120 delegates representing over 50 companies in the European value chain for PVC insulated cables gathered in Bologna on 20th November for ‘PVC Cables 2014’ - the first European workshop supporting the sustainable development of PVC cable insulation materials. The workshop was jointly organised by the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM) and PVC Forum Italia (the Italian association of the PVC value chain).
PVC is already the most popular polymer used for electrical and telecommunications cables – thanks to its advantages in terms of the best cost: performance ratio, favourable product ecoprofile and recyclability.
Over the past 20 years the PVC value chain has been working hard, not only to continually improve the quality and performance of the final products, but also to make significant sustainable development progress. The voluntary commitments of the European PVC industry, Vinyl 2010 and VinylPlus, have contributed to the development of a new generation of PVC formulations.
Furthermore, new recycling technologies, such as VinyLoop®, have enabled recycled PVC from old PVC cables to be used in high performance applications.
There were presentations at the workshop covering the state-of-the-art on PVC cable developments, including details of fire testing, developments in standards and regulations (such as the EU Construction Products Regulations).
Performance and recycling advantages of PVC cables as compared to rival materials were recorded. End-user case studies highlighted the preference for using PVC cables in safety critical applications at high-profile events such as the London 2012 Olympics.
Carlo Ciotti of PVC Forum Italia commented, “This is a very important step since the entire PVC cables value chain (producers of resin, additives, compounds and cable manufacturers) showed a strong commitment in promoting the benefits of PVC cables in terms of environmental and technical performances.”
Fabrice Colin of INEOS ChlorVinyls commercial team added, “The workshop provided details about the achievement of over 100,000 tonnes per year of post-consumer PVC cable recycling across the EU. This achievement represents a major sustainable development advantage for PVC cables over rival cable insulation materials.”
Arjen Sevenster of ECVM stated, “It is highly encouraging that such a large contingent of the PVC cables value chain met in Bologna for this landmark event. The event enabled good networking and sharing of best practice case studies. It is now very clear that not only scientific studies, but also direct experience of end users demonstrate the advantages of PVC cables in terms of mechanical performance, fire safety, transmission characteristics, processability, appearance, flexibility and cost. I hope that this event will result in even greater collaboration throughout the PVC cable value chain to further improve and promote PVC cable benefits.”
