The Italian group Prysmian, a manufacturer of phone and energy cables with seven plants in Brazil, will increase investments in technological innovations and in its main plant in Sorocaba, São Paulo, to expand its production capacity.
The overall industry figures point to a growth in fiber optics. In 2020, there were 8.9 million kilometers of cable across Brazil; in 2021, 9.8 million; and for 2022, the forecast is 10.5 million kilometers.
Alejandro Quiroz, the company’s new CEO for Latin America, told Valor he expects a positive year despite the economic crisis the country is going through, compounded by the war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures and political uncertainties.
Prysmian is developing a new fiber-optic cable technology through which it will be able to transmit the 5G signal and power supply. The company is one of the leading cable suppliers to the Brazilian market.
“The pandemic period, for us, brought an additional increase in demand for cables in telecommunications, due to the growth in connectivity, both from large carriers and smaller providers. Over the past two years, our fiber optic factories have worked at full capacity, but following sanitary protocols. At the same time, we had to deal with problems in the supply chain,” Mr. Quiroz said.
About the current Brazilian economic moment, the Mexican executive says that Prysmian is growing above the gross domestic product for the third consecutive year. “Demand in Brazil remains high,” he said.
For the Brazilian telecommunications sector, Prysmian develops cables and optical fibers for data, image and voice transmission, conventional copper and aluminum cables, accessories and specialized services.
In the energy segment, the group supplies terrestrial and submarine wires and cables for electricity transmission and distribution, in addition to specialized services and integrated solutions. The company has been active in Brazil since 1929, when it was a wire and cable unit of Pirelli. In 2005, the company became independent after acquiring rival Draka. In 2018, Prysmian bought General Cable, one of the largest cable producers in the Americas.
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the group believes that the war can accelerate an energy transition to renewables. “The increases in energy and fuel costs, which will affect regional economies, once again show us the need to accelerate the global energy transition. To reduce this dependency, we will look to the potential of the natural resources we have in Latin America,” Mr. Quiroz said.
According to the group, many wind and solar farms are integrated into the nationwide electric power transmission management system, but there are regions in which the connection is weak, especially between the North and Northeast with the South and Southeast regions. At the same time, the company foresees expansion in applications for the mining industry.
In Brazil, the group employs about 1,500 people in seven units: two in Sorocaba (São Paulo) and the remainder in Poços de Caldas (Minas Gerais), Vila Velha (Espírito Santo), Cariacica (Espírito Santo), Joinville (Santa Catarina) and Londrina (Paraná).
The company’s head of telecommunications for Latin America, Marcelo Andrade, said that, due to the size of the sector, it is necessary to get ahead of investments and open several initiatives.
“We invested R$50 million in telecommunications last year, but this started before in order for us to be prepared for this consumption boom,” the Brazilian executive said.
As for the future, Mr. Andrade points out two key points: increasing the coverage of broadband internet in the country and the implementation of 5G, which will increase digital inclusion and the need for fiber connected to the antennas – which will spread the signal of the new technology.
The assessment is that 5G will need 5 to 10 times more base transceiver stations than 4G. The executive says that Prysmian has innovation projects with phone carriers to develop a new network structure that can help to “clear” the tangle of wires seen in Brazilian cities, since the transmission system in the country is overhead, as in most Latin American cities, and not underground, as in Europe.
“We are designing a hybrid cable with the help of Brazilian engineers from our research center. That is, we are going to bring an optical and power cable together, so they can connect to the antennas,” he said.
The product has been tested and, at this moment, Prysmian is in the final phase of negotiations with phone carriers. In addition, the group is working on the miniaturization of the cables. “They will need more and more optical fiber to meet the capacity of 5G. A cable had six, 12 fibers before. Now it will have 24, 36, or even 288 fibers. This is called densification. The goal is to have the smallest possible cable to take advantage of the existing infrastructure,” Mr. Andrade said.
Source: Valor International