AMU: Prysmian's Encore Wire breaks ground on TX facility expansion

Encore Wire, now fully absorbed into Prysmian’s North American growth strategy following the 2024 acquisition, already ranks among the continent’s largest insulated cable producers. The company’s estimated production last year neared 160,000 metric tons (mt), mostly focused in low-voltage energy power cable production.

With Encore folded in, Prysmian now controls nearly a third of total North American copper and aluminum wire and cable production.

Encore alone accounts for around 11% of total market share across low-voltage energy, power cable, telecom cable, internal data cable, and winding wire markets, while Prysmian accounts for nearly 20% of the region on its own.

North American aluminum wire and cable consumption exceeds domestic production by about 100,000t; the US produces close to 550,000t of aluminum wire and cable annually.

Some cable producers – like Southwire, the country’s largest wire and cable manufacturer – vertically integrate by producing their own aluminum rod for feedstock. Others, including Encore, buy aluminum rod wound in large coils from external suppliers

The McKinney facility expansion, expected to be complete in 2027, comes just in time to mitigate the gap in production and consumption. CRU forecasts show North American aluminum wire and cable demand in data center applications more than tripling, reaching over 80,000t by 2029.

Aluminum cable and wire is typically produced from 1350 alloy, though some products are made from 8XXX series aluminum, like the type found in aluminum foil applications. Most commercial aluminum wire and cable products are rated at 600 volts and are geared toward the power distribution market, transmitting power from service equipment to main distribution panels.

With the Encore campus serving as a hub for Prysmian’s vertically integrated US ambitions, the investment reinforces the company’s long-term bet on domestic cable and wire growth, especially in high-demand, high-volume segments like data centers, renewable, and utility-scale infrastructure.

This piece was first published by SMU’s sister publication, Aluminum Market Update. To learn about AMU, visit their website, or sign up for a free trial.