Copper forum meets in Dubai
The International Copper Association (ICA) recently held meetings of its Asia forum in Dubai with the aim of strengthening its presence in the GCC and Middle East-North Africa regions.

“The GCC, with its ambitious growth plans in energy, building construction and infrastructure, is an important market for copper,” said Francis J Kane, president, ICA.

The ICA has several strategic initiatives aimed at promoting the use of copper, the greenest commonly used architectural metal today.

Raytheon sets up training firm
Raytheon Company has created a private limited company in Riyadh to pursue training opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.

“Establishing Raytheon Technical Services Middle East LLC allows us to better serve customers and develop deeper relationships necessary for long-term success,” said John Harris, its president.

Raytheon, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, specialises in defence, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world.

R&M cable product launched
Swiss cabling specialist Reichle & De-Massari (R&M) unveiled its latest cabling advancement, the Cat 6A connector, in the Gulf. 

The new product signifies a breakthrough over previous generations of copper cabling components, says the firm.

R&M says the Cat 6A provides outstanding performance figures for signal transmission plus generous headroom for demanding applications in the range of 10 gigabit Ethernet (10 Gb/s) and beyond. It adds that the end user is guaranteed greater bandwidth, transmission quality and operating reliability as well as scope for future applications.

Hemiwedge wins order
Texas-based Hemiwedge Industries, a global supplier of engineered valve products, said it has won a $276,000 order from a Dubai company for the supply of cartridge valves.

Hemiwedge, however, did not disclose the name of the Dubai firm. The purchase order ranges from two-inch to six-inch ANSI class valves that have weld-end connections to save weight for helicopter skid applications.

The product’s ‘core’ and ‘hemi’ features protect the seat ring giving longer service life. Tthe ‘cartridge’ allows all internal moving parts to be changed out during maintenance quickly.