LS Cable & System Asia (LS C&S) held a ceremony to sign a joint venture agreement between its subsidiary Gaon Cable and Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development (MJTD) on Feb. 28. LS C&S Asia and Gaon Cable will invest a combined $18 million (about 25 billion won) at a ratio of 50:50 and establish the production company, LG-Cable Myanmar (LSGM), in May. A cable production plant will be dedicated on a site covering 66,000 sq. meters in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone by 2018. Major products of the plant will include processed cables for building electricity infrastructure and low-voltage cables for buildings and homes.
The Thilawa Special Economic Zone, located about 20 km south of Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, is one of the Southeast Asian country¡¯s three biggest special economic zones. MJTD, a joint venture between the Myanmar and Japanese governments, is leading the development of the special economic zone.
LS C&S Asia CEO Shin Yong-hyun said, ¡°LS C&S Asia, which specializes in the market of processed cables for power transmission towers being supplied primarily to utilities authorities, and Gaon Cable with strengths in the retail market with a focus on low-voltage cables will have synergetic effects. With the expanding of investments into the production of the mid-voltage and high-voltage cables on a gradual basis, the Myanmar company will make strides as the Vietnamese subsidiaries (LS-VINA and LSCV) have achieved a 240-fold growth in 20 years since their entry into Vietnam.¡±
In some parts of the Southeast Asian region, there is demand for underground cables to replace processed cables for power transmission towers, but in Myanmar, transmission facilities still have power transmission towers. There is also a rise in demand for low-voltage cables thanks to brisk economic activities with a focus on special economic zones.
Gaon Cable CEO Yoon Jae-in said, ¡°As the Myanmar economy maintains a high growth rate, the cable market is also predicted to grow an annual average rate of more than 10 percent.¡± He added that the establishment of the subsidiary in Myanmar is expected to have an upper hand in the Southeast Asian country, which imports more than 50 percent of electricity cable needs.¡± LS C&S Asia, the holding company of LS-VINA and LSCV, is the No. 1 cable maker in Vietnam.
LS C&S Supplies Copper Magnet Wires for GM¡¯s Bolt
LS C&S has recently begun supplying copper magnet wires to General Motors¡¯ electric vehicle Bolt, the company said on Feb. 2. It is the first time that copper magnet wires are being supplied to foreign EVs.
Copper magnet wires, being coiled in the drive motor, plays a part of converting electric energy into mechanical energy. Copper magnet wires can be considered the arteries of the ¡°heart¡± of an automobile, serving one of core parts of EVs.
Despite the high voltage, EVs are required to operate as usual without interruptions from high voltage and heat. A few companies had dominated the copper magnet wire market before LS C&S joined the fray.
LS C&S¡¯s achievement represents a first in Korea when it comes to commercializing copper magnet wires that can sustain 10 times-higher voltage than those of ordinary copper magnet wires.
The employing of rectangular wires instead of round ones in the production of copper magnet wires can lead to miniaturization, greatly reducing noise. LS C&S President & CEO Myung Roe-hyung said, ¡°LS C&S is preparing for the future EV market by supplying such EV parts as copper magnet wires and harness.¡±
In 2014, LS C&S developed copper magnet wires tailored to correspond to GM¡¯s Bolt. The company was registered as a vendor last year after the quality and specifications of the product was certified by GM. The supplying of copper magnet wires to GM was made possible through LG Electronics, who produces the drive motor of the EV.