The daily news bulletin for the informed wire & cable executive. Reaching a regular audience of 7733 readers in 101 countries. Wire & Cable Industry news Subscribe here for your automatic email   RESOURCES... - Exchange Rates - Info Links - Forex TV - Publication Policy - Email the Editor - Advertising November 19th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - Many Chinese steel wire companies hit with 438% countervailing duties as U.S. sets duties on Chinese steel wire goods The Commerce Department has set preliminary duties ranging from 2% to 438% on hundreds of millions of dollars of imported steel wire decking from China to offset government subsidies. The preliminary decision on Tuesday concerns welded-wire rack decking, a product used in industrial and other commercial storage rack systems. U.S. companies imported an estimated $317 million of such decking in 2008, an increase of 49% from 2006. See Extended Story.. November 19th, 2009  - General New York City - Strong US metal imports fuel economic rebound hope Greater shipments of industrial metals into the United States in September reflect a budding optimism in the economy and relatively attractive prices should keep luring manufacturers into replenishing depleted inventories. The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday reported that September copper imports soared more than 50 percent from August to 56,012 tonnes. Aluminum shipments were up more than 18 percent to 134,800 tonnes, and zinc and nickel also showed month-over-month gains. Recent data reinforces a brighter economic outlook. The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index rose to 55.7 in October, marking the third month of expansion, while a 0.7 percent rise in industrial production and gains in both construction spending and new housing starts added to the positive sentiment. The U.S. will likely continue to ramp up spending, as Feds has indicated they will keep interest rates at extremely low levels and provide ample financial sector liquidity for most of 2010. Out of the $787 billion allocated for the U.S. stimulus program, only about a fifth to a quarter has been spent so far. Much more of the U.S. stimulus money is to come out by end of fiscal 2010, with maximum impact occurring in Q4 2009 - Q2 2010. November 19th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Steel demand slowly picking up but is a long way off peak in 2008 Russian apparent steel demand is expected to rise 15-20 percent next year thanks to robust construction activity, an executive at Severstal , Russia's largest steelmaker, said on Monday. Construction projects and machinery orders will help demand to rise next year in the world's fourth largest steel producing country, Alexander Malanichev, Severstal's head of strategic marketing, told a Metal Bulletin steel conference. However the increase in demand is from an extremely low level as Russian steel demand is expected to drop by 30 percent overall in 2009, compared with 2008. The global steel industry is slowly recovering from one of the worst downturns it has seen in its history. But the rise in orders are yet to be reflected in company results, analysts say. Malanichev said he saw signs of improvement in Russian steel demand but said looming overcapacity was a major threat for the prices, which have risen over the past couple of months from last year's lows. See Extended Story.. November 18th, 2009  - General Tokyo - Tokyo Steel to raise wire rod prices for December contracts Japan’s largest maker of construction girders, will increase prices of some products by as much as 4.2 percent because of rising raw material costs. The Tokyo-based company will raise the price of construction products including deformed steel bar, wire rod, and I-beam by 2,000 yen ($22.3) a metric ton for contracts starting next month, it said today. Rising steel production in China, the world’s largest maker, will likely spur higher costs for materials including iron ore and steel scrap, pressuring earnings for the industry, Managing Director Naoto Ohori told reporters in Tokyo. Iron ore prices may rise 20 percent next year, Samsung Securities said yesterday. “Raw material costs are likely to go up,” Ohori said. “Cost increases would be unavoidable for steelmakers.” The company will sell deformed steel bars at 50,000 yen for December. Prices of wire rods will increase to 61,000 yen next month from 59,000 yen, and I-beam will be raised to 64,000 yen from 62,000 yen, the company said. November 18th, 2009  - General Mumbai India - Aksh Optifibre to transfer manufacturing undertaking Aksh Optifibre informed BSE today that the company has executed an agreement for sale of its manufacturing undertakings engaged in manufacturing optic fiber, optic fiber cable, ERP rods and other telecom cables at Bhiwadi and Reengus in Rajasthan to its wholly owned subsidiary namely Aksh Technologies, on a going concern basis. November 18th, 2009  - General New Holland, Pennsylvania - Ber-Tek fiber-optic cables exceed OM4 Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, says that its fiber-optic cable family includes fiber grades that exceed the recently ratified TIA-492AAAD for OM4 specifications. OM4 fiber is a 50-µm laser-optimized multimode fiber with extended bandwidth properties over the previous OM3. It is designed to enhance the system cost benefits enabled by 850-nm VCSELs for existing 1- and 10-Gbps applications, as well as future 40 and 100 Gbps systems. With an effective modal bandwidth (EMB) of 4700 MHz*km, OM4 fiber can reach a distance of 550 m for 10 Gbps (almost twice that of OM3). See Extended Story.. November 17th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Strong demand leading to steel overcapacity in China 21st Economic Herald citing Mr Tang Bin Chief Engineer of National Development and Reform Commission said in 7th China Iron and Steel Annual Meeting lately held in Beijing that "Now, some small blast furnaces and the outdated facilities which have been closed before are starting operation again." Nowadays, production speed and investment is picking up in China steel industry, driving oversupply to increase again. The data shows, national output of crude steel was posted at 472.47 million tonnes during January to October 2009 edging up 10.5% from one year ago, and the output came at 51.75 million tonnes in the single month of October a growth of 42.4%YoY. See Extended Story.. November 17th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Taiwan`s wire and connector suppliers expand output to tap notebook PC boom With demand for notebook PCs strongly rebounding due partly to launch of Windows 7 and partly to market recovery, Taiwan`s manufacturers of wires and connectors for notebook PCs are actively moving to expand their output to tap the market boom, according to industry sources. For instance, a brand new fabrication plant of Wanshih Electronic Co., Ltd., a top-caliber supplier of mini coaxial cable assemblies, is under construction in China and will become operational by the end of next year and lead to a 30-50% increase in the firm`s total output. Plus, other power cord and cable makers, namely Taiwan Line Tek Electronic Co., Ltd., I-Sheng Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd. and Lotes Co., Ltd., have also kicked off output expansion recently. See Extended Story.. November 17th, 2009  - General Beijing China/Singapore - Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming blasted Obama's decision to slap on duties. Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming blasted Obama for slapping on import duties using special anti-surge measure that applies only to China and that Washington had never before used. Chen, in a speech in Singapore, said that action violated pledges Obama and other world leaders had made against imposing new protectionist measures through 2010. "Shouldn't a measure that has never been used, for decades, be considered a new measure?" Chen said. He also took a swipe at Obama's hope of boosting exports to fuel U.S. economic growth, while persuading China and other Asian economies to rely less on selling to the United States and more on their own domestic demand. "Some countries on the one hand want to use every kind of protectionism to revive their employment numbers quickly (and) at the same time want to increase their exports by a lot and turn into the world's biggest exporter," Chen said. See Extended Story.. November 16th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US to continue with import curbs on Indian steel wire strand. The US has decided to continue with restrictions on import of a steel product from India and five other countries by way of extra duties on the commodity. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) at its meeting on Tuesday decided to continue with countervailing duty on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from India. It also decided that anti-dumping duties on this product from Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, Thailand, Japan will continue. All the six members of the Commission supported the decision. ITC has determined that revoking the existing import restrictions on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from India and four other countries would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time, the Commission in a statement. See Extended Story.. November 16th, 2009  - General Mumbai India - 16 Indian wire maker’s plea for duty-free status sparks US criticism At least two U.S. trade associations and one major aluminum company have filed written objections to an Indian wire manufacturer's petition seeking duty-free treatment. The petition, which has garnered stark opposition from both Noranda Aluminum Inc. and the Aluminum Association, was filed by Mumbai-based Apar Industries Ltd. in an attempt to add aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) wire from India to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The GSP program, which is designed to promote economic growth in the developing world, provides duty-free treatment to more than 7,000 products from eligible countries. November 14th, 2009  - General Rio de Janeiro Brazil - Bad weather blamed in blackout for 60 million in Brazil but transmission line capacity may be the real culprit. Heavy rain, lightning and strong winds caused blackouts that left nearly a third of Brazilians — 60 million people — in the dark, officials said Wednesday as they scrambled to restore confidence in the country's infrastructure before soccer's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The weather made transformers on a vital high-voltage transmission line short-circuit, Brazil's energy minister said. Two other transmission lines also went down as part of an automatic safety mechanism.” The problem was exclusively with the transmission lines," Energy Minister Edison Lobao said. The blackout cut electricity to 18 of Brazil's 26 states and left them without power for up to four hours Tuesday night. See Extended Story.. November 14th, 2009  - General Beijing China - China steel restructuring plans due by year-end New plans by the Chinese government to restructure the steel sector are expected to be announced by the end of the year, an official said on Thursday. The plans would include new consolidation targets, and a renewed effort to eliminate poor-quality steel capacity, said Jia Yinsong, inspector at the raw materials division of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. "We are now drawing up new policies to deal with all the problems in the industry," he told a conference. China has sought to improve "order" in its fragmented steel industry, with long-standing plans to consolidate the sector under the leadership of its biggest mills. See Extended Story.. November 14th, 2009  - General Hickory North Carolina - Edwards named president and COO of CommScope Eddie Edwards has been named president and chief operating officer of CommScope, Inc. effective January 1. Edwards will succeed Brian Garrett, who will retire later in 2010 after a 30-year career with the company. Until that time, Garrett will initiate and serve as advisor on several special projects within CommScope. “Eddie is an accomplished leader with an extensive track record of success,” said Frank Drendel, chairman and chief executive officer, CommScope. “He is the perfect choice to continue Brian’s great work and drive CommScope to the next level through profitable growth, innovation and quality.” Garrett joined CommScope in 1980 as vice president of engineering. He later served as CommScope’s Network Cable Division vice president and general manager, a business he helped launch. Garrett was promoted to executive vice president before being named president and chief operating officer in 1997, the year CommScope attained public ownership after being spun-off from General Instrument Corporation. See Extended Story.. November 13th, 2009  - General Amsterdam The Netherlands - Draka manages fiber infrastructure project for Rwanda's nationwide energy network Draka Communications, a global provider of optical fiber and cabling, is in the deployment phase of a nationwide fiber-optic infrastructure throughout the Republic of Rwanda. The implementation entails running fiber-optic cables along electricity transmission and distribution lines to link all the power plants, substations, and town offices of Rwanda's public power company, including the National Control Centre in the country's capital Kigali. Draka's fiber infrastructure will also interconnect an advanced management system for the country's high- and medium-voltage electrical grid. See Extended Story.. November 13th, 2009  - General Ruthland Vermont - Carris Reels is relocates its corporate headquarter. Carris Reels is relocating its corporate headquarters from Rutland to the former Citizens Bank building on Main Street. Carris Reels purchased the 10,531-square-foot stone building from Omya Inc. in October and will relocate its corporate offices and its 23 employees from 439 West St. before the end of the year, Carris Reels President Michael Curran said Tuesday. "This building has always been larger than we needed," Curran said, "so an opportunity arose to purchase the other building so we did so." He said the 16,000-square-foot West Street building is owned by Bill Carris, the company's board chairman. Before it was purchased by Carris, the building housed the back-room operations of First Vermont Bank. Carris Reels expects to complete the move to Proctor by mid-December, which will have no effect on the Center Rutland manufacturing operations, Curran said. To visit Carris Reels web site use this link November 13th, 2009  - General Calcutta India - Usha Martin to lower debt and expand capacity of specialty steel. Usha Martin, one of the leading wire rope manufacturers globally, may raise equity to deleverage its balance sheet. The company has about Rs 1,600-crore net debt and its debt-equity ratio stands at 1.61:1. Usha Martin may raise some equity to reduce its debt, most likely in the fourth quarter of this fiscal, after the Rs 2,100-crore expansion project is complete. Rajeev Jhawar, a promoter and the managing director of Usha Martin, said no decision had been taken on any fund-raising plan. “There is no immediate need. But if the company finds it suitable, we may look at raising money for future growth,” he said. See Extended Story.. November 12th, 2009  - General Beijing China - What is China up to? Copper stockpiles held in duty-free warehouses in China, the top user, may be re-exported after surging to as much as 350,000 tons from almost none at the start of the year, according to Xi’an Maike Metal International Group. “We can hardly find buyers for refined copper,” said Luo Shengzhang, general manager of the copper department at Xi’an Maike. The company ranks among the country’s three biggest importers, according to the executive. “China’s got to export some copper from now and next year,” Luo said in an interview. Copper, has more than doubled this year as China’s 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus spending, increased state stockpiling and a lack of scrap material boosted China’s imports to a record. That’s helped to drive Chinese prices below London’s since at least July. Xi’an Maike has had to re-route some bonded copper to London Metal Exchange warehouses in South Korea because the company was unable to find buyers in China, with local supply outpacing demand, said Luo. The effect of the stimulus package was wearing off and local scrap supply was improving, he said. See Extended Story.. November 12th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US DOC preliminary results on wire rods from Trinidad and Tobago On November 24th 2008, the US Department of Commerce initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Trinidad and Tobago for the period of review October 1st 2007 through September 30th 2008. US DOC said “We preliminarily determine that during the POR, ArcelorMittal Point Lisas Limited and its affiliate ArcelorMittal International America LLC made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value. If these preliminary results are adopted in the final results of this administrative review, we will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise during the POR.” It said “Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. The Department will issue the final results within 120 days after publication of the preliminary results.” Petitioners are ISG Georgetown Inc, Nucor Steel Connecticut Inc, Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc and Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. (source SteelGuru) November 11th, 2009  - General Wuhan China - China Minmetals-refined copper imports down in 2010 China's imports of refined copper are expected to fall after record imports this year resulted in high domestic stocks, Gu Liangmin, general manager of copper department of China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals Co Ltd said on Saturday. Gu said Codelco, the world's top copper producer and the biggest refined metal supplier to China, should not raise term premiums to Chinese buyers, including Minmetals, for the delivery next year. Codelco is expected to hold talks with Chinese buyers for 2010 term premiums for refined copper in the week of Nov 16, buyers said. See Extended Story.. November 11th, 2009  - General Beijing China - China praises U.S. trade panel for rejecting probe China on Monday praised a U.S. trade panel's decision to reject an investigation into imports of Chinese steel fasteners, saying it was the "correct judgment". China's commendation contrasted with the flare-up in trade tension last week when the United States imposed new anti-dumping duties on steel pipes and China launched its own investigation into imports of U.S.-made automobiles. Both countries, while pressing on with trade cases, are also seeking to ensure a cordial atmosphere for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to China next week. The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday voted 6-0 to reject an investigation into charges that China and Taiwan were dumping certain standard steel fasteners in the United States. The U.S. trade panel approved two new investigations into charges of unfair trade practices by China, with one covering coated paper and the other about certain types of salts. China's Commerce Ministry made no mention of either of these investigations, but said that it hoped the United States would avoid protectionism and be objective and fair in judging future cases. November 10th, 2009  - General Ottawa Canada - Canada, wants to start shipping green energy to the U.S. Canadian utilities are rapidly investing in renewable power, despite slumping demand for electricity in their country. The goal: to capture a share of the growing market for export of green electricity to the United States. Canada's domestic electricity demand was flat from 2004 through 2008, while its electricity exports to the United States jumped 70 percent, with most of that growth met by higher renewable power generation. Hydroelectric power grew 10 percent and wind power nearly tripled, while fossil fuel generation fell 10 percent. The growth of Canada's green power exports comes alongside the continued expansion of its much larger, more well-known export: petroleum, including heavy oil sands production responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. With the growth of renewable exports, Canada could become the largest source of both dirty and clean power to the United States. See Extended Story.. November 10th, 2009  - General Mumbai India - Mukand to revamp business with new range of products In a move to revamp the business, specialty steel maker Mukand is looking to improve its product mix by raising the production of its high-value products. The company aims to become a ‘one-stop-shop for specialty steel products’, generally for auto and engineering industries. “The company is enhancing the production of ball-bearing steel, cold-heading quality steel wire, peeled bars, bright bars and heat-treated bars for cashing in on the growing demand,” said Niraj Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director. With the revival in demand in the past two months, the order book of the company is full. The industrial machinery division has its highest-ever order backlog, worth Rs 580 crore. At all the segments, the company was cutting costs to weather any further slowdown, said Bajaj. See Extended Story.. November 9th, 2009  - General Santa Fe Springs, California - Philatron Wire and Cable Chief Engineer announces official division named “Advanced Engineering Design” Philatron Wire and Cable Chief Engineer announced today a new division named “Advanced Engineering Design”. This value added service now allows customers in OEM Markets to work with experienced electrical engineers in R & D prototype OEM Cables. Philatron Engineers will prepare layout, design, CAD drawings with details on wire stranding, gages, conductors, conductive properties, specialized compounds suggested for use on custom cable requests. This department also allows other industrial marketplaces to re-engineer already in use cable for a possible savings and cost effective cable. Philatron has found many custom cables are over engineered, and over priced with unnecessary extras in cable design. Phil Ramos, Jr, Philatron CEO, states “Philatron readily accepts this feat after receiving boxes upon boxes of unidentified cable from the military. Philatron Engineers’, inspecting every conductor, every strand, re-engineered a more cost effective, better applicable design for the cables given operation.” Philatron offers this service for free with orders placed for the particular designed cable. If order is not placed or needed, Philatron offers engineering design fee. See Extended Story.. November 9th, 2009  - General Northbrook, Illinois - UL warns of communication cable with unauthorized UL Marks Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is notifying consumers, manufacturers, regulatory agencies and authorities having jurisdiction that the Communication Cable, identified below, bears an unauthorized UL Mark for the United States and Canada. This product has not been evaluated by UL to the appropriate standards for safety for the United States and Canada, and is not authorized to bear the UL Mark. It is unknown if this product complies with the United States or Canadian safety requirements. November 9th, 2009  - General Charlotte North Carolina - Prysmian plays major part International Wire And Cable Symposium (IWCS) Prysmian Cables & Systems will play a major role this week at the 58th International Wire and Cable Symposium (IWCS) being held in Charlotte NC, USA. The IWCS brings together the world's leading producers and users of cable in order to present and discuss the latest technological innovations and developments in the industry. This year Prysmian will present six technical papers covering a range of subjects. Two of the papers relate to optical fiber issues and look at fiber coating performance and macrobend loss in bend insensitive fibers - a critical parameter in today's access networks. Another paper stays on the theme of access/FTTH and describes the latest range of reduced size, high fibre count cables whilst a fourth paper - presented by Prysmian Brazil - looks at Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) technology. There will also be two papers in the poster session together with a Professional Development Course on polymer flame testing. In addition, during the conference 'Executive Track', Mr Brian DiLascia, Vice President and General Manager of Prysmian Communication Cables and Systems North America - will join a panel of other leading industry experts in a discussion on current key issues in the telecom cables business. Prysmian is pleased to support IWCS as a partner sponsor of this event which will run from November 8th to 11th at the Charlotte Convention Centre November 9th, 2009  - General North Dighton, Massachusetts - Draka Cableteq USA Awarded $3.2 Million Grant from DOE to develop next generation downhole cable Draka Cableteq USA, manufacturer of wire and cable products since 1905, announced today that it has received a $3.2 million grant from the United States Department of Energy to support the development of a new generation of tools that will allow Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) to supply the United States with much clean, carbon-neutral electrical power. See Extended Story.. November 7th, 2009  - General London U.K. - MEPS forecast global steel prices to fall in December US transaction values for some products are a little higher than a month ago. However, the last round of proposals for higher prices do not appear to have been implemented, so far. Although October/November mill bookings are good for the available capacity, December is filling up very slowly. The steelmakers may start to offer discounts in order to solicit business before the year end, despite a lack of any real import competition. Distributors report that their sales have slowed dramatically in October, reflecting the poor state of consumption in most end-user sectors See Extended Story.. November 7th, 2009  - General Paris France - Nexans win 50 million Euro contract for the Lincs wind farm project. Nexans, a worldwide leader in the cable industry, has been awarded a 50 million Euro contract by Centrica to design, manufacture and supply the high voltage (HV) subsea power export cables for the Lincs wind farm project. The new wind farm is being constructed eight kilometres off the coast of England, to the east of Skegness in the county of Lincolnshire. The Lincs power export cable contract comprises the design, manufacture and supply of two 145 kV XLPE subsea power cables to be laid in parallel, each 50 km in length, that will connect the wind farm to the existing National Grid substation at Walpole, North Norfolk. See Extended Story.. November 7th, 2009  - General Hamilton Ontario - U.S. Steel recalls 63 workers. It sounds like good news but the Stelco Union sees the move as a bid to bypass severance payments for its Nanticoke employees. Labor relations have historically been bad at Stelco, a company that grew fat and complacent behind a tariff wall and where the Union resorted to extortion tactics to achieve contracts that were the envy of Canadian workers. Anyone that is familiar with steel making would agree the workers were worth every penny they made. The problem was not labor cost as nearby Dofasco paid the same salary and benefits. What made the wheels fall off the cart was the “them versus us” attitude between management and labor. As profit dwindled Stelco piled on debt. The Ontario government stepped in and bailed the bankers out. U.S. Steel saw an opportunity to acquire Stelco’s Lake Erie plant, one of North Americas most modern flat steel facilities built to supply the auto industry. Now US Steel are stuck with a plant they need like a hole in the head, legislation that calls for a costly severance package, and a Canadian government that expects US Steel to live up to its contractual obligation to keep the plant operating. The Hamilton spectator had an article this week that we would like to highlight. See Extended Story.. November 6th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Speculators about to get burnt as copper inventory builds Concerns about the state of global demand for copper continue to persist, with worries about rising copper stocks and a fall in US consumer confidence underlining these fears. Global consumption for the red metal slipped 1.3 per cent in the first seven months of 2009 as compared to the corresponding period last year, the International Copper Study Group reported. The index of consumer confidence was recorded at 47.7 in October this year from 53.4 last month, the Conference Board, a business-backed research group, reported. Copper prices have more than doubled in 2009 on speculation that reviving economic growth will spur consumption. But as in the case of other metals, hopes are riding high on China which had surprised markets (with its 5th heaviest copper imports in September). November 6th, 2009  - General Milan Italy - New Zealand's antitrust body questions submarine cable market practices Italian cable maker Prysmian SpA said New Zealand's antitrust body had started an investigation to assess commercial practices in the submarine or underground high-voltage cable market. Prysmian, which operates in 38 countries, did not elaborate in the statement.On February 2, 2009, Prysmian said in a press release that the Australian antitrust authority commenced a legal proceeding aimed at assessing commercial practices in the submarine or underground high voltage cable market. November 6th, 2009  - General Milan Italy - Valerio Battista, Ceo of the Prysmian Group, elected President of International Cablemakers Federation (ICF) Valerio Battista, 52, CEO of the Prysmian Group, has been elected President of International Cablemakers Federation (ICF), the worldwide association of manufacturers of cables and systems for energy, data and telecommunications. The election took place at the Annual ICF Congress in Moscow (October 6th-9th). ICF was founded in 1990 with a permanent Secretariat in Vienna. Currently it has more than 100 members from 30 countries from regions all over the globe. Among the organisation’s main objectives are: the promotion of the use of cables in all sectors of application, the promotion of energy savings and increased safety, as well as the publishing of analysis and research regarding the industry. This year the ICF Congress covers some of the major strategic topics for the industry, from an insight into the Russian wire and cable market, to specific themes such as “Intelligent Energy Networks”, the impact and opportunities of environmental trends on the industry, worldwide trade agreements and developments in raw materials. High-ranking local and international speakers are presenting the various topics. The Congress was opened by a keynote speech of Igor Ivanov, former Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation. November 5th, 2009  - General Baghdad Iraq - Much work remains to be done in the development of Iraq’s telecommunications infrastructure The telecommunications sector in Iraq is widely considered to be a reconstruction success and a foundation of national stability. Today, a variety of services are available to every Iraqi citizen. While more than 10 million Iraqis have access to mobile phone services and Internet access provided by small private entrepreneurs is available throughout the country, the basic telecommunications infrastructure is still being repaired and rebuilt. Buried fiber optic infrastructure is being slowly but steadily extended throughout Iraq. Long-term plans for long-haul infrastructure envision a redundant series of large interconnected metropolitan ring networks covering the seven largest population centers in Iraq. These are being overlaid with three donor-funded microwave networks from the Turkish border to Basra and the Kuwaiti border in the south. Core infrastructure investment throughout Iraq remains uneven and focused in major cities. See Extended Story.. November 5th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Chinese steel mills rebound stalls on overcapacity created by the nation CNY 4 trillion stimulus spending. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co and Angang Steel Co are both posting the best quarterly profits in at least a year but are now facing slower growth as oversupply in the world largest steel producing nation put pressure on prices. Baoshan China’s largest mill said demand is easing amid rising pressure from overcapacity. Angang Steel Co said on October 27th that earnings this quarter will be less than net income in the past three months. Benchmark Chinese steel prices have fallen 21% from a 10 month high on August 4th as production overwhelmed demand fueled by the nation CNY 4 trillion stimulus spending. Steel output in China reached highs in four months this year spurring record imports of iron ore from producers such as Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA. See Extended Story.. November 5th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - U.S. Manufacturing sector shows some spotty signs of recovery U.S. economic figures out earlier this week showed factories are revving up production and gearing up to start hiring again. In a surprise sign of strength, the U.S. manufacturing sector grew in October at its fastest pace since April 2006, says the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM’s gauge of manufacturing activity jumped to 55.7 from 52.6 in September, the third consecutive monthly reading above 50, the line that divides expansion from retrenchment. Also unexpectedly, hiring plans in the beleaguered sector turned positive for the first time in more than a year. The output boost comes after U.S. retailers, wholesalers and factories cut inventories at a record pace in the first half of the year. They’ve seen their stockpiles depleted further still as U.S. consumers have started opening up their wallets again. See Extended Story.. November 4th, 2009  - General Milwaukee Wisconsin - Charter Wire makes its move to new 160,000-square-foot facility. Charter Wire, has nearly completed its move to the Menomonee Valley where it has a new 160,000-square-foot facility. The 73-year-old maker of steel products expects to be completely out of its old location, near Maier Festival Park, by December. Charter Wire's new location, in the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center, is a much easier place for a manufacturer to receive and send shipments of raw materials and finished products. "The whole area has been rejuvenated from the barren wasteland that was there for many years," said Tim Knepprath, project manager for MSI General Corp., the Oconomowoc contractor that designed and built Charter's new facility. Charter Wire is a division of Mequon-based Charter Manufacturing, which operates Wisconsin's only steel mill, in Saukville. The company has finished about two-thirds of its move from the Third Ward, where it operated a plant for more than 70 years. The new building, slightly smaller than the old one, is a more efficient workplace. As the company expanded, it had to make creative use of its space and design equipment to work around columns and corners. See Extended Story.. November 4th, 2009  - General Hong Kong - RUSAL in 1.68 million tonne China aluminium supply deal The world's top aluminium producer, Russia's UC RUSAL, has struck a contract to sell 1.68 million tonnes to Chinese state defence firm NORINCO in 2010-2016, the Russian firm said on Monday. A source at the Chinese firm, officially known as China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), said the deal meant RUSAL would supply 20,000 tonnes of aluminium a month to Shanghai for sale on the spot market. He said pricing had yet to be finalised, although RUSAL denied this. "RUSAL and Norinco have agreed the price and all other terms and conditions of the aluminium delivery," the Russian firm said in a statement emailed to Reuters. RUSAL is urgently trying to reach agreement with foreign creditors on $7.3 billion of debt by mid-November to pave the way for a Hong Kong share listing that would help pay off debt, senior bankers said last week. See Extended Story.. November 3rd, 2009  - General Johannesburg South Africa - ArcelorMittal to lower prices for one third of its product ArcelorMittal South Africa will lower the price for one third of its steel product products with effect from the start of next month, Sven Lunsche, an ArcelorMittal spokesperson, said on Friday. South Africa’s largest steel maker was cutting its prices in line with the direction of international steel prices as well as its forecast for the exchange rate between the rand and the US dollar during next month, he added. The price of two classes long steel, rebar and wire rod, will decline by 3.5 percent and plate, which is a flat steel product, will decline by 5 percent. “The price of other classes of steel will remain unchanged,” Lunsche said. November 3rd, 2009  - General Richmond Indiana - Belden expands its coverage of electrical distribution by adding Omni Cable as a a master redistributor of specialty wire and cable Belden a world leader in the development of signal transmission products for the industrial, building management, enterprise, broadcast, and security markets, announces a new partnership with Omni Cable, a master re-distributor of specialty wire and cable for electrical distribution. Andy Adams, President of the Industrial Solutions Division of Belden states, "Belden is able to supply our industrial customers with a complete solution of cabling, connectors and industrial Ethernet switches. Electrical distribution is key to delivering this solution to our customers. With over 30 years of experience fulfilling the product and service needs of their electrical distributors nationwide, Omni Cable is well positioned as a redistribution partner."Jeff Siegfried, CEO of Omni Cable, adds, "Omni Cable is proud to add Belden to its sales portfolio. This new partnership is sure to provide greater value to our customers since we will be able to supply our electrical distributors with high quality Belden cable, as well as the ability to support Belden's Complete Industrial Solutions." November 2nd, 2009  - General Helsinki Finland - Finland makes broadband Internet a legal right The government of Finland has passed a law that will guarantee all citizens be legally entitled to a minimum broadband connection speed of one megabit per second, according to media reports Thursday. The Daily Telegraph reports the Finnish government has committed to rolling out 100 megabits per second broadband connections across the country by 2015. It’s the first country in the world to make universal minimum Internet access speeds a legal requirement. Telecoms companies across Finland will have to start rolling out high-speed services to all locations, the Telegraph said. Finland, which has a population of around 5.2 million, is already one of the most connected countries in the world, with 95% of citizens already hooked up to some form of Internet connection, the Telegraph said. Finland is the first country to pass a law making guaranteed web access a human right. November 2nd, 2009  - General London U.K. - MEPS sees African steel industry emerging from recession Steel consultancy MEPS said that the African steel industry would emerge from the global economic downturn with only limited damage. Releasing its forecast for the year, MEPS said that mill output in 2009 was likely to decline by 2 million tonnes on the outturn last year to just above 15 million tonnes. This represented a reduction of 11.6%. By comparison, global steel production is expected to be 1.2 billion tonnes this year, a 9.5% reduction on the outturn in the previous 12 month period but still significantly above predictions by most pundits earlier in the year.MEPS said that "This indicates that scrap-based electric melting will turn out to be the main casualty in the supply of steel over the year. The steel sectors in most industrialized nations have been badly hit by the economic crisis." Source SteelGuru October 31st, 2009  - General Pretoria South Africa - Meshco wants special treatment Allens Meshco, one of the biggest manufacturers of steel wire and wire products in South Africa is requesting exemption from the Competition Act. But the company has already been accused of contravening the act. Keith Weeks, head of law enforcement and exemptions at the Competition Commission, says the application will be handled as objectively and quickly as possible. The application is for exemption enabling Allens-Meshco to discuss prices and exports relating to wire products and prices, as well as prices, profit margins and vertical agreements with Cape Gate, Consolidated Wire Industries, ArcelorMittal SA and Scaw South Africa. Mittal has a 49% stake in Consolidated Wire Industries and Scaw is apparently responsible for managing the company. See Extended Story.. October 31st, 2009  - General Nairobi Kenya - Low literacy and lack of PCs hamper internet access. Telecom firms which have invested heavily in the Internet business in anticipation of a connection frenzy following the landing of two undersea fibre optic cables in Kenya might have to shelve their profit targets for now. New research data suggests that the growth of the Internet will depend on literacy levels and availability of communication gadgets. "The development of data services will largely depend on growth of PC penetration and high-end handsets," says the survey by Renaissance Capital and Synovate. This comes against the background of heavy investment in fibre optic cables by telecommunications operators and the government. See Extended Story.. October 30th, 2009  - General Calcutta India - Usha Martin on expansion path. Steel wire rope maker Usha Martin expects January-March revenue at 9-9.5 billion rupees on higher production, managing director Rajeev Jhawar said on Wednesday. The company's current steel production is at 80,000 tonnes per quarter and it would rise to 140,000 tonnes per quarter from the fourth quarter of the current fiscal, he said. "From the fourth quarter, results would perk up in terms of revenue generation and profitability as the new capacities would be commissioned," he said. The company is expected to complete most of its 21 billion rupees capital investment program by March 2010, and boost annual steel capacity to around 560,000 tonnes from 320,000 tonnes, he said. See Extended Story.. October 29th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US sets preliminary duties on China steel wire strand U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it has set preliminary duties on imports of concrete steel wire strand and steel grating from China to offset government subsidies. The duties range from 7.53 percent to 12.06 percent on the steel wire strand and 7.44 percent on the steel grating, the Commerce Department said. Imports of the wire strand have risen to $178 million in 2008, from $112 million in 2006. Imports of the steel grating have risen to nearly $91 million in 2008 from close to $9 million in 2006, the Commerce Department said. The determination comes shortly before U.S. officials meet counterparts in China for the 20th meeting of a joint U.S.-China trade commission, the main bilateral forum for addressing trade and investment matters. Commerce said it would issue its final determination in January on whether China exports to the United States of pre-stressed concrete steel wire strand from China violate U.S. trade laws. October 29th, 2009  - General Seoul, South Korea - Chinese wire and re-bar prices forces Hyundai to drop November prices South Korea's Hyundai Steel will lower steel product prices by up to 6.8 percent from November, expecting rising imports of lower-priced steel products from China, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The move came after the country's second-largest steelmaker in late August raised steel prices by up to 6.9 percent in its first increase in a year to reflect rising global steel and raw material prices. Prices of rebar will fall by 6.5 percent or 50,000 won ($41.91) a tonne to 721,000 won and H-beam prices will also fall, by 5.5 percent, or 50,000 won, to 860,000 won. Prices of hot-rolled steel will decline by 6.8 percent, or 50,000 won, to 690,000 won per tonne. "The adjustment can be attributed to falls in steel scrap prices and import prices," Hyundai Steel said in the statement, adding that rebar was imported at $560-$590 per tonne this month. "It is expected there will be rising inflows of lower-price steel imports along with falls in Chinese local steel prices." Its bigger rival POSCO, the world's No.4 steelmaker, which made a surprise 20 percent price reduction in May and has yet to announce a similar move, is selling hot-rolled steel at a cheaper 680,000 won a tonne. A Posco spokeswoman said on Wednesday it had no plans yet to adjust its sales price. POSCO said it would also maintain its November stainless steel prices at this month's levels, expecting domestic demand to pick up slightly up next month for restocking. October 28th, 2009  - General Georgetown South Carolina - Longer wait for steel mill reopening in Georgetown The watching and waiting for the buzz of activity to resume at the ArcelorMittal's Georgetown steel mill will likely have to wait until 2011, according to one official. United Steelworkers Union Local President 7898 James Sanderson said he got a call Friday from a corporate official to tell him, "Because of deteriorating market conditions our plant will not open up this year, and it probably won't open up until 2011." ArcelorMittal spokesman Adam Warrington did not confirm the dates, but did release the following statement on Monday: "ArcelorMittal has indefinitely ceased operations at the company's Georgetown facility, which will continue unless market conditions appreciably improve or the plant is put on a more competitive footing," he said. The Georgetown mill makes wire rod used in cars, bed springs, car seats and welding. See Extended Story.. October 27th, 2009  - General Columbia Falls Montana - How they are turning off the lights in America (“A letter to the editor”) On October 31, 2009, the once largest aluminum plant in the world will shut down. With it goes another American industry and more American jobs. The Columbia Falls Aluminum Company in Montana will shut down its aluminum production because it cannot purchase the necessary electrical power to continue its operations. How did this happen in America? America was once the envy of the world in its industrial capability. America's industrial capacity built America into the most productive nation the world had ever known. Its standard of living rose to levels never before accomplished. Its currency became valuable and powerful, allowing Americans to purchase imported goods at relatively cheap prices. America grew because of innovation and hard work by the pioneers of the industrial revolution, and because America has vast natural resources. A great economy, as America once was, is founded on the ability to produce electrical energy at low cost. This ability has been extinguished. Why? Columbia Falls Aluminum negotiated a contract with Bonneville Power Administration in 2006 for Bonneville to supply electrical power until September 30, 2011. But, responding to lawsuits, the 9th US Circuit Court ruled the contract was invalid because it was incompatible with the Northwest Power Act. Therefore, the combination of the Northwest Power Act and a US Circuit Court were the final villains that caused the shutdown of Columbia Falls Aluminum. See Extended Story.. October 23rd, 2009  - General Stuttgart Germany - Fastener Fair Stuttgart 2009 pronounced success The largest dedicated fastener and fixing exhibition ever to be held in Europe, took place over two days in October. A record breaking 625 exhibitors, a 43% increase on the 2007 show, packed the two 10,000 square metre halls, to provide a stunning backdrop for the biggest gathering of fastener professionals in Europe. “The hefty increases in both exhibitors and attendees, amidst still challenging economic conditions, shows the resilience of the fastener and fixing sector,” says Organiser Jerry Ramsdale. “It also shows the unique opportunity Fastener Fair Stuttgart presented to re-establish key trade links across the global fastener market.” See Extended Story.. October 23rd, 2009  - General Minsk Belarus - Belarus steel pipe and wire rod production sharply down in first 9 month 2009 According to the data released by Belarus' National Statistical Committee, in January to September 2009 the country crude steel production down by 6.3%YoY to 1.9 million tonnes and a 3.4% drop in its finished steel product output to 1.8 million tonnes. Some products like steel pipe down by 37.5%YoY to 76,500 tonnes, wire rod down by 44%YoY to 37,700 tonnes and steel cord down by 30%YoY respectively to 50,800 tonnes. As of October 1st 2009, Belarus' steelmakers have accumulated 4,700 tonnes of steel pipes in their warehouses which is 77.1% of their average monthly pipe production volume. Compared to October 1st 2008, the producers steel pipe reserves have increased by 91.7 percent. Meanwhile, steelmakers' reserves of wire rod have increased by 6.7 times YoY to 3,000 tonnes which is 15.9% of their average monthly wire rod output volume. The total volume of steel products accumulated in the warehouses of local steelmakers amounts to Belarus RUB 107.1 billion. October 21st, 2009  - General Hamburg Germany - Aurubis Monthly summery of the Copper market The LME Week, during which the copper world meets in London each year to exchange opinions, is now over, but nothing has changed in the „wait and see“ attitude of many market participants. This also applies for the copper price, which is still moving above the US$ 6,000/t mark. Although attention is again on the production side due to the ongoing collective bargaining and possible strikes, the focus is mainly directed on the demand side of the market. Almost everyone is in agreement that the strong decline in global economic activity has come to an end and is bottoming out. Even the International Monetary Fund has meanwhile announced an end to the economic and financial crisis. But the concrete recovery signs in the real economy are rare and differ greatly, both regionally and from industry to industry. The extent of the recovery is also unclear, because global trade and production are still at a very low level. It is however expected that the emerging markets, which play an increasingly important role in the trend in copper demand, will recover from the crisis relatively quickly. For the complete Coppermail number 66 use this link October 20th, 2009  - General Weybridge Surrey U.K. - Could copper really fall to $1,500 a tonne by mid-decade? A copper price scenario that suggests a sharp fall, followed by a boom, followed by an even more precipitous collapse as the world dips into a second phase of this current recession. One can hardly call copper and China specialist, Simon Hunt, a copper bull, but his latest assessment of the global copper market is gloomy to say the least. However Hunt is not the first to suggest a copper price below US$ 2000 a tonne. As late as in February this year CRU dtated that based on industrial consumption and availability of copper a price around US$ 2000 a tonne was not out of the question. Presently speculators and a falling dollar are driving the price forcing wire cable and tube producers to tie up more and more money in work in progress inventory. See Extended Story.. October 20th, 2009  - General Chicago Illinois - Wind powers expansion at a Chicago suburban firm A far west suburban manufacturer has teamed up with an experienced Spanish firm to expand its wind power components business in the U.S. Chicago Industrial Fasteners LLC, based in Sugar Grove, will at first market and distribute large bolts and rods made in Spain by Matz-Erreka SCL, which has been making wind turbine parts for 17 years. The high-strength bolts are used to attach massive blades to wind turbines and to hold wind turbine towers together and anchored to the ground. Matz-Erreka will control 51% of the joint venture, with the remainder controlled by Chicago Industrial Fasteners, said John Price, the suburban firm’s president. Eventually, manufacturing is expected to shift to Sugar Grove, creating “conservatively 10 to 20 jobs,” he added. Between current exchange rates and transportation costs, “we can be a lot more competitive if we don’t have to ship it from Spain.” October 19th, 2009  - General Brussels Belgium - Bekaert expanding U.S. metal coating operations Like everyone else, racing teams are trying to stretch their dollars. Many teams and engine builders send certain high-performance parts out to have special coatings applied to them to decrease friction and make them last longer. Racing teams in Europe have used a Belgium-based company, Bekaert, for this for about 15 years. The company, which employs 23,000 worldwide, has been involved in American motorsports for about five years, and its presence in America is growing. Founded in 1880, the company's advanced materials coatings business is a natural counterpart to another one of its core businesses - steel-cord products, which are used to reinforce one in every four tires in the world. Prior to establishing a facility devoted to motorsports in Research Triangle Park, N.C., See Extended Story.. October 19th, 2009  - General Highland Heights Kentucky - GENERAL CABLE joins green suppliers network General Cable accelerates its environmental commitment through the participation of the Green Suppliers Network (GSN) technical review of its Marshall, TX Utility Plant. Sponsored by a Corporate Champion of GSN, General Cable was nominated as one of five suppliers to partake in the review and be designated a Green Suppliers Network Partner. The Green Suppliers Network, managed jointly by U.S. EPA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST/MEP), leverages a national network of manufacturing technical assistance resources to help companies become more sustainable. The onsite technical review, which takes approximately three to four days, audited all aspects of General Cable’s manufacturing processes, including recycling, power usage and waste. Under the GSN program, General Cable’s Lean corporate culture will be aligned even more directly with environmental improvements to produce products with sustainable environmental performance. See Extended Story.. October 17th, 2009  - General Indianapolis Indiana - Thermax Seamless chosen for the New Gulfstream G650 Thermax is proud to announce that it has been selected to provide its Seamless-T composite aerospace wire for the new Gulfstream G650 aircraft. Gulfstream selected Thermax's composite wire because of its superior electrical properties, smaller diameter, and light weight; thus helping to accomplish the G650 goals of technological advancement, superior range, and speed. Thermax, a division of Belden, is a world leader in the development of specialty wire and cable products. Thermax is at the forefront of wire and cable technology, designing and manufacturing products used in high-performance and harsh environments. Thermax specializes in the use of high-temperature fluoropolymer insulations used in the aerospace, military, transportation, and industrial markets. October 16th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Steel Price decline in China will force output cuts Steelmakers in China, the world’s largest producer, will be forced to cut output in the next two months as prices continue to decline because of oversupply, Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. said. Prices may drop by between 5 percent and 10 percent for the rest of the year, Shagang Chairman Shen Wenrong said at the recent World Steel Association conference in Beijing. The Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province-based steelmaker is the nation’s fifth-largest mill and the biggest maker of steel wires and rods used in construction. Steel prices in China have dropped 25 percent since reaching a 10-month high on Aug. 4, as overproduction offset rising demand created by government spending. Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, China’s third-biggest, may carry out annual maintenance which will reduce output, Wuhan General Manager Deng Qilin said this week. “Prices will drop further until a large number of the steelmakers record losses,” Shen said. “Overcapacity in flat products is worse than long ones. That would hurt bigger steelmakers because they are the major producers of flat products,” he said. See Extended Story.. October 16th, 2009  - General Perth Australia - Valin’s Li seeks acquisitions to double steelmaking capacity Bloomberg news reported that Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group, a Chinese investor in Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., is seeking acquisitions to double its steelmaking capacity to 30 million metric tons in three years. The mill will buy competitors through a joint fund with state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Corp., Chairman Li Xiaowei, 57, said in an Oct. 13 interview in Beijing. Hunan province-based Valin is China’s ninth-largest steelmaker, and its output last year was a third of Shanghai’s Baosteel Group Corp., the nation’s biggest producer. China, the world’s largest steelmaking nation, is working on plans to advance mergers among its mills to curb excess capacity and boost their buying power for raw materials, the nation’s steel association said this week. An acquisition may occur by the end of the year, Li said. “We’ll have a noteworthy achievement during China’s reshuffle of the steel industry,” Li said. “We’ve got an investment fund to carry out acquisitions. We will inject those assets into our listed unit later.”. The Valin group produced 11.3 million tons of steel last year. See Extended Story.. October 16th, 2009  - General Millom, Cumbria, UK - Man dies after accident at Tornado Wire Ltd A man who suffered head injuries while working at the factory in Cumbria has died. Michael Pattinson, 59, of Queen’s Park, Millom, had been using a fork lift truck to put rubbish into a skip at the town's Tornado Wire steel wire makers on the Devonshire Road Industrial Estate. He was found lying on the ground with serious head injuries and taken to Furness General Hospital in Barrow, where he died. Acting Sergeant Laura Robinson, based at Millom police station, said: "We can confirm that Mr Pattinson has passed away." An investigation was launched after Mr Pattinson was found shortly before 6.30pm on Monday. Police said it is possible Mr Pattinson had climbed onto the skip and then fallen to the floor. Officers said a metal barrel was found next to him. A spokesman for Tornado Wire was unavailable for comment. A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: “At the moment it is a police-led investigation but the HSE are working with police. Should there be a need, HSE will set up our own investigation.” Tornado Wire’s 50-strong workforce was given the day off yesterday while the police investigated. October 16th, 2009  - General Nairobi Kenya - Surge in global copper price hurts Kenyan cable companies Fluctuating copper and aluminum prices in international markets coupled with reduced business from regional power utility firms is hurting the profit margins of wire and cable firms in Kenya. Local manufacturers hope demand for copper and aluminum from China will wane in the coming months, stabilizing prices and enabling their businesses recover lost ground. Amid growing global demand, especially from China, and persistent supply concerns, the benchmark price of copper has risen sharply from $3,748 in March to $6,195 a tonne in September a 90 per cent increase. The rally follows an almost 50 per cent drop in price in 2008. Local manufacturers of electrical wire and cables have taken a hit to their bottom line as most have been unable to pass the full value of the price increase on to their customers for fear of losing business. “This is significant to our industry because copper is the primary component in cable manufacture and as such, a price increase of this magnitude is bound to eat into a company’s margins. “We have felt this effect as we seek to absorb this rise in our costs and try to maintain a competitive price position in the market” says Mr Joseph Kenyua, commercial manager for Kenwestfal Works Limited, local manufacturers of low and medium voltage energy cables. See Extended Story.. October 15th, 2009  - General Bangkok,Thailand - Wire and Tube Investments Anticipated with Economic Upturn at WSEA 2009 wire Southeast ASIA / Tube Southeast ASIA exhibition was held again for 3 days of the latest in technology and solutions. Organizer Messe Düsseldorf Asia reports over 300 exhibitors from 30 countries were in attendance at the shows.  Both wire and Tube Southeast ASIA have consistently received the strong support from leading international and regional associations and this year’s events welcome the participation of national pavilions and groups from Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and USA. Khun Sorayut Phettakul, Vice-Minister of Industry, Thailand officiating the joint opening of the two events at BITEC, Bangkok October 2009. With the recovery of the global economy in sight, the role that Asia will play in this impending recovery is becoming increasingly apparent by the day. Asian countries such as Thailand will be responsible for the major proportion of global growth in the immediate and long-term future as the world rises up from recession and, importantly, countries that have strong manufacturing bases will continue to attract investments and grow stronger. This underlying trend highlights the relevance and timely convening of wire / Tube Southeast Asia 2009 at BITEC, Bangkok. See Extended Story.. October 15th, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - Severstal metiz opens Teci Rus and Teci Istanbul service centers SteelGuru reports that the Severstal-metiz Group of Companies have opened two service and distribution centers Teci Rus and Teci Istanbul to handle the groups wire rope business in Russia and Turkey. Following the strategy to become a leader in the world steel rope market, the Severstal-metiz Group and its subsidiary company in Italy, Redaelli Tecna have implemented their first joint projects on development of a network of service centers. The two new retail outlets selling wire ropes and providing service to customers are situated in two key markets for the Group Russia and the Mediterranean. These service centers are an extension of the Teci service and distribution chain a specialized division of Redaelli which has been providing clients with products and service for more than 100 years. See Extended Story.. October 15th, 2009  - General Caracas Venezuela - Cuba to start laying fiber optic cable to Venezuela Installation of 1,630 kilometers (1,013 miles) of fiber optic cable between Cuba and Venezuela will start Wednesday, Venezuela's science and technology chief said. Caracas is communist Cuba's closest ally in Latin America, and a leading financial support through oil and trade deals. Cuba claims that not having access to US Internet firms' services has kept it from extending Internet access to all Cubans. But critics say whatever bandwidth the government has available, most Cubans still cannot gain free access to all information available on the web. Venezuelan Science and Technology Minister Jesse Chacon said "starting that day (Wednesday) we will be laying the cable which is a really vital element of relations between the two countries." "This is something that we hope will be ready in two years' time," Chacon said in a statement. The hookup will have a 640-gigabyte capacity and multiply Cuba's ability to connect by 3,000, experts from both countries say. See Extended Story.. October 15th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Steel giants refuse to cut output despite price plunge China's steel prices have dropped around 1000 yuan per ton from its peak in August. However, most domestic steel producers say that they won't reduce output as long as they are still profitable. Wu Chunxi, an advisor at China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), pointed out that judging from the country's steel output in September, China's total steel output in 2009 may top 618 million tons. In the first eight months this year, the apparent consumption of steel has increased by 16 percent. If the steel mills refuse to cut production, the growth of apparent consumption of steel is expected to exceed 100 million tons. "That is too much for China's domestic steel market," said Wu. See Extended Story.. October 15th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Not wire tube or cable news, but interesting dilemma all the same. The FCC has started an investigation into Google Voice. The new service offers users a phone number with a number of call and messaging management features. Incoming calls can be forwarded, while outgoing calls make use of the Bandwidth.com IP network, resulting in cheap calls in the US and Canada. Google Voice is a call-back service, where the user gives both the number of who he wants to call as well as his own number (fixed or mobile) that he wants to use. The service is still restricted to a limited number of users and available by invitation only. See Extended Story.. October 14th, 2009  - General Santa Fe Springs California - Philatron Officially Changes Corporate Name to "Philatron Wire and Cable" Philatron Wire and Cable (formerly Philatron International, Inc.), the leading premier custom electrical wire and cable manufacturer, announces the launch of its new corporate name and logo. Philatron's new name, "Philatron Wire and Cable", signifies the company's core competency - Wire and Cable. The new logo signifies the ability to make the electron spin world wide, around the globe to all countries. The name change and logo incorporates elements that reflect the Ramos Family's rich heritage in Wire and Cable - and commitment to provide solutions and provide "power" to the world today, tomorrow, and for future generations. See Extended Story.. October 14th, 2009  - General Albuqerque New Mexico - Superconductor electricity pipelines to be adopted for America's first renewable energy market hub. American Superconductor Corporation today announced that Superconductor Electricity Pipelines have been chosen for The Tres Amigas Project, the nation’s first renewable energy market hub. Superconductor Electricity Pipelines comprise transmission-level direct current (DC) superconductor power cables powered by AMSC high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and high-powered voltage-source AC/DC power converters. The Tres Amigas Project, which will be announced today in Albuquerque by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, focuses on uniting America’s three power grids for the first time to enable faster adoption of renewable energy and increase the reliability of the U.S. grid. See Extended Story.. October 13th, 2009  - General Jakarta Indonesia - Indonesian wire producers lose 40pct utilized capacity to China The Jakarta Post reported that Indonesian domestic wire producers have seen their utilized capacity drop from 80% to only 40% because of a jump in imports of much cheaper Chinese wire in the past 4 years. Mr Ario N. Setiantoro Indonesia Iron & Steel Industry Association's head of nail and wire producers said Friday he would submit a petition by the end of October at the latest, on behalf of at least 10 domestic wire producers. “We admit that the first time we proposed tariffs on imports of Chinese wire, along with nails, there were only three or four affected factories hoping to benefit, and the data we submitted was insufficient,” he told The Jakarta Post. “So we had to accept the fact that our petition was dropped. “But that hasn’t necessarily ended our opportunity to file another one,” he added. Ario said an article in a 2002 presidential decree on measures taken to save domestic industries from potential or ongoing losses caused by a jump in imports would justify the petition. See Extended Story.. October 13th, 2009  - General Tokyo Japan - Japanese wire rod makers price hike may not stick JMB reported that Japanese electric furnace steel wore rod makers' effort to improve the selling price is likely to be tougher than expected for commodity grade products. As per report, they showed the willingness for price hike when offshore market price rebounded and ferrous scrap price increased. However, their price hike could be resisted when the surrounding situation has changed since mid September. October 13th, 2009  - General Hobart Tasmania - Corning Cable systems selected as for Tasmania’s National Broadband Network. Corning Cable Systems was chosen to provide the cable requested in the very first tender to go out for the whole National Broadband Network project, which closed in August. This fibre will go to the first stage of the roll-out, to be completed in the second quarter of 2010, which involves extension of the state's existing fibre backbone from Cambridge via Midway Point to Triabunna, from Port Latta to Smithton, and from George Tow via Scottsdale to St Helens. Deliveries of the fibre are expected this month and next. The fibre will see 5000 homes in Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point communities linked to the network, according to the company. See Extended Story.. October 12th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Canada Celebrates Thanksgiving There will be no newsbulletin today News reporting will resume Tusday October 13 October 10th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Kick the enemy in the face when he lies in the gutter - It is called survival of the fittest and lets the winner take all. Reuters reported that CEO of Germany's second largest steelmaker sharply criticized rivals like ArcelorMittal for plans to increase production in the middle of a structural crisis in the industry. Dr Wolfgang Leese CEO of Salzgitter AG in an interview with Financial Times Deutschland while referring to demand stemming from inventory restocking he said that "We only have a small temporary peak that in my view will last until the end of the year roughly.” He added that "It is incomprehensible that steelmakers are starting to ramp up their blast furnaces.” Mr Leese said he could not say when his own third blast furnace, which has been out of operation since the end of March, would be brought back on line. October 10th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US ITC to conduct AD review on stainless steel wire rod from Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and Taiwan US International Trade Commission has voted to conduct full 5 year reviews concerning the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel wire rod from Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and Taiwan. As a result of the vote, the Commission will conduct full reviews to determine whether revocation of these orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after 5 years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies and of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. October 8th, 2009  - General Jakarta Indonesia - Government safeguards against Chinese and Malaysian nail, wire rod The Indonesian Trade Security Committee (KPPI) has officially imposed tariffs on nails and wire rods imported from China and Malaysia. A Trade Ministry press release Wednesday said the measure was effective from Oct. 1 this year to Sept. 30, 2012, with the tariff varying based on the value of the imported goods. In the first year, from Oct. 1, 2009, until Sept. 30, 2010, nails and wire rods imported from China and Malaysia are subject to a tariff of 145 percent of their respective values. The fees will decline to 115 percent in the second year and then to 85 percent in the final year. The move is meant to protect the domestic industry from an increase in imports of any products that may or have seriously undermined the domestic industry producing similar or directly competitive products. The ruling is expected to halt the flow of imported nails and wire rods into the country dramatically. The KPPI ruling also stipulates that importers who order nails and wire rods from other countries besides China and Malaysia need to provide information of the goods’ country of origin. October 7th, 2009  - General Beantford Ontario - wireworld.com safe to access thanks to swift intervention after attack. Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter if you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun comes up you better start running. As any internet security firm will tell you your website’s “safety from attacks” is a matter of degree. Should your server, despite all precautions, be the subject of an attack, it is a matter of plugging the “hole in your security wall” asap. Attacks and posting of malicious software scripts on popular high traffic web sites like wireworld.com are only too common, Fortunately, various antivirus programs are swift to pick-up new threats and the search engines will instantly “flag” websites hosting these threats and the team of back office boys at wireworld.com were indeed on the ball and had the malicious script removed and the password to the site changed within minutes of the attack More serious attacks are those where the attacker retrieves sensitive information. A most recent example is the break-in and theft of e-mail addresses and passwords from Yahoo.com, hotmail and googles gmail, yesterday . Thanks to sitesolutions.com the company we use for our site submission to the search engines the flags on the over 140000 reference links on various search engines were likewise removed. SiteSolutions.Com – the SEO Specialists can be reached at USA - Toll Free (877) 855-2003 * USA Direct (916) 771-4756 USA * FAX (916) 771-7934 Austria - Vienna (+43) 1 99456002 * Canada - Toll Free (877 )855-2003 France - Paris (+33) 1 72 81 35 76 * Spain - Madrid (+34) 91-829-2672 UK - London (+44) 20 7993 2729 October 7th, 2009  - General Paris France - Nexans to supply power cable for the development of the Saudi Kayan industrial complex Nexans, the worldwide leader in the cable industry, will provide power cables, for a global amount of 2 million Euros, to the Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company. The cables supplied by the distributor, Noskab, will be manufactured by Nexans plant in Turkey and should be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2009. Nexans will supply a range of low voltage (LV), medium voltage (MV) and instrumentation cables to The Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company for the construction of the Saudi Kayan industrial complex, located at Jubail Industrial City. See Extended Story.. October 7th, 2009  - General Cleveland Ohio - Flame Retardant Demand to Reach 950 Million Pounds in 2013 US demand for flame retardants is expected to reverse its decline and is forecast to expand 2.7 percent per annum to 950 million pounds in 2013, valued at $900 million. Flame retardant advances will reflect renewed vigor in key markets such as insulated wire and cable, and construction. Other stimulants include more stringent fire codes and flammability requirements. Price increases will moderate significantly due to more normal energy and raw material costs. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Flame Retardants, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm. See Extended Story.. October 7th, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - Russian steelmakers’ plans for world domination are in tatters. A spending spree on U.S. mills meant to lift their billionaire owners into the industry’s top rank is instead forcing them to renegotiate debt and write down assets. OAO Severstal, the biggest producer, may sell some of the U.S. plants it bought for almost $4 billion at fire-sale prices or seek bankruptcy for them, Uralsib Financial Corp. analyst Dmitry Smolin said. Outstanding debt at Severstal and next- largest producer Evraz Group SA almost tripled after they ramped up buying in 2006, while the cost of funding debt in Russia has risen by about 50 percent, according to data Bloomberg compiled. See Extended Story.. October 6th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Yieh Hsing cuts stainless steel wire rod prices Yieh Hsing Enterprise has announced to cut its stainless steel wire rod domestic prices by TWD 3,000 per tonne for October. The company said it will remain its price unchanged for carbon steel wire rod. Taiwan's domestic stainless steel wire rod market remained sluggish. Walsin also cut its price by TWD 5,000 to TWD 6,000 per tonne for October, and planned to stop offering price next week in order to avoid more loss. October 6th, 2009  - General London U.K. - Copper price may zoom to $7,500/t by 2010 Everybody is guessing very few, if anyone knows. One thing can be assumed, the purchasing power of the US dollar will fall so Fortis Metals Monthly newsletter that suggests that we will see a copper price of $ 7500 per ton in 2010 may not be that far off. Fortis argues that China remains important in determining copper's price direction, but its influence is starting to become diluted, with the metal market's attention now a bit more focused on the shape of Western economic recovery. The decline in Chinese imports of unwrought copper and copper products in July and August symbolises this changed sentiment. After successive monthly increases since October 2008 (apart from a minor blip in January 2009), July and August saw a reversal of that trend. See Extended Story.. October 5th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - World Bank and IMF join global attack on the dollar! This week, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have begun adding their voices to the international choir calling for a new global reserve currency. World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that the dollar's status will be challenged and shouldn't be taken for granted. It's likely that the role of special drawing rights (SDRs) based on a basket of currencies will be discussed as an alternative to the dollar during meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Istanbul next week. Meanwhile, global governments, central banks, companies and investors continue to slash their dollar holdings. According to the IMF, in April through June of this year, the greenback's share of global currency reserves fell to the lowest level in a decade. Holdings of euros, by contrast, rose to a new all-time record high. All this adds weight and momentum to the devaluation of the dollar. See Extended Story.. October 5th, 2009  - General Baltimore Maryland - Sparrows Point once the largest steel mill in the world to cut 580 jobs or 1/3 of its present workforce. United Steelworkers Local 9477, that represents 2,500 Sparrows Point steel mill workers, said that the plant's Russian owners' proposed restructuring could affect nearly a third of the work force. Mr John Cirri president of United Steelworkers Local 9477 said that Russian steel company Severstal's restructuring proposal details different ways about 580 jobs could be affected, including reductions, retirements or transfers. Severstal bought Sparrows Point last year in an USD 810 million deal and it's working out what to do with its five US plants, which have lost significant business because of the economic downturn. Mr Cirri said that Sparrows Point is making about 8,000 tonnes of liquid iron a day and has the capacity to make 10,000 to 10,500 tonnes. He added that any decisions on job losses would have to be negotiated with the union. October 3rd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Ontario Will there be life after the stimulus money is spent? (Editor’s weekend reflection) Not surprising September was a grim for the nation's automakers: Ford Motor today said sales were down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, Chrysler sales plunged 42 percent, and for General Motors, sales were down a staggering 45 percent. As for foreign automakers, Honda said its North American sales dropped 23.3 percent, and Toyota's sales were down 16.1 percent. In a country with more than one car per person all the government's Cash for Clunkers program did was to push buyers to make deals before the program expired. There were some glimmer of hope for the rest of the US industry as manufacturers continued to report a fairly widespread improvement in activity levels last month as the inventory de-stocking cycle ends and final demand picks up slightly. The Institute of Supply Management (ISM)'s composite business activity index (52.6) remained above the 50-point threshold dividing expanding activity from a contraction for the second month running. The survey data is consistent with signs of a modest pick up rail freight movements, and points to a cyclical turning point. Manufacturers reported widespread increases in both current production (55.7) and new orders (60.8). Firms reporting month-on-month improvements outnumbered those reporting declines by a margin of two-to-one. See Extended Story.. October 3rd, 2009  - General Des Plaines Illinois - Gepco Showcases X-Band DBM Double Braid Cable at AES 2009 Gepco, a General Cable company and industry leader in the manufacturing and distribution of professional audio and video cables, will showcase its XB201DBM X-Band(tm) microphone cable at AES 2009 (Stand 151). The XB201DBM is an extra-flexible, high bandwidth microphone cable with a double braid shield for added noise rejection - ideal for recording studio facilities or live sound venues. Based on the XB201M, the XB201DBM has a wide frequency response and exceptional RF/EMI noise rejection. These attributes are achieved by utilizing a gas/polymer dielectric that significantly reduces the capacitance, as well as cabling the pairs with a tight and precise twist. Conductors are made from finely stranded, oxygen-free copper to maximize conductivity and protect against corrosion. Shielded with a double (2 x 95%) copper braid, the XB201DBM provides exceptional noise rejection. As with all cables in the X-Band series, the XB201DBM features proprietary matte PVC compound that is both flexible and durable. See Extended Story.. October 2nd, 2009  - General Dewsbury west Yorkshire U.K. - Wire rope and fittings supplier Tecni Cable, invests GBP 12,000 in 150 ton Swager from Talurit Tecni-Cable, a one-stop shop for small diameter wire rope & fittings based in Somerset, has recently invested over £12,000 on a new state of the art splicing press to significantly increase the company's wire rope assembly manufacturing capabilities by up to 40%. Tecni-Cable purchased the 150-ton Swager from Talurit - renowned for producing mechanical splicing systems for wire ropes. The new machine will enable Tecni-Cable to manufacture large lifting equipment and slings with ease, place end fittings onto crane and elevator cables and produce larger stainless architectural and marine cables for individual design or specification. The splicing press has been designed with flexibility and versatility in mind, and is able to increase the hexagon swaging (bending or shaping of cold metal) capability for stainless steel fittings of up to 10mm diameter wire rope. In addition, it can form looped and reinforced thimble eyes in up to 22mm diameter wire rope. The machine can be used horizontally, vertically, bench mounted or free standing, and an electronic foot pedal enables straightforward operation, as both hands can be free when swaging. October 2nd, 2009  - General Mumbai India - NALCO announces new chairman Indian state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd said on Thursday that A.K. Srivastava was its new chairman and managing director following the retirement of C.R. Pradhan on Sept. 30. Srivastava was earlier the chairman and managing director of state-run Cement Corporation of India. October 1st, 2009  - General Frankfurt Germany - Deutsche Bank sees EU steel output to remain sluggish According to a report released by Deutsche Bank, production in the European Union's all important steel industry will remain sluggish in the coming years. Deutsche Bank also stressed the need for innovation in the steel making industry, in order for Europe to remain competitive against the booming rise of the Asia as a steel producer. The current situation in the steel industry makes for a grim reading. As the international financial crisis deepened in September 2008, the international steel industry spiraled into an abrupt decline. In the first-half of 2009 crude steel output in the EU 27 was down 43% on the previous year as demand plunged. European wire rod prices remain unchanged as demand remains weak as stockists and fabricators continue to run down stocks. October 1st, 2009  - General Mumbai India - Aksh Optifibre plans to raise $20 million Cable maker Aksh Optifibre today said it has received the approval from its board for raising funds up to $20 million (about Rs 95 crore) through preferential basis. The board has "approved the proposal to raise funds up to $20 million through preferential issue for its services division comprising IPTV and VoIP businesses," Aksh Optifibre said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. September 30th, 2009  - General Toronto Ontario - Unusually rapid recovery in industrial metal prices. Copper prices were little changed in New York and fell on the London Metal Exchange as a stronger dollar curbed demand from investors who buy commodities as a hedge against inflation. A "modest" rise in commodity prices this August is yet another a signal that the global economy is beginning to revive from the ravages of the recession, according to Scotiabank's commodity price index. The bank said Tuesday its gauge of price trends in 32 of Canada's major exports was up 3.5 per cent in August, after falling in July, with base metal prices returning to profitable levels as demand picked up from China and India. Scotiabank noted that its index hit a bottom that was higher than normal, compared with previous economic downturns, citing "an unusually rapid recovery in industrial metal prices." See Extended Story.. September 30th, 2009  - General Highland Heights Kentucky - Industryweek Magazine honors General Cable plants Three of General Cable Corp.’s North American manufacturing facilities have been selected as finalists in INDUSTRYWEEK magazine’s 20th annual Best Plants competition. The company’s plants in Altoona, Pa.; Piedras Negras, Mexico; and Franklin, Mass., each received the recognition. Mark Thackeray, senior vice president for North American operations, said General Cable’s lean manufacturing and Six-Sigma initiatives have continued to drive significant improvements throughout the company. The competition covers practices and performance in a number of categories, including manufacturing operations and flexibility, environmental and safety programs, inventory management, productivity, quality and use of technology. INDUSTRYWEEK will select 10 winners among the 20 finalists. They’ll be announced in the January issue. General Cable has had 13 plants selected as finalists since 2001. Five have been selected as Top 10 plants: Altoona in 2003; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in 2005; Tetla, Tlaxcala, Mexico, in 2006; Indianapolis, in 2007; and Manchester, N.H., in 2008. Highland Heights-based General Cable makes cable and wire products for energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. It’s nearest manufacturing plant is in Lawrenceburg, Ky. September 30th, 2009  - General Bucharest Romania - Cord Buzau to invest EUR 15million in copper wire unit. The management of Cord Buzau, recently taken over by investment fund Donau Finanz from local investors, will consult the shareholders on starting a EUR 15mn investment project for a copper wire unit production unit and another unit aimed at processing the iron wires. Cord has traditionally produced steel wires but once the demand shrunk starting last fall, the company increased its production of copper wires. September 29th, 2009  - General Pueblo Colorado - Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel.wins Bekaert rod supplier award Things are changing at the former Rockefellers CF&I mill known for poor labor relations. Today they're popping open the champagne at Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel, and a new labor deal isn't the lone reason. The mill recently won top supplier honors from one of its biggest clients. Global wire products maker Bekaert, based in Belgium, fashions wire for use in a host of everyday products ranging from tires to cement-strengthening steel fibers. A quarter of all tires in the world run on Bekaert steel cord. The company even makes the wire for champagne corks. One of its key suppliers is the Pueblo mill. The mill's rod-and-bar unit cranks out huge rolls of "wire rod" - the basic stock used in wire making, delivered in giant coils - for shipment by truck to Bekaert plants in Arkansas and Georgia. Recently Bekaert executives from Paris and Atlanta traveled to Pueblo to present the mill the company's bi-annual "Rod Supplier Award." The event also was attended by local civic leaders. The supplier award represents a major achievement. "Our target for years has been to be recognized as a world-class mill, and this solidifies that," mill operations director George Schleining said of the Bekaert award. Among those in attendance for the presentation of the Bekaert Rod Supplier Award to Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel (left to right): Vern Bagley, rod products regional sales manager; Max Bellino, rod-and-bar mill manager; Nancy Laurie of Atlanta, North American purchasing director for Bekaert; Rob Simon, steel mill general manager; Philippe Armengaud of Paris, chief purchasing officer for Bekaert; Dave Romero, rod-and-bar mill technical services engineer; Bill Groom, director of rod-and-bar products; and Gary Cortese, rod-and-bar products sales representative. September 29th, 2009  - General Johannesburg South Africa - ArcelorMittal SA dismisses pollution claims AP via SteelGuru reports that ArcelorMittal SA has dismissed allegations of severe environmental damage and unethical business practices at the mill. In 2002, the company took over the 67 year old plant that residents and environmental groups say has polluted their lives. Company officials acknowledge there is air and water pollution but say that emissions comply with legislation and that clean up operations are under way. They also say there are regular meetings with communities to address their concerns. Ms Nku Nyembezi Heita CEO of ArcelorMittal SA was quick to distance the company from any damage caused by activities of the mill before the new management took over. She acknowledged that Steel Valley is an emotional issue but said there are no immediate plans to rehabilitate the land. She added that "Where we have caused harm, our duty is to take responsibility." See Extended Story.. September 29th, 2009  - General London U.K. - TATA Corus increases engineering steels product prices Corus announced an increase in prices on engineering steels, wire rod, bar and narrow strip. Apparent demand has improved from recent low levels as destocking has come to an end after a period during which consumption was hard hit by the economic downturn. On domestic and overseas deliveries of these products from October 1st 2009, Corus will increase base prices and put into effect revisions to prices for size extras, extra processing and services. The size of increase will be dependent upon product and pricing structure and will be discussed individually with customers. The base price rise range will start at EUR 50 per tonne and go up to EUR 200 per tonne in the case of some high value steels. Mr Peter Hogg GM of Corus Specialty Steels said that "The reductions in scrap and alloy surcharges as commodity prices dropped over the last 12 months have provided real value to customers at a difficult time in the market. The engineering steels sector worldwide has witnessed significant price erosion due to the weak market conditions and the improved conditions now support price corrections taking place." September 28th, 2009  - General New York City - Bankruptcy judge gives final approval of Delphi’s $250 million credit facility U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain on Tuesday gave final approval to the use of the credit facility, which will be provided by Delphi Corp.’s former parent General Motors Corp.The Troy, Mich.-based auto supplier will use the funding to keep itself going until the expected sale of some of its assets to an affiliate of private equity firm Platinum Equity or another party. If successful, the company could emerge from bankruptcy protection after nearly four years of court oversight as early as this summer. GM will provide $2 billion to help finance the deal. It also will acquire some of Delphi’s North American plants. September 28th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Probe into alleged THSRC profiteering intensifies A team of six Taipei prosecutors have seized documents at the Bureau of High Speed Rail and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) over the past two days as they probe alleged profiteering in land deals related to the rail system's construction. Hou Ming-huang, the chief prosecutor of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, launched the investigation in January after he discovered abnormal fund flows at THSRC that may have been used to speculate on transactions of land surrounding high speed rail stations. According to the office, the team collected many documents related to THSRC's land transactions and construction contracts, including letters exchanged between the company and local governments and contractors. Prosecutors will require time to read and analyze the documents before they begin to interview people involved in the deals, the office said. THSRC's five original principal shareholders -- Continental Engineering Corp., Pacific Electric Wire & Cable, Teco Electric and Machinery, the Evergreen Group, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. -- are suspected of making illicit profits while contracting out the construction projects, the office said. See Extended Story.. September 28th, 2009  - General Tel Aviv Israel - Hod Metal cuts production due to lack of scrap Steelguru reports that Israel's leading producer and processor of reinforcing steel and steel wire products Hod Metal Products and Manufacturing Company Limited also known as Hod Assaf Industries Limited has cut its rebar production due to the lack of scrap in the local Israeli market. Production has been cut at the company's rolling mill located in the south of Israel. The Israeli producer's production cut is a consequence of the high price levels of scrap that the local market in Israel cannot afford as a result of which the scrap is sold to Turkey instead. See Extended Story.. September 28th, 2009  - General Cardiff Wales - Ex-steelworkers to rally for pensions compensation at Labour conference Former steelworkers battling for their pensions take their Echo-backed fight to the Labour Party Conference in Brighton next week. Former Allied Steel and Wire staff will call on the Government to speed up compensation packages. Hundreds of ex-employees at the Tremorfa site saw their pensions wiped out in 2002 and were left disappointed by pay-out delays. Campaigner John Benson said: “The campaign has put so much pressure on the UK Government that it made major concessions in the December 2007 announcement, but those concessions fell a substantial way short of what we have been campaigning for all these years.” Two years ago, then work and pensions secretary Peter Hain exclusively promised the Echo he would boost the Financial Assistance Scheme. But campaigners are still struggling for what they believe they are owed and are set to hold a noisy rally as Labour MPs, AMs and delegates arrive at the seaside for the conference on Tuesday. Editor’s note: As the global industrial realignment runs its course obligations to former employees takes second place to secured creditors. I believe that company funded pensions is a relic of the past but since they still exist government should put in place legislation that puts salaries and earned benefit obligations ahead of all other creditors. September 26th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - International capital flow off 82% since peak in 2007. A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute highlights the impact of the global financial crisis on global capital flows. The global financial crisis and worldwide recession abruptly halted nearly three decades of expansion for international capital markets. From 1980 through 2007, the world’s financial assets—including equities, private and public debt, and bank deposits—nearly quadrupled in size relative to global GDP. Global capital flows similarly surged. But the upheaval in financial markets in late 2008 broke this trend. The total value of the world’s financial assets fell by $16 trillion last year, to $178 trillion, the largest setback on record. One of the most striking consequences of the financial crisis was a steep drop-off in cross-border capital flows, which include foreign direct investment (FDI), purchases and sales of foreign equities and debt securities, and cross-border lending and deposits. These capital flows fell 82 percent, to just $1.9 trillion, from $10.5 trillion in 2007. (A sharp drop in cross-border lending was the biggest reason capital flows dried up.) The trend appears to have continued in the first quarter of 2009, with global capital flows falling to an estimated $1.5 trillion on an annualized basis. September 26th, 2009  - General Tokyo Japan - Japan’s Copper Alloy output may fall to 34-Year low Japan’s output of copper and copper alloy fabricated products may decline by 11.5 percent this fiscal year to the lowest in 34 years, according to the Japan Copper and Brass Association. Production for the year that began in April is forecast to drop to 713,930 metric tons from 806,999 tons the previous year, the association said today, citing preliminary data. That would be the lowest level since 1975, when the country produced 574,000 tons. Output dropped 21 percent to 55,700 tons in August from a year earlier, the smallest decline since November, the data showed. As earlier reported Japan’s August copper cable shipments down 17.7 percent yr/yrsee wirenews September 18th, 2009 See Extended Story.. September 26th, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - RUSAL repays $85.9 million Alfa debt after bankruptcy threat Indebted Russian magnate Oleg Deripaska's aluminium company said on Thursday it repaid debts worth $85.9 million to Alfa-Bank after the private lender threatened to pursue the bankruptcy of two RUSAL units. See also wirenews September 22nd, 2009 Rusal trying to restructure $7.4 billion debt after LIA talks fail UC RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, said in a statement it had spoken to its major creditors and agreed to pay the money to Alfa-Bank to soothe a long-running feud over debts between Deripaska and Alfa's principal owner, Mikhail Fridman. "Alfa-Bank welcomes this step by UC RUSAL and we hope that we can reach constructive and mutually acceptable resolutions on other issues," the bank's deputy chief executive, Vladimir Tatarchuk, said in a statement confirming receipt of payments. Deripaska, rated Russia's richest man by Forbes magazine before the financial crisis struck last year, is in protracted talks with Russian and international lenders to restructure the debts faced by his various companies. The resolution of his various disputes with Alfa could prove crucial in his attempts to keep his industrial empire intact. See Extended Story.. September 25th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Pittsburgh steels for G20 protests Activists gave an angry welcome for leaders of the G20 economies when they arrived in Pittsburgh Thursday, with anarchist factions marching on the summit venue. "The city has bought a thousand canisters of tear gas. That's something people are concerned about, like what to do if they're gassed," Noah Williams, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project told AFP. The world leaders at the G20 meeting were meanwhile closing in on a statement calling for new restraints on banker pay, but would not endorse specific monetary caps, a deal-breaker for the United States. Maybe the world leaders should instead focus on what to do with the millions of American and European workers that have been financially displaced by globalization. The trillion dollars spent to support ailing car plants and bailout banks is hardly going to change the fundamentals. September 25th, 2009  - General Vienna Austria - Voestalpine unveils new structure for special steel division The supervisory board of voestalpine AG has agreed for extensive restructuring of the special steel division Bohler Uddeholm AG, which will focus the division much more strongly on its key area as a highly specialized, global niche supplier of special steel. Aim of restructuring is to focus the Special Steel Division more strongly on its key areas of High Performance Metals and Special Forgings in addition to reducing management complexity. Welding Consumables area will be assigned to the Railway Systems Division. Precision Strip area will become part of the Profile form Division. As per announcement “The companies of the High Performance Metals and Special Forgings areas will be combined under their own holding company and will form the future Special Steel Division in the voestalpine Group. Bohler Uddeholm AG remains this holding company. The Welding Consumables area will be assigned to the Railway Systems Division as an independent area because Welding Consumables is an excellent complement to this division’s product range. The Precision Strip area will become part of the Profile form Division.” See Extended Story.. September 25th, 2009  - General Jiayuguan, Gansu China - Jiuquan Steel to see 15,000 tons cut due to wire rod line repair Jiuquan Iron&Steel, the parent company of Jiagang Hongxing, will repair a wire rod production line starting from September 28, which will last for nine days. The repair is estimated to decrease its output by 15,000 tons. No shortages are anticipated since local market is also supplied by Anshan Iron and Steel Chongqing Iron and Steel and Wuhan Iron & Steel September 24th, 2009  - General Seoul, South Korea - America Superconductor and LS+Cable form strategic business alliance. American Superconductor Corporation, a global energy technologies company, and LS Cable Ltd. (LS Cable) formed a strategic alliance Wednesday to advance commercial sales of superconductor cables. Under the alliance, LS Cable and AMSC will work collaboratively to deploy at least 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of superconductor power cables in commercial power grids over the next five years. LS Cable’s superconductor cable systems will utilize AMSC’s proprietary second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire, branded as 344 superconductors. This strategic alliance ensures that LS Cable will have an ongoing supply of high-quality HTS wire from AMSC. Founded in 1962 and based in Anyang, South Korea, LS Cable is Korea’s largest power cable manufacturer with nearly 8,200 employees worldwide and annual sales in excess of US$6 billion. See Extended Story.. September 23rd, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Ex-Pacific chair strikes deal to repay overdue tax The Shihlin branch of the Administration Enforcement Agency decided yesterday not to take former chairman Sun Dao-cun of the Pacific Electrical Wire & Cable Co. into custody after the business magnate paid NT$100 million in owed tax and promised to pay up the rest within a period of six months. Sun made a surprise visit to the branch under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in early morning in a bid to settle the case concerning his overdue taxes of more than NT$295.4 million. After paying up NT$100 million, Sun sought to reach a deal of repaying the remainder in monthly installments for a period of 18 months. But he eventually accepted the deal of clearing the debt in six months at the insistence of the law enforcement officials. The officials said they have no reason to place Sun into custody after he provided a guarantor ensuring that the owed sum will be repaid. There were media reports identifying Sun's daughter, Aimee Sun, as the guarantor. Officials declined to reveal the name of the guarantor, but said identity will be revealed only if Sun failed to honor his repayment promise. September 23rd, 2009  - General Johannesburg South Africa - Price fixing denied The Competition Commission’s case against 12 wire manufacturers, which stand accused of running a national cartel, is set to focus on how smaller players have arranged themselves into a coalition. Two weeks ago the Competition Commission referred a case against four South African steel manufacturers to the Competition Tribunal. The companies: ArcelorMittal South Africa, Cape Gate, Cape Town Iron & Steel and Scaw South Africa are alleged to have been running a cartel for almost 10 years. This was followed by the commission’s referral to the tribunal last week of 12 wire manufacturers which stand accused of running a national cartel between 2001 and 2008. The two cases appear to be linked, with Scaw and its subsidiary, Consolidated Wire Industries (CWI), having triggered the two cases last July by coming forward to blow the whistle on the cartels in exchange for corporate leniency, which will see them avoid prosecution. Central to the commission’s case against the wire manufacturers is the fact that 10 of the 12 accused have Rick Allen as a director or a “substantial shareholder”. See Extended Story.. September 22nd, 2009  - General Donghae, Gangwon Province Korea - LS Cable aims to top subsea cable sales LS Cable, the world's No. 3 cable manufacturing firm, aims to achieve upwards of 1 trillion won in sales of subsea cables in 2015 to top the global market now dominated by three European companies, its chief executive said. "We are targeting 700 billion won to 1 trillion won in revenue from subsea cable sales in 2015, and will become the global No. 1 firm in the market that year," CEO said Son Jong-ho in a meeting with reporters at the company's plant in Donghae City, Gangwon Province, last Friday. In order to achieve the goal, the company earlier this month started production of submarine cables at the 180 billion won ($148.8 million) plant, the first of its kind in Korea, and the fourth in the world. "A revenue of 700 billion won would give the company about a 35 percent share in the global subsea cable market," Son said. See Extended Story.. September 22nd, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - Rusal trying to restructure $7.4 billion debt after LIA talks fail RusAl, the world’s largest aluminium producer, is racing to complete debt restructuring plans after talks with the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) and other sovereign wealth funds failed, The Times of London reports. RusAl which is controlled by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch, and which is estimated to have been worth as much as $30 billion at the height of the commodities boom has to restructure about $7.4 billion (£4.5 billion) worth of debt to foreign banks. See Extended Story.. September 21st, 2009  - General Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - Temporary layoff notices issued at General Cable Temporary layoff notices have been issued to workers at the General Cable’s Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada Energy Cables manufacturing facility The 36 workers were notified of the layoffs early Thursday morning, said the plant’s manager, Ray Funke. He said the temporary layoffs will take effect Nov. 16 and are anticipated to last for 90 days. “The communication was that it was going to be a lights-out shutdown at the plant for 90 days.” Funke said the reason for the shutdown is due to a continuing decline in the market the Moose Jaw plant serves. The multi-national company that owns the plant, which manufactures fibre optic wire and cable for energy, saw a $225 million decline in sales during its second quarter. Funke said the plant in Moose Jaw is not the first in North America to feel the pains of the recession. “The United States and to a lesser extent Canada have been experiencing a decline in demand for almost a full calendar year.” He said there have been plants in the U.S. that were temporarily closed earlier in the year. As well, a plant in Quebec received its 90-day shutdown notices simultaneously to the plant in Moose Jaw. “So, this has been shared throughout our entire energy team. Moose Jaw is not the only team affected; every plant been affected by this market downturn.” September 21st, 2009  - General Tokyo Japan - Japanese companies turn optimistic. Japan’s manufacturers turned optimistic for the first time in almost two years and demand for services rose for a second month in July as the world’s second- largest economy emerged from its deepest postwar recession. Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable Co. raised its first-half net income outlook by a quarter to 250 million yen, citing a recovery in electronics materials demand. While some companies are optimistic, the rebound in global demand hasn’t spurred capital investment. Machinery orders, a key gauge of outlays of plant and equipment, slid to a record low in July and companies including Toyota Motor Corp. are shutting assembly lines paring spending plans. September 21st, 2009  - General Manchester, New Hampshire - Hitachi Cable Manchester utilizes Corning's OM4 fiber Hitachi Cable Manchester (HCM) continues to be a leader in fiber optic cable development. With the approval of EIA/TIA 492AAAD grade multimode fiber, enhanced versions of OM3 50 µm optical fiber will now carry the designation of OM4. Though frequently used in the past as the defacto nomenclature for enhanced OM3 glass, the OM4 designation, which identifies 50-micron glass capable of 10 gigabit Ethernet out to 550 meters, will more clearly identify cable performance levels. HCM uses Corning optical glass for all its standard products. All HCM fiber optic cable constructions will be available with Corning's OM4 fiber optic glass. The OM1, OM2 and OM3 fiber nomenclature originated in the ISO / IEC-11801, second edition standard and is presently being adopted into TIA and other standards. It is expected that the OM4 term will be used in upcoming releases of ISO / IEC documents. September 19th, 2009  - General London U.K. - For copper it's still all about China The copper market is losing its fixation with China now that the country's imports of copper have peaked. When China's imports of the red metal were surging in the first half of the year, each fresh monthly set of trade figures was eagerly awaited and each fresh record high (there were five of them starting in February) was more grist to the bull mill. The record highs have come to an end and so too has the previous euphoria. What's more, China appears to be stuffed to the gills with copper. Shanghai stocks are rising, up 46,000 tonnes since the beginning of August and there is plenty more off-market inventory, both within the country and in its bonded warehouses (not customs cleared). Demand for imported copper has visibly waned in the form of soggy Shanghai premiums. Reuters assesses the current range for imported copper at $50-$80 over LME cash, compared with $250 and above during May, just ahead of June's import peak. The copper market has responded by shifting its focus to the developed world, where restocking is widely expected to take over as the driver of higher copper prices. The conspicuous absence of such restocking, so far at least, is one of the main reasons why copper is currently still marking time in its late-summer range. See Extended Story.. September 19th, 2009  - General Kuala Lumpur Malaysia - Rollout of various projects bolster steel mills bottom-lines OSK Research Sdn Bhd continues to have high expectations of the rollout of projects under various stimulus packages, bolstering steel millers' bottom-lines, especially in the upcoming calendar year. In a research note Monday, the research firm said local steel mills may continue to export billets to the South East Asian market as China's imposition of a 25 per cent export tax had created a vacuum in supply. It said an improvement in the economies of the Middle East countries, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh would also be a boon to Malaysia's billet exports. Despite the fact that steel prices and demand are expected to be volatile in the coming year, OSK Research said the market will be searching for "recovery plays", which would put the steel counters in the limelight given that the stimulus packages worldwide will translate into physical steel demand. See Extended Story.. September 18th, 2009  - General Stuttgart Germany - Fastener Fair Stuttgart opens October 7 – 8 Stuttgart in Germany will soon be hosting what will be the largest dedicated fastener and fixing exhibition ever to take place in Europe. “When doors open on the seventh and eighth of October, visitors will have outstanding access to 624 leading companies from 37 countries,” says the event’s Organiser, Jerry Ramsdale. “And with economic indicators pointing to an upturn across the economies of Europe and in the fastener industry itself, we’re expecting a lot of valuable business to be done in Stuttgart!” See Extended Story.. September 17th, 2009  - General Brussels Belgium - Phillip Townsend Associates, Inc. (PTAI) signs agreement with EUROFER to benchmark CO2 emissions performance of European steel producers Phillip Townsend Associates, Inc. (PTAI) announced it has signed an agreement with the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER) to benchmark the CO2 emissions performance of European steel producers. Since 2005, some 10 000 large industrial plants participate to a EU-wide carbon dioxide market. The so-called Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) enables companies which do not meet their individual CO2 caps to buy allowances from complying ones. See Extended Story.. September 16th, 2009  - General Norcross Georgia - OFS to exhibit laserwave(R) 550 OM4 multimode fiber at BICSI fall conference OFS, designer, manufacturer and supplier of leading edge fiber optic network products, today announced that it will exhibit its LaserWave® 550 laser-optimized OM4 multimode fiber at the BICSI Fall Conference held Sept. 20 - 24 in Las Vegas (Booth 313). LaserWave 550 fiber is designed to enable low cost connectivity at speeds up to 100 Gb/s for applications including data centers, high-speed computing and supercomputing centers, local area networks, and central offices. The fiber supports an effective modal bandwidth (EMB) of 4700 MHz*km at 850 nm when used with 10 Gb/s Ethernet compliant VCSELs. It also supports an OFL bandwidth of 3500 MHz*km at 850 nm and 500 MHz*km bandwidth at 1300 nm for legacy applications. See Extended Story.. September 16th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - So what happens now when the stimulus money is spent??? During the past 12 month the global economy has been primed by an unpresidented amount of cash in an attempt to kick start the economy. There is no question that the various stimulus packages around the world have had an effect. It would be strange if they had not, but no fundamentals have been changed. One cannot help woundering what will happen when all this cash has been spent and America and the European nations are faced with an astronomic debt, rising unemployment and a manufacturing industry that has moved off- shore. What seems to escape economic commentators in their euforia about “green sprouts of recoveryâ€� is the fact that no fundamental changes have been made. See Extended Story.. September 16th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Taiwan's steel bar, wire rod demand soars After Taiwan’s China Steel Corp. (CSC) announced its new price for Taiwan’s domestic market, the company received steel bar and wire rod orders greater than their recent capacity. Now, the gap between the quantity of product in the orders CSC has been receiving and CSC's steel bar and wire rod capacity, will be about 100,000 tons. However, regarding this overbooking situation, Taiwan’s domestic screw industries and other wire product users have points of view that different to that of CSC. CSC said the major reason behind this situation is that while most end users can accept CSC's new price, these end users claimed that they had encountered obstructions when they tried to get the import wire rod source; this negative situation may affect all of the screw and wire industries in the future. See Extended Story.. September 14th, 2009  - General New York City - Institutional investors files class action suit against Anixter International Inc. Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP announced Friday that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Anixter International Inc. between January 29, 2008 and October 20, 2008, inclusive, seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint charges Anixter and certain of its executives with violations of the Exchange Act. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made numerous positive statements regarding the Company's financial condition, business and prospects. See Extended Story.. September 14th, 2009  - General Beloretsk Russia - Mechel announces commissioning new equipment at Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant Mechel OAO, one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces the commissioning of the new production line for cold-deformed reinforcement wire held today at its Beloretsk Metallurgical plant (BMP) subsidiary. The commissioning ceremony for the new production line for cold-deformed reinforcement wire was attended by President of the Republic of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bashkortostan Yury Pustovgarov, Head of Beloretsky Municipal Region Nikolay Maksimov, Mechel OAO Chief Executive Officer Igor Zyuzin, Mechel Management OOO Chief Executive Officer Andrey Deyneko, BMP's Managing Director Viktor Kamelin and other guests. See Extended Story.. September 12th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - CITAC urges Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) Board to consider impact on all Americans in Alabama FTZ application The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC) urged the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board today to "consider America`s steel using industries and their six million workers" in its review of an application by ThyssenKrupp to conduct manufacturing activity in a U.S. Foreign Trade Zone located in Alabama. See Extended Story.. September 12th, 2009  - General Roanoke Virginia - Optical Cable Corporation reports lower sales in fiscal third Quarter 2009 Optical Cable Corporation today announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter and the nine months ended July 31, 2009. Consolidated net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 decreased 13.4% to $14.2 million compared to net sales of $16.4 million for the comparable period last year. The Company believes that the decline in net sales is primarily attributable to the global economic recession and that OCC`s competitors have generally suffered more severe revenue declines on a percentage basis, based on publicly available information. See Extended Story.. September 11th, 2009  - General Baltimore Maryland - Marlin invests in new robotic wireforming machine from AIM Marlin Steel Wire Products of Baltimore a leader in the use of robotics in the metal basket industry, recently made the largest investment in its history for a robot that can bend metal at the rate of nearly 500 feet per minute, more than twice as fast as conventional machines. Marlin President Drew Greenblatt said the company uses steel-wire bending robots such as the one it recently purchased from Addison, Illinois based AIM to improve quality and ensure more exacting standards for the baskets and wire forms his company produces. Precision is essential, Greenbladt said, because the baskets are often used to clean, dip, wash, autoclave, material handle, cure, protect, transport or store parts that have critical uses in industries ranging from Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Medical, Industrial, Aerospace to automotive. "We make stainless custom baskets and wire forms for clients that need solutions fast for their factories. This robot allows us to make the most precise parts in the industry, fast." See Extended Story.. September 11th, 2009  - General Bejing China - China, EU to discuss trade frictions China, facing a number of anti-dumping actions from the European Union, urged the EU trade commissioner to push for bilateral trade cooperation. "China and the EU should appropriately handle trade frictions, and fight resolutely against trade protectionism," Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said in his meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton Wednesday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in his meeting Wednesday with visiting British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, sought Britain's support in winning early EU recognition of China's market economy status, saying more than 70 other countries already have given their recognition. See Extended Story.. September 11th, 2009  - General Washington D.C - US factory output is growing The US factory output is growing for the first time since early last year, bolstering the case for an economic recovery. While the improvement is modest amid weak consumer spending, some leading manufacturers and economists believe it can be sustained and eventually set off a more robust upswing. "Production is going to gradually build up steam," says David Huether, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, said it's restarting idle capacity and boosting production as customer inventories have dipped as low as possible. See Extended Story.. September 10th, 2009  - General Pune India - Sterlite Technologies maintains market leadership for Telecom Cables in India Sterlite Technologies Limited ("Sterlite") a leading global provider of transmission solutions today today announced that it has received the 'V&D100 2009' award for 'Top Telecom Cables Company' in India. The annual survey on the Indian telecommunications equipment industry conducted by Voice&Data Magazine, indicated that the Indian telecom cables market in FY 2008-09 was Rs 1,229 Crores, of which Sterlite had a dominant market share of over 30%. See Extended Story.. September 10th, 2009  - General Dubai UAE - UAE’s Emal smelter 60% complete| Emirates Aluminium (Emal), planned to be the world's largest single aluminium smelter, is 60 percent completed, an Arabic language newspaper said on Wednesday, citing a company executive."Construction works are ongoing according to plan and the budget allocated by the company, pointing to more than 60 percent of the project being completed," Al-Khaleej said, quoting Yousuf Abdulla Bastaki, the project director of Emal at a conference in the UAE. Emal is a 50-50 joint venture between Dubai Aluminium Co (Dubal) and Mubadala Development Company, an investment vehicle owned by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the seven-member federation of the United Arab Emirates. See Extended Story.. September 10th, 2009  - General Lazaro Cardenas Mexico - ArcelorMittal Lazaro Cardenas strike over ArcelorMittal announced that a month old strike over wages at its Lazaro Cardenas steel plant in Mexico has ended following an agreement to raise wages. Mr Ricardo Guzman spokesman of ArcelorMittal said that workers will return to work at the plant later this week, after walking out on August 8th 2009 halting production at the complex. He said that the company and workers at the mine had agreed on an 8% wage rise. The Pacific coast plant, ArcelorMittal's largest in Mexico, can produce 9,700 tonnes of steel slabs a day and 4,600 tonnes a day of billet, rebar and wire rod. ArcelorMittal has the capacity to produce 6.7 million tonnes of steel in Mexico, with some 80 percent of that produced at the Lazaro Cardenas plant. September 9th, 2009  - General Horgen, Switzerland - Dow Europe GmbH Announces Price Increase for Wire and Cable Products in India, Middle East and Africa Dow Europe GmbH is announcing a price increase of up to US$ 150 per metric ton for its wire and cable products across India, Middle East and Africa. This increase will be of immediate effect, or as contract terms allow. Dow Wire & Cable, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), is a leading global provider of products, technology, solutions and expertise that sets industry standards for assurance of reliability, longevity, efficiency, ease of installation and protection in the transmission, distribution and consumption of power, voice and data. Understanding that collaboration is essential to success, Dow Wire & Cable works together with cable makers, utilities, municipalities, testing institutes and other organizations around the world to develop solutions and create mutual value that will sustain the industry for years to come. September 9th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - We said it before what is the use of a service sector without an industry to service The shift of manufacturing to low-wage parts of the world was supposed to usher in an era of well-paid service sector jobs. But as the factories have gone dark, much of the work connected to R&D has also taken flight while the number of low-paid service jobs has mushroomed. Now postindustrial economies are reconsidering the importance of their manufacturing sectors. In the wake of a recession brought on by the service sector - the purveyor of the intangible credit default swaps and mortgage-backed securities that brought the world economy to its knees last fall - developed countries are paying renewed attention to their manufacturers. They are expressing their new-found appreciation with more than just simple auto bailouts or protectionism. Many policy makers believe future growth once again lies in making things. See Extended Story.. September 8th, 2009  - General St. Joseph, Missouri - WireCo announces layoffs A WireCo WorldGroup official announced Thursday the layoff of 25 company employees — citing economic conditions as the cause. David Hornaday, WireCo senior vice president of administration, said the layoffs are taking effect both Thursday and Friday. “We’re just continuing to react to business conditions,” Mr. Hornaday said. “Hopefully these conditions will improve and we’ll be able to call (the employees) all back.” The layoffs follow a workload decrease for about 200 WireCo employees earlier this year from a 40-hour work week to a 32-hour work week. WireCo officials said the hourly reductions were used as an alternative to layoffs at a time when the demand for wire rope had decreased worldwide. According to its Web site, WireCo, formerly known as Wire Rope Corporation of America, is a global leader in manufacturing, engineering, and distributing of wire rope, high-carbon wire and electromechanical cable. The company has manufacturing operations in St. Joseph and Chillicothe. September 7th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - There will be no News Bulletin today Canada’s Labor Day News resumes tomorrow Tuesday September 8 September 5th, 2009  - General Chennai India - RKKR group commissions Rs 300 cr integrated steel plant in AP RKKR group, one of the oldest steel makers in the south, has commissioned the first phase of an integratedsteel plant capable of producing five lakh tonnes per year. The Rs 300 crore plant consisting of a blast furnace, a sinter plant and coke oven for making pig iron, has been set up at Gudur in Andhra Pradesh by the group company, SBQ steels. SBQ steels is setting up the fully integrated plant in three phases on 650 acres in Chollakuru Mandal of Nellore district. Rajiv Rai said it is the first integrated steel plant in the private sector to start the blast furnace with its internally manufactured coke and sinter thereby making it more economically viable in iron making and thus in steel making. The second phase is in an advanced stage of construction and is expected to be ready by December this year. It involved another Rs 400 crore investment to produce 1.5 lakh tonnes of sponge iron and five lakh tonnes of steel billets and blooms and nearly six lakh tonnes of bars and wire roads used in making auto components. September 3rd, 2009  - General Duesseldorf Germany - ArcelorMittal may now consider sale of stainless unit ArcelorMittal is now reviewing all options for its stainless steel operations, and the sector as a whole would benefit from consolidation in Europe, a senior executive at the world's biggest steelmaker said. Jean-Yves Gilet, the chief executive of the firm's stainless steel activities, told Reuters on Monday on the sidelines of an industry gathering: "We are now looking at all options. "I think consolidation will be good because in any market it is good to have a clear leader." As we have earlier reported ArcelorMittal's chief financial officer said in July the company was studying options for its stainless steel business, including an acquisition or joint venture but not the sale of the assets. Asked by reporters whether ArcelorMittal's options now included a sale, Gilet said: "So far there is no possibility to speculate on any solution." Considering other markets such as raw materials, "everybody knows that in terms of profitability, in terms of stability, consolidation is a good thing," he said. "It would be good also if it could happen in stainless." See Extended Story.. September 3rd, 2009  - General Summerside New Brunswick - Summerside Electric applies to build $3.3M power line Summerside's electric utility has applied to Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to build a transmission line that would bring power from an undersea cable into the city. The utility said building its own 20-km, high-voltage line for $3.3 million would be cheaper than continuing to pay Maritime Electric to use its lines. Most of the electricity Summerside customers use comes from New Brunswick Power. To get electricity into the city from a substation in Bedeque, about 14 kilometres southeast of Summerside, the utility has to pay Maritime Electric to rent space on its transmission lines. The Summerside utility says its 6,700 customers pay up to $100 a year each to Maritime Electric, a cost the new line could cut in half. See Extended Story.. September 2nd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Do not get over excited about prospects of a China business boom. Stock peddlers around the world and analysts at the Wall street gambling casino in particular give glowing reports today about the growth prospects in China India and Brazil. There is no doubt that the Chinese government’s economic stimulus package has had its effect on the overall economy and it is also true that China’s automotive industry like India’s is booming. However for readers of this wirenews bulletin it should be evident that China suffers from a tremendous amount of over capacity and that the central government has put a stop for further investment in the steel sector. Ratan Tata chairman of india’s Tata steel told his hare holders after the company posted a 450 Million loss in the 2nd quarter that there were week signs of recovery but it was still difficult to say if this is a sustained recovery or just a plateau. And Brazilian long steel giant Gerdau’s Chairman Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter told reporters last Wednesday that Gerdau is working at less than 80% of installed capacity. See Extended Story.. September 2nd, 2009  - General Santiago Chile - Chilean panel sees 10-year copper price at $2.13/lb Chile said on Monday that copper prices could average $2.13 per lb between 2010 and 2019, based on estimates from a panel of experts used to help draft next year's national budget bill. The 12 experts, which include academics and think tank analysts, based their projections on prices at the London Metal Exchange Another group of experts see potential economic growth at 4.2 percent in 2010. The expert's gross domestic product mid-term forecast is based on the trajectory of the Chilean economy under normal conditions, without taking into consideration the effects of domestic and external economic conditions. The finance ministry and the government's budget office said they had completed the experts' consultation for the two indicators, which are key for the government to estimate the public sector's spending and revenue intake outlook. The government uses the experts' forecast to calculate its own economic estimates to draft the budget bill. Those official projections are expected to be released in late September."Starting with these averages, adequately filtered through statistical methods to reflect value tendencies, the GDP is estimated to grow 4.2 percent in 2010 and up to 4.5 percent in 2014," the government said. September 2nd, 2009  - General Jeddah Saudi Arabia - Dow Wire & Cable hosts joint technical workshop. Saudi Electricity Company and Dow Wire & Cable, a business unit of the Dow Chemical Company, hosted a joint technical workshop in Jeddah recently to discuss SEC's needs and state-of-the-art product solutions available for the utility company to optimize power delivery systems throughout the Kingdom. Presenters from Dow were Ramachandran, global end-use marketing director for Dow Wire & Cable, Ashish Arora, sales manager for India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA), and Milind S. Chavan, end-use marketing manager for IMEA. The technical workshop provided an opportunity for key value chain partners to engage with one another and discuss Dow's innovative wire and cable solutions as well as the benefits of using proven cable material systems to improve reliability and reduce life-cycle costs. "Dow is determined to actively seek opportunities with cable manufacturers and utilities to continuously improve cable performance and deliver customer-centric cable solutions," Ramachandran said. To visit Dow Wire & Cable web site use this link September 1st, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Tycoons Corp. plans to import cold draw materials from Thailand Taiwan’s Tycoons Corporation, is planning to import cold drawn materials from Thailand due to strong demand coupled with a shortage of materials in the market. The company is expecting to use its own materials advantage in order to gain marketing share. Due to Chain Steel Corp’s (CSC) furnace undergoing temporary maintenance a shortage of wire rod materials is affecting supply and demand in the domestic market. In fact, the wire rod price is likely to follow a rising trend in Thailand’s and Taiwan’s markets. However, Taiwan’s wire rod price is increasing a lot compared to previous price levels. See Extended Story.. September 1st, 2009  - General Dusseldorf Germany - The spring industry and wire 2010 trade fair Messe Dusseldorf in a press release yesterday pointed out that technical springs are very important products from the wire-processing industry that are used in many different applications. While they often appear inconspicuous and have a relatively low value, they are vital for the functions of many mechanical systems and for the transmission of electricity. Naturally, wire processors are also affected by the global financial crisis, especially as about 60% of their work is for the automotive industry and the automotive components suppliers that have been especially hard hit by the crisis. But since technical progress is closely connected with further developments in the wire and wire-processing industries and their suppliers, there are still many opportunities available even in times of crisis.For full press release use this link August 31st, 2009  - General Shanghai China - Fasteners from BaoSteel CHQ wire rod pass Pan Asia Technical Automotive road tests. Baosteel has entered supply agreement with Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co Ltd for supply of cold headed quality steel wire rods. Last year, in order to speed up the localization of automotive fasteners, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co Ltd adopted the bolts made of BaoSteel’s cold heading quality steel wire rod in the chassis and body of its model Aveo for testing. Now it has analyzed the fasteners dismantled fro test vehicles and observed that various indicators of the fasteners conform to the requirements. Afterwards, the company also evaluated the stability and reliability of BaoSteel’s cold heading quality steel wire rod, and entrusted Shanghai Jiaotong University to compare and analyze 5 batches of material produced by Baori Steel Wire with the like products from abroad. The results of analysis show that BaoSteel’s products meet the requirements completely. August 31st, 2009  - General Beijing China - China’s stimulus package may do the trick and pull the world out the economic doldrums Trying to decode the signals from China's hulking economy these days is no easy task. There are legitimate reasons to believe that a rebound is under way – but also signs that it may be fragile and unsustainable, once such vital props as unprecedented government spending and extremely loose monetary policy disappear. Chinese worker loading steel wire rod as local demand buildsNo sector has benefited more from China's current financial might than commodities. China's aggressive purchasing has almost single-handedly driven an incredible rebound in copper prices and helped keep demand for iron ore and oil strong. See Extended Story.. August 31st, 2009  - General Duesseldorf Germany - Steelmakers resume output as global demand recovers Steelmakers are resuming production at mills from China to Russia Europe and the U.S. as the industry pulls out of its worst slump since World War II. OAO Novolipetsk Steel, Russia’s largest producer, raised its 2009 output forecast today, and Voestalpine AG, the biggest in Austria, ended shortened working hours and restarted a blast furnace. China Oriental Group Co., which counts ArcelorMittal as its second-largest shareholder, said the local steel industry had recovered more quickly than previously expected. See Extended Story.. August 31st, 2009  - General Granite City Missouri - Steelworkers get back to work As the weeks turned to months with no end in sight to the layoff that began in December, Vince Hogue admits to wondering if he and his co-workers would ever set foot in the Granite City Works again. Then, in early summer, came word of U.S. Steel's plan to fire up the plant's massive furnaces. On July 7, Hogue — sent to the unemployment office along with thousands of others by the downturn in the economy and steel industry — was back on the job. "It's dirty and it's dangerous, but it pays well," said Hogue, a switchman on the standard gauge production line. "Now, it just needs to last." Without being specific, Dan Simmons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1899, representing the majority of the nearly 2,000 workers employed at the Granite City Works, is cautiously optimistic it will. See Extended Story.. August 29th, 2009  - General Richardson Texas - CommScope lauds adoption of new optical fiber cable standard CommScope Enterprise Solutions, a division of CommScope, Inc. (NYSE:CTV), is praising the publication authorization of a new standard for optical fiber suitable for manufacturing OM4 cables used in data center applications and local area networks. The performance specifications of the Telecommunications Industry Association's new TIA-492AAAD standard reflect those of CommScope's SYSTIMAX® LazrSPEED® 550—the same visionary fiber solution that has been deployed in local area network and data center applications around the world since 2003. In addition, an International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) subcommittee is revising its multimode fiber standard for its fourth edition to add equivalent specifications. See Extended Story.. August 28th, 2009  - General Pawcatuck, Connecticut - Davis-Standard, LLC to Host Basic Extrusion Seminar October 14-15, 2009 Davis-Standard, LLC will host its popular workshop on “The Basics of Plastics Extrusion” on October 14 - 15, 2009 at its headquarters in Pawcatuck, Connecticut. The two-day class will cover the fundamentals of plastics extrusion, as well as the composition and properties of various polymers and the mechanics of essential downstream processes. Topics include extruder components, temperature control, maintenance and screw design. In addition to instruction, course participants will tour Davis-Standard’s laboratory and manufacturing facilities and will have access to polymer process engineers and technical specialists. The fee is $750 per person with a 10 percent discount given for groups of three or more. Course books and materials are included, and class size is limited to promote student/teacher interaction. For enrollment or more information about Davis-Standard’s seminars and on-site extrusion training, contact Wendy Smith at (860) 599-6119 or at wsmith@davis-standard.com. To register online, visit http://www.wireworld.com/davis-standard/. August 28th, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - MMK complete repair and restarts wire mill SteelGuru reports that Russian steel mill Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works has completed repairs and restarted operations at its wire mill 170. As a result, all three units of MMK rolling mill shop are currently operating. The repair works in question included the replacement of the internal lining of the mill’s reheating furnace and the repair and replacement of the mill’s mechanical equipment. MMK wire mill 170, supplied by Italian plant maker Danieli and commissioned in 2006, has an annual production capacity of 765,000 tonnes of wire rod, the main consumer of which is the company’s hardware division. MMK long product output capacity amounts to around 2 million tonnes per year. August 27th, 2009  - General Dana Point California - USPTO grants Mercury Cable & Energy’s petition for reexamination of Composite Technology Corporation’s patents for Composite ACCC Core Mercury Cable and Energy (“Mercury”) is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has granted its request for Ex Parte Reexamination of Composite Technology Corporation's (OTCBB:CPTC.OB) ACCC patents for bare overhead transmission wire (U.S. Patent No. 7,368,162 (Patent “162”) and U.S. Patent No. 7,211,319 (Patent “319”). In the USPTO Order granting Reexamination dated August 17, 2009, the Patent Examiner stated “It is agreed that newly cited (prior art) raises a substantial new question of patentability” regarding the ‘162 and ‘319 Patents. See Extended Story.. August 27th, 2009  - General Billings Montana - Montana has wind power potential but no transmission lines to move power to market A Harvard study, released last month, puts the Big Sky State in a tie with Kansas - and second only to Texas - for having the greatest potential in the nation for wind power. Coded by a deep blue color on the map, the report shows Montana so rich in wind that it has the potential to produce 4,700 terawatt hours of wind-generated electricity, a whopping 370 times the state's current total retail electricity sales. While the figures boggle the mind, both the authors of the study and local wind experts quickly dispel the notion that wind potential equates to available wind power. "A very small portion of what is possible ends up being doable," said Van Jamison, vice president of strategic operations for Gaelectric, an Irish wind-development company with an office in Great Falls. Jamison headed up the Montana Energy Office from 1980 to 2000. Jamison describes the study as "fascinating reading" and "provocative." Yet he also views its projections as a "bookend" against which future development could be measured, See Extended Story.. August 26th, 2009  - General Paris France - Nexans secures major frame agreement with BP Exploration and Production Inc. for deep water umbilical projects in the Gulf of Mexico Nexans, a worldwide leader in the cable industry, has secured a frame agreement with BP Exploration & Production Inc. for deep water umbilical projects in the Gulf of Mexico that could be worth as much as $300 million in total. The frame agreement is initially for one year; however, BP has the right to extend the agreement for an additional four year period. The agreement covers the design, manufacture and supply of bespoke umbilicals that will carry fluid, power, control and telecommunications services for new subsea oil and gas projects or replacements in water depths up to 1,980 metres. During the term of the agreement, Nexans could deliver more than 200 kilometres of umbilical products to BP. See Extended Story.. August 26th, 2009  - General Providence Rhode Island - Wardwell Braiding Machine Company in receivership. The worlds leading braiding machine company is a victim of the recession and the shrinking market for shielded coax cables. The company acquired two of Europe’s leading braiding machine makers Spirka and Schnellflechter a couple of years ago merging them into Wardwell Europe GmbH, a move aimed at consolidating the industry and to obtain new technology. The German facility was closed in 2007 and manufacturing moved to China and Central Falls Rhode Island. The receiver could not be reached Tuesday but considering the Wardwell company’s dominance presumably attempts will be focused on resurrecting the operations. To access the Wardwell website use this link August 25th, 2009  - General Woodbridge, Ontario - Howar equipment expands and moves to new premises. In the course of expanding their operations Howar Equipment Inc. is moving to new premises at: 60 Marycroft Avenue, Unit 6 Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 5Y5, Canada As of Aug. 30 our new phone numbers will be: Ph. 905 – 265-8912 Fax 905 – 265-8834 With the addition of a continually increasing spare parts department the move will allow Howar Equipment Inc. to provide better and faster service to their customers. See Extended Story.. August 25th, 2009  - General Toronto Ontario - Chinese pig farmers drives the copper market. Forget the sluggish U.S. economy. The biggest threat to the stunning rebound in base metal prices could come from Chinese pig farmers.Easy access to credit from Chinese banks has apparently inspired hog producers in Guangzhou province, investing-astute citizens in Zhejiang province and residents of the northern scrap metal trading hub of Anxin county to speculate on the price of copper and nickel.Regular Chinese citizens are mimicking the government's decision to aggressively stockpile metal supplies amid the global economic crisis. According to a recent report by China Central Television (CCTV), residents in rural areas have been accumulating physical copper in recent months, in quantities ranging from a few tonnes to a few hundred tonnes. See Extended Story.. August 22nd, 2009  - General Beijing China - China's Government to stop steel expansion projects for three years China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Thursday that steelmakers will stop expansion projects in three years to eliminate overcapacity. China’s steelmakers have the production capacity 660 million tons of steel a year, which is much more than 470 million tons of annual consumption. Besides, the ministry will continue efforts in industry consolidation and eliminate lagged productivities. August 21st, 2009  - General Brussels Belgium - EU opens anti-dumping probe in Chinese steel cable exports The EU has opened an anti-dumping probe into alleged unfair practices used by Chinese steel cable exporters, the official European Union journal announced last Wednesday. The European Commission believes there is "sufficient prima facie evidence" that China is circumventing the EU's anti-dumping measures by transhipping steel ropes and cables via South Korea and Malaysia. Brussels was alerted to the practice by the EU Wire Rope Industries (EWRIS) on behalf of European producers who fear their products are being illegally undercut by Chinese imports which could jeopardise their industry. "Significant volumes of imports of steel ropes and cables from the Republic of Korea and Malaysia appear to have replaced imports of the (Chinese) product concerned," the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said in the official journal. In addition "there is sufficient evidence that this increased volume of imports is made at prices" low enough to hurt European industry, it added. The investigation will be completed within nine months, the commission said. See Extended Story.. August 20th, 2009  - General Oldbury U.K. - Midlands firm first in Europe to recycle tire wire. Enviromise a Midland firm specializes in separating the steel found in tires from the rubber surrounding it to such a high standard that the metal can be re-melted.. Up to 20 per cent of a tire is usually dumped in landfills because recycling tire wire is such a difficult and expensive process to undertake. Enviromise business development manager Angus Carnie said: “Being able to separate the steel is a huge benefit to the steel industry and tire re-processors, as the whole tire can be recycled. This means that 300 tonnes of waste will be diverted from landfill per week, so it is a very green alternative. We have had a huge amount of interest from people in the industry so far.” See Extended Story.. August 19th, 2009  - General BaoShan China - Baosteel raises wire rod prices for September China Knowledge reports that Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, China's largest steelmaker, raised the prices of major steel products for next month's delivery by RMB 500 to RMB 900 in order to stabilize steel prices, industry sources said.. The Chinese steel producer adjusted the September delivery prices of several other products on Friday. The price of steel wire increased by RMB 300 to RMB 400 per ton. Baosteel will conduct the third round of price hike at the end of this month, mainly focusing on hot-rolled carbon steel products produced by its two subsidiaries. August 19th, 2009  - General London U.K. - Speculators about to get burnt as copper bubble about to burst. Copper rose to a fresh 10-1/2 month high on Friday before reversing gains, as U.S. consumer price data offset fragile expectations of improving demand. At 1414 GMT, copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $6,298.50 a tonne from a close of $6,395 on Thursday. Earlier, prices of the metal used in power and construction hit $6,480, the highest since early October. See Extended Story.. August 17th, 2009  - General Mumbai India - SGS Tests Steel Wire Ropes for the longest sea link bridge using Magnetic Flux Leakage The Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) is the first and longest sea link bridge in India, connecting Bandra and the western suburbs of Mumbai with Worli and central Mumbai. It was opened on June 30, after 10 years of construction time and approximately $400 million in investment costs. The BWSL is an 8-lane cable-stayed bridge, spanning about 600 meters in length and towering to a height of 126 meters, equivalent to the height of a 43-story building. The cable stay system is comprised of 2,250 km of high-strength galvanized steel wires which support the cable stay bridge weighing 20,000 tons. The construction of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is an engineering marvel and the first ever open sea bridge of its kind. Materials used in the construction project have to meet quality regulations and standards. The quality and reliability of steel wire ropes is crucial to the safe construction and maintenance of a cable-stayed bridge. See Extended Story.. August 17th, 2009  - General Cleveland Ohio - ArcelorMittal will bring 165 people back to work this week ArcelorMittal will bring 165 people back to work this week, but it will still be more than a month before the Cleveland steel plant's blast furnace fires up and starts melting metal again The Cleveland Plain Dealer said Friday. Plant manager Terry Fedor told the paper Wednesday that the company is still negotiating with the United Steelworkers of America Local 979 to figure out how many workers it needs to bring back. In May, the company put 912 workers on layoff as steel orders plunged 45 percent worldwide. See Extended Story.. August 15th, 2009  - General McKinney Texas - Third Avenue Management sells shares of Encore Wire Corporation Investment Gurus at Third Avenue Management has reduced their positions in electrical building wire and cable company Encore Wire Corporation. GuruFocus Data shows Third Avenue Management reduced 28.01% of its stake in WIRE on August 10, 2008 at the price of $22.7 per share. After the sale, Third Avenue still holds 2,587,000 shares. See Extended Story.. August 12th, 2009  - General Atlanta, Georgia - Alcan Cable announces bare and service cable price increase Alcan Cable has announced that effective Monday, August 10, 2009, Alcan Cable will raise prices on all Aluminum Bare and Service cable products. Continued cost increases for component materials have made this adjustment necessary. Alcan Cable will also increase prices on the following Commercial and Residential Building Wire products effective Monday, August 10, 2009: The new price sheets will be available on our website at www.cable.alcan.com by the close of business Friday, August 7, 2009. All orders will be priced at the new levels beginning Monday, August 10, 2009 Should you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact your local Alcan Sales Representative. August 12th, 2009  - General Doha Qatar - Ducab opens new sales facility Ducab, the leading manufacturer of high quality power cables in the Middle East, and Winner of Mohammed Bin Rashid Business Excellence Award for their achievements in the manufacturing sector held a dinner at the Doha Sheraton last recently to announce the opening of their new office in Doha. The dinner was attended by leading contractors and consultants as well as major companies and industrial players in the Qatari market. Ducab’s Qatar Country Manager Mr. Shailendra Pratap Singh stressed the importance of Ducab’s expansion in the GCC, (Gulf Corporation Council) and especially in Qatar, whose economy is growing despite the financial crisis. He said that Ducab’s decision to have a strong base in Qatar came as a response to the rising demands for cables in the Qatari market. Ducab today has a dedicated sales team, channel partners and a distribution and logistics centre in Doha with plans for expansion. August 11th, 2009  - General Newark New York - IEC Electronics Corp announces ISO13485 Quality Certification IEC Electronics Corp, announced today it has achieved the prestigious ISO13485 certification. This certification applies to its electronic manufacturing services (EMS) operation in Newark, NY as well as its wire and cable operation in Victor, NY. ISO13485 is the quality management system (QMS) standard specific to the medical device industry. The requirements emphasize critical areas impacting process, quality and manufacturing reliability for medical device products. It is designed to enforce complicated and strict manufacturing control principals unique to the medical device industry and includes several additional requirements to ISO 9001. See Extended Story.. August 10th, 2009  - General Brussels Belgium - EU should resist protectionism temptation China says Xinhua the official China news agency carried an article on August 4th that said :” Faced with the worst economic crisis in decades, the European Union (EU) is losing ground to the growing temptation of protectionism. China, one of its major trading partners, is the main target. Last week saw a new wave of EU anti-dumping measures against China. In two days, the 27-nation bloc made two separate decisions to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel wire rods and seamless pipes. These measures are just part of a greater EU trade war against Chinese steel and iron products, which was launched two years ago. See Extended Story.. August 10th, 2009  - General Beijing China - U.S. government should seriously re-consider tire protectionism China's Ministry of Commerce said last Monday it hoped the U.S. government would listen to its own industries and not impose protective measures on tires. The comment came after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a statement on June 29 recommending falling tariffs of 55 percent, 45 percent and 35 percent over the next three years on motor vehicle and light truck tires from China. The U.S. Tire Industry Association, the American Coalition for Free Trade in Tires, the American Automotive Trade Policy Council, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association have all expressed strong opposition to the planned moves. The commission's protectionism ploy lacked legitimacy and objective foundation, and China strongly opposed the U.S. government's implementation of discriminatory measures against tires from China, the ministry said. U.S. President Barack Obama will make a final decision on the issue before September 17, following an August 7 hearing. Imposing protectionist measures against Chinese tires would not only harm the interests of China's tire industry and Sino-U.S. bilateral trade, but also jeopardize the overall interests of U.S. economy, the ministry said. August 7th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Ball bearing makers report poor H1 results Ball bearing suppliers an excellent gauge to market conditions all reports poor H1 results. Timken reported a second-quarter loss of $64.5 million, compared to a year-earlier profit of $88.9 million. Sales at Timken plunged 46%, to 828.9 million from $1.54 billlion. Timken said the decline in sales was due to weaker demand across most of the company's end markets and lower steel surcharges, which were partially offset by improved pricing. “The combination of a slow economy and inventory reduction throughout the supply chains we serve continues to curb demand for our products,” Timken president and CEO James Griffith said in a statement. Tom Johnstone, President and CEO of SKF the decline in demand was dramatic compared to last year, the sequential trend for the Group shows signs of levelling off. The manufacturing level was even lower than sales resulting in a further reduction in our inventories. We expect that the year on year decline in our sales volume in the third quarter will be slightly less than what we have seen in the first half. The manufacturing level will continue to run lower than sales." Johnstone, August 7th, 2009  - General Dubai United Arab Emirates - Dumping affecting UAE steel prices Ajay Aggarwal, CEO of RAK Steel, a major steel manufacturing mill in Ras Al Khaimah, has said that dumping from Turkish steel manufacturers is hurting the country's local steel prices, Reuters has reported. Prices in the UAE of rebar steel, which is mainly used for construction, are at around $500 per ton compared to $1,500 last year, he has said. UAE authorities imposed a 5% custom duties fee on the metal in February, but many of these companies find ways to escape the custom charges by importing small amounts of steel at a time, Aggarwal has said. 'Dumping is slowing down the recovery of the sector and our profitability,' he has added. On July 15 RAK Steel, a joint venture of Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) and Middle East Traders group, announced that it intends to go ahead with plans to increase by 50 per cent its current production capacity of deformed steel reinforcement bars by the end of this year. As part of a long-term strategy to cater to the gradual upturn in construction activities across the country, the steel manufacturing facility will invest $165 million to increase production from the current $500,000 to 750,000 tonnes per year. August 6th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Yieh Hsing expects to raise wire rod prices After Feng Hsin Iron & Steel raised its wire rod price by nearly US$37/ton yesterday, Yieh Hsing Enterprise Co., Ltd, the main wire rod producer in Taiwan, will announce new price today. It is expected the price rise is about US$46/ton, according to market participants. The company’s price of Al-killed wire rod might reach to US$645/ton. The Rimmed steel and Killed steel wire rod prices may hit US$610/ton, US$595/ton respectively. August 6th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Beijing China Shagang Group, China's largest rebar producer, just announced price jump of RMB600/ton for upper August delivery to domestic market, much exceeding the market expectance. Shagang has raised their prices for 11 times since later April. By now, dia 18~25mm Grade 2 rebar is being quoted at RMB4,620/ton and Grade 3 at RMB4,740/ton. China's rebar market behaves nothing like in traditional off-season, but like a wild horse, a market participant said. August 5th, 2009  - General Kolkata India - Usha Martin gets $3-m order from Chinese company Usha Martin Ltd, manufacturer of wire and wire ropes and special steel, has entered the Chinese market for the first time, according to the Chairman, Mr B. K. Jhawar. “We have secured an initial order valued at $3 million for supplying 1,200 tonnes of special wire ropes to China Oil Company for meeting its requirements for drilling and exploration operation,” Mr R. Jhawar, Managing Director, told Business Line India. “We hope to supply annually about 2,000 tonnes of wire ropes valued at $5 million,” he said pointing out that the Chinese market would be taken care of by the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore, Usha Martin Singapore Pte Ltd. Usha Martin has also floated a subsidiary in Vietnam, Usha Martin Vietnam Company Ltd, to cater to the growing market of that country, he said. See Extended Story.. August 5th, 2009  - General Geneva Switzerland - China requests EU talks in fastener trade dispute China on Friday asked the European Union for talks under the first stage of a World Trade Organization disputes procedure over EU measures on imports of Chinese-made screws and bolts. A source close to the WTO confirmed that the global trade watchdog had been notified of the request. The move marked an escalation in the dispute following a final European Commission decision in January to go ahead with hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made fasteners. If the direct talks fail to resolve the spat within 60 days, under world trade rules China can ask an independent WTO dispute settlement panel to examine and rule on the case. See Extended Story.. August 4th, 2009  - General Beijing China - EU tariffs on Chinese steel wire rods unnecessary Xinhua reports that a Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) official who declined to be named said that the European Union's imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel wire rods is unnecessary as Chinese exports to the EU have fallen since 2008. As earlier reported European Union trade officials approved duties on imported Chinese steel wire rods last week. Duties of up to 24 percent are expected to be levied on imports from early August, according to the resolution passed by the European Union. European producers have claimed that Chinese producers had sold products at low prices and hurt their businesses. China's steel wire rod exports to the EU had shrunk since China imposed a 15-percent export duty last year, and it would not injure the steel industry of the EU, said the official. Figures from the London-based Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau showed China had become a net steel importer in the second quarter of this year. The EU launched a series of anti-dumping probes against steel and iron products imported from China last year, but dropped the threat of duties against galvanized steel sheet and cold-rolled products. August 4th, 2009  - General Luxembourg - Wishful thinking or foresight???Mittal predicts 10% pick-up in steel demand Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and main owner of ArcelorMittal, has predicted that world steel demand will pick up by at least 10 per cent next year. In an optimistic forecast that was in sharp contrast to other top business executives’ more sober predictions, Mr Mittal told the Financial Times on Wednesday: “I feel a lot more cheerful about the prospects for an upturn than I was three months ago. “The emerging economies are coming out of the downturn reasonably quickly, and in the US and Europe there are signs the [government] stimulus packages are starting to have an effect.” The head of the world’s biggest steelmaker was speaking after ArcelorMittal said it made a net loss of $792m for the second quarter of 2009. While warning that an upturn in the steel industry would be “slow and progressive”, Mr Mittal said the expected pick-up in demand next year would be far from negligible. See Extended Story.. August 4th, 2009  - General Jiexiu City China - Commissioning of new rod mills abound China’s Shanxi Province based Antai Group has carried out a successful hot run test on its new production line for high speed wire rod. Antai Group’s built with a total investment of CNY 616 million high speed wire rod line which has a designed annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes took 18.5 months to complete. The new production line will be able to output products including round steel and coiled rebar, in steel grades covering carbon structural steel, quality carbon steel, cold heading steel, low alloy steel, alloy structural steel and others.Changzhi Iron & Steel, another long steel producer based in northern China's Shanxi province, has also commenced trial production on a new wire rod mill. Also as per local reports Dongbei Special Steel Co Ltd has finished the facility installation of 50 tonne LF in the high speed wire rod production line, entering into the simulation test run period. August 3rd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - August 3 A Canadian Statutory Holiday There will be no Wirenews Bulletin Today August 1st, 2009  - General Shanghai China - Baosteel Bayi Steel commissions new wire rod mill China Metallurgical News reports that Baosteel Bayi Iron & Steel Co Ltd lately launched ceremony to celebrate the production starting of its newly built high speed wire rod line. Supported by its parent company, West China-based Bayi Steel totally invested CNY 300 million into the high-speed wire rod line, which was designed to produce 0.6 million tonnes per year 6.5mm to 16mm steel products, in order to meet the production of quality carbon structural steel, low alloy steel, stainless steel electrode, cold heading steel and stainless spring steel. August 1st, 2009  - General Ottawa Ontario - Stainless steel wire from Korea, Switzerland, the United States and India cause no injury to Canadian producers Canadian International Trade Tribunal rules The Canadian International Trade Tribunal today issued orders following the expiry review of its findings made on July 30, 2004, in Inquiry No. NQ-2004-001, concerning the dumping of stainless steel wire originating in or exported from the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States of America and the subsidizing of stainless steel wire from India. The Tribunal found that the dumping of stainless steel wire from Korea, Switzerland and the United States, and the subsidizing of stainless steel wire from India were unlikely to result in injury. The Canada Border Services Agency will therefore not continue to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on these products. The Tribunal is an independent quasi-judicial body that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. It hears cases on dumped and subsidized imports, safeguard complaints, complaints about federal government procurement and appeals of customs and excise tax rulings. When requested by the federal government, the Tribunal also provides advice on other economic, trade and tariff matters. August 1st, 2009  - General Kolkata Bengal India - Usha Martin reports 50% drop in net profit Usha Martin Industries, a leading producer of steel wire ropes, has reported a 50% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 32.03 crore in the first quarter of 2009-10. The company's net sales for the quarter under review also went down to Rs 608.54 crore against Rs 698.69 crore in the previous corresponding quarter due to adverse business conditions, a planned shutdown of its wire rod mill and a higher tax liability. Consequently, Usha Martin's profit before tax during Q1 of 2009-10 too went down by 50% to Rs 50.24 crore against Rs 100.83 crore in the same period last year. See Extended Story.. August 1st, 2009  - General Dandong China - Border guards Intercepts North Korea bound vanadium shipment Reuters reports that Chinese border police have seized 70 kg (154 lb) of the strategic metal vanadium bound for North Korea, a local newspaper said on Tuesday, foiling an attempt to smuggle a material used to make missile parts. The U.N. Security Council has tightened restrictions on North Korea in response to its May 25 nuclear test. The sanctions are meant to cut off the North's arms trade. Although the seizure is in line with China's own export controls, Chinese analysts had predicted Beijing would step up inspections on road and rail traffic into North Korea to help enforce the tightened sanctions. Altogether 68 bottles totaling 70 kg of vanadium worth 200,000 yuan ($29,280) were seized at the Dandong City on the border with North Korea, the Dandong News said. See Extended Story.. July 31st, 2009  - General Brussels Belgium - EU decided to levy anti-dumping duty on China's steel wire rod EU foreign ministers meeting endorsed a proposal on July 27 without the discussion, decided to levy 24% anti-dumping duty on China's steel and wire rod for a period of five years. In February, 2009, EU started to impose 24% anti-dumping tax temporarily on China's steel and wire rod. As usual, the temporary anti-dumping tax implement period is half year. European Commission will carry out so-called investigation and then decide whether the period is 5 years or not. The decision needs to be approved by 27 members of EU. In recent two years, EU levied anti-dumping tax on China's steel products or made anti-dumping survey, which not only hurt the trade relationship between China and Europe, but also do harm to the interests of European steel customers. The European steel customers think that EU levying the anti-dumping tax on the China's steel products will cause the tight supply of steel products in the EU markets; in addition, during the financial crisis the implement of such trade restrictions, will bright up the steel products' prices in European market and the costs of buyers. July 31st, 2009  - General Beijing China - EU action will strain trade ties China says the European Union's decision to impose anti-dumping import duties on Chinese steel wire rods will further strain their trade ties. The import duties announced Monday by the 27-nation EU will be up to 24 percent and will last five years, China Daily reported. The report said the decision followed temporary duties announced in February after European producers' complained their business had been hurt by China selling its products at low prices. A worker handles steel wire rod coils bound for EU at a steel market in Shenyang, in China's Liaoning province. See Extended Story.. July 31st, 2009  - General Beijing China - Wire rod producers should have fought dumping probes earlier Chinese steel wire rod producers should have taken active measures to fight an anti-dumping investigation launched by the European Union last year, to prevent the imposition of high anti-dumping levies and beat a slide in exports, government officials and experts said yesterday. They also suggested that Chinese exporters should appropriately leverage trade tools under the World Trade Organization, instead of ignoring it as they usually do, to choke down rising trade protectionism by some Western nations amid the financial crisis, and to protect their legal rights. See Extended Story.. July 30th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - How long can western economies afford to subsidize jobs? The unavoidable long term effect of globalization and free trade is of course the equalization of living standards. The positive effect is that the living standard and working conditions will improve in the poorer nations as the multinationals start competing for their cheap unregulated labor pools. A micro cosmos of things to come is the current situation in China where it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain labor and management personnel in particular. In the quest of gaining a competitive edge through lower labor costs, manufacturing units are now being moved from China and Indonesia to Vietnam. Meanwhile western politicians fearing the wrath of voters are fighting a loosing battle to retain jobs. The automotive market is a good example. In North America and Western Europe the markets are saturated and the market for new vehicles is the gradual replacement of existing cars as they wear out, while the emerging markets have an almost unlimited number of first time car buyers that are restricted only by affordability. Tata motors has recently introduced a car priced around $ 2000.00 that targets first time car buyers and it is reasonable to expect it will be a venture which success rivals that of the Model T Ford, the VW beetle, the Morris 1000 and the Fiat 500. Of course, while governments shall provide opportunities for its citizens to make a living, governments do not owe the people a living. Present swelling welfare rolls must be trimmed and people getting productively employed again – but is industrial welfare the way to go? Comments are invited editor@wireworld.com July 30th, 2009  - General Collegeville, Pennsylvania - Allied Wire & Cable named distributor of GreenLINX™ Wind Power Cables In an exciting opportunity to provide its customers with a green solution, Allied Wire & Cable is proud to announce a new partnership with C&M Corporation. Under this partnership, Allied will become an authorized distributor of C&M’s new line of GreenLINX™ Wind Power Cables.Truly living up to their green name, GreenLINX™ Cables are manufactured in America with recyclable materials. Oil, solvent, chemical and fuel resistant, GreenLINX™ Cables are manufactured specifically to withstand the rigors of wind power environments. Their flexible construction allows for easy termination and installation as well as helping the cables to fit in tight spaces. See Extended Story.. July 29th, 2009  - General Lafayette, Indiana - Coleman Cable Inc announces expansion in Lafayette Illinois-based Coleman Cable Inc. says it plans to invest more than $5.6 million in its Lafayette facility, creating seven new jobs and retaining 73 existing positions. Coleman Cable says it will add new equipment and infrastructure to increase its wire component production capacity. The company will spend $228,000 on building improvements and electrical infrastructure. The equipment, which is coming to Lafayette from other Coleman Cable facilities in New York and Texas and another wire company in Ohio, is a $5.4 million investment in the plant. July 29th, 2009  - General London U.K. - As copper price rises, rumors abound of market manipulators While the global recession has hit most commodities hard, the red metal has defied gravity and last week hit highs for 2009. Copper contracts for delivery in three months' time closed at $5,522 on Friday, 76 percent ahead of the low on Christmas Eve last year remain almost 40pc below the record $8,930 a tonne reached in July 2008..There are vast volumes being bought in the markets, that got all the hallmarks of someone trying to corner the market like in 1996 when Sumitomo Bank’s Yasuo Hamanaka alias "Mr. Copper" bought 5 percent of the copper market. If anyone attempted to short copper Yasuo Hamanaka would simply use Sumitomo's deeper pockets to pour more cash into his positions, thereby sustaining the price and outlasting the shorts. In doing so, however, he accumulated losses of $1.8bn (£1.1bn). When the game was discovered, the copper price plunged. Sumitomo's total losses were reckoned at $2.6bn. See Extended Story.. July 28th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Rioting steel workers kill General Manager Some 30,000 Chinese steelworkers clashed with police in a protest over plans to merge their mill with another company and beat the company's general manager to death, a human rights monitor said Saturday. Several hundred people were injured in the clash Friday in the northeastern city of Tonghua, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said in a faxed statement. Employees of Tonghua Iron and Steel Group object to plans for Jianlong Steel take control of the company, the center said. It said Beijing-based Jianlong controlled the company temporarily last year, and employees blame Jianlong for financial problems suffered at the time. See Extended Story.. July 28th, 2009  - General Magnitogorsk Ural Russia - Putin pledges steps to support steel sector Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged on Friday to help Russia's steel sector by stimulating demand for metal and taking steps to offset protectionism in other countries, "Our domestic output is being discriminated against, in reality we see such policies widening in certain countries," Putin told a meeting with top Russian steel barons. As the prime minister and Industries Minister Viktor Khristenko gave proposals to support the crisis-hit sector, analysts said more concrete measures were necessary. Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest producer, have suffered from a decline in orders from the construction and automotive sectors as the global economic slowdown cuts demand. In response they have boosted exports, though this has led to a growing threat of tariffs and other anti-dumping measures against Russian steel by Chinese and other buyers. See Extended Story.. July 25th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - The recession is over says Bank of Canada chief Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney's must have read wire & cable news bulletin yesterday. In his opening statement at his news conference on Thursday following the issue of the quarterly Monetary Policy Report (MPR) the Governor said:” The Bank has long expected that economic growth in Canada would resume in the second half of this year and pick up in 2010. Indeed, growth in Canada should resume this quarter. The dynamics of the recovery projected in today's MPR are broadly consistent with the Bank's medium-term outlook in April. Stimulative monetary and fiscal policies, improved financial conditions, firmer commodity prices, and a rebound in business and consumer confidence are spurring domestic demand growth. July 25th, 2009  - General Tokyo Japan - Japanese copper wire shipments up nearly 20 pct in June Japanese copper wire and cable shipments rose almost 20 percent in June from the previous month to an estimated 53,600 tonnes in June, data from the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association showed. Still, that was down nearly 25 percent from a year earlier."The June figures look good, but that's because the May figures were pretty bad," said Masaichi Suwa, the association's secretary-general, noting that many manufacturers had shut their plants during a strong of public holidays in May. He said the industry was worried how August's figures would look as many Japanese manufacturers also close their factories for the summer holidays that month. Suwa also said the slump in demand from the construction sector, which accounts for about 40 percent of total consumption, was particularly worrying. He said the construction sector was now processing orders placed some six months ago, and industry officials say the outlook for construction looks severe. See Extended Story.. July 25th, 2009  - General Tempe Arizona - Optic-cable firm moving headquarters to Mesa Tempe-based PCT International Inc., a manufacturer of optic-cable communication products, is moving to Mesa. The firm signed a 10-year lease and will occupy 97,554 square feet at Broadway 101 Commerce Park, a Lincoln Property Co. run business park built on the site of a Motorola facility, then one of the city's largest employers. "We're extremely pleased with this deal, given the current commercial-leasing environment," said Cooper Sutherland, finance-development manager for Lincoln. PCT plans to combine its Tempe headquarters, Gilbert engineering and machinery site, and possibly an out-of-state location, said Tammy Boelter, PCT's director of marketing. See Extended Story.. July 24th, 2009  - General Bombay India - Tata Steel looking for investment opportunities Tata Steel Ltd, part of India's leading industrial conglomerate, is seeking investment opportunities in Thailand both in the steel and automotive sectors, managing director B. Muthuraman said yesterday.The company has been encouraged by the steady increase in hot-rolled steel prices to $540 per tonne today from $400 in April. The global steel market contracted by 22% in the first half of this year, after declining 1.2% in 2008, but it is expected to recover gradually in the second half to finish the year with 15% contraction, said Mr Muthuraman. In the Thai market, the first-half contraction was 30% with a full-year projection of 17%. "But we believe that the economy and the industry will see some improvements in the third quarter onward," Mr Muthuraman said on the sidelines of the shareholders' meeting of Tata Steel (Thailand) Plc in Bangkok. See Extended Story.. July 24th, 2009  - General Columbia South Carolina - New Jersey man indicted in cable sale fraud A New Jersey man has been indicted in an alleged scheme to bilk customers, including a South Carolina investor, who thought they were buying $32,000 worth of fiber-optic cable, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. John F. Burns, 62, of Verona, N.J. was charged with mail and wire fraud. The indictment alleges that Burns falsely claimed to own 23 spools of the cable, said U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins. The maximum penalty Burns could receive on each count is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for 20 years, Wilkins' office said. July 24th, 2009  - General Berlin Germany - Court ups award to heirs of Hirschmann brothers in Nazi-era repayment for forced sale of Deutsche Kabelwerke AG Under the Nazi program to strip Jews of property, Hirschmann and his brother were forced in 1935 to sell their stock in the former Deutsche Kabelwerke AG, a wire and cable manufacturing company that they founded in the late 1890s, to Dresdner Bank. Both brothers fled Germany. The bank then sold the shares at a profit to a company deemed to be “Aryan” by the Nazis. A German appeals court has ordered greater compensation for the American heirs of a Jewish businessman forced to sell his company stock under the Nazis’ “Aryanization” program. The ruling could set a precedent for dozens of others, lawyers said Wednesday. The Federal Administrative Court ruled July 17 that the heirs of businessman Bernhard Hirschmann should be compensated based on the fact that he and his brother lost their company, not just shares, said Berlin lawyer Robby Fichte, who represented Hirschmann’s heirs. The ruling increases the compensation about 20-fold to some 700,000 euros (nearly $1 million), Fichte said. “I’m happy that after so many years at least the material consequences of the injustice can be mitigated,” heir Peter Fenner of Ohio said in a statement. Fenner ( a grandson of Bernhard )brought the suit with his sister, Ruth Fenner-Barash of New York state. July 23rd, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US gives $12M to wire projects Energy technologies company American Superconductor Corp. will receive more than $12 million in federal stimulus funding to complete two ongoing smart grid projects using the company’s superconductor wire. The Department of Energy has awarded the company $4.8 million to develop a 138-kilovolt fault current limiter with Southern California Edison, using the company’s second-generation superconductor wire. American Superconductor is also receiving $7.6 million for the second phase of its superconductor power cable project with Long Island Power Authority, which was built using the company’s first generation of superconductor wire. See Extended Story.. July 23rd, 2009  - General Santa Fe Springs California - Philatron Wire and Cable offers solution to military cable fires caused by intense Middle Eastern heat - "Philafin™" With ongoing combat in Afghanistan & Iraq our U.S. soldiers and Marines should not have to be concerned about military electrical power cables catching fire from the extreme desert heat. Yet Philatron Wire & Cable recently discovered that this seems to be a wide spread problem. A Marine/buyer for the Marine Corp, Air Station contacted Philatron as a premium manufacturer of electrical wire & cable specializing in military specification MIL-DTL-3432. The Marine was interested in Philatron's Philafin™ series of MIL-DTL-3432 because Philafin™ is highly heat resistant and fire retardant. See Extended Story.. July 23rd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Emerging markets locomotive for economic recovery It appears that this time emerging markets will be the locomotive that pulls the global economy out of the recession. China's apparent demand for metals showed little signs of an expected slowing in June, with nickel consumption up 42 percent and refined copper up 7 percent, thanks to record imports. Imports of nickel, for which China consumes about a quarter of the world's supply, hit a record for the third straight month at 41,008 tonnes in June, up 63.8 percent from May's peak, Customs data showed on Wednesday. Peru's copper, gold and silver outputs rose in June from the same month a year ago, while production of zinc and iron ore fell, the mining ministry said on Tuesday. See Extended Story.. July 23rd, 2009  - General Boston Massachusetts - Information Gatekeepers announces a new telecom webinar briefing series Building on its Executive Telecom Briefing series, Information Gatekeepers Inc. (IGI) is launching a new series of Electronic TelecomBriefings. Similar to the face-to-face Briefings, the webinar series will focus on market opportunities in HOT market areas such as Mobile Internet Data, Active Optical Cables, Smart Grids, IPv6, Next Generation Networks, Bandwidth Needs in the Access Networks, and Telecom Regulation and Policy. Instructors will include world renowned experts with substantial backgrounds in each subject area. The webinar series will begin on July 28 by Andrew Odlyzko, formerly of Bell Labs and now a professor at the University of Minnesota. Prof. Odlyzko is the world's expert on Internet traffic, and his webinar will focus on his recent research on the next major revolution in the telecom market "Mobile Internet Data". For more information, please contact: Mr Ian Smith Information Gatekeepers Inc. 1340 Soldiers Field Road, Suite 5 Boston, MA 02135 Tel: 617-782-5033 Fax: 617-782-5735 ian@igigroup.com July 22nd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Can a society thrive by the citizens washing shirts for each other? The answer is short term yes provided they import all other necessities and the suppliers are prepared to extend credit - long term the answer is of course no unless the citizens also take in washing from other societies. This simplification of today’s western societies (USA and the EU in particular) amplifies that GDP is a very crude and directly misleading measurement of economic growth and prosperity. Especially GDP growth in the financial sector as well as GDP growth in certain segments of the service sectors such as retail Can an economy devoid of manufacturing survive? America and Europe has over the past 50 years seen a gradual demise of an once mighty manufacturing industry, such as shipyards, as well as an evolution of a computer software industry but even here in the creative intellectual knowledge industry is a migration of jobs. See Extended Story.. July 22nd, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - Wire Decking from China injuring U.S. Industry says ITC. Monday, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a unanimous finding that there is a reasonable indication of material injury to the U.S. industry producing wire decking caused by unfairly traded imports from China. The Commission's vote clears the first hurdle to the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of wire decking from China. See Extended Story.. July 22nd, 2009  - General Cary North Carolina - Connexion Technologies signs deal to wire Florida communities Cary-based Connexion Technologies has signed deals to install fiber optic networks in two residential developments in Florida. The privately held company will install cable networks in Pine Ridge III, a 336-condo development in Greenacres, and in Dos Lagos, a development in Boynton Beach featuring 417 single-family homes, condos, townhomes and villas.The company did not reveal the value of the deal. Former Cary Mayor Glen Lang created the company in 2002 as a wireless Internet startup originally known as Capital Broadband. But the company changed its focus to fiber optic cables after receiving financial backing from Reedy Creek Investments, the real estate investment firm of SAS founder and CEO Jim Goodnight. In 2007, Connexion secured a $40 million line of credit from HVB Group, a Munich, Germany, financial institution, to fuel its expansion. At the time, it had grown from 40 developments in 2006 to 170 in 2007. It now operates in 20 states. July 21st, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Do you find our reporting about the economy sends mixed signals We do not make the news we simply extract wire and cable industry related news items from some 50 leading international daily news papers and major news agencies. The items we highlight are by necessity a synopsis of selected news articles that we deem are of interest to people active in the wire and cable industry. We have been trying to find a pattern or a trend in what we report about the economy. We said last week that Sandvik reported a massive loss in 2nd Q amid falling sales and that the CEO saw no pick-up in near future but the quarterly report also said that the sale of boiler tubes were strong. Yesterday we reported that Posco, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, will buy a 90 percent stake in Vietnam’s Asia Stainless Corp. and build a plant in India after forecasting a demand recovery in the second half of 2009. Underneath the gloomy news from Sandvik on Friday we had 2 encouraging news items one from Aurubis that gave an upbeat outlook and one from JDR Cable Systems who had received a major order for subsea power cables - So if you find our reporting about the economy sends mixed signals – It does. July 21st, 2009  - General Tampa Florida - Gerdau Ameristeel to adjust pricing for most products SteelGuru reports that Gerdau Ameristeel has announced to customers that it will adjust pricing for most products, including rebar, merchant bar, low carbon wire rod and wide flange beams, upwards by USD 44 per tonne from August 1st 2009.Ahead of US longs market leader Nucor, Gerdau Ameristeel has announced that published prices for all of the above products will rise by USD 40 per net tonne or roughly two thirds of the amount that US shredded scrap prices rose in July effective with shipments as of August 1st 2009. Gerdau Ameristeel notified its customers of the coming hikes in letters sent out late last week. It also mentioned in its price announcements that due to the challenging business conditions, these increases do not reflect the full impact of rising raw material costs. Gerdau Ameristeel also announced to wire rod customers that it will raise the price of certain products with higher input costs, including medium and high carbon grades, by USD 60 per net tonne as of August 1st 2009. July 21st, 2009  - General Freemont California - Cable Connection and Lorom announce a private joint venture Cable Connection, a premier manufacturer of custom cables, wire harnesses and PCB and Lorom Industrial Co., Ltd., a globally-recognized preferred supplier of high quality OEM/ODM products today announced a new private joint venture, creating one of the largest global providers of custom cables, wire harnesses, PCB, PCBA, and turnkey solutions. Under the new joint venture agreement, Cable Connection will become Lorom West, a sales, engineering, and domestic manufacturing arm for Lorom. Lorom West will support Lorom's customer-base in the US by providing front-line engineering, prototyping, and short-run production. Lorom Industrial, will integrate volume production from their factories in China and India. See Extended Story.. July 20th, 2009  - General Ottawa Ontario - No Bull - Canada takes US Steel to court over Stelco job cuts The Canadian government took US Steel Corp to court on Friday, accusing it of breaking commitments to maintain production at Stelco Inc, made when US Steel took over Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco in 2007. Tony Clement, industry minister, said in a statement on Friday that as part of the agreement to grant regulatory approval for the $1.1bn takeover, US Steel “committed to a series of undertakings regarding, among others, capital expenditures, research and development, and production” (See also wirenews Maj 11 Governments putting screws to companies that don't meet commitments ) As earlier reported also: The steelmaker shut down most of its Canadian operations in southern Ontario, eliminating 1,500 jobs, although some production has since returned. See Extended Story.. July 20th, 2009  - General Algiers Algeria - Turkish Exports to the Arab world Exceeds 6 million tons in the First half. Imports of the Arab countries of the Turkish iron and steel products were 6.088 million tons during the first half of 2009, up by 10.84% compared to the same period of the last year at which exports reach 5.493 tons. The finished (long and flat) products were at the top of imports. They reached 5.263 tons, constituting 86.46% of the total imports, which is an increase of 21% compared to the first half of 2008. Imports of the long products (rebar, wire rod and sections) were 98.54% of the total imports of finished products. Imports of rebars saw an increase of 15.7% during the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2008, the total of which was 4.56 million tons. Imports of sections saw an increase of 34%. They reached 388.8 thousand tons. Imports of wirerod were 238.4 thousand tons, up by 198%. Imports of pipes gained the biggest increase which was 213%. The total imports were 404.3. See Extended Story.. July 18th, 2009  - General Stockholm Sweden - Sandvik reports massive loss in 2nd Q amid falling sales CEO sees no pick-up in near future.| Sandvik reported a loss of 2 Billion SEK which was better than analysts expected. Last year the company reported a profit of 2.4 Billion. Lars Petterson Sandviks VD gave a very candid forecast saying that he sees no light at the end of the tunnel. A bright spot are the tube division that has seen strong sales of boiler tubes. Kanthal (resistance wire) and the stainless wire division will be amalgamated. July 17th, 2009  - General Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England - JDR Cable Systems to design and manufacture subsea power cables for the Wave Hub Project JDR Cable Systems Ltd, a leading provider of custom designed and manufactured subsea power cables, umbilical systems and specialised marine cables, has been awarded a contract by the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) for the supply of subsea power cables for the UK’s ground-breaking Wave Hub project. Wave Hub is a major marine renewables infrastructure project that will create an electrical ‘socket’ on the seabed in some 50 metres of water around 10 miles off the coast of Cornwall in South West England and connected to the National Grid via a subsea cable. Wave Hub will have an initial maximum capacity of 20MW (enough electricity to power approximately 7,000 homes) but has been designed with the potential to scale up to 50MW in the future. See Extended Story.. July 16th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Confusing and mixed steel market messages Rising domestic prices have pushed up Chinese export offers of rebar and wire rod again this week, despite weak demand. Vietnam Steel Corp (VN Steel) has raised long product prices by a further 350000 dong ($20) on higher raw material costs. Stainless steel product prices are in for yet another round of hikes, and while the producer moves have little to do with demand the increases are likely to stick, according to market sources. North American Stainless Inc, Ghent, Kentucky, plans to increase base prices for wire rod products by between 5 and 9 percent, depending on grade, effective Sept. 1, it said in a letter to customers, noting that the increases are necessary to support continued growth and investment. Outokumpu is said to be increasing its wire rod prices by a similar amount. The closure of Georgetown steel South Carolina and Gerdau Ameristeel Corp.'s planned closure of its wire rod mill in Perth Amboy, New .Jersey does not seem to excite wire drawers July 16th, 2009  - General Syracuse, New York - Inspectors find multiple hazards at bankrupt Crucible steel Crucible Specialty Metals is facing proposed fines of $249,000 after inspectors following up on the death of a worker in January found 71 alleged serious and repeat violations of federal safety and health standards. The Geddes steel maker has until Aug. 4 to answer the allegations brought by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The proposed fines are among the largest ever offered in the region, said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse. OSHA began its investigation after John "Jack" Grobsmith, 58, of Elbridge was killed Jan. 15 when he lost his footing while trying to attach a water line to a spindle machine and was pulled into the machine. See Extended Story.. July 15th, 2009  - General Stuttgart Germany - Whole world of fasteners under one roof at record-breaking Fastener Fair Stuttgart Europe will later this year experience its largest-ever dedicated fastener exhibition. When Fastener Fair Stuttgart runs on 7th and 8th October at the new international fairgrounds next to Stuttgart International Airport in Germany, there will be over 600 exhibitors from 37 countries. The exhibition will bring together manufacturers, machine suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, importers, exporters and tool suppliers, in addition to trade associations and suppliers of services and related products. See Extended Story.. July 14th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Seen any signs of a recovery yet? as US budget deficit balloons to $US1trillion ! The US budget deficit topped $US1 trillion for the first nine months of the fiscal year and broke a monthly record for June as the recession subtracted from revenue and the government spent to rejuvenate the economy. The shortfall for the fiscal year that began October 1 totaled $US1.1 trillion, the first time that the gap for the period surpassed $US1 trillion, Treasury figures showed. The excess of spending over revenue for June was $US94.3 billion, the first deficit for that month since 1991, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Individual and corporate tax receipts are sliding even as the worst recession in five decades shows signs of easing because the jobless rate continues to rise - reaching a 26-year high in June - and companies have yet to see a sustained increase in demand. The shortfall is also widening as the government ramps up spending from the $US787 billion stimulus program President Barack Obama signed into law in February. Is the wire & cable industry getting its share??? See Extended Story.. July 14th, 2009  - General Dubai UAE - UAE and Saudi steel imports to drop in 2009 – traders forecast. Steel imports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expected to drop dramatically this year as the two Arab countries' local industries come closer to meeting demand, traders said on Sunday. A decline in demand for steel as a construction boom in the Gulf came to a halt was also expected to hit imports of the metal as the global financial crisis continued to weigh on the property sector, said the traders, who did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media. "In a few years Saudi will not have to import any steel," said Khaled Suleiman, an undersecretary at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Trade and Industry. See Extended Story.. July 14th, 2009  - General Shanghai China - Is the steel market rise a bubble or a return to business? Despite the recent strength seen, there are good reasons to expect the steel market to weaken again towards the end of the year. The current conditions globally could just be a bubble arising out of strong restocking drive at the user end and the popular speculation that prices have potential to rise continuously. In most parts of the world, the steel industries believe that they are fully back in business. The sharp rise in the prices of HR coils in particular reflects the strength also in the market for other downstream products such as CR coils and coated products. Everything cannot be merely written off as coming from restocking, although the pace at which restocking was resorted to is an issue. In China, HR coils demand is strong, especially from the tube making segment. There has been a slight improvement in plates as also in long products of most categories. However, the situation in respect of long products has varied from country to country. In India, prices are on the downhill in the recent days, understandably, due to seasonal monsoon fall of construction activities in most part of the country. In China, the demand and production of rebars have improved, while those for wire rods and other bars and rods for engineering applications have fallen. But, the government's stimulus measures and investment in railway construction have led to a huge jump in demand for rails. Even the demand for sections is on the rise. See Extended Story.. July 13th, 2009  - General Pischelsdorf, Austria - Rosendahl is looking back on a successful Open House! New developments and the 50th anniversary inspired Rosendahl to invite partners and customers to its “Open House” event in Austria on June 23rd. Rosendahl provides manufacturing solutions in the fields of Extrusion, Corrugation, Fiber Optic Cable and SZ-Stranding. Over the past 50 years Rosendahl has invested intensively in its technological development and achieved a market-leading position in the industry. Continuous expansions on site and throughout the world was the response to the increasing demand. The program at the Open House included guided tours through the production halls where Rosendahl showed its expertise in a number of manufacturing systems, e.g. for the production of Power Cables, Fiber Optic Cables and Coax Cables. Also Nextrom – Rosendahl’s sister company – presented its perform and fiber manufacturing solutions. A special highlight was the presentation of the new and enlarged Rosendahl Crosshead Series which has been launched this year. The Sector SZ technology as well as the Extrusion line for LV and MV Power Cables enjoyed special attention and led to interesting discussions during the day. A visit to the Knill Group headquarter (Rosendahl is part of the Knill Group since 1997) has framed the program. The Knill Group’s history goes back to the year 1712. As an incentive to look ahead, Rosendahl linked the Open House not only by presenting its technological moves but also by showing its engagement and ambition in its business. It was a pleasure for Rosendahl to welcome guests from 24 countries and in the light of a day full of interchange Rosendahl thanks its customers and partners for their contribution to a successful partnership and a successful Open House. July 13th, 2009  - General Chinese Show Update - The Final Report of the 10th China (Guangzhou) Int�fl Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition �gThe 10th China (Guangzhou) Int�fl Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition �h has draw the curtain faultlessly. Thanks to every exhibitor, visitor, and all social sectors. The exhibition is consist of five items: 1. platemetal, bar, wire, metal processing and setting equipment; 2. stainless steel industry and tube & pipe industry exhibition; 3. fasteners�Aspring & equipment exhibition; 4. casting products, die casting, foundry and industrial furnace; 5.sheet-metal forging, stamping and the equipment. We exhibit the the raw materials, processing technology , equipment and products. which highlights the profession of the related industry ,also shows the whole sence of 5 sectors ideally at the same time. As its large-scale, speciality and the exhibits are inter-related and inter-dependent. So it is forming a complete industrial chain and play an enormous chain effect. lots of the exhibitors made big deals. As a result, there were 45% exhibitors of the 10th exhibitions has booked the next exhibitons�f booths. July 13th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - A slight oversight in the US automotive bailout. Hundreds of suppliers of all sizes manufacture bolts, axles, transmissions and other parts for assembly in car plants. Suppliers have been hurt by the dramatic downturn in auto sales and some analysts are now concerned the supply chain is about to collapse. About 20 suppliers have filed for bankruptcy this year. Lear Corp.a supplier of seats filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday others including Visteon Corp., Ford Motor Co.'s largest supplier, and Metaldyne Corp. a leading global designer and supplier of metal-formed components and assemblies for engine, transmission, and chassis applications Auto parts supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is seeking a court order to get one of its steel suppliers to resume deliveries, saying that cutting off supplies threatens the entire auto supply chain. But these are mainly the tier 2 and 3 suppliers. Suppliers of springs, wire forms, cables etc are understandably hesitant to ship products they do not know when or even if they are ever going to be paid for. See Extended Story.. July 13th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US ITC votes to continue CVD and AD cases on Chinese PC strand wire The United States International Trade Commission determined that there is a reasonable indication that a US industry is threatened with material injury by reason of imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand from China that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value. All six Commissioners voted in the affirmative. As a result of the Commission's affirmative determinations, the US Department of Commerce will continue to conduct its countervailing and antidumping duty investigations on imports of this product from China, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about August 20th 2009 and its preliminary antidumping duty determination due on or about November 3rd 2009.(source USITC website editing SteelGuru ) July 11th, 2009  - General Mumbai India - Tata Steel says more jobs at risk at British plant India's Tata Steel said on Thursday another 366 jobs at its Corus unit's Scunthorpe plant in northeast England were at risk as part of a plan to align employment costs with expected steel demand. The plant is part of its long products division that makes sections, wire rods and plates, used mostly in construction. In June, Corus had announced plans to cut about 2,000 jobs in Britain and Netherlands, including 500 white-collar jobs at Scunthorpe. The group had announced 3,500 job cuts worldwide in January. See Extended Story.. July 11th, 2009  - General Benxi China - Beitai Steel continues growth by switching product mix from plate to wire rod Benxi Daily reported that Benxi-based Beitai Iron & Steel Group is hopeful to realize business income of CNY 18.5 billion during January to June period. Now Beitai Steel ranks 90th among the national 500 tops enterprises with sales listed in the fifth place of the country. This is a successful example which still remains growth under the economic turbulence. See Extended Story.. July 11th, 2009  - General Alberton South Africa - Cable manufacturer Walro Flex receives SABS certification Cable manufacturer Walro Flex has received its South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) certification for the manufacture of nonautomotive cable, says Walro Flex sales and marketing manager Peter Willers. The company has diversified its business plan to supply the nonautomotive cable market, in which it has not been active for the past decade. It has expanded and identified products in this sector that suit its plant and equipment. The products include flat and round automotive and nonautomotive multicore cables, welding cables, submersible cables, cabtyre and panel flex electrical cables and general-purpose cables, ranging from 0,22 mm2 to 95 mm2. See Extended Story.. July 11th, 2009  - General Dallas Texas - Southwire claims Encore’s “Super Slick” building cable infringes on their patent Electrical cable and wire manufacturer Southwire Inc. has fired off a lawsuit against rivals Encore Wire Corp. and Cerro Wire Inc. alleging infringement of a patent covering a method of making a kind of wieldy, low-friction cable.The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claims Encore and Cerro use Southwire’s patented process to make their competing types of sheathed,.Encore Wire Corp. of McKinney along with an Alabama wire maker, Cerro Wire Inc., were sued by Georgia’s Southwire Co., court records say. Southwire, alleges in its suit that Encore and Cerro have infringed on a patent relating to electrical cable having a “reduced required force” for its installation. See Extended Story.. July 10th, 2009  - General Vienna Austria - ICF publish July newsletter The International Cable makers Federation (ICF) has published its July 2009 Newsletter. As usual it contains informative statistics and is as usual a must read for all cable executives. To read use this link July 10th, 2009  - General Rome Italy - G8 meeting accomplish nothing. The leaders of the world’s richest countries on Wednesday failed to agree a concerted strategy to boost the global economy, in the face of diverging views on the state of the recovery and what to do next. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, wanted the G8 summit to focus on an “exit strategy” to plot an unwinding of a massive fiscal and monetary stimulus, a sign of her concerns about rising borrowing and future inflation. Leaders of the world’s 16 biggest polluters on Thursday were on the brink of failing to agree targets to cut greenhouse gases, jeopardizing the outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit set for December. “The G8 missed a unique opportunity on climate change,” Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, said as the talks stuttered to a halt. July 10th, 2009  - General Geneva, Switzerland - New website database offers comprehensive tariff information Comprehensive information on customs duties became available to WTO website users on 9 July 2009 through a new database, the WTO Tariff Download Facility. Users can now search for members’ customs duty rates, as actually charged as well as legally bound maximums, and in many cases imports, down to a high level of detail. To access use this link July 9th, 2009  - General Culpeper Virginia - City managing to survive despite yet more layoffs Bad economic news has hit the Culpeper community hard in recent weeks with several plants laying off staff, but in many ways our area is in better shape than others says the Star-Eponent a local paper. .As earlier reported Rochester Wire & Cable Culpeper plant is laying off workers, and that is always a tough pill to swallow. But in the case of Rochester Wire & Cable, the picture remains relatively bright. Even after the layoffs, Rochester still boasts 177 employees in Culpeper, up from what it had before the boom of about five years ago. And despite soft sales overall for parent company Tyco, its local facility is poised to have its second largest year in sales history. Rochester is also one of the area’s top 20 employers, and the company invested $10 million in a local expansion in 2001. See Extended Story.. July 9th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - The strong will weather the storm ArcelorMittal confirms that it is in advanced discussions with its principal bankers with a view to changing the financial leverage covenant in its main banking facilities, for a period of one year. ArcelorMittal is confident of a prompt and positive conclusion to these discussions. While the company does not anticipate breaching the existing covenant, it is prudent given the current operating environment to strengthen the financial position of the company in the event of any further unexpected downturn. This exercise does not increase the borrowing costs under these facilities under normal conditions of financial performance At the end of Q1 2009, adjusted for subsequent capital market transactions, ArcelorMittal had strong liquidity of USD 23 billion and has raised more than USD 11 billion from equity, convertible and other bond issues this year. The company has also made good progress towards its target of reducing debt by USD 10 billion by the end of 2009. A further announcement will be made in due course after the conclusion of the discussions with the banks. July 8th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Negotiating Chinese style Four employees of Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining group, have been detained in China without explanation, raising tensions as the company is locked in tough negotiations over iron ore prices. Along with other international mining groups, Rio is in the middle of talks over iron ore contracts for 2009-10, which have still not yet been resolved even though many contracts expired last week. The miner has also been heavily criticised in China following its withdrawal from a planned $19.5bn investment by Chinalco the state-owned aluminum company. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that an Australian passport holder, Stern Hu, was among those detained and that Canberra was demanding consular access. The other three employees were reported to be Chinese passport holders. See Extended Story.. July 8th, 2009  - General Beijing China - China defends it’s discriminating M&A policy towards foreign investors China said on Saturday its policy toward foreign acquisitions of domestic firms was fair, explaining that broader national concerns take precedence over the potential benefits to any single company. The comments come as protectionist tendencies around the world are rising with Beijing at the centre of anti-dumping accusations from firms in the West that view Chinese competition as unfair. "We want to actively encourage mergers and acquisitions," Jiang Yaoping, a deputy economic minister, told a conference. "But not to maximize the benefits of one particular company," he said. "The concerns of the wider public and the country are more important." See Extended Story.. July 8th, 2009  - General Rome Italy - Italy Considers to set up a company to handle the move from copper to a fiber optic network Italy should set up a company to handle the move to a fiber optic network which would be supported with private and public funds, the head of the telecoms authority said on Tuesday. Corrado Calabro, chairman of the authority, said the proposed company should be modelled on the way existing utilities operate networks and the authority could set tariffs adequate for investment needs. Former monopoly Telecom Italia is investing in the move to fiber optic from copper wire based on demand and clients' willingness to pay for it. "The practical route seems to be a company formed around a strong nucleus of industrial partners with a mix of business expertise to develop the fibre optic project," Calabro told the lower house of Italy's parliament. See Extended Story.. July 7th, 2009  - General Hamburg Germany - Aurubis CEO says copper product demand recovers Aurubis, Europe's largest copper producer, is experiencing better demand for some semi-finished copper products, its CEO told Reuters on Monday. "We reached the bottom point (in product demand) in March and in April had a slightly better capacity usage and a further improvement since May and June," said Bernd Drouven, CEO of the company, previously called Norddeutsche Affinerie. Main demand improvement was in cast wire rod products. "We notified short time working for our cast wire rod products plant in Hamburg in May but we have not required this short time working," he said. "This shows that we had reckoned with it but that the order intake has been better," he said on the sidelines of a metal industry event in Hamburg. See Extended Story.. July 7th, 2009  - General Nantong China - More steel wire capacity added in China as Baosteel Nantong Wire Products Corporation held foundation laying ceremony for new 180,000 ton wiremill SteelGuru reported yesterday that the cornerstone laying ceremony of Baosteel Nantong Wire Fabrication Corporation was held in Gangzha District, Nantong on June 25th. The deputy general manager of Baosteel Group Mr Zhou Zhuping with member of standing committee of Natong municipal party committee and first deputy mayor Mr Lan Shaomin attended the ceremony and unveiled the cornerstone. Member of the standing committee and of Nantong municipal party committee and mayor Mr Ding Dawei had an informal discussion with leaders of Baosteel before the ceremony and indicated that Nantong municipal government will spare no effort to support the construction of Baosteel Nantong wire products project and go all out to provide great manufacturing and managing environment. See Extended Story.. July 7th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - AISI says climate bill as passed by house puts U.S. steel industry at a competitive disadvantage The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) expressed its disappointment today over the House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.“We believe this bill has moved at a rushed pace that has not allowed for full debate of provisions that are critical to the steel industry, which was clearly underscored by the fact that the bill passed in the House by only seven votes,” said Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO. “The bill, as passed, will need important modifications as it moves through the Senate. “We appreciate the hard work of Congressmen Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) and we look forward to continuing our work with them as this legislation moves through the process,” said Gibson. “However, we can say, with certainty, that if this bill is enacted as it presently stands, U.S. steelmakers and our workers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. Several modifications must be made to achieve the bill’s stated purpose of avoiding job loss and emission migration to overseas markets.” Editors comment; It should be added that separately there is a plan in motion to impose an importation carbon tax to be levied at foreign producers that do not comply or meet similar environmental standards as the bill now passed by congress. See Extended Story.. July 7th, 2009  - General Greensboro North Carolina - 7 Cable assembler relocating in Triad to bigger facility Cable Assembly LLC, a 100-employee manufacturer of wire harness assemblies used by Thomas Built Buses and other industrial clients, is moving its Triad factory from Graham to Whitsett. The move is necessary to accommodate future growth, according to CEO Nick Moceri. Moceri is also a partner in Providence Capital Group, the Rhode Island-based private equity firm that owns Cable Assembly. The company makes complex assemblies of wires and connectors that can range in size from 8 inches to 50 feet, and are used in products from buses and recreational vehicles to boats and wind turbines.“We’ve had a little downturn this year in terms of labor force because of the economy,” Moceri said, declining to give a specific figure. “But we had good growth last year and we’ve found the space we had was just inadequate because, moving forward, we’re looking at the next 10 years as a period of great growth.” July 6th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Growing signs of protectionism as globe trade shrink for the first time in 15 years India’s steel industry seeks hike in import duty on certain steel products from 5% to 15% so as to keep a check on dumping from countries like China and Ukraine. The industry is also hopeful of a hike in export tax on iron ore. At present, there is no export duty on iron ore fines while shipments of iron ore lumps carry a levy of 5%. The US Department of Commerce in the past 10 days has opened three anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into imports of Chinese steel products in 10 days have sparked concerns of rising US protectionism against China. The US Department of Commerce on June 26 opened a probe into whether China has dumped or subsidized wire decking sold in the US market, following the launch of similar investigations into wire strand and steel grating on June 17 and 19. China’s Ministry of Commerce posted a strongly worded statement on its website on Monday rejecting the decision and expressed its concerns on the protectionism trend. See Extended Story.. July 6th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Optical Cable projects ties more and more of the world together An undersea fiber optic cable bringing broadband Internet connectivity to east Africa, reached the Kenyan coast from the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the president said. The East Africa Marine Systems (TEAMS) fibre optic submarine cable project is a joint venture of the Kenyan government and Emirates Telecommunication Technology (Etisalat) and a consortium of local investors. It is expected to boost internet connections and greatly reduce the cost of telecommunications, especially data transmission in the region. It is expected to become operational next month. President Mwai Kibaki said the project was a landmark in Kenya's national development history. "With the launch of this project Kenya is now equipped with one of the most advanced and cost effective, nation-building tools," said Kibaki, adding it would allow east Africans to be "fully digital citizens of the 21st century" The 4,500 kilometer (2,790 mile) cable links Mombasa on the Kenyan coast to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. See Extended Story.. July 4th, 2009  - General - Americans rejoice that their currency is no longer the pound sterling. Wireenews resumes July 6 July 3rd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - State capitalism and the economic crisis Despite massive state interventions in economies around the world, many corporate leaders and investors act as though globalization remains the dominant paradigm. That is a mistake says political-risk consultant Ian Bremmer in an article for Mc Kinsey Quarterly. It’s been nearly three decades since Antoine van Agtmael coined the term “emerging market” to describe the waking giants of the developing world. During that time, we’ve come to think of emerging markets, including the so-called BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China, as immature states in which political factors matter at least as much as economic fundamentals for the performance of markets. As globalization came to seem more and more like a historical inevitability, the assumption among wealthy nations was that the injection of politics was a temporary stage, that these developing economies would mature (each at its own tempo) into a state of grace in which economic balances, not politics, would drive local markets. See Extended Story.. July 2nd, 2009  - General Milwaukee Wisconsin - Charter Wire will move to new facility by end of year Charter Wire, which is building a new, 160,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, has started moving some equipment to its new facility and expects to have all production moved there by the end of the year. Crews from MSI General, the general contractor on the project, are still finishing the facility, said John W. Mellowes, general manager of Charter Wire. “The building is up and they are working on all of the mechanical (systems) inside now,” he said. “They will be done by mid third quarter. Our process will take quite a bit of time. Our goal is to be under one roof by end of the year.” Between one-fourth and one-third of the equipment in Charter Wire’s new facility will be new. The company’s total investment in the new plant, between machinery, real estate and construction, will be about $20 million, Mellowes said. See Extended Story.. July 2nd, 2009  - General Beijing China - Domestic Chinese spot steel prices rose last week Domestic steel spot prices climbed last week, especially the price of spot building steel, which rose by RMB 200 per ton in Tianjin City and Jinan City in Northeast China, sources reported. Last week, prices of spot building steel rose by RMB 100 per ton in fifteen Chinese cities. Medium plate prices increased between RMB 70 and RMB 100 per ton in almost every city except Chongqing, Southwest China. Cold-rolled steel coils and sheets rose by RMB 200 per ton in North China and Northeast China. A total of 66 steel bar enterprises and 50 wire rod producers raised spot prices last week. Jiangsu Shagang Group Co, China's largest privately-owned steelmaker, raised the factory price of its steel bars by RMB 130 per ton in late June. Meanwhile, Chinese spot iron ore prices rose US$4 to US$81.5 per ton in the past week, hitting a four-month high. The spot prices are even higher than the prices suggested by Rio and BHP for Asian iron ore importers. The two iron ore giants offered a 33% discount on benchmark iron ore prices to Asian steelmakers, but China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) rejected the discount and requested a 40% cut in iron ore prices. July 2nd, 2009  - General Shanghai China - Baosteel lays foundation for new wire rods plant SteelGuru reports that Baosteel Group was laying a foundation for its newly built wire rods company in Nantong on June 25th 2009. As per report the new CNY 430 million worth investment will be built based on Shanghai-based Baosteel Ergang which will stop production during the EXPO period, into the capacity of 170,000 tonne per year PC steel wires & strands and 10,000 tonne per year Oil quenched tempered Spring Wires. July 1st, 2009  - General - Canada celebrates Canada day Wirenews resumes tomorrow June 29th, 2009  - General Lusaka Zambia - Zambia opposition moves to block Chinese mine deal Zambia President Rupiah Banda said on Wednesday he was willing to review copper mining taxes and he criticized the country's opposition for blocking a Chinese firm from running a big mine. The opposition has said it wants to curb China's widening influence in the country's mining sector, saying Chinese firms have a poor safety record and pay low wages to workers. Banda's government in May picked China's NFC Africa to take a majority stake in the closed Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM), which shut down in December after making losses, leading to job cuts. The Chinese firm was due to officially take over the mine on Wednesday. See Extended Story.. June 29th, 2009  - General Helsinki Finland - Outokumpu ups nickel capacity as order volumes recover. Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu said on Thursday it would increase its production capacity on the back of stronger order intake, but cautioned underlying demand for stainless steel remained weak. "In the past weeks Outokumpu's order intake for stainless steel has increased somewhat from the earlier very low levels," the firm said in a statement. Outokumpu said it would adjust production utilization from a current 50-60 percent rate to allow for a recovery in fourth-quarter delivery volumes. "The plan is however not to return to full production capacity at this stage," it said. Outokumpu said inventories seemed to have been run down by distributors and end-users and that the increase in the nickel price had triggered some purchasing activity, but added it saw no signs of underlying demand for stainless steel picking up. The firm said delivery volumes in the third quarter would remain at depressed levels due to capacity constraints and maintenance shutdowns. June 29th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Where to park all our cash???? China Communist Party researcher Li Lianzhong fears for the country’s huge dollar surplus. China should buy more gold because the dollar is poised for a fall and the metal is needed to support the greater international role envisaged for the yuan, Li said on Thursday. Li, who heads the economic department of the Party's policy research office, said China should use more of its $1.95 trillion in foreign exchange reserves to buy energy and natural resource assets. Speaking at a foreign exchange and gold forum, Li also said that buying land in the United States was a better option for China than buying U.S. Treasury securities. See Extended Story.. June 29th, 2009  - General Culpeper New York - Tyco Electronics lay-off workers at Rochester Wire & Cable. Rochester Wire & Cable has joined a growing list of Culpeper-area businesses forced to lay off employees due to the economy. Mike Ratcliff, spokesman for parent company Tyco Electronics, confirmed that an unspecified number of employees at the Culpeper facility were let go June 11. “We did announce to employees at Culpeper that we were going to be reducing the workforce there,” Ratcliff said. About 150 people work at the Culpeper site, according to recently published state and federal information. Ratcliff said the company does not disclose specific figures on employment or layoffs. The company’s 400,000 square-foot facility, specializes in electric, fiber optic and undersea cables. Ratcliff said the reductions were effective immediately and did not disclose severance terms for the affected employees. See Extended Story.. June 27th, 2009  - General Lagos Nigeria - Cable firm loses N 35 million to closure by tax agency The management of the Nigeria Wire and Cable (NWC) Plc has disclosed that the company recorded a loss of N35 million following Tuesday's closure by officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over non-payment of its accumulated tax. Managing Director of the cable company, Mr Lateef Bakare, at a media briefing on the development said the factory has since been reopened after the initial payment of N5 million. He, however, said the invasion of its premises by the FIRS officials was uncalled for, since the two parties were already negotiating on the terms of settlement. Bakare also used the occasion to appeal to the federal government to ban importation of domestic cables into the Nigerian market. See Extended Story.. June 27th, 2009  - General Hamburg Germany - Norsk Hydro sees late hope for its German aluminum plant Germany's plan to give special state aid to the metals industry could give hope to a major aluminum plant in the country threatened with closure, Hydro Aluminum, the local unit of Norwegian group Norsk Hydro, said on Wednesday. Hydro said in April it may stop production at its loss-making aluminum plant at Neuss in June because of high German electricity costs and weak demand. But plans by Germany's ruling government coalition to give extra aid of 40 million euros to help the non-ferrous metal industry overcome the impact of the economic slowdown and high German power costs could give hope to the plant, said Hydro Aluminium spokesman Michael Peter Steffen. See Extended Story.. June 27th, 2009  - General Conakry Guinea - RUSAL to slash Guinea alumina output Russian metals firm RUSAL will cut alumina production at its Friguia plant in Guinea by more than 50 percent from July 1, a RUSAL executive in the West African country said on Wednesday. RUSAL is cutting metals output across its operations as it attempts to restructure $7.3 billion in foreign loans, while metals prices are around half of their year-ago levels and demand is not expected to rise dramatically in the near future" The management has taken the decision...to reduce the factory's production which is currently around 52,000 tonnes of alumina per month to 20,000 tonnes," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. RUSAL, which employs around 1,200 people at Friguia, intends to continue paying full salaries and does not plan to cut jobs, he said. The firm's Moscow headquarters could not be immediately contacted for comment. See Extended Story.. June 26th, 2009  - General Berlin Germany - Corning Cable Systems 10G Capable FutureCom(TM) S500 RJ45 module meets latest international standard Corning Cable Systems GmbH & Co KG, part of Corning Incorporated's Telecommunications segment, announces that its FutureCom(TM) S500 shielded copper RJ45 module has received Cat.6A component certification, as per approved ISO/IEC 11802:2002 Amd 1.0 and 2.0 (draft March 2009) international standard. The two amendments (Amd. 1.0 and 2.0) of ISO/IEC 11801:2002 set the most demanding requirements to NEXT (near- end crosstalk), ACR-F and ACR-N (alien crosstalk, far- and near end) particularly in the upper frequency range of 500 MHz compared to TIA-EIA-568-B.2-10 specifications. The additional margin achieved provides flexibility in critical environments and higher network integrity. The FutureCom S500 module is part of the new FutureCom EA system, the latest addition to Corning's 10Gbps Ethernet copper cabling systems family. The system provides a universal cabling solution for the use of Ethernet, VoIP, telephone, TV and other services. It also supports Power over Ethernet and Power over Ethernet Plus. See Extended Story.. June 26th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Taipower launches domestic tender for 345KV power cable State-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) yesterday launched a tender for the supply of around NT$300 million worth of 345KV super high voltage cable to, for the first time ever, domestic suppliers, with Hua Eng Wire & Cable Co., Ltd. and Ta Ya Electric Wire and Cable Co., Ltd. joining the bid for the project. Taipower used to opened the tender to foreign suppliers, but the company has decided to allow only domestic suppliers to join the bid after both Hua Eng and Ta Ya won technical evaluation approval and production certification from the state-run power concern last year. See Extended Story.. June 26th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Just too much steel capacity everywhere The steel industry is at or close to a bottom amid the downturn in the global economy, and will be there for a while, the chief executive of U.S. steelmaker Nucor Corp said Wednesday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of American Metal Market's Steel Survival Strategies conference, Nucor CEO Daniel DiMicco said, " Based on what's happened up to now, we should be at or near bottom, but we're going to be there for awhile." "We are still running at greatly reduced capacity. There's been some improvement since the first quarter, but I would not say significant improvement at this time," He added that Nucor was operating at "lower levels than anything we have seen for 45 years." Indian-owned British steelmaker Corus announced yesterday a series of further job reductions, which have become necessary because of the worldwide economic downturn and, in particular, the decline in steel demand in Europe and America. Thamesteel a British mini-mill is by contrast operating at full production capacity for rebar and wire rod a spokesperson for the company said. The global steel industry has been hit by a collapse in orders from the auto and construction sectors. The world's biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, has also been forced to slash its output. See Extended Story.. June 26th, 2009  - General Beijing China - World’s commodities giant, making bigger waves For China, the trade dispute raised this week with the West may in retrospect seem minor compared to the ructions that await Beijing as its state firms start to punch their weight on global commodity markets. The U.S. and EU complaint to the World Trade Organization accuses China of unfairly restricting exports of several metals such as zinc, steelmaking ingredient coke and bauxite, the raw material for aluminium; at the same time India and Australia complained about Chinese firms dumping cheap aluminum goods. Both are the result of China using tried and tested tax or tariff policies to ensure resource supplies and protect domestic industry. But as its domestic demand begins to outstrip its own resource base, those policies will become less effective. For commodity markets, the concern is that Beijing could utilize its growing trade network and strategic stockpiles as its next best lever to protect its economy. See Extended Story.. June 25th, 2009  - General Paris France - Nexans’ low-voltage cables power the new BioWanze bioethanol plant in Belgium Nexans, a worldwide leader in the cable industry,has completed a contract worth approximately 1 million euros to supply low-voltage power cables for the BioWanze project—a new plant producing bioethanol from wheat and sugar beet. The plant, located in Wanze near Huy sur Meuse (Belgium), represents an investment of 250 million euros for the Südzucker Group, Europe’s leading sugar producer. It will produce half of the annual bioethanol volume for the Belgian market, or 125,000 cubic meters per annum during the next six years. See Extended Story.. June 25th, 2009  - General Chasse, Rhone France - Condat to Present New Dry Drawing Lubricants at Wire Southeast Asia, Bangkok In order to meet with new regulations and to anticipate them, CONDAT offers now a wider selection of dry drawing lubricants without borax or with very limited amounts of borax that will be presented on WIRE Bangkok. After years of research and thanks to extensive field testing (with the partnership of major wire drawing leaders), CONDAT has set up a new generation of soluble sodium soaps: VICAFIL SUMAC 3, VICAFIL TN 1630, VICAFIL TN 21. This new range of dry lubricants is characterised by product optimisation and improved performance, for conventional wire drawing applications as well as for the most severe operations such as high tensile alloyed wire drawing. Those products ensure: VICAFIL®: the largest range of lubricants for all Wire Drawing applications in the industry STEELSKIN®: specific High Tech Dry lubricants range GALVASMOOTH®: range for galvanizing wires for hot dip processes CONDACLEAN: range of cleaners for all Applications… See Extended Story.. June 24th, 2009  - General Shanghai, China - China's Destocking Puts Pressure on Copper Futures. China's copper import binge is finally causing problems. Copper stocks at the Shanghai Futures Exchanges (SHFE) have risen for three consecutive weeks while inventories at bonded warehouses have also surged. On the domestic spot market, oversupply has been circulating among traders rather than being consumed. China is highly likely to have to endure another round of destocking until the supply-demand balance is restored, but the process will exert downward pressure on prices at a time when the real economy’s recovery is still to come. China Customs data released on Monday shows that the world's largest buyer of raw materials imported 337,270 tons of copper in May, up 258% compared to the same period last year, setting yet another new record. But the market had expected China's buying to halt, and the data didn’t support the market. Rather, copper for delivery in October at SHFE dropped by 3% with the LME (London Metal Exchange) then following suit. Last Friday, the SHFE weekly stock report showed its copper stock rose by another 7889 tons to 68,536 ton, of which the stock at Jing Hong Company, a major bonded warehouse in Shanghai, surged within a week by 1960 tons to 2700 tons. See Extended Story.. June 24th, 2009  - General New Mexico - Meeting to Discuss Power Transmission Project In order to deliver clean, renewable energy to where it can be utilized, the power must be transmitted from where it is generated. In the case of the proposed 460-mile SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, that means building two 500-kilovolt alternate current transmission lines across central and southern New Mexico through southeastern and central Arizona. Public scoping meetings for the discussion of proposed routes across Bureau of Management lands will be held this Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. in Safford and June 29 in Willcox. The Safford meeting will be held at the Manor House Convention Center at 415 E. Highway 70, and the Willcox meeting will be held at the Valley Telephone Company conference room. There will be two other scoping meetings held in Arizona – one each at Oracle and Eloy – and five more at communities in New Mexico. The BLM initiated the meetings to gather information before overseeing an Environmental Impact Statement that will evaluate alternatives for the project. See Extended Story.. June 24th, 2009  - General Hamburg, Germany - Non-Ferrous Metal Industry to Get Boost in Germany Germany plans a special aid programme of 40 million euros ($56 million) to help its non-ferrous metal industry survive the economic slowdown. The ruling coalition has agreed in principle to make the aid available to the aluminium, zinc and copper industries, said a copy of the paper. The sum will be available for support in 2009 to non-ferrous metals producers which can show they are suffering from the economic slowdown and high German electricity prices. Hermann Groehe, a minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's chancellery ministry, was quoted by the online edition of newspaper Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung as saying the programme had been agreed in principle. Details of an aid programme which conforms with European Union rules will now be worked out by the government, Groethe was quoted as saying. Goehe is also the member of parliament for Neuss, where Hydro Aluminium, the German unit of Norwegian group Norsk Hydro , may stop production at its loss-making aluminium plant in June if talks to cut power supply costs are not successful. See Extended Story.. June 24th, 2009  - General Brussels, Belgium - EU Imposes Anti-dumping Duty on Chinese Wire Rod European Union member states agreed Tuesday to impose a 24-percent anti-dumping duty on wire rod imported from China. The measure is applicable for five years from the beginning of August. The European Commission launched an anti-dumping probe of Chinese wire rod in May 2008.  The investigation followed a complaint from the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries, a Brussels-based group representing major EU steel producers such as ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp. China's Ministry of Commerce had called on the EU to refrain from adopting any anti-dumping measures, insisting that the issue should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations. European steel users voiced concern that they would face supply shortages if the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel products. June 23rd, 2009  - General Warsaw, Poland - Penta wants Drumet to Return to the Leading Position Central European investment group Penta acquired Fabryka Lin i Drutu Drumet Sp. z o.o. ("Drumet"), the largest steel wires, ropes and staple bands producer in Poland. Today, the Economic Court in Wloclawek accepted and approved Penta's bid for the enterprise of FLiD Drumet and selected Penta as a winner of the tender. The transaction value is PLN 120 million and is subject to final documentation. "We have vast experience in achieving successful turnarounds. Drumet has one of the best organized and modern production facilities in the industry in Europe, which along with professional and experienced staff, offers interesting potential for a quick return of the Company to the leading position in the industry. Our main priority is to re-establish the relationships with our suppliers and customers and to prove that Drumet is reliable and financially stable company again. During the next 2 years, we plan to return to company´s average historic level of annual revenues in excess of EUR 100 million," Rafal Sosna, investment director of Penta said. See Extended Story.. June 22nd, 2009  - General Northern Ireland - Under Sea Cable Comes Ashore at Portrush A new transatlantic under sea telecommunications cable linking Northern Ireland directly to North America for the first time came ashore at the weekend on the Co Antrim coast. It has been brought to land at Portrush by US company Hibernia Atlantic, the transatlantic submarine cable provider, and will also provide improved connection with Europe. The cable deployment was part of Project Kelvin, the £25m joint scheme by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Belfast and its Dublin counterpart, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources - part financed by the EU. Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "This is a historic milestone for both Northern Ireland and for Project Kelvin. The new cable will connect Northern Ireland, for the first time, directly to North America and greatly improve connectivity with Europe. See Extended Story.. June 22nd, 2009  - General New York - Sweeping Commodity Trade Reforms Dividing Industry The Obama administration's proposals for regulating financial markets seek to reshape over-the-counter derivatives, including those in commodities that last year were valued at nearly the size of the U.S. economy. The administration's proposals, unveiled on Wednesday, call for an end to a type of trading that expanded after 2000 with the enactment of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. That Act, a triumph of lobbying efforts by the now-defunct energy trader Enron Corp and often cited as the "Enron loopholes," allowed trading of energy commodity derivatives between counterparties not subject to federal or state oversight or to clearing through financial exchanges. The new measures, if they become law, could bring quick and deep change, particularly to energy trading. But experts, analysts and traders are divided on how the new rules may affect their business. Many market watchers say new regulations are needed. Some hope new laws will slash world oil prices by eliminating the most speculative derivatives trades and secretive hedging deals. But others warn that tighter regulation will fail and Wall Street ultimately will be allowed to continue policing itself in trade of OTC commodities derivatives. The notional value of those financial instruments topped $13.2 trillion last June, weeks before oil prices hit record highs close to $150 a barrel. That was 30 times higher than $440 billion a decade ago when oil was around $20 a barrel, according to the Bank of International Settlements. It was also nearly as big as the U.S. GDP of about $14.3 trillion in 2008. See Extended Story.. June 18th, 2009  - General Hawaii, U.S.A. - Hawaii Researches Locations For Undersea Power Cable The state has asked University of Hawaii researchers to study the best possible routes for an undersea cable that would deliver power generated from windfarms on Lanai and Molokai to other islands. The cable, which would be at least 30 miles long, is part of Gov. Linda Lingle's effort to obtain 70 percent of Hawaii's energy from clean sources by 2030. The state now gets about 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources, making it one of the most fossil fuel-dependent states in the nation. The cable would be able to connect large wind farms proposed for Lanai and Molokai with the power grids of those two islands as well as grids on the more heavily populated isles of Maui and Oahu. See Extended Story.. June 18th, 2009  - General Washington, U.S.A. - Overhead or Underground - With Government, Cost is Ultimatly the Decision Maker The U.S. government has dismissed coalition concerns that most of the cables for the national broadband network (NBN) will be hung overhead rather than buried in the ground as a way to reduce costs. Opposition communications spokesman Nick Minchin yesterday warned that unsightly overhead cables will be rolled out across the country to provide a more cost-effective NBN. State and local planning rules would be bypassed, Senator Minchin said. "Underground cables are the clear preference of residents and councils across the country, yet under Labor's broadband plan hundreds of kilometres of aerial cables are set to be rolled out whether residents and councils want them or not," he said in a statement. Senator Minchin said as much as 70 per cent of the cable could end up overhead, which he described as unsightly. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy conceded in question time that aerial cabling was an option. See Extended Story.. June 16th, 2009  - General Ohio, U.S.A. - New Fiber Network awarded to Horizon for Chillicothe Horizon Telcom in Chillicothe has been awarded an $18 million contract to create a state-of-the-art fiber optic network connecting more than 120 health care facilities across 13 southern Ohio counties. The Southern Ohio Health Care Network announced the contract award, funded by the Federal Communications Commission. Once completed, the network will allow area health care providers to participate in telemedicine initiatives, progressive community health record projects and the regional health information organization. Likewise, use of the network will enhance sustainability of rural medical practices, develop deeper collaboration among health care providers and give a boost to emergency communications. The same metropolitan-class broadband services will become available to businesses, educational sites and government offices in the area. Discounted rates also will support wireless Internet service providers, which is expected to improve the pace of broadband deployment in extremely rural areas. This contract represents Phase 1 of a plan called Connecting Appalachia that will extend the same broadband benefits across all 34 rural counties of the 17,000-square-mile SOHCN service area in southern and eastern Ohio. With support from U.S. Rep. Zack Space, SOHCN has partnered with Gov. Ted Strickland, Appalachian Local Development Districts and the region's civic, education and business leaders to deliver broadband services and the promise of prosperity they hold across the region. See Extended Story.. June 16th, 2009  - General New Delhi, India - Additional Tax on Cheap Imports Entering India India’s steel ministry proposed imposing a temporary additional tax on cheap imports, accepting local steelmakers’ demand to curb dumping. “We would certainly like to see that our steel industry flourishes and not face any unfair competition,” Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh told reporters in New Delhi today. “We have made some proposals” to the finance ministry. Imports of steel rose 21 percent to 528,000 metric tons last month from a year earlier, Steel Secretary Pramod Rastogi said last week, citing ministry figures. Some countries are offering prices lower than those in India, which is leading to the spurt in imports, he said, without identifying the nations. See Extended Story.. June 12th, 2009  - General Paris, France - Nexans, Signs of Demand Recovery Boosts need for Copper Nexans SA, the largest copper buyer, said it’s receiving a “high level” of interest from customers for its cables and wires, and expects state economic-stimulus spending in North America and Europe to boost demand next year. “There’s no reason the industry should not benefit from the various stimulus packages in 2010 and following years,” Chief Financial Officer Frederic Michelland stated. Customers including utilities, railroads, and oil and gas companies are seeking price quotes, he said. Central banks and governments have pledged more than $13 trillion in stimulus programs to help revive economic growth, boosting demand for copper products from power plants, renewable energy suppliers and electricity grid companies. The price of the metal has climbed 72 percent this year in London trading after tumbling 54 percent in 2008 as industrial demand slumped. The first five months of the year have been “challenging” as customers used up their inventories, rather than buy more stocks, in anticipation that prices would fall, he said, adding that auto customers are making only “limited inquiries.” See Extended Story.. June 11th, 2009  - General Vancouver British Columbia - Tree Island wire receives notice of default from lenders Tree Island Wire Income Fund (the "Fund") announced Monday that it has received a written notice of default from its lenders relating to its non-compliance with its EBITDA covenants under the GE credit facilities for the month of April 2009, as previously announced on May 29, 2009. The lenders have not exercised any default-related rights under the credit Facilities to date. See Extended Story.. June 10th, 2009  - General Milan Italy - Prysmian to showcase comprehensive range of products and services for the oil gas & petrochem industry at Oil & Gas Asia 2009 in Kuala Lumpur Prysmian Cables and Systems, leading worldwide player in the energy and telecom cable markets, is to showcase its cable solutions for the Oil & Gas Industry at OGA (Oil & Gas Asia) 2009, one of the largest Oil & Gas shows in Asia. Prysmian will present a wide range of high-tech cable systems including the latest AIRGUARD™, Thermoplastic and Steel Tube Umbilical and Flexible Pipe technologies as well as its Submarine Power cables and Onshore/Offshore cables. See Extended Story.. June 10th, 2009  - General Nuremberg Germany - Porsche presents Leoni with its Supplier Award 2009 Leoni, a leading provider of cable systems to the automotive industry and other sectors, has received Porsche’s Supplier Award 2009. With this award, the sports car maker appreciates above all the special quality of the wiring systems supplied. Leoni also obtained the contract to develop and supply wiring systems for Porsche. This follow-up order is worth about EUR 200 million over 7 years. See Extended Story.. June 10th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Pricing of steel wire rod in the international market appears chaotic JMB reported that Japanese integrated steel makers are in negotiation of wire rod export price with transplants of Japanese automobile industry for July to September quarter. It said that the price level could decrease by around USD 150 per tonne from April to June quarter as the makers reduced the annual contract price by JPY 15,000 for parts materials of Toyota Motor to reflect lower raw materials cost. Meanwhile China Steel Corporation is going to announce new price for July and August this week and the new price of wire rod are expected to increase slightly. Actually, Tycoons has raised its wire rod price in May, and it is believed that the sales will be better in June due to further price increase. The spokesman and vice president of Tycoons said that the sale is very likely to pick up soon after the second quarter. As Asian buyers began replenishing their stock, the market will improved soon in the third quarter. The second half year of 2009 is expected to be better than the first half year. Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corp. will raise prices on nickel-based stainless wire for the first time in a year on June-August contracts, with the price of benchmark SUS304 going up by 10,000 yen (US$104.33) per ton, or 3% See Extended Story.. June 9th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - An e-mail to the editor Hello! I have just read your article Will Obama’s green policy kill the U.S. steel wire industry. and checked in the latest EUROSTAT for Spain on elelctrical generation. The latest stat available is 1996 -2007. Total production was steadily increasing from a mere 170000 GWh in 96 to just above 300 000 GWh in 2007. This indicates that the demand for electricity in Spain has almost doubled in 10 years and normally that leads to a steady increase in the price. When part of the increase is met with solar or wind power the cost for the last kWh sold will be the price for all kWhours sold. The portion of wind power is less then 2% of the total production and can hardly be the reason for all 2008/2009 problems. With lower demand for electricity the price should go down but this is an almost monopoly market situation, so the price for the last wanted kWh sets the price. See Extended Story.. June 9th, 2009  - General Tokyo Japan - Japanese steelmakers start Q3 wire rod export talks Tex reports that Japanese integrated steelmakers are conducting their wire rod export negotiations in earnest on shipments to Asian destinations such as China and Thailand in the July to September 2009 quarter. They have already offered what they negotiate for shipments to China. It is understood that the terms on offer call for a certain price increase toward the settlement of a flat price level on the whole. See Extended Story.. June 9th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - US stimulus program not boosting steel demand. Economists say that infrastructure spending is below expectations. About USD 110 billion has been allocated in the stimulus package as extra spending on infrastructure projects with USD 38 billion earmarked in the first wave of road, highway, bridge and infrastructure construction. And that is keeping a lid on purchasing of steel beam, plate and reinforcing bars. Mr Charles McMillion chief economist at MBG said that "Right now, the government is the horse that everybody is betting on because of the stimulus plan to start spending on roads and bridges and other activity that will help push some manufacturing production growth." But an Associated Press review of USD 18.9 billion in projects ready to start shows that many struggling communities don't have projects waiting on a shelf because they can’t afford the millions of dollars for preparation and plans that are required. Atop that, annualized first quarter private and public spending on nonresidential construction at USD 692 million is averaging 3% less than the pre stimulus USD 713 million spend in 2008. See Extended Story.. June 9th, 2009  - General Lagan Sweden - From supplier of automotive wire forms to jewelry wire supplies. The crises in the automotive industry has hit the hundreds of small suppliers of wire forms in the southern province of Smaland Sweden a center of wire formers. One such company is the family owned Cooee that is now making jewlery wire to takeup the slack in the automotive business.The area is renounded for its resilience and ingenuity. Centered around the town of Ljungby in villages like Gnosjo and Hillerstorp the wire industry have customers in every country. It is indeed hard to find businesses that are more multinationell. Törestorps Tråd AB in Gnosjö.is a family owned company. established on a small scale basis in 1989 and thanks to a quick growth we are now 35 employees. The company’s business niche is to provide a top-level service for companies within the industrial powder coating business with regards to suspension and handling of goods. We are a full service company offering everything from a piece of technical advice to complete design and manufacture. The company’s wire hook "HangOn" is now a well-known brand in more than 18 marketplaces. And further countries are being introduced for the time being. This international presence is a good basis to get an insight into the development of our line of business. See Extended Story.. June 8th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - Domestic Wire Decking Industry Files Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Cases Against China Antidumping and countervailing duty petitions were filed today by U.S. producers of wire decking, charging that dumped and subsidized imports of wire decking from the People's Republic of China cause material injury to the domestic industry. The petitioners allege dumping margins ranging from 116 to 312 percent, with an average margin of 218 percent, and also allege that significant subsidies have been provided to Chinese wire decking producers by the Chinese Government. See Extended Story.. June 8th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Will Obama’s green policy kill the U.S. steel wire industry. To produce 1 ton of low carbon wire from 5.5 mm rod to 1.8 mm requires 200KWH. The price for industrial power in Ohio as per May 14 2009 is 6.15 cents per kilowatt-hour (KWH) or US$12.30/ton. Discarding the cost of rod, power is a major variable cost component equal to labor. Solar power generating cost is presently 30 cents per kilowatt-hour but it is anticipated that technological development will cut the production cost to around 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which would allow solar power to compete more strongly with other renewables and capture a significant share of the electricity market. This is still a 62.6% cost increase over current rates. For the record this editor is very much concerned about air and water pollution and would welcome a higher percentage of renewable energy feeding the grids – but such policies must be global or you risk the Spanish predicament of a self inflicted unemployment rate of 20%. See Extended Story.. June 6th, 2009  - General Shanghai China - Shanghai Futures Exchange, SHFE likely to be world steel futures pricing center According to Mr Xi Zhiyong, assistant of general manager of Shanghai Futures Exchange, during past two months, steel futures contracts were paid high attention. Mr Xi Zhiyong said "Shanghai will become global steel pricing center in 3 to 5 years. But the center is likely to be formed in 1 to 1.5 years under present development. He explained that if steel mills were able to actively enter domestic futures market and fixed prices in spot transactions according to futures contracts with self-conscious, the worldwide steel pricing center would be formed in advance." See Extended Story.. June 6th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Highly unlikely wire mills would source and steel mills sell via Metal Exchanges Svensson says Steel is not a commodity like copper, steel is an alloy that is sold in virtually thousands of grades. Even simple grades like those used in rebar are sold from the mills in hundreds of various shapes forms and grades In the United States, the size designations of these mild steel bars used to reinforce concrete are set by ASTM International. Distributors usually stock rebar in 20- and 60-foot lengths. Most bars are “deformed,” that is, a pattern is rolled onto them which helps the concrete get a grip on the bar. The exact patterns are not specified, but the spacing, number and height of the bumps are. Between 1947 and 1968, a separate standard (ASTM A 305) covered the deformations. Since 1968 the deformation requirements have been incorporated into the basic standard. Plain bars are also made, but are used only in special situations in which the bars are expected to slide (for example, crossing expansion joints in highway pavement).For more details use this link June 6th, 2009  - General Cairo Egypt - El Sewedy sees 20-25 pct profit growth in 2010 Egypt's El Sewedy Cables, the largest Arab cable maker by market value, said on Thursday it expected net profits to rise 20-25 percent in 2010, up from an expected 10 percent rise in 2009. The firm said in April it expected its 2009 net profit to rise 10 percent as it derives more revenue from non-cable operations."For 2010, we're expecting it to be much better than 2009, by around 20-25 percent," Chief Executive Ahmed El Sewedy told Reuters on a conference call. El Sewedy said the increase would come from investments in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen and Algeria that would had not yet come online or were still not generating revenue. See Extended Story.. June 5th, 2009  - General Taipei Taiwan - Taiwanese domestic wire rod prices remain stable It is reported that Taiwanese domestic wire rod price keeps stable and may further enhance in line with the optimistic market and increase of global steel prices.The current price of killed wire rod is TWD 17,000 to TWD 17,500 per tonne. Besides, rimmed steel and al killed wire rod prices are TWD 18,000 per tonne and TWD 18,500 per tonne respectively. Meanwhile, the current overseas offers are not competitive enough and therefore without deals presently. It’s said that the wire rod price won’t drop before China Steel Corporation announces the new price list and may go up during June. (Sourced from YIEH.corp via SteelGuru) June 5th, 2009  - General Kolkata India - Steel producers to follow global cues and hike prices some say others disagree Taking a cue from the trend of price rises in global steel market, domestic Indian producers are likely to hike prices from July. Jatinder Mehra, chief executive officer, Essar Steel said, “I believe, in July there will be some push in the market. In the Indian market, revival has already begun. Auto, fabrication, capital goods and white goods are doing very well.” In the flat products segment, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices have not seen a hike since September last year. Last month, long product, cold rolled and galvanised prices were raised. However, the main concern for domestic producers is the cheap imports. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), after increasing prices last month, decided to rollback this month. Sources said, imports of 31,000 tonnes of wire rods would be delivered at Mumbai port during May-July. Acharya said, India was becoming a dumping ground the cost of landed imports was injurious to the industry. See Extended Story.. June 5th, 2009  - General Caracas Venezuela - Venezuela to spend $70 million on submaine cable to Cuba Venezuela plans to spend $70 million on an undersea fiber optic cable to Cuba in order to improve telecommunications. President Hugo Chavez's government nationalized Venezuela's largest telephone company two years ago and has been planning to lay the undersea cable to its Caribbean ally. The government issued a statement that Chavez said Tuesday night he has approved $70 million for the undersea cable. Venezuelan officials say the cable will run 1,555 kilometers (966 miles) and will have a capacity to handle millions of call at once, as well as television signals and Internet connections. June 5th, 2009  - General Kampala Uganda - Construction of government data cable to resume Luweero, Gulu, Busia and Mbarara are among the 16 districts in Uganda that will be connected to the modern data and voice transmission cable, which is expected to increase the speed and efficiency of public service delivery to people. According to Mr Aggrey Awori, the minister of information and communication technology, construction of the National Data Transmission Backbone and E-Government Infrastructure will resume this July. The construction has been on hold following the completion of its first phase in 2008. The second phase of the Shs238 billion cable will come at the end of an area survey, which is being carried out by Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecommunications technology company, that was contracted to construct the cable in 2007. See Extended Story.. June 4th, 2009  - General Wind Gap, Pennsylvania - Century Wire moves to Wind Gap from Warren County Searching for room to grow and a business-friendly environment, Century Wire Products Corp. has settled in the Slate Belt. The company, which produces stainless steel wire for telecommunications providers and related industries, opened shop in Wind Gap last month after a decade in Warren County. Century Wire owner Danielle Dupuis described the 22,400-square-foot building as ideal for the business' growth plans. The recently refurbished site is almost twice the size of its prior location in Washington. The company, which employs 16, hopes to increase its distribution network within the next year and add up to 10 workers, Dupuis said. "It's just the perfect spot, perfect building," Dupuis said today. "Plus, my whole management team is from Pennsylvania." The new office and warehouse sits on about an acre at 153 Eighth St, just east of Route 33. The company plans a grand opening with borough officials June 12. Century Wire purchases its material and applies finishing work on site before shipping the wire products for distribution. See Extended Story.. June 4th, 2009  - General Seoul Korea - LS Cable to supply latest thin wires LS Cable, Korea’s largest wire and cable company, announced yesterday it will supply the world’s thinnest cables to LG Electronics to make 60,000 of the company’s third-generation OZ mobile phones. The cable, called the MCX (Micro Coaxial Cable) AWG (American Wire Gauge) 46 module, is around one-sixth the width of a strand of human hair at 0.016 millimeters in diameter. It is a cable module mainly used for transmitting large amounts of data to LCD screens, main boards of mobile phones and notebook computers with minimum damage or loss of data. MCX modules are an alternative to FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Boards) and are more resilient to outside interferences. See Extended Story.. June 4th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Growth and future developments within the natural gas pipeline industry Despite a national economic slowdown and a 30 percent drop in the overall grass root construction of natural gas pipelines in the United States since early 2008, the pipeline industry is finally showing signs of life. A large number of new and expansion projects are currently being developed for construction in the coming year. Currently Industrial Info is tracking almost 1,575 miles of pipeline and a record 12.0 Bcf/d of N/G capacity with a construction cost estimated of $4.5 billion. Join Ilna Penny, Senior Pipeline Researcher of Industrial Info to hear more about future spending opportunities and where they are planned. Source http://www.industrialinfo.com June 3rd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - A society cannot survive selling stock certificates to each other. GDP by definition is the value of all goods and services produced in a specific country. It is the most widely used measure of economic activity and regarded as the principal indicator of economic performance. Unfortunately a closure scrutiny reveals that GDP can be grossly misleading since it includes services like the financial sector that does not produce any added value and accounts for approximately 8 percent of the total gross domestic product in the United States. Much of the sector is involved in selling stock certificates an activity that with the exceptions of IPOs (Initial public offerings) is like a society of Chinese laundries that make a living washing shirts for each other. The sector has experienced an increase in size averaging 6.44 percent annually. That’s approximately 1.49 percent more than the U.S. GDP as a whole and has therefore incorrectly given the impression that during the past decade the US economy was growing. See Extended Story.. June 2nd, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - What is good for General Motors is good for America – Really? The wheel fell off the GM cart yesterday. Actually the company has been loosing money for decades culminating with a whopping US$ 31 billion loss in 2008. Now in this bizarre new world created by Ottawa and Washington D. C, healthy companies like Nissan, Toyota and Honda and five other foreign car makers with North American assembly plants are punished through the General Motors and Chrysler US$ 73 Billion (US+Canada) bail out which is like getting a $14705 subsidy per every new car produced. Less than two decades ago, Detroit's Big Three were the U.S. auto industry. But now there's a second auto industry: One that is nonunion, foreign-owned and Dixie-based. That's why Southern senators worked so hard to block the bailout. In the Central Kentucky town of Georgetown, just north of Lexington, Toyota has invested $5.3 billion, in a 1,300-acre plant that produces a car roughly every minute. In the process, Georgetown's population has doubled. June 2nd, 2009  - General Hamburg Germany - Renewed marketstrength change plans to shortened work week Aurubis the world’s largest maker of copper-wire rods used in cars and electronic appliances, said a slump in demand bottomed in April and showed signs of improving in May. Aurubis, formerly called Norddeutsche Affinerie AG, cut wire-rod output by about 25 percent to 168,000 metric tons in the first quarter. The strengthening demand prompted the company to postpone a plan to cut working hours at its wire-rod plant in Hamburg, northern Germany. “We saw the wire rod market stabilizing in April, with slightly, slightly more demand in May,” company spokesperson Hessling said. “Stocks at almost all of our customers are quite empty, so every order increase there directly gets back to us.” Copper fell 54 percent last year in London, the steepest retreat since at least 1986, as the world entered its biggest slump since World War II. Demand from carmakers slumped the most, with the industry accounting for about 12 percent of Aurubis’s sales of wire rod, Hessling said. Consumption should expand in the second half of the year, she said. June 1st, 2009  - General Portland Oregon - Portland Bolt Grows to Meet Increased Demand Portland Bolt & Manufacturing Company, a leading manufacturer of galvanized construction fasteners, has completed a 30,000-square-foot addition to its manufacturing facility at 3441 NW Guam Street in Portland, Oregon. The primary purpose of the expansion was the installation of a modern, environmentally friendly hot-dip galvanizing line to replace the original system installed in 1994. The redesigned line more than doubles the galvanizing capacity while improving the overall reliability of the entire manufacturing process. Hot-dip galvanizing adds a corrosion protective coating to fasteners. "Our galvanizing line expansion was for the sole purpose of putting ourselves in position to meet our customers' needs for the foreseeable future," said Jonathan Todd, President of Portland Bolt. "Without customers you don't have a business, and without good, reliable service you don't have any customers." See Extended Story.. June 1st, 2009  - General Luxembourg - ArcelorMittal raises funds to lengthen the debt maturity profile On 27 May 2009, ArcelorMittal completed the pricing of two series of EUR denominated notes for an aggregate principal amount of EUR 2,500,000,000 consisting of EUR 1,500,000,000 principal amount of its 8.250 % Notes due 2013 and EUR 1,000,000,000 principal amount of its 9.375 % Notes due 2016. The proceeds to ArcelorMittal (before expenses), amounting to approximately EUR 2.5 billion, will be used to lengthen the debt maturity profile and to refinance existing indebtedness. The offering is scheduled to close on 3 June 2009, subject to satisfaction of customary conditions. June 1st, 2009  - General Lisbon Portugal - IFAD Approves $66m credit facility for Submarine Fibre Optic Cable The African Development Bank (AFDB) has approved financing of $66 million for the development of a submarine fiber optic cable connection project along the West African coast including Nigeria. Totaling $240 million, the project will involve the laying of 7,000 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cable between Lagos, Ghana and Siexal, a suburb of Lisbon in Portugal. The project will include branching units to Senegal, Ivory Coast, Morocco and the Canary Islands. Nigerian based firm MST, has expressed interest in the project and is in the process of securing long-term contracts with some of the largest operators in the country and in neighboring Ghana. The project is in line with the Bank’s Country Strategic Papers, (CSP) for Nigeria and Ghana which promotes private sector involvement in the development of critical infrastructure. See Extended Story.. May 30th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Wire rod prices continue to fall in most regions Turkey's wire rod prices remained at US$460~480/ton, but end-users maintain a wait-and-see attitude. The Romanian wire rod market remained weak, prevailing at Euro350-360/ton. In addition, CIS wire rod export price reached Euro 330-340/ton for June shipment. In northern Italy, wire rod price hit Euro 340-350/ ton, down by Euro 10/ton compared with last week. As for Spain market, wire rod price in the local market was Euro 380-400/ton. In contrast Iran’s rebar prices going up same as other long steel products, the main reason is that the government may impose import tariffs on rebar. At present, local market rebar diameter 12-25mm price is US$530-540/ton, which is US$25-30/ton higher than last week. The rebar price from China is about US$490/ton, about US$20-30/ton higher than last week. According to unconfirmed reports Canada's Sivaco is increasing wire prices by $40/short ton to North American customers May 30th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - Rumors of shutdowns abound but what is actually planned and does parent company domicile effect what mills are shut. It can be assumed that labor legislation will determine what mills will bear the brunt of rightsizing but in the tracks of globalization and the number of acquisitions that steel companies in particular embarked on financing conditions of government loan guarantees and other concessions start to have an impact. US-steel Arcelormittal and Tata have recently run into opposition from governments that feel that the companies are not living up to there commitments. Canadian government prepared to spend $1.4-million for every job saved Canada's leading Business daily reports. With the latest forecast pegging the overall auto bailout bill at as much as $13.5-billion, or more than three times the original estimate, politicians are testing the limits of recession-racked Canadians' tolerance See Extended Story.. May 29th, 2009  - General Washington D.C. - U.S. PC Strand Industry files antidumping and countervailing duty cases against China Three domestic producers of prestressed concrete steel wire strand ("PC strand") filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions today charging that dumped and subsidized imports of PC strand from the People's Republic of China cause material injury to the domestic industry. The petitioners allege dumping margins ranging from 140.31 to 314.99 percent, with an average margin of 223.47 percent, and also allege that significant subsidies have been provided to Chinese PC strand producers by the Chinese Government. See Extended Story.. May 29th, 2009  - General Brantford Ontario - How insane will it be allowed to get? The policy "Too Big To Fail" defies all financial logics. First it was the banks that out of greed embarked on reckless sub prime mortgage lending, followed by funding of ill conceived corporate acquisitions, which they then topped off with highly speculative trading in derivates. When the house of cards eventually collapsed, we the people were told by our elected leaders to cover the losses these "untouchables" had raked up. Trillions of dollars pounds yens and Euros were poured into this financial black hole. Now it is the turn for BIG MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES to play the extortion game. If GM and Chrysler fail millions of manufacturing jobs will be lost - so what? Where do you draw the line? See Extended Story.. May 28th, 2009  - General Beijing China - China to reduce steel output The Chinese government has moved to clamp down on steel producers that are still increasing their output, despite a collapse in demand. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice calling on commercial banks to restrict or cut off credit to steel enterprises that are "blindly expanding in disregard of the market." The ministry says in a notice that steel output is seriously oversupplied and imports of iron ore were also showing excessive growth, creating massive risks for the industry. National Bureau of Statistics figures show that the output of China's pig iron in April was over 41 million tons, up almost half of one percent. Steel output was nearly 53 million tons, up 2.6 percent. Figures from China's Custom indicated that China exported 1.4 million tons of steel in April, down 71 percent year-on-year. See Extended Story.. May 28th, 2009  - General Dalian, China - Fushi Copperweld reaches litigation settlement agreement Fushi Copperweld, Inc., (the "Company" or "Fushi") the leading global manufacturer and innovator of copper-clad bimetallic wire used in a variety of telecommunication, utility, transportation and other electrical applications, today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement and an escrow agreement with Kuhns Brothers whereby both parties have agreed to settle and resolve the dispute between both parties. See Extended Story.. May 27th, 2009  - General Boston Massachusetts - No one will ever accuse Greg Yurek American Superconductor of short-term thinking. Boston Globe notes that American Superconductor, now based in Devens, celebrated its first quarterly profit ever this month. Lots of people are talking about the company's superconducting wire now but, ironically, that product had little to do with the profit. A separate wind-power business built up in recent years by American Superconductor is the company's real moneymaker. Greg Yurek the CEO can think big, too. After decades of development and small-scale deployment, he is pressing the case that superconducting wire could be used to create a nationwide transmission system to distribute wind power from the Midwest and other remote sources of alternative energy across the country. See Extended Story.. May 26th, 2009  - General Dusseldorf Germany - Promising figures in troubled times 70% of floor space for wire 2010 and Tube 2010 booked. The wire manufacturing and processing industries are defying the tough economic times while tube and pipe producers and processors also focus on continued good sales, Messe Dusseldorf said in a press release Monday. Preliminary registration figures give rise to hope: after the official deadline for registrations in late April wire has already sold approx. 40,000 square metres of net exhibition space. Strikingly, 70% of the existing exhibitors have reserved bigger stands for 2010, a previous trend also continuing in 2010. Machinery, plants and equipment used for producing and processing wire and cable are presented in Halls 9 to 12 and 15 and 17. Leading manufacturers, vendors and upstream suppliers from all over the world will come to the D~{(9~}sseldorf Exhibition Centre from 12 to 16 April 2010 to provide information on the latest manufacturing technologies at wire. May 25th, 2009  - General Cincinnati Ohio - Sencorp files for Chapter 11 Longtime Cincinnati manufacturer Sencorp will sell its assets to equity firmWynnChurch Capital Ltd., as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. The Chicago-based private equity firm would pay about $43 million for Union Township-based Sencorp, parent of Senco Products, according to documents filed over the weekend in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Sencorp, a global supplier of air-powered nailers and fasteners, announced plans to be sold to Wynnchurch Capital Ltd. and Greater Lakes Partners as part of bankruptcy court supervised auction and debt restructuring late Friday. The bankruptcy reorganization culminates more than a year of efforts by Sencorp, owned by the George Juilfs family to cope with declining sales and profitability due to the recession. The company also faced a sharp decline in residential and commercial construction (the company's primary market) and sharply higher steel prices, according to an affidavit by David T. Fyffe, vice president- corporate financial operations and treasurer, in support of a series of first-day motions to allow the company to continue operating while it completes the restructuring, See Extended Story.. May 25th, 2009  - General Beijing China - Infrastructure to boost steel consumption in China China's infrastructure construction projects have shown signs of warming up stimulated by the CNY 4 trillion spending, generating demand for steel products. And analysts believe the demand would pick up further with steel prices likely to stabilize. Mr Zhai Xu director of Guotai Jun'an steel futures research center according to its survey in Shanghai, Shanxi, Hebei, Chongqing and Shenzhen etc new orders mount up for government backed key projects, like highway, subway, airport and turnpike etc with some of them having started construction since last month triggering large demand for wire rod and rebar. See Extended Story.. May 23rd, 2009  - General Moscow Russia - WIRE RUSSIA 2009 a pronounced success for Eder Engineering. EDER Engineering-Austria, despite the global economic crisis which has not excluded RUSSIA, could successfully participate in the recent "Wire RUSSIA 2009 Exhibition" in Moscow again. Dr Kurt Eder said in a press release. Apart from a series of advanced die-tool processing machines, among them the revolutionary USP-TWIN Ultrasonic machine with two workstations, one HGM-21 wire-type calibration equipment and one UFW-1 fine die-bore processing unit, which were all sold to "SPKB-TEHNO Co.", various die workshop ancillary devices and special die-tools were displayed at the 30 sqm large EDER-Stand in Moscow. See Extended Story.. May 23rd, 2009  - General New York City - Wall Street casino gamblers betting on the commodity future contango structure to continue may get burnt as US copper slips at open on fragile economic outlook U.S. copper futures opened sharply lower on Thursday as broader market sentiment soured in response to a pessimistic growth forecast from the Federal Reserve and bearish unemployment data that threw economic recovery hopes into question. Copper for July delivery HGN9 slipped 6.60 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $2.0405 a lb on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX. The U.S. Federal Reserve cut its 2009 forecast for gross domestic product and raised its outlook for unemployment, tempering recent optimism that the economy might be turning the corner. Setback in metals will not lead to yet another "buy the dip" situation. It may last for several more sessions, especially if overbought U.S. equity markets also show signs of fraying said MF Global analyst Edward Meir. London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks declined 5,400 tonnes to 336,075 tonnes on Thursday. Canceled warrants (metal set to leave warehouses) rose to 51,850 tonnes from 50,325 tonnes the previous day. COMEX copper stocks increased by 637 short tons to 51,711 short tons as of Wednesday. May 22nd, 2009  - General Houston Texas - DNV issues new steel wire rope mooring standard DNV and its industry partners have issued a new steel wire rope mooring standard. The new standard (DNV-OS-E304) stipulates requirements as to materials, the fabrication process, product quality, and certification for the manufacture of offshore mooring steel wire ropes and sockets. The standard will enable manufacturers to fabricate, and obtain DNV certification for their wire ropes and sockets in compliance with current market requirements. The main content of the standard deals with design, materials, manufacture, and testing, including documentation and certification requirements In response to the recent research and development and the industry's operational experiences with mooring systems, DNV has released a complete set of Offshore Standards covering systems design, materials, product quality, certification requirements and the fabrication process: -DNV-OS-E301 Position Mooring (issued October 2008), update of previous revision -DNV-OS-E302 Offshore Mooring Chain (issued October 2008), new Standard -DNV-OS-E303 Offshore Mooring Fibre Ropes (issued April 2008), new Standard -DNV-OS-E304 Offshore Mooring Steel Wire Rope (issued April 2009), new Standard. 05/06/2009 May 21st, 2009  - General Guilford, Connecticut - WAI supports mission, leads industry~{!/~}s educational frontier with webinar broadcasts The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc., will host the third in its ongoing series of webinars, the next of which, entitled ~{!0~}Copper: managing price risk,~{!1~} will focus on how companies can control risks related to the volatility of copper pricing. The live webinar is scheduled to air Wednesday, June 3, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The one-hour webinar will feature presentations by three panelists: Neville Crabbe, president, Leoni Wire, Inc.; John Gross, president of J.E. Gross & Company; and Billy Harold, general manager, C.N. Wire Corporation, followed by a question and answer segment. Commodities have shown unprecedented price volatility over the past several years. In the past nine months, copper soared to record highs then fell to multi-year lows. This webinar is designed to identify and discuss the many tools available to help companies manage price risk and enable an organization to maintain itself during turbulent times. The content is targeted toward operations and administrative management personnel engaged in the purchase, inventory, or pricing of products involving copper. For full details use this link May 21st, 2009  - General London U.K. - WAI webinar (see above) most timely in lieu of current contango structure in commodity future markets. Reuters columnist John Kemp drew the attention to the current contango structure in crude oil futures and most other commodity markets. With future prices significantly above the spot market the exchanges are providing a strong incentive to buy and store record quantities of raw materials, with most of the cost borne by retail investors in exchange-traded funds and institutional investors in long-only commodity indices. This "cash-and-carry" strategy rewards market participants with access to storage or finance at the lowest cost. It is providing huge profits for physical commodity merchants, investment banks, and the owners and operators of warehouses and tank farms during the downturn, and helps explain the record profitability from commodity operations reported recently by some of the largest banking and trading groups. In the current market, the cash-and-carry strategy rewards well-connected "insiders" such as investment and commercial banks able to secure almost unlimited financing at zero-cost as a result of quantitative easing programs. Editors note: The losers in the case of copper and aluminum are of course the legitimate buyers of the commodities like cable producers that have to cope wide price swings. The biggest losers are the taxpayers that have provided these financial Wall Street tricksters with the cheap funding that was intended to ease the impact of the financial crises and make commercial credit available to regular businesses. It will be most interesting to hear what these leading cable producers have to say. May 21st, 2009  - General Horgen, Switzerland - Dow Wire & Cable participates in U.K. sustainable power cables project Dow Wire & Cable, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company and its affiliates ("Dow"), announced today that it has joined a multi-disciplinary project in the United Kingdom focused on the development of sustainable power cable material technologies. Through this project, Dow Wire & Cable aims to identify the next generation of plastic cable materials for the power generation industry, capable of delivering improved whole-life performance with a reduced environmental impact. Participation in this exciting project is an example of Dow's commitment to meet its 2015 Sustainability Goals, which include aggressive targets for improvements in the company's product stewardship. See