LS Cable expands US medium-voltage capacity

Tarboro expansion overview

LS Cable & System will add two Continuous Catenary Vulcanization (CCV) lines, which are central to medium-voltage cable manufacturing, to its Tarboro, N.C. facility.

In medium-voltage cable production, the metal conductor (aluminum or copper) is first drawn and prepared, and then passes through an extrusion head where insulation material is applied. In a CCV system, that insulated cable immediately enters a long, vertically oriented curing tube (the “catenary”) where the insulation is vulcanized.

As reported previously in the plans for Southwire’s Heflin plant, insulation and jacketing capacity often become the pacing constraint in a plant.

When additional CCV lines are installed, the insulation bottleneck is eased, allowing more finished cable to move through the facility without altering upstream drawing equipment.

In practical terms, expanding CCV capacity raises the ceiling on how much aluminum conductor can be converted into finished medium-voltage cable, improving overall throughput.

The significance of adding CCV lines lies less in headline tonnage and more in production flow.

LS Cable & System also uses an extrusion process in its medium-voltage cable manufacturing that applies all three insulation layers in a single continuous operation rather than through sequential passes.

LS Cable’s broader buildout

The investment marks the latest in a series of North American expansions by the South Korea-based parent company, including high-voltage and busduct investments in Virginia and Mexico in other operation divisions.

Beyond a handful of sales and logistics locations, those regional investments include a $689 million commitment announced in December to LS GreenLink in Chesapeake, Va., focused on submarine cable manufacturing using copper conductors, as well as a $156 million expansion of its Querétaro, Mexico facility to increase busduct production announced in January.

Busduct systems — modular, prefabricated distribution assemblies used to distribute power in large facilities — offer an alternative to traditional cable and conduit layouts and, unlike the GreenLink submarine operations, are typically aluminum-intensive.

Aluminum power cable market

Most North American MV power-distribution cable comprised of aluminum conductor uses 1350 aluminum alloy, with some 8XXX series applications depending on product specifications.

The long-distance transmission lines often associated with power cables are typically high-voltage applications well above the medium-voltage range produced at LS’s North Carolina facility, yet these products are also distinct from the low-voltage cables used in residential and commercial wiring, occupying an intermediate role.

Medium-voltage cables usually serve electric utility distribution networks, industrial and commercial facilities and data campus distribution.

It may come as a surprise amid discussion of surging electrical demand tied to data center expansion that CRU Group’s 2026 outlook projects that US aluminum power cable supply is largely aligned with domestic demand. (CRU Group is the parent company of AMU.)

Expected consumption against expected production shows a difference of less than 1%. North America shows an even tighter balance.

That near parity indicates a market operating with minimal slack but not one structurally short of capacity. The gap between consumption and production has been consistently narrowing over the last couple of years.

Since 2020, aluminum power cable production has outpaced consumption by around 16%.

However, the low-voltage energy cable segment shows a pronounced gap. CRU’s definitions of low-voltage energy cable includes all copper and aluminum energy cable rated at 1,000 volts or less.

In other words, the structural supply imbalance, in regards to aluminum conductor cable and wire, sits in the low-voltage energy cable segment, not in the aluminum power cable about 1,000 volts.

The aluminum medium-voltage products shown in LS Cable’s portfolio fall squarely into that category, with voltages ranging from 5,000 to 35,000 volts.

LS Cable’s medium-voltage portfolio includes products that use aluminum as the primary conductor, as well as copper-conductor cables that incorporate aluminum as sheathing or armor.

Yet aggregated power cable data typically does not distinguish between high-voltage transmission lines and medium-voltage distribution products, making it difficult to determine where capacity pressures may actually reside.

Competitive landscape

While Southwire and Prysmian account for the overwhelming majority of domestic power cable production, LS Cable & System is South Korea’s largest producer of both low-voltage energy cable and power cable, according to CRU Group’s Wire and Cable Market Outlook.

On a consolidated basis, LS Cable & System ranks as a major global manufacturers of low-voltage energy cable and power cable, with most of its production concentrated in South Korea, followed by Vietnam.

Prysmian maintains the largest international footprint, with output spread across facilities worldwide, whereas Southwire dominates the US market, where its manufacturing operations are fully concentrated.