Cost effectiveness is crucial for many segments within the wire and cable industry. Thus the need to make more from less. Indeed, material savings offers the key to success. With our state-of-the-art extrusion technology, you too have the possibility to save substantial amounts of material.
Take the case of PVC insulated building wire cable, a highly commoditized segment in cable manufacturing. It is relatively easy to produce but challenging to be profitable. Here, the costs of material comprise 80-85% of the total production costs. Solutions that address material consumption are high priority.
After we upgraded a manufacturing line with our extruders and crosshead, the customer saw his consumption of PVC sheathing compound drop by 8-12% on average. The enclosed graph illustrates the change in average sheath wall thickness measured off-line with a KSM measuring device from ACM AB.
The goal is to clearly improve wall thickness stability. By operating within a smaller safety margin one can produce quality product at a minimum required wall thickness. A reduced average wall thickness naturally decreases material consumption and brings significant savings in material costs.
Reduced variations to wall thickness (shown in mm) leads to significant material savings ranging from $125,000 to more than $300,000 per year, dependent on line conditions.
Maillefer extruders and crossheads are available in many different output ranges and for numerous cable constructions and materials. Besides new line deliveries, they are easily retrofitted into most existing cable manufacturing lines. The potential material saving for a building wire production is applicable to most applications in the low voltage segment as well as in all major sheathing applications in the telecom and energy segments.
Harri Kiuru
Product Manager, Low Voltage Cable Solutions
harri.kiuru@maillefer.net