June 2022 Connector Industry News
Upcoming industry events, as well as recent award, partnership, promotion, personnel, facility, distribution, standards, association, and certification news from across the connector industry.
June 2022 Connector Industry News
June 2022 Connector Industry News > Award News
HARTING announced that Rainer Zietlow, after completing the longest journey by an electric vehicle in a single country (57,000 kilometers) in 2021, succeeded in securing his second Guinness World Record with the VW ID.4 GTX by climbing the world’s highest, still passable mine road at the Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia using only electric power. With an altitude gain of 5,816 meters, he has again proven the staying power of EVs. “Our goal was to show that electromobility is also capable of high performance at extreme altitudes,” said Zietlow. Traveling in thin air on sandy and rocky slopes, he achieved his goal, stopping just a few meters shy of the summit. On the journey to base camp through Argentina and Bolivia, he relied on Enel X Way’s wallbox network, which was installed along the route at 300 km intervals. HARTING actively supported this challenge as VW’s Tier 1 supplier of charging cables and the original equipment manufacturer of the on-board charging cables.
For the third consecutive year, TTI Inc. has been recognized as Distributor of the Year by Littelfuse, and for the ninth consecutive year the same honor has been given to TTI by Eaton’s Electronics Division. Jeff Ray, TTI’s vice president of product and supplier marketing, said “[the Littelfuse] repeat legacy win affirms that our company’s strategic alignment and mutual hard work is the perfect recipe for success.” The Eaton repeat win is “a very gratifying accomplishment for the entire TTI team,” he said. “Both companies place tremendous value on our partnership and are well aligned in our product portfolio direction and vertical segment market focus. Garnering this accolade and confidence from Eaton solidifies our mutual commitment to business excellence as we continue to elevate the customer experience.”
Longtime industry luminary Robin Gray was awarded EDS’ Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his tireless efforts and leadership in making EDS the premier event for the electronic components industry. Robin is retiring from his role as general counsel of the ECIA. ERA, GEDA, and ECIA honored and thanked him for his years of counsel, direction, and leadership. “Robin’s deep knowledge and insight have positioned EDS to be successful now and into the future,” said Walt Tobin, CEO, ERA. Robin is the first recipient of the EDS Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the years, Robin has passionately advocated for the authorized component channel, through his warnings on the dangers of counterfeit components and by urging the industry to come together to combat this increasingly onerous challenge. Robin was also instrumental in the merger of NEDA and EIA, resulting in the present ECIA. In addition, as COO and general counsel for ECIA and executive vice president of the EDS Board, Robin has secured venues and overseen contract negotiations and operations for the annual EDS Summit. “Over the past two years during this global pandemic, Robin has been a guiding force for all of us,” said David Loftus, president and CEO, ECIA.
June 2022 Connector Industry News > Partnership, Personnel, & Acquisitions News
Digi-Key Electronics has hired Mike Slater as its new vice president of global business development. In his new role, Slater will oversee the company’s worldwide customer and supplier development strategy. Slater comes to Digi-Key with more than 25 years of sales, management, and business experience. Prior to joining Digi-Key, he served as the president of E-Switch Inc., where he was responsible for the company’s global sales across North America, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Slater also previously served as a general manager at Arrow Electronics, where he built, managed, and developed effective sales teams. “Mike’s deep background in sales strategy and management aligns with our strategic growth initiatives as we continue to expand our markets around the globe and redefine what it means to be a high service distributor,” said Dave Doherty, president of Digi-Key.
Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing Inc. has joined CESMII’s Smart Manufacturing Institute. As a platinum member, Phoenix Contact will work with CESMII and other member companies to radically accelerate the development and adoption of advanced sensors, controls, platforms, and models to enable Smart Manufacturing (SM) to become the driving sustainable engine that delivers real-time business improvements in U.S. manufacturing. Louis Grice, Phoenix Contact vice president of digitalization and government affairs, was named to the CESMII board. “Since Phoenix Contact embarked on its digitalization journey several years ago, we’ve introduced many exciting technologies that help our customers make Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) a reality,” Grice stated. “But just as importantly, we’ve embraced Smart Manufacturing on our own production floor. By working with CESMII, we’ll contribute to a mission-driven association dedicated to driving performance, increasing quality, improving reliability, and saving energy for sustainable and competitive U.S. manufacturing.”
Amphenol Industrial Operations has partnered with Eaxtron USA to sell its Effortless & Arcless UL 1977 DIN connectors, crimpers, and cable assemblies that will still be available under the Eaxtron name. These connectors are designed to offer lower cost of ownership and meet the needs of companies in the material handling (forklifts), GSE (ground support equipment – aviation support), MRO (maintenance, repair, operations), specialty vehicles (golf carts, EATV) and warehouse operations and purchasing industries. Innovation at Eaxtron USA will always be user oriented. It is this focus on the human factor of technology that has inspired the company to focus on usability, safety, and comfort rather than the bottom line. As the industry adapts to innovations in lithium-ion and fast charge technology, Eaxtron USA aims to shepherd this evolution such that connections become not only faster, but safer and more efficient too.
June 2022 Connector Industry News > Facility News
The Fischer family founded Conextivity Group to meet the connectivity challenge posed by the emergence of new cross-functional and scalable ecosystems, from locally interconnected devices and sensors to cloud-managed IoT platforms. The group’s R&D department, which has doubled in size over the last five years, is strengthening its teams with new expertise, especially in signal integrity engineering, embedded electronics, the cloud, and the IoT. The family-owned technology group is accelerating the development of its two business activities, Fischer Connectors and Wearin’, towards the same entrepreneurial vision. The former is broadening its scope of activity to include electronics and building a production site in Portugal. Wearin’ is expanding its IoT solution and signing technology partnerships to improve the safety and efficiency of the connected human; in May, it was at the heart of a European civil protection exercise to test technologies available to first responders in the event of large-scale disasters. With double-digit annual growth, Conextivity Group is aiming for a billion Swiss francs in revenue within 10 years. With Fischer Connectors and Wearin’, Conextivity Group’s suite of products, solutions, and services span the entire connectivity value chain. The goal is to meet the challenge posed by the rise of ubiquitous connected devices and sensors.
June 2022 Connector Industry News > Associations, Standards, & Certifications News
The European Space Agency has approved ESCC QPL certification for Smiths Interconnect’s manufacturing site in Genoa, Italy, for some specific space-grade high-reliability PCB connectors. The site has been registered under the manufacturers of components qualified to the rules of the ESCC System and intended for use in ESA and other spacecraft and associated equipment, in accordance with ESCC Generic Specification 3401 and associated Detail Specification 3401/016, 3401/017 and 3401/039, as recommended by the Space Components Steering Board. The certification refers to the 2 and 3 row PCB connectors of Smiths Interconnect’s KM and KN Series and encompasses multiple configurations and contact terminations, from 17 to 160 contact positions with a 0.5 mm and 0.60 mm contact diameter. This recognition has been achieved after a deep evaluation of the production process of the space-grade connectors directly performed on site by ESA staff. The connectors’ specific material platings, the rigorous and precise assembly and testing procedures in the production process, and the ability to operate within ‐55°C to +125°C are the key factors ensuring those configurations are compliant with ESA’s requirements. Smiths Interconnect’s St.-Aubin-Lès-Elbeuf, France, facility has held this certification since the first endorsement in 1982.
CDM Electronics announced its Turnersville, New Jersey, manufacturing facility has again met the QMS (Quality Management System) requirements of AS9100:2016, which encompass the continuance of the company’s ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. Specific regulations to the standard include context of the organization, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance, and evaluation, in addition to continued improvement. The facility, which houses CDM’s value-added services division, is dedicated to manufacturing mission-critical, MIL-Spec, RF, power, and custom cable assemblies, as well as box builds. It also maintains an extensive, ready-to-ship inventory of standard and specialty connectors, including circular, MIL-Spec, DIN, power, PROFIBUS, rectangular, and RF devices. Mike Liccketto, quality systems document control specialist at CDM Electronics, said, “Our entire team is extremely proud that CDM has again satisfied the requirements of AS9100:2016, as this further verifies our ongoing commitment to the integrity of our aerospace and defense customers’ supply chain. We are also gratified that those customers whose interconnects do not demand this certification will equally benefit from the same QMS and internationally recognized best practices.”
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