OKI Launches Cleaning Fluid/Disinfectant-Resistant OH Cable for Use With Food Manufacturing Equipment

—Designed for food sanitation and for use in harsh cleaning conditions to meet stringent hygiene management standards—

OKI Electric Cable (President: Hideo Yamaguchi, Headquarters: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture), the OKI Group’s electric cable business subsidiary, has developed the OH Cable (*1) for use with food manufacturing equipment. The product offers high resistance to cleaning fluids, disinfectants, and the edible oils and fats used in food manufacturing facilities. Sales began on September 28, 2021, for made-to-order cables whose conductor size, number of cores, and other aspects can be customized to suit the characteristics of specific food manufacturing equipment. The sales target for fiscal 2023 is a minimum of JPY 50 million.

Food manufacturing equipment must meet stringent hygiene management standards to ensure food safety and peace of mind. Equipment cleaning and disinfection are key operations to meet these standards. However, ordinary cables tend to develop cracks in their jacket due to degradation of physical properties such as tensile strength and elongation following contact with hot water, detergents, and disinfectants used to clean food manufacturing equipment. Cracked jacket can lead to concentrations of stress (*2) resulting in disconnection or degradation of insulation performance due to the ingress of chemicals into the cable, which can then result in unforeseen equipment stoppages or failures.

According to Hideo Yamaguchi, OKI Electric Cable president, “The OH Cable developed by OKI Electric Cable incorporates a special elastomer (*3) with outstanding chemical resistance to impart excellent durability against the detergents and disinfectants used in cleaning, as well as against the special machine oils used in the drive components of food manufacturing equipment and the oils and fats generated during food processing. The cable exhibits virtually no physical degradation in accelerated testing simulating 30 years of continuous use under standard operating conditions, which helps improve the reliability of food manufacturing equipment.” To minimize risks associated with contact between the cable and food and contribute to enhanced food safety, the special elastomer used in the jacket complies with requirements set by the FDA (*4) and the Food Sanitation Act.

About Oki Electric Industry (OKI)

Founded in 1881, Oki Electric Industry (OKI) is Japan's leading information and telecommunication manufacturer. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, OKI provides top-quality products, technologies, and solutions to customers through its Solution Systems Business and Components & Platforms Business. Its various business divisions function synergistically to bring to market exciting new products and technologies that meet a wide range of customer needs in various sectors. Visit OKI's global website at https://www.oki.com/.

Notes:

• Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. and Oki Electric Cable Co., Ltd. are referred to as "OKI" and "OKI Electric Cable" in this document, respectively.
• The names of the companies and products mentioned in this document are the trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies and organizations.

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