Global news: October 2011 Thursday, 13 October :00 - Last Updated Monday, 24 October :13

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1 Brazil Nexans, a manufacturer of cable products, has been awarded a Euro 20 million contract from the IE Madeira consortium to deliver the overhead lines for the Madeira River Power Interconnection in Brazil. The company will supply 6,700 km of its special all-aluminium conductor (AAC) for the first circuit, each conductor featuring 91 bare wires, with a diameter of 44.4 mm. Brazil Wire, cable, and wire management products supplier IEWC plans to expand its international distribution services with the opening of a sales office and stocking facility near Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new facility will allow IEWC to optimally support its customers in the South American marketplace. Ricardo Garcia, president of IEWC Mexico, will be responsible for overseeing the Brazil distribution initiative, expected to be completed by the end of the year. China Japanese steel maker Nippon Steel Corporation has announced that its steel wire manufacturing subsidiary, Nippon Steel Bar & CH Wire (China) Co. Ltd. (NBC China), plans to increase its production capacity and expand its local facilities. NBC China is operating at full capacity, with an existing capacity of 7,000 MT per year, thanks to the growth of auto production in China. With the construction of a new integrated plant having pickling, wiredrawing and heat treating equipment, NBC China s production capacity will rise to 42,000 MT per year. China Juli Sling plans to invest in a factory to produce steel wire used in the silicon chips of solar power. The investment totals 1.13 billion yuan, of which 1.04 billion yuan are to be invested in fixed assets. The facility will have annual capacity of 20,000 MT. The company, which is based in Baoding city, is also planning a heavy rigging project for million yuan. Dubai INTERKAB, which specialises in the stocking, distribution, and manufacture of electrical cable primarily for use in the energy and OGP sectors both upstream and downstream, has established a cable stocking and distribution facility in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE. England Tata Steel is investing an additional 4.5 million in its South Yorkshire operations to improve plant reliability and energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, and boost production of high-value steel products. France Nexans, a worldwide leading expert in the cable industry, has been awarded two four-year contracts for a total amount of Euro 15 million by RATP (the state-owned operator of 1 / 5

2 Paris public transport systems) to supply specialised railway infrastructure cables that deliver the ideal combination of high performance, safety and reliability for projects to maintain, upgrade and expand the city s metro and tram networks. Fiji Islands Telecom Fiji has secured a ten-year access agreement to the Southern Cross submarine cable, which links Fiji, Australia, and the U.S. The agreement was signed via Australian communications firm Optus, which is a shareholder in the cable. Germany ArcelorMittal Hamburg GmbH has placed an order with SMS Meer for the modernisation of a two-strand wire rod mill. With this revamp ArcelorMittal aims to improve the product quality with a view to further consolidating its leading position in the quality steels market. The new cantilever stands from SMS Meer will enable higher rolling forces in the future. Kazakhstan L S Cable & System has successively won power cable supply contracts worth USD 24 million from Samruk Energy, a state-operated power company of Kazakhstan and USD 9.1 million from ANDE of Paraguay. Korea LS Cable & System has received International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) certification from Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE). This certification substitutes advance screening of suppliers for the railway industry in Europe and therefore grants qualification to supply parts without additional quality system assessment. New Zealand Pacific Fibre has signed a deal with a U.S.-based cable company to build New Zealand s second international Internet link. TE SubCom, which developed the world s first transatlantic fiber optic cable in 1988, will design, construct and lay Pacific Fibre s 12,750 km Internet pipe between Auckland, Sydney and Los Angeles. Norway ABB, a leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth about USD 20 million from EMAS AMC, the deepwater services arm of Ezra Holdings Limited, to supply power cables for Statoil s Gudrun North Sea oil and gas field, located off the coast of Norway. ABB will deliver 55 kms of 52 kilovolts (kv), three-core submarine cable with integrated optical fiber, which will facilitate the supply of 20 megawatts (MW) of electrical power from Statoil s Sleipner fields to the Gudrun field. 2 / 5

3 Qatar Doha Cables, Qatar s first and largest domestic cable manufacturer, has been awarded a two-year contract by Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation Kahramaa to supply low voltage (0.6/1kV) and medium voltage (11kV) power cables equal to approximately 42,000 tonnes of copper through a competitive tendering process. The contract, valued at USD 494 million is part of Kahramaa s current programme to meet the growing demand for power in Qatar which it forecasts will almost double to 8 GW by Romania Delphi Automotive is opening a new manufacturing facility at Moldova Noua, in the southwest region of Romania. The site will produce wiring harness modules for vehicle manufacturers across Europe and will work closely with other Delphi facilities in the country to ensure efficiency and flexibility for its customers. Russia Rusnano and Terwingo have signed an investment agreement for construction of Russia s first factory to manufacture a distinctive steel wire for cutting silicon and sapphire. The wire is a key consumable in the production of solar battery elements and microelectronic units. Scotland NKT Cables has signed a contract with DONG Energy and Scottish Power Renewables (part of Iberdrola Renovables) for supply of on- and offshore high voltage cables, including delivery and installation of accessories for the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm. The contract involves manufacturing and delivery of 82 km 155 kv export cables integrated with 48 core optical fibers and 22 km 155 kv land cables, together with delivery and installation of 155 kv accessories for both the on- and offshore part of the wind farm. Sierra Leone President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, launched the USD 25 million West Africa Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme (WARCIP) in Aberdeen. The project will make communication cheaper and affordable for all and will become fully operational by July UAE Ducab, one of the leading manufacturers of power cables in the Middle East, has now earned its third consecutive recognition as a UAE Superbrand - an award for marketing excellence. 3 / 5

4 UK British company PWM, which designs and manufactures high-performance cold welding equipment, is stepping up production of its custom-made dies for welding two different sizes of nonferrous wire and rod. The dies will meet manufacturers requirements for cold welding dies capable of bonding different wire sizes during the drawing process. USA United Copper Industries, a copper wire and cable manufacturer in Denton, is now under new ownership. KPS Capital Partners LP purchased all of the assets of United Copper, an affiliate of Grupo IUSA, which is based in Mexico. USA Nexans will build a plant for the manufacture of underground extra high voltage (EHV) cables and possible extension to submarine HV activities in the United States. Nexans is investing in the new plant to capitalise on the significant investments expected in EHV cables in North America in the coming years. The total investment is expected to be approximately USD 80 million. USA EUTEX International, Houston s leading provider of IEC cables and electrical products, announced its partnership with global cable manufacturer AmerCable Incorporated. The distribution agreement has been formulated for the North American and Canadian markets and includes the full range of Type P cables for the offshore, marine and OEM markets. USA With a growth strategy that moves beyond technology and materials for wire and cable jacketing, insulation, semi-conductive and specialty compounds for the power and telecommunications markets, Dow Wire & Cable has made the decision to change its business name to Dow Electrical & Telecommunications. USA In order to enter into the fiber optics business, RF Industries Ltd has completed the acquisition of New York-based Cables Unlimited, Inc., a seller of high-value fiber optic cabling and connector products to enterprise and carrier network customers. RFI manufactures, designs and distributes radio frequency (RF) connectors and cable assemblies, medical cabling products, RF wireless products, and fiber optic cable products. USA Prysmian Group announced the introduction of a new outside plant fiber cable named LT20 BBXS that offers up to 19 per cent reduction in diameter, up to 30 per cent reduction in weight and comes standard with BendBrightXS bend insensitive fiber. 4 / 5

5 Tata Steel is investing an additional 4.5 million in its South Yorkshire operations to improve plant reliability and energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, and boost production of high-value steel products. 5 / 5