Since its founding in 1940 in Rome, USA, Bartell has been a fixture in the wire and cable industry. Their focus has been to deliver robust rotating solutions based on an expertise of shaping, winding and twisting wire and cable. This focus, along with their acquisition of Ceeco in 2003, has allowed them to develop machinery, equipment and technologies for manufacturing building & power cables, communication cables, subsea cables and fine precision wires. From design to installation to service, their goal is flawless execution and fostering success through their solutions. In a recent interaction with Wire & Cable India, Mr. Mike Hovey, Director of Global Sales, Bartell Machinery, shared about the business journey of Bartell, product portfolio, USPs, and market footprint. He also shared his thoughts about Bartell Machinery’s innovations, expansions, developments in the wire and cable sector and plans for the future.
Wire & Cable India: Kindly share the business journey of Bartell Machinery outlining the major milestones and achievements.
Mike Hovey: Since its founding in 1940 in the city of Rome, New York, USA, Bartell has established a reputation as a world class provider of highly engineered industrial manufacturing equipment. The manufacturing systems that Bartell provides help industry leaders in the tire and rubber, oil and gas, and wire and cable industries maximize their production efficiencies and achieve their own manufacturing goals. Through research, creativity, and in-depth process knowledge, Bartell continues to push the limits of manufacturing technologies. Each solution is specifically designed and rigorously tested to optimize performance, reliability, safety, and return on investment. With industry leading technology, an extensive global install base, and worldwide aftermarket support services, Bartell continues to provide unequaled value and reliability to our customers through the products and services we offer.
In 1951, we developed the first wire strander, setting a quality standard for the wire and cable industry for the foreseeable future. In 1986, we developed and released our first single wire bead winding machine for the global tire industry. In 1999, Bartell joined HEICO Companies LLC with a focus on long term growth and allowing Bartell to position itself as a global leader with expanded design and development capability and technologies. Bartell acquired CEECO in 2003, a well regarded global supplier of wire and cable equipment, expanding the product portfolio and improving capabilities for leveraging unique technologies and product design, and facilitating Bartell’s entrance into the oil and gas industry. Bartell has recently secured the 16th design patent for innovative production systems.
WCI: Kindly tell us about your company’s product portfolio and its applications.
MH: Bartell specializes in the supply of metal strip armouring machines, roll form type double twist stranders for medium and high voltage cable applications, tubular and planetary stranding equipment for the wire and cable industry. Since its founding, Bartell has been a fixture in the wire and cable industry. Our focus has been to deliver robust rotating solutions based on an expertise of shaping, winding and twisting wire and cable. This focus, along with our acquisition of CEECO in 2003, has allowed us to develop industry-leading solutions to produce the highest quality products in the most economical, efficient and safe manner possible. From design to installation and service, our goal is flawless execution and fostering success through our solutions- which isn’t just a job, it is a passion.
Watch: RR Kabel | Solar Cables | Solar Plant | Renewable Energy
WCI: What according to you are the USPs of your company, setting it apart from the competition in the market?
MH: Bartell is recognized globally as a supplier of superior quality machinery, offering industry leading output, capacity, and end product quality. Our strengths are our decades of industry expertise since 1940, cutting-edge technology to provide customers with state-of-the-art machinery and equipment, customization and flexibility allowing customers to tailor their machinery and solutions to specific needs, global reach with local support and service teams based in North America, Europe, India, and China. We also encourage strong customer relationships that fosters loyalty and repeat business, employee expertise and training which ensures that customers are served by knowledgeable and skilled professionals, quality and reliability in machinery offerings.
WCI: Could you shed light on Bartell Machinery’s commitment to ensuring consistent quality standards?
MH: At Bartell Machinery, our unwavering commitment to quality is the cornerstone of our success and the driving force behind everything we do. Our organization maintains a 100 percent commitment toward delivering excellence in every aspect of our operations, products, and services. We believe that quality is our culture, and we follow a customer-centric approach with a deep understanding of our customers’ needs and expectations. We embrace a culture of continuous improvement. We challenge the status quo, seek out inefficiencies, and continually refine our processes, products, and services. Through ongoing evaluation and optimization, we ensure that our quality standards remain at the forefront of the industry.
Our engineering and manufacturing teams uphold the highest standards of precision, craftsmanship, and attention to building machines that are not only reliable but also durable. By maintaining strong relationships with our suppliers and conducting rigorous quality assessments, we ensure that the materials and components used in our products meet the highest standards.
Our employees are our most valuable asset. We empower our workforce with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to uphold our quality standards. We foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous learning to drive quality improvement at all levels. We adhere to all relevant industry regulations and safety standards.
We measure our quality performance using quantifiable metrics and key performance indicators. This data-driven approach allows us to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and consistently deliver products and services of the highest quality. At Bartell Machinery Systems, our quality commitment is not a destination but a journey. We will continue to set industry benchmarks, exceed customer expectations, and push the boundaries of what is possible. Quality is not just what we do; it is who we are.
WCI: Brief us about your clientele and market footprint.
MH: Headquartered in Rome, New York, U.S.A, our company boasts a global presence with satellite offices in the U.K., and China. Recently in 2023, we also introduced sales and engineering support capabilities based in India. We have successfully delivered over 8,600 production systems worldwide.
Also Read: Eurolls S.p.A: Wire Rolls, Rolling Cassettes & Special Coatings
WCI: What does your customer service contract include apart from the supply of machinery?
MH: Bartell provides full warranty coverage for all machinery systems including comprehensive engineering and field service support.
WCI: Do you assemble your machines in-house or on-site? Could you elaborate on your plant set up?
MH: All machines are designed, assembled and tested at Bartell’s US based facilities before shipping to our customer’s facilities. We invite our customers to visit our facility to see our works, and conduct their own pre-acceptance of machines prior to shipment. After delivering machinery to our customer’s facility, Bartell engineers are deployed to our customer’s site to support machine installation, connection of utilities and startup, provide full machine commissioning services, production testing, and full training for our customer’s engineering, operator, and maintenance teams.
WCI: Kindly provide your insights on the current scenario, ongoing challenges and upcoming opportunities in the Indian and global cables markets.
MH: India represents one of the most exciting and fastest growing regions for wire and cable production in the world. Major Indian wire and cable manufacturers are positioned to sustain growth of production capacity and output, supporting the long term forecast for growth in domestic cable. The demand is fueled by continued high levels of government investment in new electrical utilities and communications infrastructure, projects for improvement of existing grid efficiency, green energy investment initiatives, with continued population growth and continuation of the trend toward urbanization. In addition to strong long term domestic growth projections, Indian wire and cable manufacturers will continue to develop export markets and invest in production capacity to fuel exports of wire and cable products abroad, to markets including South East Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe.
WCI: What can we expect from Bartell Machinery in terms of innovations, expansions, or developments in the wire and cable sector?
MH: As Bartell continues to look to the future we will continue to invest in our own production capacity and production efficiencies while maintaining a continued focus on delivering the highest quality, most dependable machines to our customers; allowing our customers to maximize output, end product quality and machine operating efficiency, while minimizing machine downtimes and scrap. Additionally, Bartell is introducing a team of Indian based field engineers to enhance the level of support offered to our local and expanding install base of machinery in India, and to provide our customers the opportunity to partner even more closely with Bartell for long term optimization of machine maintenance activities and machine support services.
WCI: What are your vision and plans for Bartell’s future?
MH: At Bartell Machinery, our long-term vision is to continue to push boundaries as a global technology leader, while supporting our reputation as trusted partner in the wire and cable industry, consistently delivering cutting-edge technology and unparalleled solutions that empower our customers to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. We aspire to shape the future of wire and cable manufacturing by relentlessly pursuing innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence. Our commitment to these principles will drive our growth and solidify our position as the preferred choice for wire and cable manufacturers worldwide.
In pursuit of our vision, we will champion innovation, sustainably transform, nurture talent, forge strategic partnerships, ensure global reach along with local presence, strive for operational excellence, continuously evolve our offerings to meet emerging challenges and trends. In achieving this vision, we will not only elevate Bartell Machinery Systems to new heights but also deliver a high return on value to our customers as they utilize our production systems. Together with our partners and stakeholders, we will create sustainability, innovation, and prosperity.
