Posted by Brian Brown on Tue, Apr 27, 2010
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is designed to pump money into our economy. With $787 billion dollars available for job and economic growth, the ARRA represents a driving force within our industry. In his article for Cabling Installation and Maintenance, Robert Carlson noted that while the ARRA focuses heavily on the outside plant indusrty (through broadband programs), the premise cabling industry should take note considering "$53 billion is allocated for education and another $59 billion for health care—both of which aim to cover improving information technology (IT) in these vertical markets."
This amount of fuding is enough to grab anyone's attention, but what we should take note of is the "Buy American" provision which sets specific guidelines for the material to be used on a ARRA project. Basically, all manufactured goods most be produced in the United States, but navigating the language and understanding the specifics of the actual bill can be difficult. Not to mention understanding waivers which may apply to certain projects and material. Thankfully, General Cable is willing to help with this strenuous process and has identified their products which meet these requirements.
From General Cable:
GENERAL CABLE IDENTIFIES ARRA-ELIGIBLE PRODUCTS
General Cable (NYSE: BGC) is pleased to identify that many of its wire and cable products likely qualify for federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which was signed into law on February 17, 2009. General Cable’s products include copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets.
Enacted as Public Law 111-5, ARRA was enacted with over $750 billion of appropriated funds to accomplish the following goals: o Preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; o Assist those most impacted by the recession;
o Provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health;
o Invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and
o Stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The ARRA also contains, at Section 1605, its own preference for products manufactured in America. Under this “Buy American” provision, with limited exceptions, none of the funds appropriated under the ARRA may be used for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States. Although General Cable is a global company, many of its products are manufactured domestically at one of its 13 manufacturing facilities located throughout the United States. These products would likely meet the Buy American requirement of the ARRA. This Act, like all initiatives that may affect wire and cable, will continuously be reviewed by General Cable’s North American Leadership Team to make recommendations to our Corporate Leadership Team so they may develop strategies and product development actions to meet the needs of our customers here in the United States. If you have a specific technical question related to the origin of a wire and cable product you currently buy from General Cable, please provide the product description, part number, end-use application and market details to your General Cable representative. He or she will review it with the appropriate person and provide a response.
Please note: All inquiries and responses on ARRA should be documented and sent to Rick Roling, Inside Sales Technical Support Analyst for General Cable North America. Rick’s e-mail address is rroling@generalcable.com or he may be reached via phone at General Cable’s Corporate Headquarters at 859.572.8704.
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I highly recommend reading Robert Carlson's full article which can be found here. He does a nice job of breaking down this sometimes complex provision. Also, you can download General Cable's above release here.
Posted by Brian Brown on Tue, Feb 16, 2010
General Cable has produced an excellent video detailing their new line of halogen-free riser cables: 17 FREE. All of this is explained in the video below, but the name 17 Free comes from Group 17 on the periodic table: halogens. By eliminating this group in their cable jackets, General Cable has eliminated fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine all together. This makes for a more environmentally friendly cable.
What truly caught my attention was the burn test (about 1:15 into the video). Not only does this new construction drastically reduce smoke and flame, it also has a pH no less than "5" after heating. This means no acidic gas is released upon heating the cable. When placed side-by-side to a 'traditional' cable, the results are staggering.
I can go on, but the video does a much better job of explaining the benefits of 17 FREE.
You can find more details about 17 Free from General Cable's press release which Accu-Insider reported on here.
Posted by Brian Brown on Mon, Jan 25, 2010
From General Cable's 1/12/2010 press release.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KENTUCKY, January 12, 2010 – General Cable (NYSE: BGC) is pleased to announce that it has added halogen-free riser cables to its GenSPEED® product line. These new UL-Rated Category 6 and 5e riser cables, known as 17 FREE™ cables, will be offered at competitive pricing and feature substantiated green properties.
With the removal of halogens, which fall into Group 17 of the Periodic Table, this revolutionary 17 FREE line of GenSPEED Riser cables does not contain any chlorine, fluorine, bromine or iodine, reducing the overall toxicity of the cable and truly resulting in a more environmentally-friendly “green” product.
“General Cable is committed to achieving industry-leading standards and responding proactively to environmental issues,” said Bob Kenny, Vice President and General Manager, General Cable Communications Cables. “As part of this commitment, we continue to find innovative ways to exceed the requirements of our customers. Our 17 FREE product line is a great example of turning end-user feedback into reality.”
“We are excited to offer a greener premise cabling solution that looks and feels like a traditional riser cable,” said Scott Brown, Director, Technical Services, General Cable. “I believe this proactive initiative reflects our stewardship to produce more environmentally sustainable products without compromising our high standards of safety and performance. And we are working to develop other sustainable 17 FREE cable options, including riser-rated premise fiber cables.”
The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced LEED Pilot Credit 2, which is a credit geared to reducing the release of persistent bio-accumulative toxic chemicals, or PBTs, associated with the life cycle of building materials, including electrical wiring and cable jacketing. Based on this LEED credit and earlier requests for green products, General Cable’s GenSPEED Wire Wizardssm closely examined the jacket of its Category 5e and 6 cables and successfully engineered this 17 FREE halogen-free riser cable version.
General Cable has accelerated its environmental commitment, addressing its Green Alternative Approach by identifying greener opportunities and promoting green cabling solutions wherever feasible. This includes promoting our existing green products; partnering with key customers in their green endeavors; identifying and providing resources for green product gaps; and participating as members in collaborative ventures such as the Green Suppliers Network (GSN).
General Cable manufactures a wide range of high performance GenSPEED® Brand 10 Gig Cat 6A, Cat 6 and Cat 5e copper data communications cables and NextGen® Brand fiber optic cables. Also ask about our PanGen™ Structured Cabling Solutions, which, in partnership with Panduit, provide market-focused open-architecture network infrastructure solutions. Visit us on the Web at www.generalcable.com.
General Cable … Delivering solutions that keep you connected.
About General Cable
General Cable (NYSE:BGC), headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky, is a leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. The Company offers competitive strengths in such areas as breadth of product line, brand recognition, distribution and logistics, sales and service and operating efficiency. Energy cables include low-, medium- and high-voltage power distribution and power transmission products. The Industrial and Specialty segment is comprised of application-specific cables for uses such as electrical power generation (traditional fuels, alternative and renewable sources, and distributed generation), the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, mining, industrial automation, marine, military and aerospace applications, power applications in the telecommunications industry, and other key industrial segments. Communications wire and cable products transmit low-voltage signals for voice, data, video and control applications. Visit our Web site at www.GeneralCable.com.
To learn more about the GenSPEED line and General Cable products, contact your
Accu-Tech professional today!