Prysmian to add offshore cable capabilities to UK factory in Wrexham

Move comes to support increased demand for UK and European offshore wind farms

Southampton, 20 April 2017 – Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, announces the capability of its UK production facility in Wrexham to manufacture both 33 kV and 66 kV submarine cable cores used for the inter-array cable connections in offshore wind farms. The new product line will enable the linking and collecting of power produced by offshore wind turbines before onward transmission to the onshore grid.

Prysmian is the largest manufacturer of cable and accessories in the UK. Recently celebrating 100 years of history, it operates multiple factories and provides extensive cable installation and test services to the highest voltage levels across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and beyond. Its high voltage facility in Wrexham is the only factory in the UK that is capable of manufacturing these submarine cable cores.

Llyr Roberts, CEO Prysmian UK comments “Our Wrexham factory has been manufacturing the highest quality cables for decades and we are delighted to be directing this depth of experience and know-how to products that will further grow the business, sustain and create local jobs and provide UK manufactured cables for the next generation of UK and European offshore wind farms.”

In the UK, Prysmian already has an established and strong presence serving the offshore wind energy sector. Alongside a dedicated submarine operations and engineering office in Chelmsford, Prysmian operates an offshore logistics and services base in Middlesbrough, which serves as a centre of excellence offering maintenance, repair and cable storage services for all offshore cabling.

It is also in Middlesbrough where the Prysmian cable laying vessel, Cable Enterprise, is based. The site is also home to an extensive range of cable burial and protection equipment, underpinning the EPCI capability of Prysmian to execute submarine cable projects.

Prysmian UK
Prysmian – manufacturer of the famous fire protection FP range for more than 30 years – is the largest cable manufacturer in the UK with over 100 years of experience. The UK operation employs more than 1,300 personnel across four sites and is well placed to support its local and global customer base with energy and telecom cables and accessories with varying voltage capacities. At higher voltages, Prysmian offers a maintenance and installation service via its Energy Network Solutions business unit. Its XLPE Xpress service delivers high voltage cables and accessories from stock. At lower voltages Prysmian’s comprehensive range of building wires and power cables are available through a first class network of wholesalers and distributors.

Prysmian Group
Prysmian Group is world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry. With nearly 140 years of experience, sales of over €7.5 billion in 2016, 21,000 employees across 50 countries and 82 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and offers the widest possible range of products, services, technologies and know-how. It operates in the businesses of underground and submarine cables and systems for power transmission and distribution, of special cables for applications in many different industries and of medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure sectors. For the telecommunications industry, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for voice, video and data transmission, offering a comprehensive range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is a public company, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB index.