceremony at Euronext Brussels.

In related news, Bekaert also reported signing a third Power Purchase Agreement in India, leading to a total CO₂ reduction of more than 60% at Bekaert’s operations in India.