Photo of some of the Viakable volunteers that gathered in October to plant trees in Durango.

A leading producer and seller of electrical conductors, Mexico’s Viakable, a Xignux company, employs more than 4,000 people in Mexico and the U.S. Below, Maritza Almanza, communications and social responsibility manager, outlines one focus from the company’s range of charitable and social responsibility efforts.

During October, more than 120 Viakable employees and their families joined forces with local authorities and Mar y Sierra Salvaje—an organization dedicated to conservation of ecosystems and their species—to plant 188 trees in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Durango.

The first of the reforestations took place on Oct. 22 in a local park located in the municipality of San Nicolas de los Garza in the state of Nuevo Leon. There, Viakable’s volunteers planted 38 trees native to the region, and 100 Texas sages in a park close to the company headquarters in the city. On Oct. 29th, Viakable’s employees also planted 50 red oaks in a park located near the Multipak facility in the state of Durango. Multipak is a Viakable company that produces wood reels and packaging solutions.

More than 4,000 Viakable employees actively take part each year in multiple social responsibility activities, which are based on Xignux’s Social Responsible and Sustainable Development Model. These generate high impact in three areas: economic, social, and environmental, transforming its stakeholder’s quality of life and improving society.

In 2021, Viakable volunteers dedicated 6,532 hours to social responsible activities, benefiting more than 7,340 people, including students, senior citizens, people with disabilities, people in vulnerable conditions of living, and neighbors of the local communities where it has operations.

This year, Viakable was granted the Socially Responsible Company Certificate, which is given by the Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía, A.C. (CEMEFI), and recognizes companies that integrate Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines as part of its culture.

With these permanent actions, Viakable reaffirms its commitment to the environmental care and development of the communities where it has operations with strategically focused initiatives for the construction of a sustainable future.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 2 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

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We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

This photo of Hitachi Cable America staffers led to subsequent acts of goodwill.

Hitachi Cable America (HCA) will soon become Proterial Cable America, but under any name the business is supportive of giving back. Below, Marketing Director Rayne DuPaul shares how one charitable effort sparked a domino cascade of positive actions.

Food insecurity is a growing problem in the U.S., and families have been under even more pressure over the past two years with the global pandemic, and now food inflation. This summer we wanted to give back to our community by supporting the local food bank. Hitachi Cable America, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was able to donate 1,335 pounds of food and delivered approximately 1,113 meals. Dozens of HCA employees handled the logistics.

We happened to place the food donations as well as essential household goods in Teknor Apex Gaylord boxes. Through the power of social media, someone from Teknor saw our post on LinkedIn, and generously donated two boxes of compound back to us.

We were surprised by the unexpected single act of kindness. We did some research and saw that Teknor Apex hosts an annual toy drive for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We talked among ourselves and decided that we should pay this generosity forward, right back to Teknor Apex. We have started collecting unwrapped toys for children in need this holiday season at Hitachi. In the beginning of December, we plan to send a full Gaylord box of unwrapped toys (or more!) in partnership with Teknor Apex towards the Make-A-Wish Foundation this year.

Charity may begin at home, but it also can be found in the goodwill of companies.

Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 1 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

Not currently subscribed to Wire Journal International? Start your free subscription here. Not a Wire Association International member? Become a WAI member now.
We are the leading monthly publication and technical society for the wire & cable manufacturing industry. 

Looking for other parts of this feature series?

Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

NKT has signed a contract to supply the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) onshore power cable system for the Hertel-New York project, which is the Canadian transmission line in the U.S. that will connect to the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line.

A press release said that NKT will design and manufacture a 2 x 60 km 400 kV HVDC onshore cable system that has an estimated value of €90 million. The power cables will be produced in Karlskrona, Sweden, and are expected to be delivered in 2024.

As a part of the overall transmission of sustainable hydropower from Canada to New York City, Hertel-New York will facilitate the onshore power transmission from the Hertel substation in Quebec, Canada, to the submarine section that continues to the U.S. border, where it connects to the CHPE transmission line. Once completed, the transmission line, one of the largest infrastructure investments in the history of New York, will help the state meet its goals of having 70% of power generation and consumption come from renewable energy sources by 2030.

“I am very satisfied that we have been awarded the contract for Hertel-New York which further cements our position as a key partner in ensuring the transmission of renewable power to New York,” said NKT President & CEO Alexander Kara. “This is a key project for NKT, and we are looking forward to close collaboration with Hydro-Québec. We aspire to continue to expand our market presence in Canada and the U.S. where we expect the green transition to create additional growth opportunities.”

Italy's Prysmian has won a €60 million contract for laying submarine cables as part of the strategic HVDC transmission system for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) Lightning Project in the UAE.

A press release said that Prysmian secured a deal for the supply of power cables worth around €220 million in January. The contract was awarded under a limited notice to proceed by Samsung C&T as part of its EPC consortium with Jan De Nul, with an option open for an installation agreement. The project is set for completion in 2025.

ADNOC and TAQA announced the successful financial closure of their $3.8bn project to power and significantly decarbonize ADNOC’s offshore production operations in September. The main purpose of the new HVDC link is to replace ADNOC’s current offshore power with a renewable onshore power source, reducing its environmental impact and CO2 emissions.

Under the ADNOC Lightning Project, Prysmian will design, supply, assemble and test a symmetrical monopole system consisting of four HVDC 320 kV single-core cables with XLPE insulation, along with fiber optic cable systems, that will connect the Al Mirfa onshore converter station to Al Ghallan, an artificial offshore island in the Arabian Gulf, located off the Abu Dhabi coast.

The project comprises both a subsea route of approximately 134 km of submarine HVDC cables, and onshore routes located at Al Mirfa and Al Ghallan Island, totaling approximately 3.5 km of HVDC land cable route. Offshore installation operations will be performed by Prysmian’s Leonardo da Vinci, with the shallow water activities being performed by the cable-laying barge Ulisse.