IEWC has promoted Pat Rislov to chief supply chain officer, with the company’s quality, business intelligence and marketing teams now also part of his oversight, joining sourcing, materials management, and logistics. He joined IEWC in 2018 as vice president of supply chain. He has more than 25 years of experience in the retail space with organizations including Kohl’s Department Stores and Steinhafels Furniture, where he earned progressive leadership roles specializing in inventory management, e-commerce operations, logistics and supply chain management. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will continue to report directly to company CEO Mike Veum. Based in New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA, IEWC supplies comprehensive wire, cable and wire management solutions.

Genuine Cable Group (GCG) recently named Marc Abbagnaro as chief commercial officer. He will lead the commercial efforts across all GCG targeted business segments, including the telecom/broadband, factory automation, marine, building automation, assembly and infrastructure segments. He most recently worked for Anixter International, where he was senior vice president of sales for Anixter’s Electrical and Electronic Solutions division. Over 10 years, he held sales leadership roles in the U.S. as well as global sales positions covering the Americas and China. Owned by Auda Group, a private equity firm, Genuine Cable Group is a value-added distributor of wire, cable and related products to a variety of niche markets. 

Richard T. Wagner has been promoted to senior vice president and COO of Insteel Industries, Inc. He joined the company in 1992 and most recently served as vice president and general manager of the concrete reinforcing products business unit of its subsidiary, Insteel Wire Products Company, from 1998 to October 2020. From 1977 to 1992, he served in various positions with Florida Wire and Cable, Inc., a manufacturer of PC strand and galvanized strand products that was later acquired by Insteel in 2000. In 2007, he was appointed vice president of Insteel Industries. He also served as WAI president in 2018. Based in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Insteel Industries is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. 

On Dec. 3, the Wire & Cable Manufacturers Alliance (WCMA), hosted its first Virtual Presentation and Annual Meeting, with the below wrapup provided by Executive Director Ed Fenton.

The event included a presentation by John Traynor, executive vice president and chief investment officer, Peoples Bank Wealth Management. A frequent WCMA speaker, he returned to cover key economic, political, and manufacturing topics that will impact the industry during 2021. That included expectations for business growth drivers and what to expect from Washington and from the private equity community. He confirmed what WCMA has reported during the Covid-19 crisis: manufacturing segments, other than the significantly impacted oil/gas and commercial aerospace industries, will finish the year somewhat better than expected. That should be followed by a healthy recovery over the next year, or two, assuming vaccines are in place and effective.

Two individual management presentations were also made. “Cycles in Metal Market Prices,” by John Gross, JE Gross Consulting/The Copper Journal, and “Simplifying Supply Chains: More Important Now Than Ever,” by Mike Kelley, Kelley Productivity Partners. WCMA will schedule a specific follow up by Kelley during Q1 2021 for more details about his topic.

Participants who were able to take part in the virtual event considered the content valuable for their 2021 planning. WCMA has lost revenue dues to events not being able to be held, but dues from members has made it possible for the organization to continue to send charity donations to Toys for Tots and UCONN Health Center Cancer research, as well as scholarship donations to WAI’s Wire Foundation, IWCS and the Copper Club.

WCMA welcomed four new members: Encore Wire, Electrolock, Trans Cable Internatoional, and Quantum Design. The WCMA’s board of directors also approved an extension of Director and Officer terms through 2021 because of the pandemic.

Finally, WCMA is still hoping to be able to hold its Distinguished Career Awards dinner on April 17, and its Annual Golf Outing and Fundraiser (date TBD). Visit www.wcmainc.org, where details will be provided as soon as they become available.

WAI’s Board of Directors (BoD) voted unanimously on Dec. 10, 2020, to change the dates from May 11-13, 2021, to Oct. 26-27, 2021. Interwire will return to the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta, when it hosts the Association’s flagship trade exposition in Hall A.

The vote culminated a months-long process where staff had investigated possible new dates, at the request of the BoD. Based on the results—which in this case made it possible to delay Interwire for 22 weeks—the alternative October date was welcomed as a time buffer to allow the expected availability of vaccines and therapeutics, as well as the subsequent and anticipated lift of travel restrictions.

Commenting on the change, WAI President Thomas Heberling said, “We know that Interwire is important to the industry, and we are committed to producing a safe event. Southwire has been a strong supporter of Interwire and WAI, and I’d like to encourage decision makers at all the manufacturers and suppliers to keep an open mind. I’m expecting the months to come to show more promise, and I’m hoping that they will be accompanied by more renewed support for the industry to again meet in Atlanta.”

The new format shifts from two-and-a-half days to two days, likely with longer exhibition hours. “Our staff has been working with the GWCC and area hotels to accommodate the shift and secure desirable dates,” said WAI’s Executive Director Steven Fetteroll. More details will be released as they become available through the event website, www.interwire21.com, and in future WJI issues.

Earlier this year, the Association had to postpone, then ultimately cancel, the WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo 2020 in May at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, and its International Technical Conference in October in Monterrey, Mexico.