Cables manufacturer Aberdare Cables completed a supply contract in March for the delivery of 16 mm2 four-core FR Armoured, 25 mm2 four-core FR Armoured and 25 mm2 three-core Armadac cables to a road infrastructure project, in KwaZulu-Natal. The cables all employ Aberdare’s cable-marking theft-prevention system.
Company CEO Keith Edmond tells Engineering News that the marked taping, which is installed inside the cable, has a unique barcode. If a cable is found, the barcode can be cross-referenced with Aberdare’s database, which contains information such as who purchased the cable.
“Cable theft is currently a huge issue in South Africa and we are considering various avenues to prevent it. Cable identification is one such method and the cable industry as a whole continues to develop methods to stop cable theft,” he states.
Edmond highlights that Aberdare’s taping system can be used for all cabling solutions and is being specified in large infrastructure tenders, owing to the significant amount of cable theft in South Africa.
He points out that, while the company typically supplies its taping solution for 70-mm-diameter cables and larger, the KwaZulu-Natal project required that the company manufacture a “tailor-made solution” for use in 16 mm2 electrical cables.
Aberdare’s cable-marking system complies with the South African Cable Industry Standard (SACIS) 12, which outlines the recommended marking standards for individual sequential markings of South Africa-manufactured cables. A technical subcommittee of South African cable manufacturers member organisation the Association of Electrical Cable Manufacturers of South Africa drafted SACIS 12 together with the South African Bureau of Standards.
Meanwhile, Edmond points out that Aberdare has been supplying its system to a number of customers over the past two years.
He notes that the significant number of renewable-energy projects currently under way in South Africa has prompted Aberdare to develop cable solutions, including Solarflex and Windac, which are designed for use in South Africa’s unique environmental conditions.
The Solarflex solution, which was launched in 2013, is a cost-effective and durable alternative to imported products. It is designed to link individual solar panels in a solar photovoltaic application. The cable sheath is fabricated from cross-linked polyethylene, which improves the cable’s flexibility and resistance to prolonged ultraviolet-light exposure, compared with polyvinyl chloride cable sheaths.
Edmond notes that Aberdare’s Windac solution, which is undergoing research and development, is designed for use in wind turbine applications and is fabricated using a rubber compound, as cables used in rotating applications have a higher flexibility requirement than those used in static applications.