Lorain County · Northeast Ohio
Cable from Lorain's bar mills and Black River berths
Lorain finishes bar and rail on ground that was levelled for ships. Cable here is either mill duty and hot, or it is dock cable that has spent years outdoors in lake weather.
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Request a quote in Lorain
Tell us the wire type, the quantity and where it is stored.
- Reviewed by a buyer, not a scale
- Reels, pallets, partials or a full truckload
- Anywhere in Ohio, one desk
- 01Send the wire type, quantity and pickup city.
- 02A buyer reviews the lot and replies with a basis.
- 03Freight and release are agreed, then the load is booked.
Lot details
Everything helps, but the wire type, the quantity and the pickup city are enough to start.
Bar and rail, and the feeders behind them
Lorain finishes steel bar and rail, work that runs hot and continuous and does not forgive an unplanned stop. The electrical set behind a finishing line is a medium voltage feed into a line substation, then four-eighty distribution out to drives, shears and cooling beds. Cable from that side of the plant is heavy, shielded and usually still carrying the print of the circuit it served.
Shipbuilding heritage on the Black River left the yard pattern the city still uses: heavy ground, crane rails, berths and a waterfront that was built to take weight. Automotive and equipment suppliers occupy the smaller buildings inland, and their cable is a different animal, closer to press and robot drops than to mill feeder.
Berth storage and lake-effect weather
Cable kept on a berth or in an open yard on the Black River takes the whole lake winter. Ice sits on the drum, meltwater runs into the wrap, and the freeze cycle works the lagging loose. None of that destroys a reel by itself, but a reel that has stood out for several seasons has to be described for what it is.
Look at the drum ends and the inner wrap rather than the outer layer. The outer wrap is the part the sun reached, and it will always look worse than the cable beneath it. The inner wrap is what tells you whether water found its way in and stayed.
Ore docks, unloaders and conveyor cable
The ore and coal docks run unloaders, stackers and conveyors, and the cable on those machines lives on festoon systems and reels that pay out and take up all day. That cable is replaced on condition rather than on schedule, so it comes off in runs with crushed jackets and broken strands at the bend points, and it comes off in a hurry when a machine is down.
Grounding and bonding copper from the same docks is a separate stream. Rail bonds, jumpers and counterpoise are cut short and often tangled, and they are worth describing by weight and by whether the conductor is bare or tinned.
Saying what a berth lot is
Three things decide whether a waterfront lot moves: whether a truck can reach the cable at the quay or the cable has to be lifted over a rail, whether a crane is free on the day, and whether the berth is working. A port does not stop for a cable collection, and a vessel in does not wait for one either.
Inland lots are easier. A finishing line or a supplier plant inland usually has a door, a forklift and a yard, and the only real question is whether the cable is still on the line or already on a pallet.
Briefs for this city
Related pages
Adjacent cities, wire families and regional briefs.
Questions sellers ask
Does cable that sat out all winter still have value?
Usually some, and the answer depends on the ends and the inner wrap rather than the drum. Ice and meltwater do their damage where the cable is open. Cut back a few feet at each end, photograph what is underneath, and describe how many winters the reel has seen.
Can a truck get onto the berth?
That depends on the berth and on the day, and it is the first thing to settle. Some are reachable at the quay, some need the cable brought to a gate, and some need a crane to lift it over rail. Describe the approach rather than the address.
How do I know I have mill duty cable?
It is heavier than building cable for the same conductor size, it is shielded above five thousand volts, and the jacket print will name the insulation and the voltage class. Mill duty is a service description, not a single product, so the print and the shield are what a reviewer works from.
Do you take the old rail bonding and grounding copper?
Yes, as its own item. Bonds and jumpers are short, often tangled, and sometimes tinned or corroded at the terminations. Weigh it, say whether it is bare or tinned, and keep it out of the reel count so the two do not get confused.
Request a quote
Tell the desk what you have in Lorain
Send the basics and a buyer reviews the lot, usually the same working day.
- Reviewed by a buyer, not a scale
- Reels, pallets, partials or a full truckload
- Anywhere in Ohio, one desk
- 01Send the wire type, quantity and pickup city.
- 02A buyer reviews the lot and replies with a basis.
- 03Freight and release are agreed, then the load is booked.
Second look at the lot
Everything helps, but the wire type, the quantity and the pickup city are enough to start.