The 2025 IWCC Technical Seminar took place in the USA between the 2nd and 6th of March. This annual event, which is the only global seminar covering the latest technological developments in the copper semis industry brought together engineers, equipment suppliers and academics for a seminar focussing on downstream processes. The event saw delegates participating from over 50 different companies, receiving 23 papers and participating in two plant visits.
The event began with a plant visit to the Wieland Recycling Plant in Shelbyville, Kentucky on 3rd of March. The 78 acre site melts and recycles copper and copper alloy scrap for use in manufacturing semi-finished products throughout North America, and is an important new facility for the circular economy and carbon neutrality in the North American copper industry. It was interesting to hear about efforts to process an increasing amount of scrap copper domestically in the USA, which is a topical subject in America and thus it was great to tie in this plant visit into the event.
The event then moved to Dallas, Texas, where the main seminar was held. The next two days heard a range of interesting and insightful papers covering subjects including slitting, thermos and surface treatments and automation. The full presentations are available to view on our website for those who attended the event.
Finally, the event concluded with a visit to the Encore Wire plant in McKinney, Texas, on the 6th of March. This plant stretches over 460 acres and a 3.5 million square-foot campus, making Encore Wire a leading manufacturer of copper wire across all major industries.
Networking is also always an important part of IWCC events. This event also included dinners at the Y.O Ranch Steakhouse and the Meso Maya restaurants. These presented the perfect opportunity for participants to meet or catch up with fellow IWCC members.
We would like to thank everybody who attended and supported this event. Planning for the 2026 Technical Seminar has already begun and we are very excited for what is to come. Further updates for next year’s event will feature on our website and in future IWCC Newsletter instalments.
