Press Release

General Cable Completes an Agreement With Boeing to Supply On-board Fiber Optic Cable for the International Space Station

By SpaceRef Editor
June 5, 2001
Filed under , ,

General
Cable Corporation announced today that it has reached an
agreement in principle with The Boeing Company to be the
supplier of on-board fiber optic cable for the ongoing requirements
and maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS) program.
General Cable was the exclusive supplier of fiber optic cable for the
Boeing-built U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, which was successfully launched
and installed to the ISS on February 10, 2001. Destiny is the primary
workstation for the United States’ involvement on the ISS.

The Destiny lab arrived with five systems racks and will
eventually house 23 which will enable the facility to yield a steady
stream of data on its findings from hundreds of high-quality science
and technology experiments. Destiny will eventually provide command
and control capabilities for the Station and begin the transfer of ISS
operations from the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow to
NASA’s Mission Control in Houston, Texas.

“We are thrilled to be involved in this mission-critical program,”
said Stephen Rabinowitz, chairman and chief executive officer of
General Cable. “Aerospace programs like the ISS provide continued
challenges for our Technology Team to develop higher performance,
reduced weight and smaller diameter cables to meet the rigors of space
travel. The U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, required fiber optic cable that
could perform at temperature extremes from -150 degrees C to +200
degrees C with temperature change cycles in increments of minutes and
provide resistance to the radiation and vacuum environments of space.
As a learning organization, we will leverage this new knowledge in
fiber optic technology to improve products for other key customers in
military, marine, aerospace and other specialty markets where wire and
cable performance is essential to maintain operations.”

“Boeing’s work with General Cable to provide an on-board
maintenance capability for the fiber optic cables is critical to
supporting NASA’s long-term evolution of the International Space
Station,” said Paul Geery, Division Director, International Space
Station, Boeing Space & Communications. “The fiber optic cable is the
heart of the communications network for video, audio and high-speed
data on the Space Station.”

Five more Space Shuttle missions are planned to deploy equipment
and technology to the International Space Station in 2001.

General Cable, headquartered in Highland Heights,
Kentucky, is a leader in the development, design, manufacture,
marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire
and cable products for the communications, energy and electrical
markets. The Company offers competitive strengths in such areas as
breadth of product line, brand recognition, distribution and
logistics, sales and service and operating efficiency. Communications
wire and cable products transmit low-voltage signals for voice, data,
video and control applications. Energy cables include low-, medium-
and high-voltage power distribution and power transmission products.
Electrical wire and cable products conduct electrical current for
industrial, commercial and residential power and control applications.

The Boeing Company , headquartered in Seattle, is the
largest aerospace company in the world and the United States’ leading
exporter. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial
jetliners and military aircraft, and the largest NASA contractor. The
company’s capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft,
electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch
vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems. The
company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145 countries
and manufacturing operations throughout the United States, Canada and
Australia.

Statements in this press release, other than historical facts, are
forward-looking statements including without limitation, statements
regarding future financial results and performance, plans and
objectives, capital expenditures and the Company’s or management’s
beliefs, expectations or opinions. Actual results may differ
materially from those statements as a result of factors, risks and
uncertainties over which the Company has no control. Such factors
include domestic and local country price competition, particularly in
certain segments of the power cable, building wire and cordset
markets, and other competitive pressures; general economic conditions,
particularly in construction; changes in customer purchasing patterns;
the Company’s ability to increase manufacturing capacity and
productivity; the Company’s ability to successfully complete and
integrate acquisitions and divestitures; the cost of raw materials,
including copper; the impact of foreign currency fluctuations; the
impact of technological changes; the Company’s ability to achieve
productivity improvements; and other factors which are discussed in
the Company’s Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on March 30, 2001, as well as periodic reports
filed with the Commission.

SpaceRef staff editor.