March 2023 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.
March 2023 Connector Industry News
March 2023 Connector Industry News > Award News
TTI Inc. named Melanie Pizzey, corporate senior vice president of commercial business operations, as the 2023 Founders Award recipient. The honor is the highest recognition of an individual within the organization who exemplifies the ideals and principles established by Paul Andrews as the cornerstone of TTI more than 50 years ago. Etched with Andrews’ likeness, the plaque is engraved with his quote, “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” The inaugural Founders Award was presented jointly in 2022 to Jeff Ray, senior vice president, global strategic accounts, and Lew LaFornara, senior vice president of product marketing and management.
HARTING received the “Company of the Year” award, given by FOCUS MONEY and DEUTSCHLAND TEST, in the electronic components category for the second time in a row. The “Company of the Year” study was conducted by the Institute for Management and Economic Development (IMWF). The HARTING Technology Group received the full number of points (100) across the board in four categories: Award Winner, Highest Trust, Customer Favorites, and Germany’s Best – Sustainability. “We do everything we can to take economic, social and environmental aspects into account in an appropriate way. Our result in the categories shows that we are still on the right track with our efforts,” said CEO Philip Harting.
Digi-Key Electronics ranked #16 on Forbes’ prestigious list of America’s Best Midsize Employers for 2023. The list is based on an independent survey of approximately 45,000 American employees across companies with more than 1,000 workers in the United States. Across 25 industry sectors, 500 different employers were recognized. The criteria looked at how willing respondents were to recommend their workplace to friends and family as well as employer perception in their respective industry. This is the second year that Digi-Key has made this list. The company also ranked #2 in the category of Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Technology Hardware & Equipment. Digi-Key puts opportunities to grow at the forefront, connecting talent with career development resources and providing an industry-leading benefits package. Digi-Key’s comprehensive health insurance plan covers, on average, more than 97% of employees’ expenses, with no premiums for individual coverage and extremely low rates for families. The on-site Key Health & Wellness Center clinic allows employees to receive fast, efficient, and free health care, without a co-pay or the need to clock out of work. Digi-Key also offers generous 401(k) matching funds as well as competitive paid time off, and many other perks and benefits.
Harwin named iConnexion as its Distributor of 2023 in the Asian region. The award acknowledges that iConnexion has successfully raised the performance bar across numerous commercial parameters. This is the latest in a series of awards that the company and individual members of its workforce have received from Harwin in recent years. iConnexion, which is headquartered in Singapore, specializes in supplying advanced electro-mechanical/interconnect components and cable assemblies. The company is widely respected for its effective logistics operation and the professionalism of its staff that enable it to quickly respond to customers’ demands by providing access to locally stocked inventory for many of the most popular Harwin product lines. Over the past 12 months, iConnexion has attained record sales figures for Harwin’s HRi and BBi product categories.
March 2023 Connector Industry News > Facility News
Hirose Electric opened a new Americas corporate headquarters near Chicago. The new state-of-the-art facility features key elements to support customer development life cycle. This includes an expanded engineering lab with application support services and a new leading-edge customer imagination center. These upgraded facilities enable Hirose to work closely with customers to support the development of innovative products that meet application demands. The 18,000 square foot facility also has a dedicated training center for customers, sales representatives, and distribution partners. Combining a wide selection of connectors with unsurpassed customer service, Hirose caters to design engineers and buyers by designing and delivering interconnect solutions for OEM applications. The new facility strengthens Hirose’s ability to simplify the design process, shorten the design cycle, and quickly meet customer requirements. The expanded customer support center offers specialized connectivity design support for a wide range of applications including automotive, consumer electronics, data center, home appliances, industrial, lighting, medical, smart grid, telecom, Test & Measurement, transportation, and more. Hirose’s new Americas headquarters is located at 2001 Butterfield Rd, Suite 1900, Downers Grove, IL, 60515.
March 2023 Connector Industry News > Distribution News
Hirose Electric has added Avnet and Newark to distribute and support the full Hirose line of connector solutions in North America, Central America, and South America. Avnet is a premier distributor with a focus on engineering and design-in support, which is instrumental in solving connectivity design challenges for customers. Newark, an Avnet company, is a leading high service distributor of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, production, maintenance, and repair. Hirose shares a similar vision in its development of connector solutions. A provider of standard and specialty connectors for a wide range of applications, Hirose’s advanced technologies and diverse development capabilities ensures the launch of new connectivity solutions that combine high applicability and added value to meet global market needs. Hirose product will be available for delivery from Avnet in Q2 of 2023. Visit www.AVNET.com/hirose to view Hirose’s full product offering.
Digi-Key Electronics significantly expanded its portfolio in 2022 by adding more than 550 new suppliers and more than 75,000 new SKUs across its core business, Digi-Key Marketplace, and Fulfilled by Digi-Key program. Some of the key suppliers added to the Digi-Key portfolio include AirBorn, Endress+Hauser, EPC Space, Isabellenhutte, and Schneider Electric. Long-term suppliers, like Amphenol, also continue to expand by adding new products from different divisions. Digi-Key is an authorized distributor of electronic components for more than 2,300 industry-leading suppliers, ensuring engineers, designers, procurement professionals, and makers that the products they order are authentic and come to Digi-Key directly from the manufacturer. The company also continues to expand the diversity of its products and suppliers in new product categories with its Digi-Key Marketplace, a single source for all aspects of technology innovation, including bare PCB boards, industrial automation, Test & Measurement, IoT solutions, and virtually all things related and adjacent to technology innovation. By using Digi-Key’s state-of-the-art warehouse and logistics center, the Fulfilled by Digi-Key program brings the capabilities of a 3PL warehouse along with a longstanding, global customer base and world-class on-demand fulfillment and transaction website to market, sell, pick, pack, and ship a supplier’s products globally. For more information about the suppliers in the Digi-Key portfolio, please visit the Digi-Key website.
New Yorker Electronics is a new franchised distributor of MEGA Electronics’ full line of products which includes power supplies in wall mount, desktop, medical grade, LED drivers, open frame, and DIN rail styles. In addition, New Yorker Electronics will supply MEGA Electronics power cords by country and certification and EN60309 plugs and converters. MEGA Electronics also offers locking connectors, having engineered the world’s first locking rewireable C13 IE connector with its IEC Lock product line. MEGA facilities perform all aspects of production in-house, from extrusion to molding of couplers. Products are UL recognized, CE approved, and ROHS compliant.
March 2023 Connector Industry News > Association, Standards, & Certifications
TTI Inc. announced that its Family of Specialists is pleased to continue its Platinum-Level support as a founding sponsor of the Women in Electronics (WE) non-profit organization. TTI, together with Mouser Electronics, Sager Electronics, and eXponential Technology Group (XTG), have found great value in partnering with this industry organization dedicated to enhancing the professional platform for women in electronics. The company extends its appreciation to its many employees who have invested their time to serve in various volunteer positions within the organization. TTI President Americas John Drabik commented, “TTI takes great pride in supporting WE again for the coming year as this organization fosters growth and leadership to the many talented, professional women in the electronic component industry. By providing strong advocacy and valuable mentorship programs, WE is fulfilling a meaningful service to its members, as well as to the entire industry.”
Indium Corporation continues its legacy of producing the highest quality technical support engineers, benefitting both its global customer base as well as the surface mount technology (SMT) industry. This legacy is evidenced by its current tally of 36 SMTA (Surface Mount Technology Association) certified employees as well as the accomplishment of Technical Engineer Carson Burt, who recently achieved a score of 98% — the highest in SMTA history — while earning his SMTA CSMTPE (certified surface mount technology process engineer) certification. With the recent addition of Burt, along with team members Josh Dobransky and Thuy Nguyen, Indium Corporation’s entire U.S. Technical Support team has earned the SMTA CSMTPE certification. This important designation, which certifies competence across the SMT assembly process, is one of the electronics assembly industry’s most respected validations of process excellence.
IWCS calls industry professionals and academic researchers to submit a brief abstract (300-500 words) summarizing research or emerging technologies affecting the global cable and connectivity industry. Abstracts will be reviewed by the IWCS 2023 Technical Symposium Committee and authors of accepted abstracts will gain international exposure for their work. Technical Papers will be presented during the Technical Symposium component of the 2023 IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum and will be published for ongoing research and education. Paper topics range from manufacturing processes of copper and optical fiber cables, innovative cable design, codes and standards, connectivity and assemblies, installation techniques, materials and extrusion processing, and more. A complete list of suggested topics is available on the IWCS website. Additional topics are also welcome. IWCS accepts submissions from all industry professionals, with no limitation of job title or level of experience. A referral program is available for those who wish to refer their colleagues to submit a paper. When your colleague submits their abstract, they will be asked to enter your name as the referral source. The person who refers the most authors of accepted Technical Papers will receive complimentary full-access registration to the 2023 Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum. Suggested topics, submission criteria, and resources to refer colleagues can be found at iwcs.org/present. The deadline to submit a Technical Paper abstract is April 7, 2023.
ECIA Foundation launched the 2023 fundraising campaign for FIRST Robotics a few weeks ago. Today, the Foundation is pleased to announce that to prime the pump, TTI companies have generously committed a matching fund from TTI for the first $100,000 of members’ FIRST gifts to the ECIA Foundation. Thanks to the TTI team! The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based competitions that build science, engineering, and technology skills, inspire innovation, and foster well-rounded life skills including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. According to Founder Dean Kamen, a culture is defined by the qualities it celebrates. If we want more scientists to solve the challenges we face, we must transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders. FIRST Robotics competitions are designed to do just that. Make a donation to FIRST through the ECIA Foundation.
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