Furukawa Electric Announces New Contract for One of the Largest OPGW Projects in Newfoundland, Canada

Suzhou Furukawa Power Optic Cable Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu Province, PRC, hereinafter, SFPOC), Furukawa Electric (TOKYO:5801) (ISIN:JP3827200001) group, has been awarded a new contract for Optical Ground Wire ¹(hereinafter, OPGW) and fittings for one of the largest power transmission projects in Newfoundland, Canada.

Background

In recent years, power transmission infrastructure investment in emerging Asian and African countries has steadily increased, and there has been stable demand for OPGW. Demand for renewable energy systems including wind, solar, hydro, and the like are expanding even in developed countries, primarily in the U.S., resulting in vigorous investment in power transmission lines.

Overview

SFPOC, a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric, has been awarded a new contract for 1,100Km of OPGW and fittings as well as ADSS² for one of the largest power transmission projects in Canada.

This is a power transmission project of NALCOR Energy that links between an 824MW hydroelectric power plant in Labrador and a substation in Newfoundland, which highly evaluated and adopted Furukawa Electric group’s high quality and technology, allowing them to cope with frigid environments of 50 degrees below zero, as well as severe conditions of snow and icing.

"We are proud to work with NALCOR Energy on this great project”, says Hiroyuki Otake, Director, Vice president of Furukawa Electric. "Our OPGW business expands also in Brazil. Furukawa Industrial S.A. Produtos Electricos, a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric in Brazil, strongly increases sales of OPGW with unique engineering technology.”

Furukawa Electric Group is targeting the global environmental infrastructure market, which is estimated to have significant growth and is focusing on directly selling products made by their subsidiaries outside Japan without going through Japan (Out-to-Out business). Otake also comments "We have already made significant inroads in the North American renewable energy market. Furukawa Electric continues to develop proposals for solutions incorporating our group products and engineering going forward as well.”

About Furukawa Electric Group

Furukawa Electric (TOKYO:5801) (ISIN:JP3827200001) Group started business in 1884, when its copper-smelting facility and wire manufacturing factory were established. Since then Furukawa Electric has become pioneers in the latest technologies by addressing diverse technological issues. Furukawa Electric has released products in a number of areas, including telecommunications, electronics, automobiles, and construction, with the three types of materials it works with at their core, namely, optics, plastics, and metals. Many of these products have attained the top global market share, and all of its products have contributed to society in numerous business areas. Furukawa Electric reported consolidated revenues of JPY 931.8 billion (approximately USD 9.3B) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.

¹ Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) is a product that embeds optical fiber inside the ground wire that is installed to protect the high-voltage overhead power transmission lines from lightning strike. In addition to being used in the power transmission line maintenance management system, which enables reliable, high-capacity transmissions, it has become part of the power system carriers' trunk line infrastructure.
² ADSS (All-Dielectric Self-Supporting cable) is a type of optical fiber cable which is installed along overhead transmission line. The cables are designed to be strong enough for transmission towers.