West Penn Wire Blog

With concern for personal safety increasing as more people return to the workplace, our access control cables can add value to your security solutions.

Whether you’re installing fiber optic cable within a building or between two or more structures, our Indoor/Outdoor Optical Fiber Non-Conductive Plenum (OFNP) Pre-Terminated Fiber Optic Assemblies are ideal. That’s because we put our cables through a comprehensive battery of tests in our facilities to make sure they function optimally for a wide range of applications, including:

At West Penn Wire, we pride ourselves on going the extra mile for our customers. An example of that attitude is our commitment to manufacturing plenum and non-plenum cables that meet Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standards developed by the Security Industry Association (SIA).

Whether your application has low voltage cables running from one building to another in a wet location (direct-buried) or conduit running between locations in a single building (in-conduit), Aquaseal® Water Resistant Cables assure the integrity of your signals because they are designed with a 2-ply water blocking tape that increases cable life, especially in outdoor environments.

Direct Burial Cables require the conductor to be a minimum of 18AWG to pass the UL Crush Test and are indoor/outdoor-rated for Access Control, Audio, Video (CCTV & CATV Systems), Communication (Intercom) and Power-Limited Fire Alarm Applications.

In addition to 2-ply tape for exceptional swell height, key features and benefits of Aquaseal include:

• 12 mm Total Swell (10 mm in first minute)
• Maximum Tape for More Protection
• Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) to Absorb & Trap Water

Fire alarm systems are essential to the safety of commercial and industrial buildings, schools, homes and more because they alert us, and first responders, to dangerous situations. There are three categories of fire alarm system designs: conventional (analog), addressable (digital) and multiplex (analog/addressable).

Whether your application is related to AV, Networking or Security, we recently introduced a half-dozen products that improve the quality of audio, video or access control in a wide range of environments.  

Over the past year, we provided hospitals with large volumes of Cat 6 Networking Cables, Access Control Systems and Fire Alarm Systems. Looking back, we benefited from the federal government’s funding of hospitals to offset revenue shortfalls created by the decline in elective surgeries and increased demand for treating COVID-19 patients, including the need to buy personal protective equipment (PPE). Although healthcare will continue to be a strong market for us over the next 12-18 months, the education sector should be even stronger.

Mobility and flexible working environments have created a new kind of employee. Although this transition started happening before the pandemic, it has only sped up this process even more.

There are many instances where a flexible cable is needed. Especially when installing temporary installations such as stages for musical festivals or outdoor concerts. The flexibility in cable makes it easier to coil, pack away, and reinstall when necessary. Also, the flexibility guarantees that the cable is able to withstand frequently pulling and twisting.

West Penn Wire celebrates a monumental moment in its history, celebrating its 50th birthday. For more than 50 years, West Penn Wire has been an industry leader in designing and manufacturing of insulated wire, cable, and related products. Since then, West Penn Wire has transformed itself from a cable company to a signal transmission solutions provider with a complete product portfolio including cable, connectivity, and networking products. Take a look below at some of our most monumental moments since we were first established: