August 2022 Connector Industry News II
News from across the connector industry regarding upcoming industry events, recent awards, new partnerships and distribution channels, promotions, facility announcements, standards, associations, and certification.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Event News
2022 marks 40 years since Avnet began its partnership with Molex. At Molex’s Chicago headquarters, Phil Gallagher, Avnet CEO, presented Molex with a commemorative Cosanti bell and plaque to celebrate the anniversary and symbolize ringing in future growth. “Molex stands for everything that makes our industry great, and I am proud of our long history together. With our similar core values and commitment to service, quality, and innovation, our cultural alignment has enabled the Avnet-Molex partnership to flourish for four decades,” he said. Molex’s expertise and vast product library of connectors, sensors, kits, and tools, combined with its commitment to supporting customers at each stage of a product’s lifecycle, has allowed the partnership to be as successful as it has been for four decades. This mutually beneficial relationship exemplifies distributors’ critical role in the technology supply chain to ensure that customers can get the part they need or an appropriate substitution.
Phoenix Contact is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its COMBICON product portfolio. Since 1972, COMBICON PCB terminal blocks and PCB connectors have been providing the ideal connection technology for transmitting signals, data, or power in a wide range of applications. “Back in 1972, it became apparent that developments in the control cabinet, in machine building, or in electricity were increasingly shifting toward industrial electronics. With the KDS terminal block for printed circuits, we developed the original terminal block that marked our entry into the world of electronics,” recalls Klaus Eisert, Phoenix Contact shareholder and the creative mind behind the first PCB terminal block. “And so began the era of the industrial PCB terminal block for Phoenix Contact. From the outset, the green terminal blocks radiated quality and continue to do so to this day.” In the decades that followed, the product portfolio evolved and now boasts around 100 different product families. These products are used in inverters, complex controllers, or smart home applications. Phoenix Contact has produced several billion COMBICON PCB terminal blocks and PCB connectors. The innovations that originated in Blomberg include the first PCB terminal block with push-in spring connection, the invention of single-row connectors with variable numbers of positions and with screw connection for individual field wiring, and the first lever-type terminal block with additional push-in function.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Award News
Heilind Electronics was honored at Molex’s 2021 annual award program recognizing outstanding sales achievements, including sales growth, local market engagement, new opportunities, project development and alignment, new design registration and overall contribution to sales development. Heilind’s North Region in Chicago was named 2021 Branch of the Year and Heilind Asia Pacific received Molex’s 2021 Regional Distributor of the Year award for South Asia. Heilind is a leading global distributor of electronic components and has been an authorized distributor for Molex products for over 45 years. Heilind carries a full suite of the manufacturer’s solutions and services for many markets, including data communications, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, commercial vehicle, and medical.
Smiths Interconnect won the China IC achievement award as the Outstanding Test and Measurement Company of the Year for its continuous innovation and rapid growth in the Chinese market. The China IC achievement award is one of the most important technical awards in China’s electronics industry. It recognizes companies, groups, and individuals who represent the highest manufacturing standards in the industry and demonstrate outstanding design capabilities and technical service levels. Winners were selected through a fair and impartial vote by the committee, comprised of Aspencore senior industry analysts, and through public online voting by a panel of electronics engineers and semiconductor industry insiders. Smiths Interconnect was recognized for its commitment to grow its semiconductor test business in China, by offering high-quality, innovative test sockets and probe card solutions that provide customers with a competitive edge.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Partnership, Personnel, & Acquisitions News
TTI’s Exponential Technology Group (XTG), a specialty distributor of electronic components, acquired BGM Electronic Services, an engineering design services firm based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. BGM will continue to operate under the BGM brand name, and Terry Bishop, company founder, will remain in charge of the business as president, reporting to XTG president and TTI senior vice president of business development, Michael Knight. Knight said of the announcement, “The acquisition of BGM is part of a larger business strategy to assist our customers with component selection and sourcing, product design, and the transition of the finished design into manufacturing. BGM joins two other electronic design service firms that are part of XTG – Connected Development headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, and Paragon Innovations headquartered in Richardson, Texas – and brings our collective hardware, software, and mechanical engineering headcount to over 80 people.”
HEICO Corporation announced that its Electronic Technologies Group entered into an agreement to acquire Exxelia International from an affiliate of IK Partners and additional sellers. Exxelia’s management and team members are expected to retain a minority interest (about 5%) of the business. HEICO anticipates that a definitive purchase agreement with closing of the acquisition will occur by the end of its first quarter of fiscal year 2023. Paris-headquartered Exxelia designs, manufactures, and sells high-reliability, complex, passive electronic components and rotary joint assemblies for aerospace and defense applications, as well as for medical and energy uses, including emerging clean energy and electrification applications. Among Exxelia’s products are high-end capacitors, resistors, inductors, and complex slip rings. Exxelia produces over 50,000 discrete part numbers, which it provides to over 3,000 customers worldwide. Exxelia’s CEO, Paul Maisonnier, will continue to lead Exxelia post-acquisition. Exxelia’s global operations comprise roughly 676,000 square feet spread across four continents, with eleven advanced locations worldwide, including six in France, two in the United States (one in Florida and one in New York), and one each in India, Morocco, and Vietnam. The transaction would be HEICO’s largest-ever acquisition, in terms of purchase price and revenues. HEICO also announced that its dB Control subsidiary acquired 100% of the stock of niche RF and microwave switch maker Charter Engineering Inc. and its Electronic Technologies Group acquired all the stock of Sensor Systems Inc., a leading aircraft antenna company.
David Collier and Alexander Arrieta
Infinite Electronics has added David Collier as chief operating officer and Alexander Arrieta as chief human resource officer. Collier has more than 20 years of global operations experience, including global supply chain management, supply integration, demand planning, procurement, and inventory management at multi-billion-dollar companies such as POOLCORP, Arrow Electronics, MSC Industrial Supply, Advance Auto Parts, Capgemini, ScottMadden, and McMaster-Carr Supply Company. Collier has been a guest lecturer in graduate-level supply chain courses at Denver University’s Daniels College of Business and is a member of Colorado State University’s Supply Chain Advisory Board. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and his master’s from Emory University. Arrieta joins Infinite Electronics from Discovery Land Company where he served as chief people officer and senior vice president of people. He served as chief people officer and senior vice president of human resources at United Pacific, S&P Global, and Disney Consumer Products. He earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, and his juris doctor from Southwestern Law School.
Harwin signs MSA in Germany.
A new strategic partnership allows MSA Components to offer Harwin’s latest products, including the cutting-edge Gecko, Datamate, Kona, and M300 series connectors. MSA Components is a widely respected electronics supplier within the German market. Specializing in high-reliability products, its clients include leading players in satellite, oil & gas, aircraft, UAV, robotics, as well as military contractors and medical equipment manufacturers. The company complies with all the key standards relating to defense, space, avionics, and healthcare. The company’s design-in support and engineering expertise are tangible value-adds.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > New Technical Resources
TopFlite launched its updated website, which includes new product content and improved functionality. The website features the company’s full line of electrical connectors including the M&M connector series, PCB mount connectors, 38999 series I-IV, double flange 38999, MDC series (83513 rectangular), filter connectors, 22992 series, 5015 series, 26482 series, and the ITT (Integrated Termination Tail) option for improved electrical performance and reduced BOM requirements. TopFlite now manufactures a full line of circular and rectangular back shells with new content for M&M series (micro-miniature circular) back shells in straight, 45° & 90° configurations, the space saving Short Stuff circular end bell line and THDHE series end bell that supports connectors with no rear accessory threads. Also included are TopFlite’s complete offering of protective covers with new content for the M&M series in aluminum, stainless steel, composite, and rubber material to support a multitude of program applications. Customers can choose from standard or customized interconnect options to support their specific applications. TopFlite also released its new product catalog.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Facility News
Sager Electronics announced a major expansion into a new 175,650 sq. ft. facility in Lewisville, Texas. Scheduled to be fully operational by the end of the year, the new facility will house Sager’s brand new Custom Solutions Center, Distribution Center, and Southcentral Service Center. The new location doubles Sager’s existing distribution space while increasing its custom solution footprint by 38,000 square feet, enabling Sager to bring all custom solution services into one facility with full design, manufacturing, and testing services for the company’s power, battery, and thermal business. With 36’ clear height, the new distribution center will employ racking and vertical lift systems for enhanced use of the available cube and achieve greater productivity from automation tools.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Distribution News
Sager Electronics and Sanyo Denki announced the addition of SANUPS power systems to the Sager portfolio. SANUPS power systems include uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems along with renewable energy inverters. Sager Electronics’ specialized group, Sager Power Systems, has been a leading distributor of Sanyo Denki’s thermal management products, according to Kathleen Whitcher, national distribution manager for Sanyo Denki America. “Their growth of Sanyo Denki’s cooling solutions, and proven expertise in power products and solutions, makes Sager a natural fit for the full offering of Sanyo Denki products,” Whitcher said. Sager Electronics has also added Bel Power Solutions (BPS) and CUI Inc product brands to its portfolio.
Avnet now distributes products from LeddarTech, a leader in environmental sensing solutions for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems. Avnet offers LeddarTech LiDAR sensors and modules in the Americas. LeddarTech 2D and 3D solid-state LiDAR modules and sensors support many markets, including mobility, industrial intelligent traffic systems (ITS), and drone unmanned vehicles (UAVs). The product line consists of various sensors with detection ranges from 50 to 150 meters, meets IP67 enclosure standards to enable operation in variable weather conditions, and offers best-in-class shock and vibration resistance. Due to the solid-state design, these LiDARs supersede mechanical LiDAR (light detection and ranging) products with an extremely high MTBF (mean-time between failures). The portfolio also offers 8- and 16-segment LiDAR modules that are lightweight and configurable with high acquisition rates and low power consumption. LeddarTech LiDAR products have supported the non-automotive market for over a decade with over 50,000 products sold. LiDAR is a method for determining ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver.
August 2022 Connector Industry News II > Associations, Standards, & Certifications News
ECIA announced Dean Kamen, the founder and president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, as the opening speaker for the 2022 Executive Conference, Bucking Normal – the Resilient Thrive Through Disruption. Kamen will address the skilled labor shortage, one of the most pressing challenges facing the industry, with his presentation, How to Get Involved to Recruit & Retain Future Employees & Customers. He will explain his FIRST Robotics Competition, a proven program to inspire the next generation of STEM workers. ECIA members will learn how the program can directly impact their workforce, including ways to support employees in mentorships, FIRST teams and events, and how to use FIRST to hire and retain the best talent. This session is sponsored by Digi-Key Electronics and ROHM Semiconductor. Examples of technologies developed by DEKA include the HomeChoice portable dialysis machine, the iBOT Mobility System, the Segway Human Transporter, a DARPA-funded robotic arm, a new and improved Stirling engine, and the Slingshot water purifier. Kamen has received many awards for his efforts, including the National Medal of Technology in 2000 and the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005 and has been a member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1997. The Executive Conference runs October 23-25 at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel.
Registration is open for the 71st annual IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum, taking place October 10–13, 2022, in Providence, Rhode Island. The event includes a technical symposium featuring previously unpublished technical papers, a plenary luncheon with an influential keynote speaker, a supplier exhibition, expert panel discussions, an executive session, and professional development courses. Advanced online meeting technologies, perseverance from patrons, and continued support from annual sponsors allowed IWCS to hold successful virtual events in 2020 and 2021. As business continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the return of a traditional in-person format is expected to be well-received by international colleagues who are ready to once again network, learn, and have fun. The theme of the 2022 IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum is rebooting the future of our industry and communities. Thirty members of the IWCS 2022 Symposium Committee, representing companies from seven countries, met in April to review hundreds of responses to the Call for Papers. The strong technical paper submissions and carefully curated program will ensure an extremely high-caliber technical symposium, which is the cornerstone of the annual Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum. The Supplier Exhibition will feature more than 75 industry-leading suppliers who will be demonstrating cutting-edge technologies in cable and connectivity products, processes, and applications. New this year, IWCS plans to introduce three expert panel discussions on the topics of Celebrating Women of the Industry, Early Career Success Tips, and Advancing Technologies.
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