Nextrom Delivers Fiber Draw Tower OFC 20 To Jiangsu Alpha

Nextrom recently announced the installation and startup of its latest fiber drawing tower technology at Jiangsu Alpha Information Technology Co. LTD in Wujiang, China. The 26 meters dual sided tower features include high speed Wet on Wet coating application, graphite induction furnace and high speed transferable dual winding.

The preform feeding design allows for easy loading of preforms over 2 meters long. The Wet on Wet coating application is simpler to use and more space efficient than Wet on Dry coaters. Depending upon target line speeds, the added fiber cooling space reduces or eliminates the need for costly Helium cooling. For such a tall structure, the tower layout and controls are user friendly, with operator stations at key spots, allowing for increased efficiency.

During commissioning and early production on the new lines, Alpha reported extremely high yield rates. The lines were also commissioned at high drawing speeds up to 1600 meters per minute. The combination of high yield and speed are key to Alpha's low cost, high-volume fiber manufacture.

The tower represents a continuation of the Alpha-Nextrom partnership which began in 2003 when Alpha started fiber manufacturing. Nextrom's supply of towers and prooftesters at that time and the ongoing equipment support have been a strong contributor to Alpha's achievement as one of the top fiber manufacturers in China. According to Jiang Ping, Alpha's Vice General Manager, "Alpha is very satisfied with Nextrom drawing tower as well Nextrom engineers' team spirit."

Nextrom has delivered to Alpha up to now 8 fiber draw lines OFC 20 and 9 proof testers OFC 35. In China, Nextrom has over 35 fiber draw lines and 50 proof testers in operation. Globally, around 160 fiber draw lines were delivered worldwide.

SOURCE: Nextrom