NEXANS CANADA’S WEYBURN PLANT TO SUPPLY SASKPOWER LONG-TERM

SaskPower and Nexans Canada Inc. have extended their strategic business partnership by signing a five-year agreement worth up to $90 million for the supply of wire and cable products made in Weyburn.

Under the agreement effective January 1, 2007, Nexans will provide SaskPower with 56 types of conductor used to distribute electricity throughout Saskatchewan.  Products Nexans will supply include; bare copper wire, overhead conductor, underground cable, as well as cable for street lights.

“A long-term supply agreement allows SaskPower to obtain stable pricing and a secure supply of conductor,” Minister responsible for SaskPower John Nilson said.  “This business partnership has brought economic, employment and other benefits to the province, while allowing Nexans to plan its business more efficiently so they remain a cost-effective supplier.”

The Nexans factory in Weyburn celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2006 and has always helped provide SaskPower with cable used in electricity that is safe, reliable and sustainable.

“When SaskPower wanted to electrify rural Saskatchewan in the 1950s the cable came from Weyburn, and today the community remains the source of most of the conductor needed by the utility,” Nexans Canada president Dr. Gordon Thursfield said.  “By expanding its market in Western Canada and the United States, the plant has required several expansions and now employs more than 130 people full-time.”

“Having a strategic business relationship with a Saskatchewan supplier provides important benefits,” SaskPower president and CEO Pat Youzwa said.  “SaskPower is a high-priority customer and receives deliveries when we need them, meanwhile saving money by keeping our inventories and transportation costs low.”

Since SaskPower’s Quality Assurance and Supplier Development began in 1983, SaskPower has purchased more than $5.1 billion in goods and services in the province.

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For more information, contact:

Larry Christie
SaskPower
Regina
Phone: 306-566-3167
Email: lchristie@saskpower.com
Cell: 306-536-2886 

Karen Ryklander-Davis
Nexans
Markham, On.
Phone: 905-944-4373
Email: karen.rylander-davis@nexans.com
Cell: 518-428-3955