CEC Designs Unique Annealing Furnace for Southwire Company
Kennesaw, GA (September 14, 2006) - Southwire, the largest producer of electric cable and wire in the United States, has signed a contract with Consolidated Engineering Company to manufacture and install an aluminum wire-annealing furnace in their Hawesville, Kentucky production facility. This furnace will increase the facility's annealing capacity by 14 spools of aluminum wire, each weighing 12,500 lbs, in every 12-hour shift.
This project was unique in its challenges. Southwire required a highly efficient annealing production process, but the design had a height constraint of 19 feet because of existing equipment. CEC proposed a mobile furnace that moves back and forth between load stations, immediately after each load is finished annealing. This, coupled with a stationary door design that allows the furnace to fit within the height requirements, proved to be the best answer to Southwire's needs and significantly increased productivity with a decreased floor space requirement.
"The design that is being implemented at Southwire is both innovative and efficient," said Paul M. Crafton, President of Consolidated Engineering. "We are known for working with our customers to solve challenging issues and give the best service possible, which is what ultimately proved to be our unique differentiation in this project."
This new mobile annealing furnace will increase Southwire's aluminum wire production by 350,000 lbs a day.
About Southwire Company
More than 50 years ago, Southwire was founded to help bring electricity to rural Georgia. Today, it supplies 135 of the nation's top power companies, plus dozens of utility companies abroad and is pioneering new technology to better serve all of its wire and cable customers. Nearly a fifth of all homes in the United States contain Southwire's building wire products.
About CEC
For nearly 50 years CEC has been building its reputation as a world leader in quality heat processing technology. Over the years CEC has experienced phenomenal growth with over 3,400 installations worldwide, of which 60% are from repeat customers. With a comprehensive background in innovative heat processing technologies, and 70 U.S. and foreign patents, CEC can help turn any heat processing challenge around by lowering labor costs through increased automation, efficient process control and reduced energy consumption, while maintaining consistent product quality. CEC specializes in Aluminum Casting Heat Treatment Systems. For more information about CEC, visit www.cec-intl.com.
