CEC Designs Unique Annealing Furnace for Southwire Company

Kennesaw, GA (August 28, 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.