January 2025 Connector Industry News

By AJ Born | January 21, 2025

Upcoming industry events, as well as recent award, partnership, promotion, personnel, facility, distribution, standards, association, and certification news from across the connector industry.

January 2025 Connector Industry News

January 2025 Connector Industry News > Event News

DesignCon, the premier high-speed communications and system design conference and exposition, will celebrate its 30th anniversary at this year’s event.DesignCon, the premier high-speed communications and system design conference and exposition, will celebrate its 30th anniversary at this year’s event. The conference will be held January 28-30, 2025, with the accompanying expo January 29-30, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. The festivities will include a 30th anniversary welcome reception, DesignCon’s 80+ point timeline of some of the most impactful designs and moments from the last 30 years (from specifications through space travel), and a scavenger hunt via the event mobile app. Keynote speakers include Carl Haber, senior scientist at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory at University of California, presenting “Electronics for Future High Energy Particle Colliders”; John Linford, principal technical product manager at Nvidia, presenting “The Transformative Power of Accelerated Computing & AI”; and Nima Mahanfar, director of engineering at Amazon’s Project Kuiper Systems, presenting “Enabling Global Connectivity with Low Earth Orbit Satellite Technology.”

Weidmuller USAWeidmuller USA is proud to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, marking five decades as a pioneer of innovation in smart industrial connectivity and automation products and solutions. A grand opening event in spring of 2025 will celebrate the company’s new 24,000-square-foot engineering and manufacturing facility. Over the past half century, Weidmuller USA has broadened its product portfolio to include more than 80,000 parts that can be tailored to specific customer applications in industry sectors including renewable energy, oil & gas, data centers, food and beverage, intralogistics, machine design, appliance and HVAC, and wiring and cable processing. In addition to its pioneering leadership in developing IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and future-forward technologies, Weidmuller USA has been recognized for three consecutive years (2022-2024) as a Top Workplace by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as well as being named a 2024 Top Workplace USA by USA Today,

January 2025 Connector Industry News > Award News

DigiKey is #151 on the 2024 list of Forbes’ America’s Largest Private Companies.DigiKey is #151 on the 2024 list of Forbes’ America’s Largest Private Companies. This is the third consecutive year the company has been included on the list since Forbes began tracking private companies in 1985. This year’s ranking, with 275 companies, is the largest since 2008, the last year before the threshold was doubled to $2 billion. Inclusion on the list is based on having $2 billion or more in revenue from the most recent fiscal year. For 85% of list members, that means revenues for calendar 2023. Others have fiscal years that ended as recently as October 2024. DigiKey is one of only 10 companies in the Capital Goods category, ranking at #5 within its category. DigiKey is one of eight companies headquartered in Minnesota on the list, ranking at #3 within the state.

TE Connectivity earned recognition from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for its ongoing commitment to sustainable business practices for the 13th consecutive year.TE Connectivity earned recognition from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for its ongoing commitment to sustainable business practices for the 13th consecutive year. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index analyzes more than 13,000 companies around the world using the Corporate Sustainability Assessment framework. TE is in the top 10% of the largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term economic, governance, environmental, and social criteria. Over the past year, TE’s near-term greenhouse gas reduction targets across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 were validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative, a leading standard-setting body, as strong enough to mitigate climate change. TE has successfully reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 72% since 2020 and more than 77% of the company’s energy comes from renewable sources.

RS earned a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRCF) 2025 Corporate Equality Index,

RS earned a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRCF) 2025 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. RS is among 765 U.S. businesses that were honored with the HRCF’s Equality 100 Award as Leaders in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion. This year’s CEI includes 1,449 businesses — the highest number of rated companies since the start of the CEI in 2002. “This year marks our third year participating in the HRCF’s Corporate Equality Index, and achieving a perfect score highlights the successful expansion of RS policies and benefits that support our LGBTQ+ team members. Creating an inclusive environment where everyone can bring their best selves to work is fundamental to our success. We remain dedicated to listening, learning, and growing to ensure our employees are heard, represented, and respected at work,” said D’Mar Phillips, vice president, people, and culture – RS Americas.

Schaltbau received the German Excellence Award in the “Strategy & Transformation” category.Schaltbau received the German Excellence Award in the “Strategy & Transformation” category. The company has been honored for tailoring the office floor environment of its eco-friendly factory in Velden, Germany, to the different working modes required by staff as well the varying communication relationships between teams. “When we planned our NExT Factory with a DC microgrid and smart energy management, we wanted to minimize energy losses that happen when direct current is converted into alternate current and vice versa. But we also wanted to minimize the ‘conversion losses’ that happen when teams don’t have the working environment or the fast mutual exchange they need,” said Dr. Michael Ettl, senior director operations, Schaltbau. “We are very honored to receive this award. It shows that the principles of New Work, collaboration and transparency can very well transcend to manufacturing sites.” The design of the 2.000 m² open office space in the NExT Factory allows “activity-based working,” with inviting space for individual work and concentration as well as discussions and creative team meetings. The respective “home zones” of departments in the open space concept were arranged based on the communication relationships between the different teams, facilitating both transparency and smooth collaboration. The NExT Factory has been in full operation since September 2023. With its advanced DC components, photovoltaic energy generation, intelligent energy management as well as battery and thermal storage, the NExT Factory saves up to 35% in annual energy costs. As a result, the facility has significantly reduced its reliance on the conventional power grid and sets a new standard for carbon-neutral and electrified production.

January 2025 Connector Industry News > Personnel & Acquisitions News

RS welcomed Abhishek Singh — an expert in commercial transformations, go-to-market strategy, sales excellence, pricing and segmentation, and capability buildingRS welcomed Abhishek Singh — an expert in commercial transformations, go-to-market strategy, sales excellence, pricing and segmentation, and capability building — to its executive leadership team as vice president of margin management, pricing, and procurement. Abhishek brings more than 16 years of experience in consumer analytics, advanced statistical modeling, pricing and procurement, and corporate strategy for the manufacturing and distribution industry to his new role. He also brings a proven track record for driving sustained, above-market growth and productivity across complex, matrixed organizations, demonstrating outstanding leadership capabilities, and pioneering the development of dashboards and predictive analytics tools demonstrated to address margin variability, streamline decision-making, and enhance performance tracking across teams.

Vera Parker to succeed Julian Fagge as president of Smiths Interconnect

Smiths Interconnect, part of Smiths Group plc., announced the appointment of Vera Parker as president, effective 1 February 2025. Vera succeeds Julian Fagge, who will take up the role of Chief Financial Officer at Smiths Group. With extensive leadership experience, including senior roles at Smiths Group, Rio Tinto, and Schlumberger, Vera brings expertise in HR, operations, M&A, and marketing. Under Vera’s leadership, Smiths Interconnect will remain dedicated to providing innovative engineering solutions, prioritizing its customers’ needs and reinforcing its pledge to sustainability—cornerstones of the company’s vision and ongoing success. Vera Parker said, “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Julian for his leadership of Smiths Interconnect over the past few years. It’s an exciting time to lead the business, and I admire Smiths Interconnect’s technical innovation and commitment to our customers. I look forward to building on these strengths.” Read more on this announcement.

January 2025 Connector Industry News > Partnership and Distribution News

DigiKey has expanded its product portfolio through a global distribution partnership with MediaTek,DigiKey has expanded its product portfolio through a global distribution partnership with MediaTek, the world’s fifth largest fabless semiconductor company and a leader in developing tightly integrated, power-efficient systems-on-chip (SoC) for embedded systems, mobile devices, home entertainment, network and connectivity, automated driving, and IoT. Through this global distribution agreement, DigiKey now offers MediaTek’s products worldwide for immediate shipment, backed by DigiKey’s seamless logistics and premier customer service.

Weidmüller Ltd. Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Contact FD as its new sales agent for the Quebec region.Weidmüller Ltd. Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Contact FD as its new sales agent for the Quebec region. Weidmüller has had a presence in Quebec for 50 years and is eager to partner with Contact FD. This strategic collaboration allows Weidmüller to enhance its position, strengthen its connections with clients in the region, and reaffirm its commitment to driving innovation, enhancing customer relationships, and expanding its footprint in the Quebec market.

Waldom Electronics reached a groundbreaking milestone: 260,000 trees planted in 2024, a key achievement in the company’s mission to foster sustainability. The company partners with electronic components distributors through its Green Stock Initiative and 1% Sustainability Pledge. These efforts have sequestered 65,348 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to removing 14,206 cars from the road for a year, while creating 527 workdays for local tree planters. As Waldom looks ahead to 2025, the company is raising the bar with an ambitious goal to plant 500,000 trees in partnership with veritree.

January 2025 Connector Industry News > Technical Resources 

Würth Elektronik has published the 4th edition of its popular reference book, Trilogy of Connectors. (Connector Supplier contributor Dr. Bob Mroczkowski was one of the original authors.)Würth Elektronik has published the 4th edition of its popular reference book, Trilogy of Connectors. (Connector Supplier contributor Dr. Bob Mroczkowski was one of the original authors.) This in-depth look at connector basics and trends makes the selection and dimensioning process easier and provides a wealth of practical information on various connector types, including recent developments such as USB Type-C or USB Power Delivery. A newly added section addresses connectors for shielded cables and their EMC-compliant design. Trilogy of Connectors is written in English and will also be available as an e-book in early 2025. The book can now be ordered directly from Würth Elektronik.

EA-TEF 2024The presentations from the Ethernet Alliance event, TEF 2024: Ethernet in the Age of AI, have been made available to the public to encourage more industry collaboration. Industry leaders gathered in October for a groundbreaking exploration on the convergence of Ethernet and AI. This exclusive event showcased how Ethernet is evolving to meet the demands of AI, with industry leaders driving discussions that will shape the future of both technologies. The key topics explored include synergies between Ethernet and AI and their impact on industries; AI-driven networks and evolving topologies; the critical role of the Physical Layer in AI performance; future trends shaping Ethernet and AI technologies; and latency, power, and efficiency demands for high-performance AI networks.

Like this article? Check out our other Product RoundupProduct News, and Connector Industry News features and our 2024 and 2025 Article Archives Article Archives.

Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletters, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and check out our eBook archives for more applicable, expert-informed connectivity content.

AJ Born
Get the Latest News
x