Visit to Emtelle factory

Hawick's Rotarians made a visit to Emtelle for a tour of the factory and to understand more of the process and of the ways in which the optic fibre cable it produces is used.

Vice-President Iain Smith had set the visit up, and it was obviously of much interest to the group. We were led around the workplace by Zak Thomson and Jean Pierre Terblanche before meeting together again for a question and answer session, and closer inspection of the products.

During the tour, opportunity was taken to question workers and to follow the stages in the process of smaller reels of variously coloured fine glass filaments being drawn along, grouped together, say in bundles of twelve, covered in resin which is cured by infra-red light to harden it, then covered again by cable, and wound on to the larger reels we see around the town.

We were then shown how the product is used, for example from chambers hidden under pavements , then through ducting to connections on the exterior of the buildings where the communication link is needed.

The Rotarians were very much impressed by the complexity of the business. Our guides were extremely well-versed in that operation and were able to communicate the information to their visitors.