Twelve students from Leeds College of Building visited Northern Powerhouse partner Wrexham Mineral Cables in North Wales on 21st January.
The visit was organised by Nathan Cook, Export Sales Manager to show the group of 16-18 year olds how mineral insulated cable is manufactured. The company was keen to show how and why they believe mineral cable is the ultimate fire protection cable.
The group were taken given a tour to show how the cable is manufactured at its modern 5000 m2 production facility. They were also shown the quality checks and tests carried out at each stage. At the end of the tour the students were then taken to the in-house test laboratory and given a live demonstrations of realistic fire conditions and typical smoke tests and how these impact on different types of cable. Under fire conditions mineral insulated cable is proven to last far longer than polymeric, or plastic-coated, cabling. Lesser cable systems such as polymeric cable tends to fail much quicker than mineral, causing safety-critical systems to shut down. After the successful visit and interest from more students, Jake Hardcastle from Leeds College of Building has organised a further visit in March.
Jake Hardcastle, Electrical Lecturer at Leeds College of Building said: “Visiting Wrexham Mineral Cable was really interesting. It gave the students the chance to see what the manufacturing process is, what materials are involved and how the cables tested. It was especially interesting to see the live fire test rigs under realistic conditions and how these compared to other products”.
Huw Williams, Factory Manager, welcomed the group on the tour he said: “We know that our product significantly outperforms polymeric cable when a fire occurs. We still find that there are some myths surrounding mineral cable so it is great to show these up-and-coming electricians the real benefits of our products and showing them how easy it is to install. We are looking forward the next visit from Leeds College in March”