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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: BGC | |
| Industry | Cable, manufacturing, engineering |
| Founded | Incorporated 1927 |
| Headquarters | Highland Heights, Kentucky |
Key people | Gregory B. Kenny (CEO)[1], John E. Welsh, III (Nonexecutive Chairman)[2] |
| Products | Power, telecommunications, fiber optics, electronics, and datacom cables |
| Revenue | $4.865 billion (2010)[3] |
| $222.4 million (2010)[3] | |
| $69.2 million (2010)[3] | |
| Total assets | $4.328 billion (end 2010)[3] |
| Total equity | $1.605 billion (end 2010)[3] |
Number of employees | 11,700 (end 2010)[3] |
| Website | www.generalcable.com |
General Cable (NYSE: BGC) is a Fortune 500 company [4] based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, with sales offices and manufacturing facilities around the world. The company is a global leader in both the manufacture and distribution of copper, aluminum, and fiber optic cables, for energy, communications and many other industries.[5] General Cable was incorporated in New Jersey in 1927, bringing together under one corporate identity several older companies founded in the 19th century, including Phillips Wire and Safety Cable Company, Rome Wire Company and Standard Underground Cable.[6] The CEO of General Cable is Gregory B. Kenny.[1]
The Beginning Years
[edit]General Cable can be traced back to 1844 when they supplied the insulated wire to Samuel Morse for his historic communication between Washington and Baltimore. In 1882, they manufactured a 7-conductor line to link the US Capitol with the State, War and Navy Buildings and, in 1886, supplied wire to light the Statue of Liberty (General Cable would again supply the wire for the Statue’s centennial celebration in 1986). In 1893, they produced 145 miles of cable for installation under New York City sidewalks as well as a 3,000-volt cable for the first Chicago World's Fair.
A United Company
[edit]The General Cable that is known today officially formed in 1927 by uniting the operations of 10 companies, including Standard Underground Cable Company, Phillips Wire Company, Safety Cable Company, American Insulated Wire and Cable Company, Atlantic Insulated Wire and Cable Company, Rome Wire Company, A-A Wire Company, Peerless Insulated Wire Company, Dudle Manufacturing Company, and Baltimore Rolling Mills. At this time, the newly formed General Cable was the largest company in the United States devoted solely to the production of electrical wire and cable.
Historical Milestones
[edit]General Cable produced the first 75,000-volt submarine cable in 1929 for the Delaware River Crossing; the cable was manufactured in 4,050-foot lengths, the longest ever without joints. In 1935, they supplied 100% of the cable for the power transmission line from the Hoover Dam to Los Angeles, totaling 1,626 conductor miles.
General Cable took an active role in World War II with its 1942 series of wartime poster for the Home-Front Campaign to build morale, speed production, and encourage economy and conservation of critical materials. In 1943, they manufactured 140 miles of hollow tube designed to transport 120 million gallons of diesel fuel between England and France for the D-Day invasion with the code name, "Operation Pluto"; PLUTO stood for Pipe Line Under The Ocean. By 1945, General Cable had produced 80% of the battlefield telephone wire used by the Allies and 50% of the Navy’s power and communications cable.
In 1961, General Cable produced the control and communication cable for the first group of Minutemen Missile Bases and supplied power cable to four THUMS (Texaco, Humble, Union, Mobile and Shell) man-made offshore islands in 1967 at Long Beach, California, used for drilling and pumping fluid from oil-rich wells back to the mainland.
General Cable installed the highest underground distribution line at Pikes Peak, Colorado in 1970. Seven miles of cable buried beneath unpaved mountain roads furnishes electrical energy to three installations including a medical research lab atop the 14,110-foot summit.
In 1971, they supplied hundreds of miles of power and communications cable. to link the control facilities with the launch platforms at Cape Canaveral and, in 1972, manufactured and installed 14 circuit miles of 230kV high-voltage underground transmission cable at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In 1976, they developed, manufactured and installed an optical fiber cable, over one mile in length, at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center to provide a high-speed data link connecting rocket engine test sites to a central data process facility and produced a 5.6 mile optical fiber cable that GTE installed in California as the world’s first lightwave communications system to provide regular telephone service to the public in 1977.
The company changed its name in 1979 to GK Technologies because “General Cable no longer described the high technology Company we are today.” The company returned to the General Cable name in 1992 when it recommitted its business focus on the wire and cable industry.
General Cable was acquired by Penn Central Corporation in 1981 before reemerging again as a distinctive company in 1992.
Internationally, General Cable supplied medium-voltage aluminum cable and armored cable for power, control and signaling applications for the AVE high-speed railway system connecting Madrid to Seville, Spain, in 1991. They supplied the wire and cable to build the infrastructure for the Barcelona Olympic Games and the Seville World’s Fair in 1992 as well as all of the electrical and communications cable for the National Museum of New Zealand in 1995.
The company supplied wire and cable to the Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. General Cable began public trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, May 16th, 1997.
General Cable produced a hybrid copper and fiber optic cable to provide electricity and communications to the guard station at the top of Mount Rushmore in 1998. The cable jacket was custom designed for long-term outdoor survival in the rugged South Dakota weather and colored with a pinkish tan to blend in with the environment.
General Cable supplied on-board fiber optic cable for the ongoing requirements and maintenance of the International Space Station program in 2000.
In the wake of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks, General Cable rallied production and distribution efforts to respond to the immediate need for portable power cable, critical to the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center, as well as energy cable , to restore power to New York City.
General Cable supplied the portable power cable for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, to distribute power to environmentally-friendly diesel generators used for the television coverage in remote areas where critical power was not available.
Between 2000 and 2004 in their hometown, General Cable supplied data communications cable to wire Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals[, wired the Great American Ball Park — home of the Cincinnati Reds— to provide data and voice transmission services for their home games and provided a communications network using Blolite™ blown optical fiber technology in to enable the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to tell its story with pride, speed and worldwide reach.
In 2010, General Cable obtained a significant high-voltage offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea valued at $270 million.
1999 - Acquired BICC Energy Cables which provided access to new markets and businesses.
2005 – Acquired Silec, a $250-million leading energy and industrial business in France with a global position in turnkey design and energy services, Helix/HiTemp, a $30-million U.S. manufacturer of high-end enterprise network products, as well as BERU S.A., a Cuernavaca, Mexico business with a strategic location for future growth initiatives in the country’s expanding automotive aftermarket that now goes to market as General Cable Automotriz.
2006 - Acquired E.C.N. Cable, a Spanish manufacturer of transmission and power cables with sales of approximately $72 million.
2007 – Acquired NSW, a global offshore submarine cable supplier and installer in Germany and acquired Phelps Dodge International Corporation (PDIC), a $1.2 billion wire and cable manufacturer with leading market positions in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia and businesses in India and China.
2008 - Acquired majority ownership of joint ventures in Algeria and the Philippines, with each business delivering more than $100 million in annual revenues.
2009 - Acquired Gepco, a manufacturer and provider of high-end cabling solutions for the professional broadcast and audio/visual markets.
2010 – Acquired Phoenix Power Cables in South Africa, Beru SAS, an industrial harnesses business in France and BICC Egypt; formed a joint venture in Oman; made an equity investment in Pakistan Cables.
Markets & Products
[edit]General Cable produces copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. The company’s energy cables include low-, medium- and high-voltage power distribution and power transmission products. General Cable’s application-specific industrial and specialty cables are uses in electrical power generation — traditional and renewable — the oil, gas and petrochemical industries; mining; industrial automation; automotive, marine, and transit; and military, aerospace and OEM applications. Its communications wire and cable products transmit low-voltage signals for voice, data, video and control applications.[7] General Cable sells its products under several brands including Anaconda; GenSPEED; BICC; Brand Rex; Carol; Gepco; NextGen; NSW;, PDIC; Phelps Dodge International Corporation; and Silec.
Corporate Info
[edit]Logo
[edit]When General Cable officially formed in 1927, the company introduced its first trademark logo, declaring a unified corporate identity to its customers, investors, suppliers, and associates. The designed logo represented three lengths of cable laid on top of one another with the words “General Cable” on each length.[8]
Since the original 1927 version, the company’s logo has been modified five times. Today, the trademarked logo consists of the “General Cable” stylized black text with a green triad or “rouleaux” on the left, which is a modernized version of the 1927 symbol. Many note that the symbol could suggest more of the complex cable-making process, such as strands of wire being cabled together or tapes and shields being applied to a cable core.[8]
Headquarters
[edit]General Cable’s global headquarters is located in Highland Heights, Kentucky. This facility, which also serves as the North American headquarters and employs approximately 400 associates, has been operating since 1992. Central American and Caribbean, South American, African and Mideastern, Asian, and Oceania regional headquarters reside in Doral, Florida, and European and Mediterranean headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.[9]
Facilities
[edit]General Cable serves its customers through a global network with regional operations in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceanic. Among these regions are 47 manufacturing facilities in 25 countries as well as sales representatives and distribution centers worldwide.[10]
Employees
[edit]In 2011, General Cable employed over 11,000 associates working in manufacturing plants, distribution centers, technology centers, sales offices, and at corporate headquarters on six continents for the development, design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of copper, aluminum, and fiber optic wire and cable products.[10]
In June 2011, General Cable placed 17th among the 40 top midsized (150 to 499 employees) companies in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region. Subcategories included company direction, managers, execution, pay and benefits, career, and conditions.[11]
Fortune 500
[edit]In 2010, General Cable was ranked by Fortune Magazine as the 465th[4] largest U.S. public company with $4,864.9 million in revenue. In 2009, the Company claimed the 469th[12] largest spot with $4,385.2 million in revenue.
Company Culture
[edit]Green Initiative
[edit]General Cable implemented green initiatives to push the company to develop environmentally conscious strategies amidst their global presence. General Cable’s “Green Alternative Approach” identifies green opportunities such as green cabling solutions whenever possible; the company states that this includes “promoting existing green products; partnering with key customers in their green endeavors; identifying and providing resources for green product gaps; and participating as members in the U.S. Green Building Council and collaborative ventures such as the Green Suppliers Network (GSN).” [13]
Lean Six Sigma
[edit]In 2000, General Cable began its Lean Six Sigma journey to eliminate waste and non-value-added processes in manufacturing and everyday business, improving the flow of information and materials. The initiative strives to drive improvement while maintaining reliable, effective outcomes and delivering savings to the Company’s bottom line.[14]
"Industry Week's" Best Plants Award Program, an annual recognition of manufacturing facilities that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness, enhance customer satisfaction, and create stimulating work environments, has recognized several General Cable North American plants. Since 2001, General Cable has had eight of its 18 North American plants selected as finalists in the Best Plants competition. To date, seven of those manufacturing facilities have gone on to achieve the title of one of the Top 10 Best Plants in North America.[15]
==References==
- ^ a b "General Cable Corporation Governance -- Management". General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "General Cable Corporation Governance – Board of Directors". General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "General Cable Corporation Annual Report 2010" (PDF). General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/10670.html
- ^ http://investor.generalcable.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=81254&p=irol-homeProfile&t=&id=&
- ^ a b c "General Cable Historical Highlights". General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ http://www.generalcable.com/GeneralCable/en-US/Company/AboutUs/
- ^ a b Cable Gram (Summer 1998). The Evolution of GCC's Trademark Logo (Report). General Cable.
{{cite report}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "General Cable Worldwide Locations" (PDF). General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b "General Cable Manufacturing Locations" (PDF). General Cable. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "Region's top workplaces value workers, inspire success". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/10670.html
- ^ "Green Initiative" (PDF). Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ http://www.generalcable.com/NR/rdonlyres/A34E2480-AD66-4845-9F46-0C48AFC347B1/0/COR_0034_0211LeanSixSigmaSSforPrinting.pdf
- ^ "General Cable Franklin Plant: IW Best Plants Profile 2010". Industry Week. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
Category:Campbell County, Kentucky Category:Companies based in Kentucky Category:Manufacturing companies