FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Press Release
Chip Laingen
Minnesota Wire & Cable Co.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Phone: 651-642-1800

MINNESOTA WIRE & CABLE CO. FILES “STRETCHY WIRE” PROVISIONAL PATENT

St. Paul, MN, 02/08/08 – Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. (MWCC) has filed a provisional patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  The title of the invention, a first for MWCC, is “Elastomeric Electrical Conductors and Shields (or) Stretchy Wire.”™ 

The invention is the result of a multi-year research and development (R&D) program known as “Komodo,” a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) competitive R&D grant program through the U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Center.  MWCC’s final deliverables to the original BAA include USB 2.0 cable that can stretch up to 30% of its length with no signal degradation.  According to Tom Kukowski, MWCC R&D Manager, the provisional patent details the expected utility of the invention:  “Applications of a flexible and elastic wire can provide or improve device reliability, body worn comfort, geometric conformance, static and dynamic variations in length, constant tension, return to rest length and weight and size reduction.” 

The military’s interest in Stretchy Wire™ is for Soldier-borne applications of wire interconnect systems, such as vests bearing electronic equipment for Soldier tactical connectivity and equipment enhancement.  But there is significant commercial potential as well.  According to Kukowski, “The invention will ultimately provide cable of safe and efficacious quality for high reliable aerospace, transportation, industry utilities, consumer electronics and body worn interconnections.”

MWCC’s competitive edge in unique wire constructs gained the attention of the Army during its accelerated focus on the Soldier vest system of the Land Warrior Program following the events of September 11, 2001.  Since then, the company has contributed its talents to other R&D and acquisition programs such as the Future Force Warrior and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle.

Related to MWCC’s “Komodo” program are other R&D grants such as “OrbWeaver” for fatigue resistant wire, “Smart Connector” for diagnostics and prognostic health management, and “Cobra,” which is exploring nanocomposite materials for shielding, and even non-metallic conductive materials.  Since its embrace of government R&D began in earnest in 2003, MWCC has landed over $3 million through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and BAA programs, and was awarded the prestigious Tibbetts Award in 2007 for excellence in the pursuit and execution of high technology R&D.

BACK...

Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. (MWCC) is a vertically integrated, custom manufacturing and development house for wire, cable and interconnect assemblies to the Medical, Defense, Instrumentation and Telecommunications industries.  MWCC is a market and R&D leader in:  electrical signal integrity; mitigating triboelectric effects; radio-translucent wire; and innovative connections for wearable electronics, patient monitoring systems and leading-edge medical devices.  MWCC has a defense sales division, Minnesota Defense, a surgical products subsidiary, Minnesota Bramstedt Surgical, and a joint venture with Primordial, an in-house software development firm.

MWCC maintains an active, federally funded R&D effort, with disruptive high technology programs such as Komodo stretchy wire for body-borne vests and other applications, and Smart Connector for in-situ wire diagnostics.  MWCC is investing in nanotechnology for its ground breaking work in elastic conductive materials, including shielding and non-metallic conductors.

The 30,000 square foot headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota boasts a full R&D and test and measurement center (including an Electromagnetic Capabilities (EMC) chamber for electronic compliance testing).  Another high-volume, 58,000 square foot focused-cell, lean production facility is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  MWCC is ISO 9001: 2000 certified, ISO 13485: 2003 compliant, ROHS compliant, and is a MIL-STD and IPC-620 certified harness manufacturer.

For more information on MWCC and its products and capabilities visit the web site at www.mnwire.com, or call 1.800.258.6922.