Nexans

Source: Exec Digital UK

Date :21/05/2007 11:04:12

Nexans: Seldom seen but omnipresent

Part of a huge multinational group specialising in cables and cabling systems, Nexans Ireland specialise in the production of low voltage power cables. The Irish subsidiary forms a successful component of a leading global company that bases its continued success on consistent excellence in research and development and a commitment to investing in its staff

Written by James Hurley & Produced by Ben Weaver

Cabling infrastructures are integral to almost every aspect of modern life, from the cables that bring electricity to our homes, offices, hospitals and airports to the ultra-fine wires vital to the operation of a host of gadgets and domestic appliances. Cable producer Nexans employs over 20,000 people and has manufacturing facilities in 29 countries. The company, which is listed on the Paris stock exchange, is the largest manufacturer of cables and cabling system in the world. It offers a wide range of energy and telecom cable solutions using copper and optical fibre cables for the infrastructure, industrial and construction markets. Nexans emphasises the importance of the service that they provide with the maxim that the products that they produce are ‘seldom seen but omnipresent.’

The energy market is central to the firm’s operations – energy activities alone account for 62 percent of Nexans’ total sales. Based in Cornamaddy in County Westmeath, Nexans Ireland specialises in the manufacture of low voltage power cables. While the Irish division of the company is a relatively small employer, with 100 workers, the site in Westmeath is solely responsible for a turnover of €60m. The power cables produced by Nexans have a host of industrial applications from power generation to telecommunications; its clients rely on a vast range of wires and cables for their controls, applications and data transmission. The low voltage cables that Nexans Ireland specialises in are used in increasingly standardised and complex distribution networks that take electricity from high voltage transformer stations to towns and remote areas.

Research and development

In an industry that is faced with a number of challenges, from deregulation to consolidation and business revival, Nexans keeps abreast of a changing industry by maintaining a strong focus on both its research and development programme and its investment in its staff. In 2005, the company invested €54m globally in its R & D programme. The breadth of this programme sees Nexans inventing new products and processes, protecting innovations by patents, anticipating its clients’ requirements and monitoring emergent technologies. In terms of its Irish operations, Nexans is specifically concerned with enhancing its status as a leader in cables and accessories.

Safety is a crucial consideration for all the products that Nexans produces and the company has carried out useful research on polymers which significantly improve the performance of low voltage cables and enhance fire resistance. A typical low or medium voltage power cable contains several layers of polymers and compounds which contribute to meeting the stringent quality and safety standards the final application demands. Nexans Ireland is responsible for producing polymer-based halogen-free fire resistant (HFFR) cables with a variety of applications. Along with their fire-resistant qualities, HFFR cables maintain excellent optical attenuation (i.e. the decrease in signal strength along the cable caused by absorption and scattering is minimized) and remain flexible at lower temperatures than other cables. Like many Nexans products, HFFR cables improve process efficiency and therefore contribute to improved margins.

Recycling efficiency

With operations in so many territories, Nexans adopts responsible policies on the global issues of environmental protection and safety improvements. The company uses non-polluting material and components, the longevity of the equipment produced ensures that environmental impact is minimised, and the firm is both committed to using renewable energy sources and mindful of the need to recycle equipment and installations.

Another Nexans subsidiary, RIPS, recycles 100 percent of the cable materials it receives. The RIPS recycling process, includes collection and transportation (via piggyback train), the mechanical on-site processing of metals (stripping and cutting of reeled cables), and the grinding and reuse of cable waste. RIPS has a grinding capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year, and as a result of technological advancements, can reuse previously problematic materials including copper, aluminium and plastic. Even the plastic powder produced during the grinding process can now be reused. Cable waste and nonferrous metals (e.g. copper and aluminium) are ground into secondary raw materials such as copper and aluminum granules, which can be directly reused in the production process. As such, Nexans Ireland is part of a wider recycling infrastructure that promotes the recycling of its products, and more generally, part of an encouraging trend that has large companies recognizing the economic value of reducing waste and improving recycling efficiency.

People Investment

Nexans is a forward thinking employer, and aim to operate a ‘voluntarist’ HR policy, whereby employees’ productivity and job-satisfaction is based upon voluntary cooperation. To achieve this, the company places an emphasis on team building, skill-sharing, employee mobility, an extensive and targeted training programme and a focus on career development. Nexans Ireland has a reputation for investing heavily in its staff and this is reflected by high retention rates and an increasingly skilled workforce. The company also has a strong policy on education programmes and works closely with local colleges.

Unsurprisingly, Nexans is looking into the benefits of lean implementation as a method of further improving the overall value that it brings to its customers. Given the company’s current record on waste and energy consumption reduction and consistently improved job satisfaction, further commitments to improvements are likely to result in even more impressive results.