The weather may not have been overly obliging, but the New England Chapter’s Feb. 6 annual meeting and dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by the WAI chapter members who gathered at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The chapter welcomed its new president for 2025, Annaliese Sviokla, Gem Gravure, and thanked its 2024 president, Ryan Carbray, Alphagary, for a job well done. Also recognized were new board members David Roberge, Sjogren Industries Inc.; Sean Donnelly, Kinrei of America LLC; and Shawn Stavely, Gendon Polymer Services Inc.

Sviokla said that she was honored to head the chapter and pledged to carry on Carbray’s good work. She also thanked multiple people, including a friend and past chapter president, Lori Parent, and multiple Gem colleagues. That included President Paul Gemelli, who she said gave her every opportunity to succeed. “At our board meeting earlier today, it was joked that in the wire industry, when you’re in, you’re in. And after 17 years of wire and cable, I’m happy to say that’s fine with me because there’s truly no place I’d rather be.”

Carbray traced the highlights on 2024, which included the 30th Annual Golf Tournament, the largest to date with more than 160 golfers and attendees; the awarding of three college scholarships for $2,500 each; and the November tour of ACCEL International’s wire drawing plant in Cheshire, Connecticut; as well as last year’s annual meeting. “We owe a great deal of thanks to all of you who support these events. All the money raised directly supports the scholarship fund and allows us to continue providing these awards. Please give yourselves a round of applause,” he said.

The keynote speaker, Ramon Peralta of Peralta Design, proved to be remarkable. His discussion that covered multiple considerations of employee engagement was well received, as was the overall event. “Despite some snowy weather in Connecticut, the WAI NE Chapter Annual Meeting was a big success,” said Paul Gemelli. “I continue to be impressed with the quality of this annual event.  It was an excellent night of networking in a great venue with many industry leaders and professionals. Mr. Peralta’s presentation was very relevant and informative for me and my colleagues. Thanks to WAI for a terrific event!” 

Over the past 20 years, ACIMAF, IWMA and the WAI have produced numerous technical conferences throughout Europe. This time, they are being joined by Poland’s AGH University (AGH) to put on an event that will be held in Kraków, Poland, on Oct. 14, 2025.

The deadline for an abstract submission form is March 31, 2025. The form can be accessed online at BIT.LY/WAIABSTRACTS.

The Kraków location is most fitting as multiple members of WAI’s Poland Chapter have presented technical articles. A public university in Kraków, Poland, that was founded in 1913, AGH focuses on innovative technologies, and its research includes engineering disciplines, exact sciences, earth sciences and social sciences. Wire production is part of its scope.

WAI Executive Director Steve Fetteroll credits RichardApex’s Don Neville—who recently completed his term as chairman of U.K.-based International Wire Machinery Association (IWMA)—for encouraging a collaboration with AGH. That led to support from AGH Dean Tadeusz Knych, the 2015 winner of WAI’s Mordica Award and a long-time member of the WAI Poland Chapter, and Dr. Beata Smyrak, an AGH professor. “The group is working well together and of course, it is a pleasure to have a chance to work more closely with genuine supporters.”

Professor Jerzy Lis, the rector of AGH, is also supporting the one-day event that will see concurrent ferrous and electrical tracks as well as tabletops.

Attendees will be presented an in-depth view of the manufacturing advances in wire and cable research, operations and production. While some presentations have already been secured, the issued call for papers is for ferrous and nonferrous topics

On Feb. 10th, The Wire Association International (WAI) launched its new online training platform, the WAI Education Center, a resource designed to support the professional growth of the wire and cable industry.

The early reviews of this innovative platform that provides on-demand access to expert-instructed courses covering essential industry topics have all been positive. The series makes it easier than ever for professionals to expand their knowledge and enhance their skills at their own pace. From foundational principles to advanced technical concepts, WAI’s training platform is built to meet the evolving needs of the industry. New courses on various subjects will be regularly released throughout 2025.

Attendees at Interwire 2025 will have multiple opportunities to explore WAI’s new educational content and learn how it can benefit them individually or their company at large. Visit WAI’s Resource Center & Member Lounge on the show floor to see the platform in action, ask questions, and discover a solution for workforce development specific to wire and cable manufacturing.

Finally, if you are at Interwire, don’t miss the final conference session on Thursday from 1:30 to 2:00 pm in the WAI Theater, where WAI’s Manager of Education, John Markowski will present “Empowering Industry Growth: Unlocking the Potential of WAI’s Education Center and Training Platform.” This session won’t just highlight WAI’s new training content—it will also emphasize the importance of having a structured training program in place. Whether a company lacks an existing training program or needs more comprehensive materials, WAI can be a valuable resource for onboarding new employees and upskilling the current workforce through continuing education.

Join us at Interwire to see how WAI’s latest initiative is driving industry education forward and empowering

At Interwire 2025, the WAI will hold its required annual meeting on Wednesday, May 14. WAI President Eric Bieberich will preside, including a brief review of past and current activities.

The brief required meeting will also include the presentation of four Association awards: the Mordica Memorial Award, the Donnellan Memorial Award, the WAI President’s Award and the WAI Champion Award. For more details on these and other Association activity at Interwire, see the March preshow issue.

Southwire announced changes to its executive leadership team, including adding two new leadership positions. Juan Hernandez has been named Executive Vice President (EVP), Residential and Commercial Group. He joined the company in 1997, and most recently was senior vice president of infrastructure. He will join the executive leadership team. Veronica Braker will maintain her position on the executive leadership team with an expanded role as executive vice president, operations. She joined Southwire last year, leading strategic efforts such as environmental health and safety, quality, maintenance, lean, modernization and vertical integration. The company also named Rohan Kelkar as executive vice president, utility and industrial group. He most recently worked for Schneider Electric as EVP for its global Power Products business from 2021 until present. He previously spent more than 20 years at General Electric serving in executive roles. He will lead the utility and industrial groups as one unit while serving on the executive leadership team. Hernandez and Braker will formally assume their new roles on March 31. Based in Carrollton, Georgia, USA, Southwire is one of the world’s largest wire and cable manufacturers.

As part of a series of realignments, LAPP Group CEO Matthias Lapp will devote his full attention to his duties as CEO of LAPP Group, handing over his role as CEO of the important EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) to Michael Seddig as of April 1, 2025. Seddig has been responsible for purchasing, production and logistics in the region as COO EMEA at LAPP since July 2023. The family initiated the handover to the third generation in 2022, when Andreas Lapp and Siegbert E. Lapp withdrew from the LAPP Group’s operational business. Matthias Lapp took over as CEO from Andreas Lapp after 12 years with the company. Katharina Lapp succeeded Siegbert E. Lapp on the LAPP Group’s Supervisory Board. Since then, Matthias Lapp has fulfilled his role as CEO of the Group in addition to his EMEA role. Before joining LAPP, Seddig held global, customer-facing management positions at LEONI, a supplier of cable solutions and wiring systems for the automotive industry. In parallel, Andreas Lapp is stepping down as chairman of the Supervisory Board of the European parent company U.I. Lapp GmbH. He will be succeeded by his nephew Matthias Lapp, who will join as chairman of the Supervisory Board after stepping down from the EMEA management. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, LAPP manufactures a wide range of products for the wire and cable industry, with some 5,800 employees worldwide.

 Ahmet Kabaktepe has been named director of sales - north at Marmon Industrial Energy and Infrastructure. He previously served as vice president of sales & marketing for Sark Wire Corp., where he worked in multiple roles for more than 14 years. Prior to that he was a marketing specialist for Sarkuysan A.S. in Turkey. He holds a B.Sc. degree in metallurgical engineering from Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi. A division of U.S.-based Marmon Electrical, Marmon Industrial Energy and Infrastructure produces electronic wire and cable products.

Johannes Weber was promoted from service account manager to service manager for Niehoff Endex North America. He has 25 years of field service experience with the Niehoff Group. He started his career in Germany and relocated in 2017 to the US. His last role was as service account manager. He replaces Rene Isael, who joined Niehoff in 1997 and has retired. Based in Swedesboro, New Jersey, Niehoff Endex North America is the U.S. business of Germany’s Maschinenfabrak Niehoff GmbH & Co.  KG, a leading manufacturer of nonferrous wire and cable machinery. 

David Devoe was recently named the new president/CEO of John Evans and Sons. He had previously worked for more than 30 years for Plymouth Spring, including serving as president there since 1994. He currently serves as the president of the New England Spring & Metalstamping Association (NESMA). Based in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, John Evans and Sons was founded in 1850. It was acquired by Lesjöfors, a Swedish spring manufacturer that is part of the  Beijer Alma Group.

Eland Cables announced two positions for its international team. Aaron Ellis was named head of key projects (EMEA). He most recently was at JDR Cables Systems, where he worked for 11 years, most recently as sales manager, renewables. His experience of large-scale installations will serve him well alongside his degree in engineering as he takes on an EMEA role covering key projects. Patrick Marx was named country manager for Germany and Austria. He has more than 20 years in the industry, including serving as director of sales for Central Europe. Still based in Germany, he will lead the company’s German-speaking European-based customer offerings. Based in London with its principal operations in Yorkshire, Eland Cables is a power, data, control and instrumentation cable supplier, primarily serving the energy infrastructure in Europe.

 
Obituary

Paul James Wagner, the chairman and CEO of Minnesota Wire, died Jan. 7, 2025, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 1985, Wagner joined the company founded by his father, Fred Wagner, in sales. At the time, the company specialized in computer cable. Over the years, Paul Wagner changed the company’s scope, focusing on wire for the medical industry in 1990. He became president in 1992 and CEO in 2000. In 2003, the company began providing wire for the defense industry, including for products such as PDAs, night vision goggles and headset communication systems as well as military vehicles. It later extended to space technology sectors.

Paul Wagner was seen as a CEO who identified as the average man. To him, everyone mattered. Under his leadership, he and his company received numerous recognitions. He was named a 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® and a Distinguished Career Award winner by the Wire & Cable Manufacturers’ Alliance in 2020. Most recently, his company was named Business of the Year (2024) by the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce for its excellence in innovation, growth and community impact. He gave his time and talent to a multitude of organizations. He held a degree in business with an emphasis in management from the University of St. Thomas. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, daughters Lauren Kaniho and Kelsey Gustafson, and multiple grandchildren.

The Wire & Cable Manufacturers Alliance (WCMA) will honor the winners of its 2025 Distinguished Career Award at The 39th Annual Awards Dinner and Investiture Ceremony that will take place on March 29, 2025, in Hartford, Connecticut, at the Downtown Hartford Marriott Hotel.

The Award Ceremony recognizes individuals in wire and cable who served the industry for a minimum of 25 years and during that time demonstrated outstanding professional acumen along with personal attributes of an exceptional degree. The Award was originally named for the late Charles D. Scott (1915-1983), founder and president of Northeast Wire Co. The 2025 recipients are listed below.

Bob Allen, Engineering Manager, James Monroe Wire & Cable

Lenny Argentine, VP Sales & Marketing, International Wire

Mike Canterino, VP Engineering, Fluoropolymer Resources

John Gross, Publisher, Copper Journal

Hamid Haophsy, VP Manufacturing, Fisk Alloy Wire

Trent Hayes, Engineering Manager, CommScope

Joe Iamartino, VP of Technology, Marmon Electrical

David Kiddoo, CEO, IWCS/CCCA

To make a reservation or for more information about WCMA or the Distinguished Career Award, go to www.wcmainc.org, and click on premier events or contact WCMA Executive Director Ed Fenton at 860-331-7074 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The UAE, Italy, and Albania have signed a tripartite cooperation agreement to build a subsea interconnection across the Adriatic Sea, valued at approximately €1 billion, with a target completion date of 2028.

Per multiple media reports, the project is designed to transfer renewable energy from Albania to Italy to strengthen energy infrastructure in the Mediterranean region. The energy generated in Albania will be transferred to Italy via an underwater cable crossing the Adriatic Sea that would add to existing connections between Italy and the Balkans that include a 430-km subsea power link from Montenegro to Italy. The undersea cable will have the capacity to carry up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity, marking a significant milestone in renewable energy integration.

The deal, signed at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, will leverage the UAE’s expertise in solar and wind energy to bolster Albania’s renewable energy capacity. “The investment agreement for the underwater connection of the energy distribution network with Italy, as well as for investments in increasing production from renewable sources in Albania, was signed today,” said the Albanian government in a statement.

The underwater cable would link the Albanian port of Vlore with Italy’s Puglia region. The key participants would be Italian grid operator Terna and the UAE’s National Energy Company (Taqa). The project would allow Albania to invest in and develop its untapped solar and wind potential, while helping Italy reduce CO2 emissions and decrease reliance on non-allied states.

UAE Industry and Technology Minister Sultan al-Jaber described the agreement as a “far-sighted collaboration” that connects Albania’s renewable energy potential, the UAE’s expertise and Italy’s sophisticated energy market. Al-Jaber, who also chaired the COP28 climate summit, said the initiative aligns with global goals to triple renewable energy capacity and transition away from fossil fuels.

Italy is currently developing the Elmed submarine cable between Italy and Tunisia and the SoutH2 Corridor for the transport of hydrogen from North Africa to Central Europe, passing through Italy.

In 2019, Italian energy firm Terna inaugurated a similar cable connecting Montenegro and Italy, following an investment of €1.1bn.

Italy’s Danieli has provided a tailor-made roughing mill featuring shiftable stands for a Nippon Steel plant in Kamaishi, Japan.

Per a Danieli press release, the new mill can provide twist-free rolling of 130- to 168-mm billets at 130 tph. The installation of the shiftable roughing mill, in a narrow space, increased billet charging flexibility and efficiency. The produced billets will be used to manufacture wire rod at the same facility. It started operations in 1961 and was described as the longest-running wire rod mill currently operating in Japan.

The Kamaishi operation includes a three-strand wire-rod mill that produces special steel wire rod in mild and hard steel wire, low-alloy steel, spring steel, special melt wire, and bearing steel grades. The main equipment supplied includes two mono-groove vertical and horizontal housingless stands.

In December 2024, Italy’s Tratos Cavi S.A.  completed its acquisition of Spain’s TELNET Fibre Optic S.L.U., which has a firm base in fiber optics technology.

A press release and media reports outlined how the strategic move was expected to significantly boost Tratos’ position in the fiber optic technology sector and expand its presence. The long list of cited advantages includes the following key benefits and expectations: expanded production capacity, as TELNET’s facilities add more than 12,000 sq m of manufacturing space with an annual output of 1.5 million km of fiber optic cables; enhanced technological capabilities as TELNET’s expertise in fiber optic cables and passive optical components complements Tratos’ existing product portfolio; market expansion, as it allows Tratos to establish a strong foothold in Spain and enhance its commercial operations in the region; increased revenue; a broader product range and more innovation, as the merger makes it possible to offer a more comprehensive range of solutions for high-speed connectivity and advanced telecommunications infrastructure while adding TELNET’s R&D capabilities will help Tratos achieve further technological advancements in the telecom industry; and strategic growth, as this deal fits well into the broader strategy of Tratos to strengthen its presence across Europe and expand into new markets.

The release noted TELNET has an impressive customer base that includes: fibre optic cables for several high-profile clients in Spain and across Europe, including Telefónica de España S.A.U., Vodafone Spain, MasOrange, DIGI Spain Telecom, ADIF, and international operators like IP Telecom Portugal, Vodafone UK, Portugal Telecom, Cabo Verde Telecom, Digi Belgium, Telecom Argentina, Telefónica Argentina, Telefónica Uruguay, Colombia Telecomunicaciones and Unsere Grüne Glasfaser (UGG) in Germany.

The Ducab Group, a UAE-based end-to-end solutions provider and manufacturer, announced that it has expanded its presence in Africa by supplying 220 kV high-voltage (HV) cables to Senegal for the first time.

A press release said that the sale, for a critical component of a Dakar project, will help upgrade the power infrastructure of Senegal’s capital to meet increasing energy demands. This initiative supports Senegal’s ambitious goal of achieving universal electricity access by 2026.

The order from Senegal represents the 23rd African country to have been supplied by Ducab’s cable portfolio. Some other African nations it exports to include Angola, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Egypt. Ducab operates in 75 global markets. Also, its revenues grew by 1% in 2024, and its expectations for 2025 call for a 15% increase. In terms of volume, Ducab recorded a 4% growth in 2024 and estimates a 21% surge in 2025.

The activity stems from Ducab’s African Growth Strategy: This expansion is part of Ducab’s broader growth strategy in Africa, and aligns with the UAE’s recent $4.5 billion pledge to fund renewable energy initiatives in Africa. Charles Mellagui, CEO of Ducab Cables Business, emphasized the importance of this milestone, stating that it not only strengthens Dakar’s energy infrastructure but also reinforces Ducab’s commitment to delivering reliable, world-class solutions across Africa.