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Continuus-Properzi SpA

Booth 514

In recent years, the worldwide economy has faced new challenges, such as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions. The situation has compelled many companies to interrupt long-standing commercial relationships with consolidated partners and suppliers in order to find new ones in areas where other similar companies are also searching.

The availability of aluminium or copper rod (as an example of an altered supply chain) is not taken for granted, and could become a point for possible future development. This becomes more strategic when producing cables that require specific rod characteristics.

In order to produce high-quality EC grade and in particular alloy rod, as well as high quality copper rod, the requirements include a properly designed casting and rolling line and know-how. The rod market cannot be considered as a simple commodity with identical characteristics from one supplier to another; they can change drastically causing several, often critical, problems during required downstream processes for cable manufacturing.

Based on these considerations, several cable manufacturers are reconsidering their strategy on supply chain, integrating vertically their manufacturing process to include production of aluminium and/or copper rod for their own internal consumption. This moves the need from sourcing a product with specific properties to finding commodities such as ingots/sows/T-bars for Al rod production and cathodes for Cu rod production.

The choice of internal rod production also has economic advantages, including lower transportation costs.

Continuus-Properzi has designed a range of casting and rolling lines for the production of aluminium or copper rod for internal consumption by cable producers. The casting and rolling line, including furnace set, fume treatment system (if needed) and ancillaries, are designed and to allow easy operation and maintenance in any environment, with complete training and transfer of know-how to the customer's team.

The company has designed rod lines for smaller volumes than those typically requested by traditional rod producers. It can also provide a wide range of furnaces suitable to process and refine, if required, scrap generated during the downstream production process and scrap sourced from the market.