TT Cable announced that it has opened a subsidiary in Timisoara, Romania—TT Cables S.R.L.— that will join five other subsidiaries that distribute the company’s low-voltage electrical cables in southeast Europe.

At its web site, the company, which was founded in 2007, notes that TT Cables S.R.L. will join its sister subsidiaries. Collectively, they can better “foster stronger relationships with our customers by providing customized support and solutions that meet the unique needs of their market.”

The company, which earlier this year opened a new 20,000-sq-m manufacturing plant in Macedonia, noted that Romania has long been an export market. “This step signifies the next level in our growth strategy as we expand our business with ... two new factories and significantly increasing our capacity and product range. This subsidiary, with our professional staff supported by a local sales team, brings us even closer to our Romanian and neighboring customers.”

TT Cables is based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with its production facilities, on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its other subsidiaries include TT Cables Nordic (Lithuania), TT Kabeli doo Beograd (Serbia), T Kabeli Croatia, TT Cables GmbH Austria and Brodomerkur Energetika Ltd., also in Croatia. The company notes that it has more than 400 employees and markets in 50 countries.

Corning Incorporate and Lumen Technologies announced that they have entered into an agreement that will see Corning provide Lumen with a substantial supply of its next-generation optical cable.

A press release said that the fiber-dense cable will more than double Lumen’s U.S. intercity fiber miles, offering significant capacity to major cloud data centers racing to stay ahead of AI workloads and high bandwidth applications fueled by massive amounts of data. The optical fiber is a key as generative artificial intelligence (AI) requires at least 10 times more fiber connections within data centers, as well as a robust fiber network to transmit information between these data hubs. “With this agreement, Lumen reserves 10% of Corning’s global fiber capacity for each of the next two years.”

Corning Incorporated Chairman and CEO Wendell P. Weeks said that the agreement is good for both companies. “This marks the first outside-plant deployment of Corning’s new gen-AI fiber and cable system, which will enable Lumen to fit anywhere from two-to-four times the amount of fiber into their existing conduit.”

“Lumen is the network that delivers AI. The rise of AI is driving technology companies to quickly secure fiber and bandwidth before their competition,” said Kate Johnson, president and CEO, Lumen Technologies. “With Corning’s innovative solutions, we’re building the backbone of the AI economy. This partnership gives Lumen status as a preferred partner and secures a significant supply of next-generation fiber today and in the future.”

Lumen notes that it has the largest ultra-low-loss intercity fiber network in North America. Its U.S. intercity network includes routes to more than 50 major cities.

“As generative AI increases bandwidth requirements between data centers, we’re pleased to reach an agreement with Lumen Technologies to provide our latest optical fiber and cable innovations to facilitate Lumen’s build of a new network to interconnect AI-enabled data centers.”

To properly power AI with capacity, performance, stability and speed, Lumen is creating a digital platform on top of its physical network allowing cloud-like consumption of network services. Lumen’s Private Connectivity Fabric℠ is a custom network that includes dedicated access to existing fiber in the Lumen network, the installation of new fiber on existing and new routes, and access to Lumen’s digital services.

Gerdau Cosigua has contracted Russula for an electrical and controls upgrade of its rolling mill #2, which will take place in two phases.

A press release said that the scope of the first phase is from the reheat furnace to the laying head. Obsolete drive and control equipment will be upgraded with new drives, PLCs for optimal mill control and an HMI supplied by Russula along with new remote IOs.

Based in A Coruña, Spain, Russula provides electrical and automation solutions for bar, rod and section mills and reheating furnaces, steel making and strip processing lines. The project will use Russula’s artificial vision cameras that optimize shear cutting in the wire rod mill. The AV system measures the shear cuts automatically and adjusts the cut length to minimize metallic losses thus improving mill efficiency.

In June 2024, the kickoff meeting for phase 1 took place on site at the Gerdau Cosigua plant in Santa Cruz, Brazil. The second phase covers the furnace combustion and all the equipment in the coil cooling and handling area is scheduled for 2025.

South Korea’s LS Cable & System reported that one of its subsidiaries has received an order for extra-high voltage cable from Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the Southeast Asian country’s state-owned electricity utility.

A press release said that the cables will be installed in infrastructure projects for Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport and an industrial complex in the northeastern part of the country. LS Eco Energy produces extra-high voltage cables in its Vietnam plant and accounts for 80% of the local cable market. It also exports Vietnamese-made cables to Europe and North America.

LS Cable owns a 67% stake in LS Eco Energy.

EVN notes that the need for power is acute in Vietnam. It reported that increasing national power consumption is straining the resources that must be able to handle intense hot and muggy weather. The National Load Dispatch Center said that on May 28, national power consumption in a single day surpassed 1 billion kWh, and on June 14 its usage set a record peak of 1.02 billion kWh.

Prysmian has received a Letter of Award for an energy transmission project that calls for it to supply the cable to connect the island Mallorca with the Spanish mainland, a project valued at more than €500 million.

A press release said that Prysmian and Red Eléctrica, the transmission system operator of the Spanish electricity system, will hold an exclusive negotiation of the contract, with the signing expected by the end of 2024. Prysmian will be responsible for the design, installation, testing and commissioning of two HVDC 250 kV MI single-core cables, as well as fiber optic cable for telecom and monitoring purposes that will connect the island of Mallorca with the Spanish mainland power grid, covering both the submarine and land section. The project will reinforce the quality and security of the Balearic Islands’ electricity supply.

“Prysmian has strengthened its leading role in development interconnections thanks to the second Baleares Peninsula project, as we continue to enable increasingly efficient and sustainable power transmission grids in the Mediterranean area,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Transmission at Prysmian. The project will use the same consolidated MI cable technology previously deployed in the Peninsula Baleares 1 installation, he said.

In recent years, Prysmian’s long relationship with Red Electrica has seen the company being awarded projects such as the Ibiza-Formentera, Lanzarote-Fuerteventura, Tenerife –La Gomera and Ceuta-Peninsula connections.