AmerCable History

AmerCable’s story began in 1899 when the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company of Worchester, Massachusetts joined several other wire and barbed wire manufacturing companies to form the American Steel & Wire Company.

The company, created by Federal Steel Corporation president Elbert H. Gary, was formed with the intent of gaining control of the barbed wire market and raising prices. However, this strategy proved unsuccessful and the company began seeking new sources of revenue. With the rising popularity of a new technology called electricity, manufacturing equipment was converting to electrical motors.

The need for high voltage power cables spawned a new industry and the company began experimenting with producing mass-impregnated paper insulation electrical cables.

In 1901, Mr. Gary put together the "deal-of-the-century" with legendary American business titans Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab by forming the United States Steel Corporation (USS), the world’s first billion-dollar corporation.

Mr. Gary served as Chairman of USS until his death in 1927. American Steel & Wire Company became the largest wire manufacturer in the world and was a key contributor to the biggest integrated steel producer – manufacturing industrial wire, wire rope and insulated cable products.

In the 1920s, when electrical equipment came to the coal mines owned by USS, the company began developing power cables designed specifically for this rugged environment.

In 1923, the company began selling its wire rope and mining cable under the Tiger® Brand name and in the 1930s changed the company name to USS American Electrical Wire & Cable.

Through the Great Depression, World War II, America’s rise to global superpower and the baby boom, American Electrical Wire & Cable perfected the art of manufacturing Tiger Brand jacketed power cables for mining applications. The brand became so popular with customers that, in 1954, the company changed names again to USS Tiger Brand Electrical Wire & Cable.

In the mid-1970s, USS began a long series of reorganizations and diversification as the steel industry business climate changed. After 79 years of continuous operation in one location, USS made the decision to move the cable manufacturing part of the company to El Dorado, Arkansas.

The company name was changed to AmerCable Incorporated.

After five years in Arkansas under USS ownership, the company was sold in early 1984 to Associated Materials Incorporated (AMI), which was founded by Bill Winspear in Dallas, Texas. AMI was a holding company for a group of diverse manufacturing companies.

“I’ve always preferred small companies,” Mr. Winspear said in assessing his business career. “I define a small company this way: I don’t know everyone in the company, but I know someone who knows everyone in the company. Anyone can get to me pretty fast, and I can get to them. That improves communication. That improves efficiency.”

Under AMI, AmerCable continued to produce Tiger® Brand mining cables while expanding into the oil & gas market with its now-famous GEXOL® branded cables.

Product lines serving the transportation, industrial and military markets were also developed.

In 1993, after a nine-year stint as Treasurer and Secretary of Associated Materials, Robert F. (Bob) Hogan, was named President and CEO of AmerCable.

Mr. Hogan immediately focused on raising AmerCable’s level of operational excellence or, in simple terms, producing cable faster than anyone else without sacrificing quality and delivering on-time every time.

“I believe speed wins every time, ”commented Mr. Hogan.

In June 2002, AmerCable’s senior management group purchased the company from Associated Materials. The company focused on expanding market positions in the United States and globally by targeting mission-critical harsh environment niche industries requiring high quality, innovative products and value-added services. They also entered opportunistic markets such as the blossoming solar and wind energy industries.

Just as the company evolved from barbed wire to insulated power cables at the turn-of-the-century, AmerCable continually sought to expand its products and services into other cable-related business markets.

AmerCable Systems (2002 - present), produces precision-engineered cable assembly and fiber optic solutions for harsh environment oil and gas/industrial applications. AmerRig Services (2011 - 2016), provided specialized services to the oil and gas land drilling industry. The AmerCable Service Center (2011 - 2019), provided cable repair services in the Western US mining region.

AmerCable during this period was the leading global producer of photovoltaic (solar) power cables.

In February 2012, a new adventure for AmerCable began as the company was acquired by Nexans, the second-largest cable company in the world. Once again AmerCable was part of a billion-dollar corporation!

When the sale was completed Mr. Hogan, after 28 years with the company, stepped down as President and CEO. Rodney Cole, who had served as AmerCable’s Vice President of Operations since 1995, was named as the new company President.

In April 2012 the company name was changed to Nexans AmerCable.

Today, Nexans AmerCable enjoys the benefits of being part of a diverse global company. Nexans provides the company with state-of-the-art research facilities and collaborative ideas that will fuel our growth for years to come.

Tiger Brand continues to be the acknowledged high-quality cable leader in the global mining industry and powers mines in 35 countries. GEXOL cables are the industry standard for high-quality and flexibility in energy producing operations. Expansion in offshore wind substations, specialized offshore connectrivity solutions and industrial markets is an ongoing focus for the management group.

Since November 2021, AmerCable has been under the leadership of Paul Davis. Mr. Davis joined the company in 1999 and has held a number of leadership positions. Prior to being named President, Mr. Davis had served as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing since 2015.