Nexans (www.nexans.com) recently opened the New Holland Competence Center, a research, testing, and design facility. It joins the organization's worldwide network of ten R&D sites, all dedicated to the applications of advanced research.

New Holland is the headquarters of Berk-Tek, a Nexans company (www.berk-tek.com). Berk-Tek's copper data cable manufacturing facility is also in New Holland. The competency center adds new capabilities throughout the year, Nexans says, with the initial focus on advanced product design as well as applications and materials development.

A systems laboratory and network test bed allow Nexans personnel to mix and match network components under a variety of simulated conditions. The lab will differentiate the quality and performance of Nexans' cabling solutions, the company says.

Eric Lawrence, LAN cable competence center manager, oversees the competence center and coordinates with other Nexans units in the global R&D network. Lawrence Letech directs the center's advanced materials development laboratory.