Even today , 12 years after the name was adopted – when Goldman Sachs bought the cables business of Pirelli – and six years after the group was created in a € 2.7 billion merger with the 100 year old Dutch company Draka , to make Prysmian Group the world ’ s largest cable company , the name of Prysmian is taking some time to become generally recognized . Broadly speaking , Pirelli Cables , which in 2005 became Prysmian , was best known for its capacity to supply transmission lines , whereas Draka tended to serve the more specialized industry markets including elevators , automotive and aerospace , with a strong capability in fiber optic . The group now has a presence in 50 countries , with 82 plants and more than 21,000 employees ; its global