When Roy Richards graduated from Georgia Tech in 1935 he and his classmates were offered jobs paying as much as $80 a month in New York. With the country still in the grip of the Great Depression, 90 percent of his class took the offer and packed their bags.
Richards stayed in Carroll County, Ga. (about an hour west of Atlanta), and in 1950 founded Southwire. The company stayed in Carroll County, even after becoming a major player in the wire and cable industry. Richards was a man motivated as much by his values as his business sense, who wanted to give something back to his community.
Today Southwire has close to 7,000 employees worldwide with 53 facilities (32 manufacturing, 11 service centers and 10 support offices). It has also taken the lessons of its founder to heart and codified the company’s core values as: Building Worth, Growing Green, Living Well, Giving Back and Doing Right.
The company lives and works those values in various ways. Employee volunteerism is encouraged. The company works to improve the sustainability of its processes and reduce the amount of landfill yearover-year. And, of course, it produces innovative green technology such as the new armored, EZ-In™ Shielded Mini-Split Cable.
Mini-splits are some of the most efficient HVAC appliances on the market today. They are compact, versatile and ideal for use in multizoned systems.
“Millions of feet of tray cable have been used for mini-split installations,” explained Chuck Eddy, vice president of sales and director of HVAC for Southwire. “That tray cable, under the NEC code, has to be protected with either raceways, conduit or cable trays.”
Inspectors across the country have brought these requirements to the attention of the contractor community. EZ-In Cable solves the challenge, while speeding up and simplifying installation, by having its own conduit.
“The conduit is an aluminum interlock armor that you would see every day in MC and BX type cables,” Eddy said. “A PVC jacket is applied over the armor and is flame retardant and moisture and sunlight resistant.”
Two varieties are offered, one armored (via the conduit) to protect it mechanically, and another that is armored and shielded. “The shield is a mylar tape that wraps around the conductors and greatly reduces any potential electrical interference,” Eddy said.
The new product means less margin for installation error, less materials involved and fewer steps for the installer. It was the winner in the Cooling Category of the 2015 AHR Expo Innovations Awards Competition, and is now offered with refrigerant line set assemblies by major line set manufacturers.
Additionally, Southwire offers many of the products that mini-spliti nstallers and sellers would need, such as 16-2 communication wire. “There’s very dramatic growth with mini-splits in the U.S.,” Eddy said. “It’s the fastest growth area in the HVAC marketplace.”
600 volt EZ-In Shielded Mini-Split Cable is offered in 250 ft. or 1,000 ft. reels, or in 50 ft. coils.
Visit www.southwire.com for additional information.