Madison, Connecticut, USA – February 27, 2024 – The Wire Association International (WAI), Inc. announces two Keynote Speakers for Wire Expo 2024, which will be held at the Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino, Uncasville, CT, USA, June 11-12, 2024.

On June 11, H.O. Woltz III, Chairman, President, and CEO of Insteel, will deliver his Keynote Address “Success based on committing to continuous improvement and a passion for manufacturing.” Mr. Woltz will provide a status report on the challenges and opportunities facing the ferrous wire industry. He will draw from his 45 years in the industry including more than 30 years as CEO and numerous business cycles.

In addition, Mr. Woltz will be honored at Wire Expo as the 2024 recipient of the WAI Champion’s Award, which recognizes an industry executive for his support of the Wire Association and its mission.

On June 12, Keynote speaker Paul Furtado, COO, Prysmian North America will present “Elevating operations: Paving the way to manufacturing excellence.” His presentation will outline key elements of on-going efforts to optimize operational processes through the Prysmian Operating System (POS) approach, including how to build employee engagement and a culture of continuous improvement strategies in creating focus, transparency, and alignment throughout the organization. It will highlight specific tools such as strategy deployment and leverage internal systems an approach centered around core manufacturing principles and maximizing teams’ capabilities.

Commenting on the conference, WAI Executive Director Steven Fetteroll said “WAI is honored to have these executives involved to inspire each day of Wire Expo. Their individual messages on improvement and excellence are echoed in the rest of the conference program.”

For further details, visit website: www.wireexpo24.com and contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details.

WAI, founded in 1930, is a not-for-profit association with more than 2000 individual members in 50 countries. The association serves the educational needs of the wire and cable manufacturing industry through a variety of products and services. WAI manages the Interwire Trade Exhibition and Wire Expo and publishes the Wire Journal International and the Wire Journal International Reference Guide.

Media Contacts: Janice E. Swindells, Director Marketing & Corporate Communications, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-2777, x. 117; Steven J. Fetteroll, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 001-203-453-1777.

The WAI Poland Chapter’s XI International Seminar, held Nov. 23-24, 2023, continued the chapter’s rich tradition of staging technical events, drawing more than 80 attendees from 25 countries. Attendees also heard about a new award named after one of the four listed founders of the chapter in 1997.

Chapter President Jan Pilarczyk said that the seminar, held at the MEALURGIA Hotel in Radomsko, saw hearty exchanges among participants. The attendees came from 25 companies, domestic and foreign.

The first day saw a memorable presentation by U.S. steel industry veteran Robert J. Glodowski, the 2002 winner of the WAI Mordica Award, who is now the principal of RJG Metallurgic LLC. His talk, The Evolving Technology of Steel Rod Manufacturing, was well received for the detail that it went into. That evening he was presented the Poland Chapter’s Professor Marian Schneider Award, which is the highest honor.

Pilarczyk noted that support from Glodowski, along with steel industry veteran Robert Shemenski, both winners of the Professor Marian Schneider Award, along with Eugeniusz Filipczyk, were instrumental in the Poland Chapter being created in 1997.

Of note, Glodowski’s presentation was translated into Polish by Piotr Milewski, of WireCo World Group, whose profile appears on the opposite page. Milewski also presented a paper the next day.

Also receiving the Professor Marian Schneider Award was Jan Krnáč, who made a presentation at the conference, Analysis of possibilities to improve the quality of drawn steel wires intended for the production of needles. The author and co-author of 14 publications and contributions to national and international conferences, including publications in foreign professional journals, Krnáč helped develop drawing technologies for new production equipment, using a holistic approach to achieve better technological properties.

The program included a panel discussion on the condition of the steel industry in the era of political and economic destabilization in the post-Covid period and in the face of war in Ukraine. The audience also heard about the creation of a new Poland Chapter award honoring the late Henryk Dawid, the 1957 founder of DAWID company, a producer of sieves and wire meshes. The idea came from his son, Jerzy Dawid, and Maciej Górak, the Chapter’s vice-president. The statuette has the WAI logo on the globe that emphasizes the global nature of the organization promoting the winners.

Henryk Dawid, who died March 29, 1999, at age 69, attended Interwire in Atlanta in 1997. Two years later, at Interwire 1999, the WAI Association’s Board of Directors approved the establishment of the Poland Chapter. In the application, Henryk and Jerzy Dawid were listed as two of the four founders, along with the late Prof. Bogdan Golis and Pilarczyk.

Members of WAI’s New England, Southeast, Midwest and Ohio Valley chapters have until March 29 to submit scholarship applications from their respective chapters.

For more details on applying, contact WAI Member Services Manager Corey Flynn at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Applications must be received by March 29. Below are photos of 2023 recipients. N

Last year, WAI’s Ohio Valley Chapter (OVC) announced that it would launch a scholarship program, administered by The Wire Foundation, with plans for two $1,500 awards. It now is carrying out that mission, and as part of that is re-issuing a call for applications for the first time.

The chapter, which covers the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania (west of State College), and New York (west of Rochester), has joined the New England, Southeast and Midwest chapters in offering the program. “This is a good cause for the chapter and a big moment for all our members,” said OHC President Tom Maxwell.

Per the OVC outline, eligible applicants are academically qualified high school seniors or college students who are children, grandchildren, or dependents of WAI Ohio Valley Chapter members in good standing. Scholarships will be awarded up to $1,500 per recipient with preference for one to be for a two-year accredited technical school or associates program enrollee and/or the other to be for an accredited four-year college or university enrollee. The student must either be a graduating high school senior or currently enrolled in an accredited two- or four-year technical school, college or university.

Applicants must provide an essay (300-500 words) as to why they deserve the scholarship, their official transcript, and a resume of community service involvement, high school and/or college activities and three references. Any planned field of study is acceptable, and no financial information is required; however, special circumstances will be considered. For more details on applying, contact WAI Member Services Manager Corey Flynn at tel. 203-453-2777, ext. 128, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Applications due by March 29. They can be submitted to https://bit.ly/ OH24Scholar.