The latest news from EuroWire Magazine en-gb 40 Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT The World's leading Trade Fairs for Wire, Cable and Tubes report excellent Business: More Exhibitors than ever before! The trade visitors of wire and Tube again assessed the two top events overall as excellent. During the five trade fair days, a total of 73,500 trade visitors from 111 countries came to Düsseldorf. In comparison with the previous events, the evaluation of the products and services on offer has again improved. German and international trade fair visitors to the two trade fairs gave excellent marks for the offer range of the fairs. In addition, there were more first-time visitors to wire as well as Tube. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT Finnish employment and economy minister Jyri Häkämies has announced a push to shift the nation's electricity power network to a system of underground cables. He told a press conference that a network of buried cables is a long-term solution to problems experienced when storms cause outages. New network mains are already being buried, and he said that a study would be made on speeding up the process. Häkämies estimated that shifting the 350,000km national power network underground would cost around €10 billion. He added that he sees no reason that legislation could not be changed to obligate power utilities to make provisions for exceptional circumstances, such as widespread storm damage. "There are great differences in the capacity of utilities to provide customer services and I believe that in this respect the law can be made tougher," he said. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT Vantrunk has announced the award of two prestigious contracts from CQG Oil and Gas Contractor Inc and CCI Oil and Gas Contractor Inc for the supply of steel cable management products to the Petrobras P-58 and P-62 floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs). The P-58 will be deployed on the Baleia Azul field, intended to produce up to 180,000 barrels per day and with a gas compression capacity of 6 million cubic meters per day. The P-62 will be deployed on the Roncador field in 1800m of water and will have the capacity to produce 180,000 barrels per day and 6 million cubic meters per day of natural gas production capacity. Vantrunk will be supplying its Speedway® SW4 and SW6 cable ladder systems, together with its heavy duty cable tray system. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT Alstom and SSE Renewables, the marine developer arm of UK energy firm SSE, are to form a joint venture to develop a wave energy installation off the coast of Orkney in Scotland. The Costa Wave project will be located around 5km north of Orkney's mainland and should provide up to 200MW of electricity, the firms said in a statement. The firms aim to reach full capacity at the site by the end of the decade. "This project places Alstom at the forefront of the fast-developing ocean energy sector along with our offshore wind and tidal energy businesses," said Jerome Pecresse, president of Alstom Renewable Power. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT A major project to lay a fibre optic cable underneath the Atlantic from Brean, near Burnham-on-Sea (Somerset UK) to Nova Scotia has begun. The high-speed data link between Brean and Halifax is being laid on the sea bottom as part of a $300m project. The 6,021km Hibernian Express network aims to bring super-fast communications to the financial centers of New York and London. Communications between the two cities will take just 59 milliseconds. The Atlantic phase of the Global Financial Network, which will link up with similar fibre networks planed to connect financial centers such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, is due to be ready for service by the summer of 2013. The fibre optic cables between Brean and Canada will run for a total of 4,600km. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT Huber+Suhner offers the Radox® range of cables in a new automotive cable catalogue that details the latest products, including single core cables, battery cables, databus cables and cable system solutions. There is special emphasis on customized solutions for hybrid and electric vehicles. The company's fibre cable catalogue provides full information of the range of fibre optic cables offered by Huber+Suhner, from indoor and outdoor cables to special and universal cables. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 9 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Responding to criticism from the Swiss Competition Commission (ComCo), Swisscom has renegotiated its agreement with energy company IWB and will restart its deployment of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure in Basel. Swisscom halted the work after ComCo ruled that its agreements with local energy providers gave Swisscom too much influence in determining how competing service providers might share the resulting networks. Swisscom says that after what it termed "intensive negotiations" with IWB, "certain clauses have been removed and/or amended," to address ComCo's concerns. Specifically, clauses related to "investment protection" and Layer 1 exclusivity have been deleted. ComCo has been informed of the amended agreement, and now Swisscom says it is free to begin FTTH deployment again. The method for compensation payments has also been "clarified." If one partner makes considerably more use of the infrastructure than its share of the investment warrants, the other party will receive compensation. This mechanism will not apply until after completion of the basic expansion in Basel, expected in 2018. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 9 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT RichardsApex Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of RichardsApex Inc, has appointed Diatech SC, of Warsaw, Poland, as the national agent for the RichardsApex range of lubricants and compounds for the metal forming industry. According to RA Europe managing director Don Neville, "Diatech is well established and known throughout the wire and cable industry in Poland as the agent for technology suppliers such as Fort Wayne Wire Die, Eurotungstene Metal Powders, Eramet Group and William Beckett Plastics Ltd. Diatech offers extensive access to all manufacturers and a wide range of customer support capabilities, enabling RichardsApex to adopt a solid and comprehensive local presence for our Polish customers to turn to and rely on." http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 9 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Enel Green Power has completed the first 40MW of the overall 90MW installed capacity at the Portoscuso wind facility in the Sulcis Iglesiente area, Italy. The project comprises 39 turbines, each with a capacity of 2.3MW. The company currently has three wind farms in operation in Sardinia delivering over 240 million kWh per year. When operational, the 90MW Portoscuso facility will produce an annual 185 million kWh, equivalent to the consumption of 70 thousand households, and will avoid the atmospheric emission of over 130 thousand tonnes of CO2. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 9 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Research and Markets has announced the addition of "Insulated Cable and Wire" reports to its portfolio. The analyses aim to provide market information for decision makers, including the overall market value for insulated cable and wire by country (2004-2010); overall market volume for insulated cable and wire by country (2004-2010); market value and volume for insulated cable and wire by type (such as co-axial cable, electric conductors, insulated winding wire, optical fibers and cables); forecasts and future outlook of the market until 2016; and a country overview. A Global package contains 62 insulated cable and wire market analyses from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, United States, Australia, Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria. Other packages available are "Insulated Cable and Wire - Australia", "Insulated Cable and Wire - Top 5 American markets" and "Insulated Cable and Wire - Asia". These market research reports promise an in-depth perspective on the actual market situation, trends and future outlook for insulated cable and wire in each country. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 9 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Leoni AG has opened another production facility in China. Around €23 million have been invested in the Jining plant, which will produce wiring systems for the Chinese car market. The new facility has over 25,000m2 of production area and is expected to employ about 1,600 people when series production commences. "With this expansion of capacity we will have made sure of being able to fulfill all existing contracts. In addition, we are prepared for ongoing growth," said Uwe H Lamann, a member of Leoni AG's management board in charge of the Wiring Systems Division. Including joint-venture plants, Leoni now has 11 facilities in China. To satisfy heavy demand for cable harnesses and wiring systems from the automotive industry, Leoni is also setting up new production lines and expanding existing plants in other regions. The Wiring Systems Division alone currently has 12 capital investment projects, including plans for two new facilities in Egypt and one each in the Ukraine and Russia and additional production centres in Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia and Serbia. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 5 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Alpha Wire has launched an extension of its EcoWire line. Offering the environmental benefits and abrasion resistance characteristics of the original EcoWire, EcoWire Plus also resists oils, fuels, solvents, and other hazardous liquids. EcoWire Plus meets the fluid resistance requirements of ISO 6722 for thin-wall and ultra-thin wall wire, making it an eco-friendly and cost-effective replacement for XLPE-insulated wire. As with original EcoWire, EcoWire Plus derives its advantage from a modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE) thermoplastic that is inherently lighter and smaller with equal robustness when compared to XLPE. In addition, EcoWire Plus is non-halogenated and contains no heavy metal pigments, meeting RoHS and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) requirements for the elimination of hazardous substances and recyclability. "EcoWire Plus is a great advancement on our EcoWire line," says Tim Howlett, senior product manager at Alpha Wire. "Not only does it continue to offer space-saving design and weight reduction, its fluid and chemical resistance is ideal for demanding factory and industrial applications. Plus, it enables significant cost savings when replacing XLPE wire." The initial EcoWire Plus is built to ISO 6722 standards for thin and ultra-thin wall requirements and is RoHS and REACH compliant. It is available in sizes from 28 AWG (0.09mm2) to 10 AWG (4.92mm2) with stranded bare copper conductors and an operating temperature range of –40°C to +110°C. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 5 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Reuters reports that a US federal jury has awarded damages of $919.9 million to DuPont, ruling that a South Korean company stole trade secrets for a fibre used in fibre-optic cables. DuPont said the Richmond, Virginia, jury ordered Kolon Industries Inc to pay the damages after finding the textile company stole trade secrets and confidential information regarding its Kevlar para-aramid fibre. Shares of Kolon fell 15 percent in early trading on Thursday. In a statement, the company said it has "solid legal and factual grounds" for its planned appeal, and that many of the alleged secrets were publicly known.Kolon also plans to pursue a separate antitrust case against DuPont, scheduled for trial next March. DuPont called the award one of the largest in a trade secrets case, and is to ask US District Judge Robert Payne, who presided over the seven-week trial, to require Kolon to stop selling products based on the trade secrets. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 5 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Datwyler has extended its portfolio of copper and fiber optic integrated solutions with two new cabling systems. Both systems are designed to enable customer specific Plug-and-Play fibre optic installations with maximum transmission rates and packing densities. The newly developed MTP®-on-LCQ modular solution is compatible with all applications with duplex signals, as well as parallel optics applications such as 40/100G ethernet and120G InfiniBand®. Packing densities of up to 288-fibers (144 LC Duplex ports) can be achieved in one OV-BG (3 HU). In addition, Datwyler offers a revised version of the modular high density (MHD) solution, which stands out due to the further improvement in the performance values of its fibre optic adapters. Outstanding performance values are said to have been achieved by optimising the termination and polishing processes, and by using MTP® connectors supplied by US Conec. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 5 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT ArcelorMittal Hamburg GmbH, Germany, has placed an order with SMS Meer for the modernisation of a two-strand wire rod mill. ArcelorMittal aims to improve product quality with a view to further consolidating its position on the quality-steels market. New cantilever stands from SMS Meer will enable higher rolling forces in the future. This is the fifth modernisation order that ArcelorMittal has placed with SMS Meer for the wire rod mill, supplied in 1969. With the present modernisation, ArcelorMittal is continuing the abolition of the mill stands designed for two-strand operation. The company will be replacing the last two mill stands of the intermediate Train 1. Currently, a two-strand rolling operation is taking place in these mill stands. SMS Meer will be converting this section into two single-strand rolling lines. For this purpose, the existing looper tables will be moved and two new mill stands of type CL 200 will be positioned in V-H arrangement for each strand. These cantilever mill stands represent a new generation and are able to absorb even higher rolling forces and rolling torques. Project manager Hans-Gerd Limper of SMS Meer, said: "Even older rolling mills are able to be brought up to the state-of-the-art and to a competitive level through optimum tailor-made solutions. Investment costs are thus kept low and the amortisation period of the investment is short." http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 5 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Under measures approved by the government, Italian renewable energy companies with an annual turnover of more than €10 million will have to pay 10.5 percent additional company tax over the next three years. Wind-sector operators were previously exempt from the tax, which was set at 6.5% and only applied to companies with an annual turnover of over €25 million. Enel Green Power has estimated the new tax will cost it €25 million a year to 2013. Simone Togni, chairman of the Italian wind industry association, Anev, said the tax would jeopardise €10 billion worth of investment over the next five years, and will hit a sector that is crucial for Italy's development and competitiveness. Italy's energy watchdog said the measures would probably have a negative impact on consumers through reduced investments and higher bills. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT A number of customers have contacted us asking about the China Wire and Cable Industry Summit taking place in China, 25th-26th November at the Crowne Plaza Century Park Hotel, Shanghai. We have been asked about the validity of the summit after a pdf brochure was circulated, clearly showing both EuroWire and Wire and Cable ASIA as media partners. We would like to make it clear that we do not endorse this event and are not media partners. We have demanded that our logos are removed from literature surrounding it and have been told that the promotion has now been 'postponed for the moment'. A number of speakers at the event, organised by Copex Global, are even unaware of its existence. One customer, contacted by a Randal Chan from Copex Global, had even contacted the Crowne Plaza Century Park Hotel in Shanghai who knew nothing of the event. The pdf attachment clearly asks for credit card details and even passport numbers. The summit is not to be confused with the China International Wire and Cable Industry Exhibition, taking place between 26th-28th October at the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Centre, organised by the Shanghai Electric Cable Research Institute and the Electrical Cable and Wire branch of China Electrical Equipment Industry Association. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 29 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT Byelorussian Steel Works (BMZ) of Belarus has advised Steel Business Briefing that it is in final talks with plantmaker Danieli to supply a 700,000 tonnes per year wire rod and rebar rolling mill. If the contract is signed next month (August) the new mill could be on-stream by mid-2013. When fully operational, the anticipated mill will increase BMZ's nameplate capacity for bar and rod products to 1.1mt per year. Crucially, it will also enable the plant to maximize its profit through processing its entire billet output, instead of selling its surplus of less profitable semi-finished product. BMZ currently sells 30,000–35,000t of billet monthly, including to Latvia's Liepajas. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 29 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT Russian miner and steelmaker Evraz has ordered two rolling mills from Austrian plant maker Siemens VAI to equip new bar and section mill projects in southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan. SBB advises that the investment was approved at the end of 2010, with Evraz anticipating strong demand for construction steel. The mills, known as Yuzhniy near the river port of Ust-Donetsk in Russia's Rostov region and Kostanay in Kazakhstan's Kostanay region, are scheduled to be operational in 2013. The Yuzhniy plant will produce up to 135,000 tonnes/year of sections - angles and channels - and up to 315,000 t/y of 10-40mm diameter rebar and 10-16mm coiled bars. Smaller diameters will be produced via a multi-slitting process to maximize productivity. The Kostanay mill is planned to produce up to 450,000 tonnes per year of rebar with diameters of 10-40mm in single, two- or three-slit rolling mode. Billet for re-rolling will come from Evraz's plants: Nizhniy Tagil steelworks (NTMK) in the Urals will feed the Kostanay mill, whilst Yuzhniy will receive material for rerolling from Petrovsky Iron and Steel Worksin Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, the company informed SBB. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT The 6th International European Spring Federation (ESF) Congress of Spring will be held on 23rd September 2011, at Hotel Concorde Lafayette, Paris. Full details can be found on the ESF website at www.esf-springs.com http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT ABB has agreed to acquire the Trasfor Group to expand its portfolio of transformers. Trasfor makes dry-type transformers and inductors for low and medium-voltage applications. The Trasfor Group generated revenues of about $130 million in 2010 with around 380 employees. The company has a manufacturing unit close to Lugano, Switzerland, and two additional plants in Italy. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT ABB has contracted the cable-laying vessel Team Oman for five years from the ship's owner Topaz Energy and Marine, as part of the group's efforts to secure the equipment it needs to deliver a growing backlog of offshore wind-related orders. The new contract goes live in early 2012. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT The theft of copper cabling is thought to have been responsible for a large gas explosion that ripped through a row of houses in Yorkshire, UK. Around 30 people were forced to leave their homes after the incident in which two fire officers suffered injuries. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT The event box at the Swiss paraplegic centre's sports field in Nottwil is being supplied with low radiation CFW PowerCable installation cables, supplied by Brugg Cables. The event box is a terminal box for short-term concerns – television broadcast vehicles for news coverage or equipment for events. The CFW PowerCable connects the main building to the event box. Thanks to the innovative construction of the CFW PowerCable very narrow radii could be laid, and the electromagnetic radiation is also far lower than in other cables. Electromagnetic radiation is hazardous to man,the environment and sensitive technical equipment. Moreover the cables make less power dissipation possible, no induction currents, lower corrosion damage and other benefits. The patented CFW PowerCable solvespractically all grid-related EMC problems at one stroke. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT The Tratos Microcable solution for the broadband market is ideal for installations where duct space is at a premium. Tratos Microcable contains a high-fibre density yet is exceptionally compact and lightweight, maximising the fibre count available in a small cable diameter. It is produced in stranded loose tube design and is available in fibre counts from 144 up to 192, with outer diameters ranging between 4.0 and 7.5mm; in fact, the 7.5mm Tratos Microcable incorporating 192 fibres is actually the smallest such cable in the world today. Even with the maximum number of fibres incorporated, Tratos Microcable remains flexible (it has a minimum bending radius of 15 x outer diameter without tension) and lightweight enough for air-blown installation invery small ducts or sub-ducts using Tratos Microduct. Furthermore, Tratos Microcable requires fewer joints in installation, providing reduced resistance when being passed through the ducting. Tratos Microcable can be used in operating temperatures of -30°C / +60ºC. It has been designed and manufactured to IEC 60794. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT Nexans is to build a plant for manufacturing underground Extra High Voltage (EHV) cables and the possible extension to submarine HV activities in the United States. The company is investing approximately $80m in the new plant to capitalise on the significant investments expected in EHV cables in North America in the coming years. The plant is expected to begin operation in the summer of 2013. "The ever increasing demand for electricity from consumers and industry is driving ambitious plans for the development of major power infrastructure projects in North America," said Frederic Vincent, Nexans' chairman and CEO. "For effective and efficient transmission of electrical power, with minimum losses, these new schemes need to operate at EHV levels. So by establishing this new plant Nexans will be ideally positioned to support these projects with high quality EHV cables designed and manufactured to meet specific local market conditions. "This new investment also represents a significant step forward in increasing our footprint in North America and demonstrates our long-term commitment to this key market," he added. In 2010, North America represented more than 10 per cent of the group's total sales with over 1,300 people employed in seven production facilities: four in the US and three in Canada. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT To complement its state-of-the-art IBDN networking system, Belden has introduced a new design of mounting hardware, with inserts that can hold both keystone and MDVO modular jacks. Developed specifically for the enterprise environment, Belden's new 6c and Euromod faceplates ranges comprise modular work area components – including faceplates, inserts and adapters to complete IBDN workstations quickly andefficiently with the additional benefits of installation flexibility, uniform aesthetics and reduced inventory. The Belden 6c range offers a choice of three faceplates, and three styles of inserts. The Euromod range will consist of Belden's first ever Euromod style, with a choice of three faceplates, and four styles of inserts offering increased flexibility and modularity. Both ranges help to reduce inventory by using innovative crossbar technology, so that inserts are capable of accepting both Keystone and MDVO styles of modular jack. This is achieved by the insertion of a red crossbar for the keystone style modular jacks, and its removal for the MDVO style. These new faceplates can be either wall-mounted on an appropriate wall back box or underfloor-mounted. Both faceplates and inserts are available in three colours: white, black and cool grey. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT Latrobe Specialty Metals Inc has been sold to Carpenter Technology Corp of Wyomissing, in a $558 million deal that Carpenter officials said will increase capacity and business in the future. "This is a great win ... and further justifies the investment we made in the future," said Carpenter CEO William A Wulfsohn, in a conference call with analysts on 20th June. The deal is scheduled to close by 30th September. Latrobe Specialty Metals and Carpenter Technology, which is located outside Reading, both produce specialty metals. Both companies serve the energy, aerospace and defense markets, but Carpenter officials said thatthe two manufacturers are more complementary than competitors in those markets. In April the Ohio Department of Development awarded a contingency grant to Latrobe Specialty Steel Company recognizing the Wauseon plant's creation of 31 new full-time jobs and the retention of existing jobs. Latrobe's Wauseon plant is use the grant to purchase new equipment for its growing precision wire manufacturing business. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT A Florida man is detained pending trial on federal charges relating to a ring allegedly responsible for a large-scale theft of copper wire from the Southwire Company in Carrollton, Georgia, in 2010. The suspect was arrested by United States Customs and Border Protection on 26th May 2011, as he attempted to cross the border from Hidalgo, Texas into Mexico. United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said: "Copper is disappearing at an alarming rate as its value has increased. People in our communities have heard of many smaller thefts, but these charges allege that this scheme involved about a half million dollars worth of copper. The indictment also alleges that this was an organized ring with a specific criminal plan. Our federal and local agencies are well aware of this demand for copper and increased criminal activity." Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and 10 years for transporting stolen goods in interstate commerce. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT FNB Capital Corporation, LLC, a Pittsburgh-based merchant banking subsidiary of FNB Corporation has successfully exited its investment in the Scottdale, PA-based MLP Steel, LLC. In January 2008, FNB Capital Corporation provided capital to Jim Philipkosky of MLP Capital Partners, LLC when he led a change of control transaction to purchase MLP Steel, formerly known as Marwas Steel Company. Despite uncertain economic times, MLP Steel has performed well over the past three years, as evidenced by the company's successful outcome. Stephen Gurgovits, Jr, president and CEO of FNB Capital Corporation, commented, "It has been a rewarding experience to partner with Philipkosky in his efforts as he and members of MLP Steel's management team have successfully navigated the company during unpredictable economic times. It is great to see a local company thriving in the steel industry." "FNB has been a supportive and terrific partner throughout the entire process. Their confidence and support of the company's and management's decisions reflect the knowledge and professionalism they bring to the table," said Philipkosky. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:00 GMT Specialty steel maker Universal Stainless and Alloy Products Inc has revealed plans to buy the assets of Patriot Special Metals of North Jackson, Ohio, in a deal valued at roughly $104.5 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year. Under this agreement, Bridgeville-based Universal Stainless will have added capabilities in the higher value and higher margin products, and will "allow us to accelerate what we wanted to do [in] the next three to five years to one year," said company chairman, president and CEO Dennis Oates. The company is purchasing the Patriot Special Metals' assets from a privately held Canadian company. The site is under construction, and Universal will see the project through to completion and the existing employees will join Universal Stainless. The new assets include an 18-ton vacuum induction furnace, which should be ready for production in the first quarter of 2012; two vacuum arc remelt furnaces, which should be running by the fourth quarter of this year; and the largest hydraulic radial forge in the Western Hemisphere. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT Rockwell Collins is streamlining and improving the performance of its SWE-DISH CommuniCase® Technology product line with the introduction of a new broadband PLL LNB (Phase Locked Loop Low Noise Block) converter that covers the complete Ku-band frequency. The new, single converter replaces three used in the current system, and is available through a simple upgrade. This offering simplifies transmission and usability and enables smooth transitions across satellite networks. It receives Ku frequency band signals from 10.7 through 12.75 GHz with improved frequency stability by using an external 10 MHz reference. "This new LNB converter is robust and easily mounted, allowing for significant savings in installation time while assuring performance," said Bruce King, vice president and general manager of Communications Products for Rockwell Collins. "In addition to being lower weight, the LNB has demonstrated excellent performance during testing." The LNB device is mounted on the feedarm of a satellite dish and receives the very low level microwave signal from the satellite, amplifies it, then converts the signal to a lower frequency band, which is fed to the receiver. Rockwell Collins SWE-DISH CCT represents a major advancement in compact, quick-to-air, portable SATCOM technology. The flexibility of the CommuniCase Technology enables military personnel, broadcasters, and emergency first responders to easily interchange components in the field to establish a new system configuration. The modular system architecture creates a significant cost advantage for our customers versus competing solutions. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT Optima Group LLC has acquired 100 per cent of the membership interest of the ferroalloys producer, CC Metals and Alloys, LLC from CCA Acquisition and Holding Inc and other investors. Certain owners of Optima Group are also partial owners of Felman Production Inc which produces ferrosiliconmanganese in Letart, West Virginia, Michigan Seamless Tube, LLC, a seamless tube and pipe company located in South Lyon, Michigan, Warren Steel Holdings, LLC, a facility with an electric arc furnace producing carbon and alloy steel continuously cast rounds located in Warren, Ohio, and Steel Rolling Holdings Inc, a cold rolling facility in Gibraltar, Michigan. Certain owners are also partial owners of Felman Trading Inc, a ferroalloys trading company that will be the primary distributor of ferrosilicon produced by CC Metals and Alloys. Since its founding in 2008, Felman Trading have been representing some of the world's largest, longstanding alloy producers from Ukraine, Georgia, Romania and the United States. Felman Trading has been providing ferroalloy supplies to steel makers and foundries in North, Central and South Americas. "This acquisition adds to Felman Trading's existing volume of ferrosilicon and expands its variety to meet the growing market demands," said Vlad Mikhyeyev, Felman Trading's general manager. CC Metals and Alloys will continue to provide high-grade ferrosilicon to customers in steel, foundry and welding rod industries. "CC Metals and Alloys' longstanding track record of quality, customer service and on-time delivery as well as concentration on speciality, value-added products will continue to be a hallmark under our ownership and fits well with Optima's overall strategy," said Motti Korf, Optima's Chief Executive Officer and new CEO of CC Metals and Alloys. "The current management team at the Calvert City facility will remain intact to assure a smooth transition and continued success in meeting the high standards expected by its customer base." Ed Bredniak, who previously served as CC Metals and Alloys president, will stay on as its new Chief Operating Officer. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:00:00 GMT Leoni closed out the 2010 financial year significantly better than originally forecast. The leading provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries posted a new record with sales of €2.96 billion (previous year: €2.16 billion). The sustained improvement in global economic conditions was the basis for this increase of about 37 per cent. Particularly the strong recovery in the automotive sector, with worldwide output up by about one fifth on the previous year, resulted in unexpectedly heavy demand. The company turned its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) around, generating profit of €130.7 million during the year after reporting a loss of €116.3 million in the crisis year of 2009. There was also a return to profitability on the bottom line with net income of €67.2 million (previous year: a net loss of €138.1 million). Leoni intends to pay out a dividend of €0.70. Thanks to steadily rising demand, developing new markets and customer groups as well as its stringent cost management, the cable specialist far exceeded all the targets originally set for the past financial year. Both business divisions outpaced the growth of numerous peer markets. The reasons for exceeding the sales forecast, which initially was about €2.4 billion, were the surprisingly strong economic upturn and the sustained momentum in the emerging countries, above all China. The substantial rise in the price of copper accounted for €187.4 million or 9 percentage points of the sales increase. Leoni also used the past economic crisis to make its organisation leaner, to optimise its cost structure and therefore to raise its profitability. The factors contributing to the strong increase in earnings, which were originally budgeted at €50 million, continued to be a beneficial product mix, involving an increasing proportion of high-end vehicle equipment, economies of scale thanks to a higher degree of capacity utilisation as well as an optimised production network. http://www.read-eurowire.com/news.html