Encore Wire Breaks Ground on $500M Cable Facility Expansion in Texas

McKINNEY, TX — June 23, 2025 — Italy-based Prysmian Group has officially launched a $500 million expansion at Encore Wire’s sprawling campus in McKinney, Texas, signaling a major move to boost medium-voltage cable production in North America. The project marks one of the largest single-facility additions to what Prysmian calls the world’s most vertically integrated cable factory.

The 650,000-square-foot facility will help meet rising electrification needs across the U.S. and support major infrastructure efforts, including data centers and modernization of the power grid. The new production facility is expected to come online in 2027.

“This new plant will be one of the largest standalone facilities on our campus, which is the largest vertically integrated cable factory on the planet and is a major milestone in Prysmian/Encore Wire growth,” said Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Prysmian North America.

Encore Wire, known for its efficient scrap purchasing and recycling practices, operates wire chopping lines that process insulated wire and bare copper. That sustainable approach will be vital in powering the new facility’s operations.

In a nod to its environmental leadership, Prysmian’s 2024 ESG report highlighted that 16.2% of the copper and polyethylene used globally in its wire products was from recycled sources. Encore Wire’s own 2023 ESG report noted an even stronger sustainability footprint: “As a result of our material recovery and procurement of recycled materials, our copper wire was made up of approximately 28 percent recycled copper in 2023.”

Originally launched in a modest 68,000-square-foot warehouse in 1989, Encore Wire has grown over the past 35 years to span more than 3.5 million square feet of production, warehouse, and office space.

The expansion not only strengthens Prysmian’s U.S. operations but also brings economic momentum to the local community. Regional officials, including McKinney Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) CEO Michael Kowski, were present at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Building on Encore Wire’s successes, Prysmian’s investment in McKinney will be significant to this community in so many different ways,” said Kowski. “We’re proud to help bring new opportunities to our citizens and continue to showcase McKinney as fertile ground for business growth and expansion.”

The investment reinforces Prysmian’s commitment to North American growth following its acquisition of Encore Wire last year. The global cable giant praised Encore’s “outstanding service model” and sees the partnership as pivotal to delivering rapid, high-quality solutions to meet national energy demands.

“Serving customers with the quality and speed that is essential to unlock major energy priorities, ranging from data centers, the U.S. industry and the strengthening of our power grid,” Prysmian stated.

As electrification and infrastructure resilience become increasingly critical in the U.S., Prysmian and Encore Wire’s latest move positions Texas as a major hub in the nation’s cable manufacturing and energy supply chain.

Originally reported by Brian Taylor in CD Recycler.