Introduction

Established in 1988, UK-based Pentre Group is a leading manufacturer of reels, drums, and ancillaries equipment for the international wire and cable industry. Having incorporated such famous names such as Hearl Heaton - founded in 1809 and serving the wire and electric cable industries since its earliest days - and the Danish firm Heas (founded in 1946), Pentre today can be said to draw upon more than 300 years of manufacturing experience. This technically advanced design and manufacturing operation, with global reach, has earned a solid reputation for high quality, reliability, and service.

Company profile

Pentre began with the acquisition of Warrington Wheel, founded in 1948, later acquisitions included Industrial Reels Ltd, founded in 1950. In 1992, it expanded its manufacturing capabilities by purchasing a plywood and cardboard reels and drums producer forming Pentre Packaging.

As presently constituted, Pentre Group provides machinery manufacturers and wire and cable producers worldwide with individually tailored reel and drum processing technology and products. The focus is on the development of advanced solutions for modern high-speed wire and cable manufacture, employing the latest and best robotic control handling systems. With four manufacturing facilities in the UK and across Europe, multilingual staff, a highly skilled workforce, and prompt distribution resources in over 50 countries, Pentre Group offers a comprehensive design, development, evaluation, and manufacturing capability.

1,800mm Ø drum during the galvanising process

Widespread agency network

Pentre’s evaluation of the individual customer’s market sector, processing needs, and product enables the group to craft fast, positive responses, and offer short lead times. To support this undertaking, the group maintains a network of agencies in strategic countries where highly trained personnel familiar with local industry standards and market requirements are always available to visit customers. A typical example of this network is J.J. Lowes Associates, who have been representing Pentre in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and South America for over 25 years. In addition, Pentre Group participates in all the major wire and cable exhibitions, notably wire Düsseldorf, Interwire Atlanta, and wire Singapore.

Pentre stand at wire 2002 Düsseldorf

Technical side

All our technical departments run the latest CAD Design packages. We also have a multitude of computers aided software packages to prove and support our designs. Only the best quality material is used to manufacture our products. Our plate material utilised is fully certified prime quality mild steel. All boss material is manufactured from ST52. Our welds conform to International Standards and are applied utilizing fully automatic, or semi-automatic machines operated by coded-welders. All our machining is undertaken in state of the art CNC Machines operated by fully skilled staff. This ensures that the beaded and pressed and fully machined reels have a quality finish. It also enables closely tolerance components, therefore giving consistence accurate finished reels.

Drums for the offshore industry

Pentre Group specialises in the manufacture and design of bespoke steel drums for the offshore industry. Suitable for such products as steel wire ropes, synthetic ropes, umbilicals, and flow lines, these drums are designed and customized to specific customer requirements as determined by intended usage: transportation, installation, long-term storage, etc.

Photo 6: Shipping drums for umbilical cables in offshore applications. One drum of 5.5m Ø is designed for a load of 26 tonnes of cable and intended for use with the Coflexip drive system. The second drum (6.1m Ø) is designed to carry a load of 115 tonnes; the third, 157 tonnes. All three drums are suitable for under-roll use.

Full design calculations taking into account gravitational loads and higher lines tensions can be provided by Pentre, and DNV approval of the designs obtained if necessary. The Pentre range of drums for the offshore industry extends from 1m to 9.2m Ø, including specialist drums weighing up to 40 tonnes and designed to carry up to 300 tonnes of umbilical cable.

In addition, Pentre can also offer proof load testing of Offshore drum when necessary

Offshore transportation drums, 6m Ø for a load of 50 tonnes

Beaded and pressed reels

Pentre also provides a wide range of wire drawing reels (Series BP), designed for copper and aluminium and with flange diameters ranging from 315 to 1,250mm. Complying with DIN 46397 standard, these drums can also be tailor-made to customer specifications.

Designed for use as in-process take-up reels, and dynamically balanced to ISO 1940 for operating speeds up to 50m/s, these reels are suitable for plain and tinned single ends of copper wire ranging from 0.1 to 3.5mm Ø; single ends of aluminium wire from 1 to 5mm Ø; and multi-ends of the same wire products. The reels can be used on rod breakdown and wire drawing machines, including units to handle aluminium alloys and their subsequent annealing, as well as bunching and stranding machines including static coilers with datum machined faces.

Fully machined precision reels

Pentre’s fully machined reels (Series SF) for high-speed single/multi wire drawing, stranding, and bunching machines are in-process take-up reels dynamically balanced to ISO 1940 for operating speeds up to 50m/s.

Various sizes of precision machined steel reels

These reels are suitable for ferrous and nonferrous wires; plain and tinned copper wire from 6/0.02mm up to 12/0.4mm in diameter; plain and tinned single ends of copper wire from 0.1mm to 3.5mm in diameter; and single ends of aluminium wire from 1mm to 5mm in diameter.

Process / shipping reels

Pentre is a major presence in the design and manufacture of steel shipping drums, coil makers, packaging systems, and ancillaries. The group’s portfolio of process/shipping reels ranges in flange diameter size from 300mm up to 1,250mm. These reels are extensively used for both ferrous and nonferrous wires.

The strongly built reels can stand up to stainless steel, mild steel, high carbon steel, and welding wires. Featuring embossed centres and pressed ribs that enhance their strength, the drums are also suitable for either single or bunched copper and aluminium wires, and are recommended for use in the manufacture of insulated and sheathed cables.

Pentre pressed reels are formed by utilising sophisticated tooling to add strength to the flange while maintaining a flat component which is paramount to reel manufacturer. If a sealed barrel is required, the company also provides a shaped barrel to fill the voids created by the flange. Pentre can offer a multitude of finishes ranging from a simple rust protected self-finished to a painted finished. The paint quality can be tailored to meet customer’s requirements, from a basic Q.D. enamel to epoxy or a powder coated finish.

In-house steel process reels 500mm Ø

760mm shipping reels

Enameled wire reel

ABS reels

Hearl Heaton, the Pentre affiliate, is recognised as a leader in the design and manufacture of ABS (plastic flanged) high-speed process reels. For the wire, cable, telecommunication, and fibre optic industry, the range of products includes process reels ranging from 250mm to 1,000mm Ø.

1,000mm process plastic ABS reels, seen at the end on the stranding line.
The product is data telecommunication cable

Manufactured either to customer specification or to DIN 46395 standard, these in-process reels are suitable for extrusion speeds up to 2500m/min. A range of fibre optical reels is also available for testing product on the reel. The ABS flanges are moulded from virgin material which has good impact properties and high rigidity which is paramount in todays manufacturing environment. The bosses are manufactured in our CNC to maintain an accurate and high tolerance component.

500mm process plastic ABS reels on a pay-off stand. The strander is at the beginning
of the line where a single core for telecommunication cable is going on to the reels

450mm ABS fibre optic reels with nylon bush, and aluminum barrel and parts

Special-purpose drums

Pentre Group also designs and manufactures a wide range of standard and customised large steel drums suitable for drum-twisting and winding. Working closely with the customer, Pentre analyses the complex operating forces that must be withstood by the drums, and continually updates its in-line designs to accommodate the changes in feeds and higher speeds imposed by the cable industry. Pentre’s “corrugated” construction provides excellent strength-to-weigh ratio. In addition, pressings are designed with large flat areas on the inside face of the flange to maximise the cable contact area, thereby avoiding damage to the cable.

:In conjunction with Manchester University, Pentre has carried out tests and analysis of the stresses induced on a drum during winding and usage, this has enable Pentre to increase the strength of the drum in potential high tress areas thereby prolonging the drum life and also helping to maintain the drum within its original manufacturing tolerances.

Inter-process 3m Ø drum for delicate cables

All Pentre designs are tailored to suit the customers specific requirements, Taking into account the drums applications, lifting and handling, special features can include galvanised surface treatment, stainless steel construction, manufactured from high yield steels, shot blasting and special paint finish, removable compartments, removable bosses, movable drive and centre bosses, rim lifting - the drum can be lifted safely and efficiently at any point on the rim, perforated drums for steam curing.

Lifting beams

Individually designed for the overhead handling of loaded reels, drums, and coilers, Pentre lifting beams are capable of handling large shipping drums in sizes up to 9.2m Ø and loads up to 300 tonnes.

Formers

The Pentre range includes formers and stator packs manufactured from high-quality tubes, hollow sections, or solid bars, and welded by MIG process. They are individually designed and manufactured to customer specification and can be painted any colour. For the manufacture of this range of products Pentre Group has developed its own design: the “Petal Former”. This portfolio includes:

• Formers with capacities of up to 2,000kg for both single and multi trip;
• Formers with capacities of up to 3,000kg for in-process pickling and annealing;
• Multi-journey transportation stator packs ranging from 750kg to 3,000kg.

These products are typically used for mild and carbon steel wire, cold heading steel wire, and nonferrous and stainless steel wire, as well as high-carbon steel wire for bedding and seating.

‘Petal Former’

Plastic reels and spools for the wire and cable industry

Industrial Reels Ltd is a well established, ISO 9002 accredited manufacturer of plastic reels and spools (DIN / IEC) particularly suitable for the wire and cable industry. The company offers a full range of plastic reels and spools to suit all types of wire and cable packaging, including: bare copper wire, aluminium wire, magnet wire, special alloys, steel, various monofilaments, THHN wire, CATV wire, speaker wire, coaxial cable and other high-value cables, chain, tubing, cordage, rope, hose, fabrics, and tapes.


Range of IEC/DIN reels

Plywood and cardboard flanged reels

Pentre Packaging, another unit of the group, operates from a 10,000-square-meter consolidated manufacturing facility, the largest of its kind in Europe. The company produces a wide range of plywood, cardboard, MDF, and cardboard flanged reels, with varied specification options. One of the widest selections anywhere in the world and due to its manufacturing flexibility the company can produce to customer specifications and requirements.

Conclusion

Pentre Group is one of the world’s leading suppliers of reels, drums, ancillaries equipment, and packaging systems to the international wire and cable industry. Employing experienced product and market specialists, the company has the philosophy, experience, and skills to provide cost-effective and individually tailored process, packaging, and shipping solutions.

Pentre Group’s design and manufacturing facilities across Europe are quality- and customer-driven, in terms of design, manufacturing and control systems, and product range. The company commands distribution capabilities on a global, national, and local basis, and has developed its long-term customer relationships through its provision of timely, innovative, and cost-effective products and services.