Prysmian as an investment

The Projects Operating Segment incorporates the high-tech businesses of High Voltage underground, Submarine Power, Submarine Telecom, and Offshore Specialties, whose focus is projects and their execution, as well as product customisation.

The Group engineers, produces and installs high and extra high voltage cables for electricity transmission both from power stations and within transmission and primary distribution grids. These highly specialised, tech-driven products include cables insulated with oil or fluid-impregnated paper for voltages up to 1100 kV and extruded polymer insulated cables for voltages up to 600 kV. These are complemented by laying and post-laying services, grid monitoring and preventive maintenance services, power line repair and maintenance services, as well as emergency services, including intervention in the event of damage.         

In addition, Prysmian Group engineers, produces and installs "turnkey" submarine cable systems for power transmission and distribution. The products offered include cables with different types of insulation: cables insulated with layers of oil or fluid-impregnated paper for AC and DC transmission up to 700 kV; cables insulated with extruded polymer for AC transmission up to 400 kV and DC transmission up to 600 kV. The Group uses specific technological solutions for power transmission and distribution in underwater environments, which satisfy the strictest international standards.  

With the acquisition of General Cable, Prysmian Group has entered the Submarine Telecom cables business, specialised in the production and installation of data transmission cables. The Offshore Specialties business incorporates a wide range of products for the oil industry, including umbilical cables, flexible pipes and all electrical, optical and signalling components for oil well management from the seabed to the offshore platform.

The Energy Operating Segment, incorporating those businesses able to offer a complete and innovative portfolio to a variety of industries, is organised around the business areas of Energy & Infrastructure (comprising Trade & Installers, Power Distribution and Overhead Transmission Lines) and Industrial and Network Components (comprising Oil & Gas, Downhole Technology, Specialties & OEM, Elevators, Automotive and Network Components).

Energy & Infrastructure

Prysmian produces high and medium voltage cable systems to connect industrial and/or civilian buildings to primary distribution grids and low voltage cables and systems for power distribution and the wiring of buildings. All the products offered comply with international standards regarding insulation, fire resistance, smoke emissions and halogen levels. The low voltage product portfolio includes rigid and flexible cables for distributing power to and within residential and commercial buildings. The Group concentrates product development and innovation activities on high performance cables, such as Fire-Resistant and Low Smoke zero Halogen cables, capable of guaranteeing specific safety standards. The product range has been recently expanded to satisfy cabling demands for infrastructure such as airports, ports and railway stations, by customers as diverse as international distributors, buying syndicates, installers and wholesalers.

Industrial & Network Components

The extensive range of cables developed specially for certain industries is characterised by the highly specific nature of the solutions offered. In the transport market, Prysmian cables are used in the construction of ships and trains, and in the automotive and aerospace industries; in the infrastructure market, the principal applications for its cables are found in railways, docks and airports. The product range also includes cables for the mining industry, for elevators and for applications in the renewable energy field (solar and wind power), cables for military use and for nuclear power stations, able to withstand the highest radiation environments.                                

It also offers a wide range of products able to serve every onshore and offshore need, including the design and supply of systems for power transmission and data communications and for hydraulic powering of wellheads by offshore platforms and/or by floating, production, storage and offloading vessels; flexible offshore pipes for hydrocarbon transport; Downhole Technology (DHT) solutions, which include insulated tubing encased cables to control and power systems inside extraction and production machinery both offshore and onshore.      The range of products for the OIL & GAS industry also includes low and medium voltage power cables, and instrumentation and control cables for offshore and onshore applications. The onshore product range is able to support applications in the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream segments.

Lastly, the Group produces accessories and network components, as well as sophisticated control systems; for example, joints and terminations for low, medium, high and extra high voltage cables and submarine systems to connect cables with one another and/or connect them with other network devices, suitable for industrial, construction and infrastructure applications and for use within power transmission and distribution networks.

Other

This business area encompasses occasional sales by Prysmian Group operating units of intermediate goods, raw materials or other products forming part of the production process. These sales are normally linked to local business situations, do not generate high margins and can vary in size from period to period.

As partner to leading telecom operators worldwide, Prysmian Group produces and manufactures a wide range of cable systems and connectivity products used in telecommunication networks. The product portfolio includes optical fibre, optical cables, connectivity components and accessories and copper cables.

Optical fibre

Prysmian Group is one of the leading manufacturers of the core component of every type of optical cable: optical fibre. The Group is in the unique position of being able to use all existing manufacturing processes within its plants: MCVD (Modified Chemical Vapour Deposition), OVD (Outside Vapour Deposition), VAD (Vapour Axial Deposition) and PCVD (Plasma-activated Chemical Vapour Deposition). The result is an optimised product range for different applications. With centres of excellence in Battipaglia (Italy), Eindhoven (the Netherlands) and Douvrin (France), and 5 production sites around the world, Prysmian Group offers a wide range of optical fibres, such as single-mode, multimode and specialty fibres, designed and manufactured to cater to the broadest possible spectrum of customer applications.

Optical cables

Optical fibres are employed in the production of standard optical cables or those specially designed for challenging or inaccessible environments. Optical cables, constructed using just a single fibre or up to as many as 1,728 fibres, can be pulled (or blown) into ducts, buried directly underground or suspended on overhead devices such as telegraph poles or electricity pylons. Cables are also installed in road and rail tunnels, gas and sewerage networks and inside various buildings where they must satisfy specific fireresistant requirements. Prysmian Group operates in the telecommunications market with a wide range of cable solutions and systems that respond to the demand for wider bandwidth by major network operators and service providers. The product portfolio covers every area of the industry, including long-distance and urban systems, and solutions such as optical ground wire (OPGW), Rapier (easy break-out), Siroccoxs (fibres and cables for blown installation), Flextube® (extremely flexible easy-to-handle cables for indoor or outdoor installations), Airbag (dielectric direct buried cable) and many more.

Connectivity

Whether deployed in outdoor or indoor applications, Prysmian Group's OAsys connectivity solutions are designed for versatility, covering all cable management needs whatever the network type. These include aerial and underground installations, as well as cabling in central offices (or exchanges) or customer premises. Prysmian Group has been designing, developing and making cable and fibre management products for more than two decades and is at the forefront of designing next-generation products specifically for Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) networks.      

FTTx

Increasing bandwidth requirements, by both business and residential customers, are having a profound effect upon the level of performance demanded of optical networks, which in turn demands high standards of fibre management. Optimal fibre management in every section of the network is increasingly a matter of priority in order to minimise power loss and overcome the problems caused by ever greater space limitations. The Group has developed the suite of xsNet products for "last mile" access networks, which is also very suited to optical fibre deployment in sparsely populated rural areas. Most of the cables used in FTTx/FTTH systems feature Prysmian's bend-insensitive BendBrightxs optical fibre, which has been specially developed for this application.

FTTA (Fibre-To-The-Antenna)

xsMobile, which offers Fibre-To-The-Antenna (FTTA) solutions, is an extensive passive portfolio which enables mobile operators to upgrade their networks quickly and easily. Incorporating Prysmian's experience in Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) and its unique fibre innovations, xsMobile provides different product solutions for three applications: antenna towers, roof-top antennas and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) for small cell deployment. The technology offers three access types for outdoor and indoor FTTA deployment, as well as backhaul solutions, incorporating the latest fibre technologies.        

Copper cables

Prysmian Group also produces a wide range of copper cables for underground and overhead cabling solutions and for both residential and commercial buildings. The product portfolio comprises cables of different capacity, including broadband xDSL cables and those designed for high transmission, low interference and electromagnetic compatibility.        

Multimedia Solutions

The Group also produces cable solutions serving communication needs in infrastructure, industry and transport, for a diverse range of applications: cables for television and film studios, cables for rail networks such as underground cables for long-distance telecommunications, light-signalling cables and cables for track switching devices, as well as cables for mobile telecommunications antennae and for data centres.