Why packing is a specification, not an afterthought
Cable is sold by length but shipped by weight and volume. A drum that is too small forces joints on site; a drum that is too heavy cannot be lifted by the crane the contractor has booked; an unprotected drum arrives with a crushed outer layer. For that reason the desk treats packing as part of the spec sheet. Each order gets a drum plan that lists every drum or pack with its construction, length, start and end metre marks, drum type, protection and gross and net weight, so that the buyer, the plant and the inspector work from the same list.
Drum and pack types
| Pack | Typical use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden drum | LV, armoured, control and PV cable; fibre cable | Most common export drum; fumigated or heat-treated wood as the destination requires |
| Steel-wood drum | Heavier LV and armoured lengths, MV cable | Steel flanges or frame with wooden barrel or battens; stiffer than all-wood |
| Steel drum | Large MV and heavy power cable | Highest load; sometimes returnable by agreement |
| Coil | Building wire, flexible cords, 100 m PV coils | Shrink wrapped with label; palletised and stretch wrapped |
| 305 m pull box | Cat6, Cat6A and coax | Box or reel-in-box; gross about 13.5-14 kg for the Cat6 reference |
| Fibre drum, 2 km or 4 km | Outdoor, ADSS and indoor fibre cable | Both ends accessible for OTDR testing on arrival |
| Drop cable reel, 1 km | FTTH flat drop cable | Small plywood or plastic reel, often boxed |
Wooden drums are made to order by drum makers near the plant, and their figure for making a batch is 2 to 4 weeks. That time runs in parallel with production but it has to be booked early, which is one reason drum type is fixed on the spec sheet rather than at loading. See box and reel packing for data cable.
How length per drum is set
The length that fits on a drum depends on two things: the cable's overall diameter, which sets how many metres fit in the drum's volume, and its weight per kilometre, which sets whether the drum can carry that length. Large diameter cable runs out of volume first; heavy cable runs out of load capacity first. The bending radius sets the smallest barrel the cable can be wound on. In practice the plant proposes a length per drum from its standard drum sizes and the desk checks it against the lengths your site needs, so that runs are pulled from a single drum where possible. The reference weights below, worked from the line pages, show how quickly the numbers grow.
| Reference construction | Weight per km | Example length | Net cable weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.6/1 kV Cu/XLPE/PVC 4x25 mm2 | approx. 1,292 kg/km | 500 m | approx. 646 kg |
| 0.6/1 kV Cu/XLPE/STA/PVC 4x35 mm2 | approx. 2,067 kg/km | 500 m | approx. 1,034 kg |
| 0.6/1 kV Al/XLPE/PVC 4x95 mm2 | approx. 1,907 kg/km | 500 m | approx. 954 kg |
| 8.7/15 kV Cu/XLPE/CTS/PVC 3x95 mm2 | approx. 5,403 kg/km | 500 m | approx. 2,702 kg |
| H1Z2Z2-K 1x4 mm2 | 55-66 kg/km | 500 m drum | approx. 28-33 kg |
| GYTS 24-core loose tube | 76-116 kg/km | 4 km drum | approx. 304-464 kg |
| GJXFH flat drop | 7.5-10.5 kg/km | 1 km reel | approx. 7.5-10.5 kg |
These are catalogue or datasheet figures for the reference models, not weights of your order; the packing list carries the weighed gross and net figures per drum.
Lagging, end caps and protection
- Lagging: wooden battens or boards nailed or banded across the flanges protect the outer layer from forklifts, lashing and other drums. It is the usual specification for power and armoured cable that travels by sea.
- End caps: heat-shrink or push-on caps seal both cable ends against water; MV and fibre cable ends must be sealed.
- Inner end access: for fibre and MV cable the inner end is brought out through the flange and protected, so it can be tested without unwinding.
- Wrapping: plastic film under the lagging keeps dust and salt air off the sheath.
- Marking: drum number, construction, length, metre marks, gross and net weight and a rolling direction arrow stencilled or tagged on the flange.
Damage to drums in transit is one of the most common claims on cable orders; drum damage prevention covers the failure modes.
How the desk checks packing
At pre-shipment inspection the inspector compares each drum with the drum plan: length by metre marks, construction by print, end caps, lagging, tag data and weight. Drums that do not match are corrected before they go to the container; loading itself is covered on logistics and shipping. Typical MOQ per size and how drum booking affects lead time are on MOQ and lead time, and the quote form accepts the run lengths your site needs.