October 10, 2014 – Two years after breaking ground for the construction of a new plant in South Carolina, Nexans is celebrating the opening of its Goose Creek facility. The plant will produce high voltage (HV) power cables and is expected to create 200 manufacturing jobs over the next few years. The 350,000-sf plant will “serve the growing demand” for HV power systems in North America fuelled by new power transmission infrastructure projects.

The plant will focus on the engineering, design and installation of HV cables, and is equipped for type testing cables up to 550kV according to North American and international standards. Its new 427-ft Vertical Continuous Vulcanization (VCV) tower on site, used for converting polymers into insulation layers in order to protect the cable, is now the tallest building in South Carolina, said the company.

There are no underground storage tanks and the substation transformers are dry to avoid potential soil contamination, noted Nexans, adding that it has put in place additional measures to protect employees, including the lower level of the tower that was designed to serve as a shelter in the event of a hurricane.

“The opening of the new Goose Creek plant represents an exciting new phase for Nexans and is an important milestone for the company as we look to capitalize on the growing demand for high voltage cables in North America,” said Arnaud Poupart-Lafarge, CEO of Nexans. “With the opening of this new plant, Nexans is best-placed to serve the major new power transmission infrastructure projects currently being planned in North America today.”

The company hopes the plant will reinforce Nexans’ current product range in North America, adding to the existing medium voltage, low voltage, overhead transmission, industrial, building wire, electrical wire and Local Area Network (LAN) portfolios.