Prysmian eyes new Texas copper mill, deals amid data center boom

Prysmian SpA, the world’s largest cable maker, is considering building a new mill in Texas while pursuing U.S. acquisitions, as surging demand tied to data centers and electrification drives growth in its largest market.

The Italian group may pull the trigger in the next year or so on a second copper rod facility at its McKinney site near Dallas, with an investment of $100 million to $200 million, as part of a broader push to expand capacity and secure supply in North America, said regional head Andrea Pirondini.

A new plant would double or even triple output, building on ongoing expansions at the site following Prysmian’s takeover of Encore Wire. Along with possible bolt-on acquisitions, it would also strengthen Prysmian’s position as the largest cable maker in North America as double-digit growth in the data center sector offsets sluggish housing demand, he said.

“Does it make sense to invest in a new copper mill? My opinion: yes,” Pirondini said in an interview. “You don’t want to end up in a situation in which there isn’t enough rod capacity in the US when the situation moves.”

Alongside organic growth, Prysmian signaled it is scouring for deals in the US, its top priority market after investing more than $6 billion there over the past three years. The company is focusing on smaller acquisitions that complement its product and service offerings in a market increasingly shaped by data center build-outs and grid upgrades.

“There are nice targets over there,” Pirondini said from the company’s Milan headquarters.

Prysmian sources most of its copper domestically — including from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and recycled scrap — and makes most of its own rod in the US, meaning it’s largely insulated from tariffs on semi-finished copper products, although it has stopped bringing in rod from Canada due to tariffs, he said.

With the Trump administration planning to take another look at the possibility of taxing refined copper imports, Prysmian warned such a move would be disruptive given the US lacks smelting capacity to meet domestic needs.

A tariff of 50% on copper cathode would “create a big mess,” Pirondini said.

(By James Attwood and Yvonne Yue Li)