Why people ask
Encore Wire's reels are everywhere on Dallas-Fort Worth jobsites. The company was founded in 1989 in a 68,000 sq ft warehouse in McKinney, and its single-site campus on Millwood Road now covers 460 acres, with just under 3.5 million sq ft under roof, making copper and aluminium building wire and cable. Prysmian completed its acquisition of Encore Wire on 2 July 2024, and Encore became privately held. With so much of its wire pulled locally, contractors naturally ask whether Encore will take the reels back, the way some other makers do.
What we checked
We looked for a reel return or take-back program on Encore Wire's own published pages, and for any public program terms of the kind that Service Wire and Southwire publish for their reels. We found none. That doesn't prove no arrangement exists anywhere: a distributor or a large customer may have a private agreement. But there's no published program a contractor can rely on.
We could find no published Encore Wire reel take-back program. We don't promise or imply one.
What to do with Encore Wire reels
- Ask your supplier. The distributor who sold the cable may know of an arrangement. If they confirm one in writing, use it.
- Otherwise, treat them as one-way. That means they're yours to reuse, sell or recycle.
- Sell the sound ones. Encore's nailed reels in mid sizes are as reusable as any other maker's.
- Recycle the broken ones. Wood reel recycling works well in North Texas.
We collect Encore Wire reels with every other brand on the same pickup. We don't represent Encore Wire, and we can't return reels to it on your behalf.
How other makers compare
| Maker | Published reel return |
|---|---|
| Service Wire | Yes, for its own labelled nailed reels of 30 to 72 in, by the full truckload, in good condition |
| Southwire | Yes, with a pick-up request form, and a separate steel reel policy |
| Encore Wire | None found |
See our guide to manufacturer return programs for the details and links.
Where Encore reels end up
Sound Encore reels go back into service with contractors, rope users and ranchers, or become tables. Damaged ones go to wood recycling, where the nails are removed and the wood ground. Very few need to go anywhere near a landfill.
If that changes
If Encore Wire publishes a reel take-back program, this page should change with it. If you know of one, send the link to info@dallaswoodenspools.com and we'll check it.
Sorting Encore reels in a mixed stack
Encore Wire reels are easy to spot by the company name stencilled on the flanges, usually with the cable description and a reel or order number. In a typical North Texas laydown yard they sit alongside reels from Southwire, Service Wire, Cerro and others. Pull aside any reel that carries a maker's program you intend to use, and anything stamped "returnable" or "property of" another company. Encore reels, with no published program behind them, go with the rest of the one-way stack to be reused or recycled. There's no need to keep them in a separate row for us: brand doesn't change how we load or sort.
Why one-way reels make sense for some makers
Running a return program costs a maker trucks, yard space, inspection and repair. For wire sold through a dense network of distributors to many small jobs, reels scatter widely and come back in poor shape, and a maker may decide that buying new reels is cheaper than chasing old ones. That's a business choice, and it's common across the building-wire trade. The result is that most empty reels on a DFW building site are one-way, whoever made the wire, and it falls to the contractor or the distributor to clear them.
How many reels that adds up to
Nobody publishes how many Encore reels are sitting empty in North Texas, and we won't guess. What we can say is that the company makes its wire at a single campus in McKinney, its reels reach jobsites across the Metroplex, and the question we're asked most about any one brand is this one. Our McKinney page covers pickups in and around Encore's home city.
Encore Wire, Encore Wire celebrates 35 years; Encore Wire, completion of the acquisition by Prysmian, 2 July 2024. Checked 9 November 2026.
If your supplier offers a return
Some distributors run their own reel collection for good accounts, whatever the maker, simply to keep customers' yards clear. If yours offers to take Encore reels, ask whether there's a charge, whether they want broken reels too, and when the truck will come. A written note from the branch is enough. That's an arrangement with the distributor, not an Encore Wire program, and it can end whenever the branch decides.
Damaged Encore reels
Broken Encore reels are no different from anyone else's: split flanges, crushed staves and torn arbor holes mean they're finished as cable carriers. They go to wood recycling with the rest of the broken stock, and the nails are pulled out magnetically after grinding.
Questions
Does Encore Wire take back empty reels?
We could find no published take-back program. Treat its reels as one-way unless your supplier confirms otherwise in writing.
Will you take Encore Wire reels?
Yes, with any other brand, sound or damaged.
Are Encore Wire reels returnable through my distributor?
Ask them. Some distributors may have their own arrangements; get it in writing.