Connectors in the Heartland
Will future farmers be able to work the land from the comfort of their offices? One of the oldest jobs in the world is undergoing changes that would not have been thought possible a generation ago. more

Non-Automotive Transportation Connector Market Update
A rough 2009 is best contemplated through the rearview mirror. more
 

PCB Attachment Options Continue to Grow
It took nearly 10 years for PCB assemblers to accept the reliability of compliant pin technology. A variety of factors, including contact density, size of the connector, intended environment, pin count, availability of process equipment, and cost, influence the choice of future PCB attachment methods. Change is slow. more

Power Contacts and Connectors, Part I: What is Power?
Everyone agrees that a connector carrying 100 amperes is a power connector, but the current capacity of a conductor depends on its size. What parameters guide the design of a connection for a power application? Dr. Bob knows. more

Semiconductors Up 8.5 Percent
Connector sales are up even more
The big question is, will the world economy limp along, or will the large government spending programs give traction to the demand for electronic products that we are now experiencing? more

Focus On: C. S. Wong
Our readers are interested in learning from industry leaders in every part of the world and across various sectors in our industry. Insight into these diverse markets is critical to our ability to succeed in the global economy. Several readers wrote in to share their respect for FCI’s C.S. Wong, and said they would like to know how to get to that point in their career. One reader specifically asked, “C.S. Wong has been working for more than 20 years in the connector industry. I’d like to know what ideas he has for those who hope to become a perfect salesperson.”

Name: C. S. Wong
Location: Hong Kong
Current position: Sales Director, Greater China and Korea
Industry positions: FCI, Electronics Division
Accomplishments you’re proud of: I am particularly proud I made FCI Greater China one of the fastest-growing connector companies in the area; FCI is the unquestioned leading supplier in the telecom market there. We have built one of the best teams in the industry—as an example, the majority of our growth comes from design wins.

Favorite website: None in particular. I like to Google now and then.
The last book I read: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic Chinese novel describing the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It has been a reference for military strategies.
If I knew then what I know now, I would have: We all learn from our experiences. I believe I made the right decision at the time I took them. Looking back, at least at the past three years, I stick to the actions I took. I do not think I would do anything differently today.
The best advice anyone ever gave me was: Respect every individual, as you may always learn something from their respective qualities and strengths.
What trend in the industry is affecting your job and what would you like to do about it? The market is evolving every second, and we have to identify what the next technology and market drivers will be. We must capture the emerging opportunities and put in place the right structures, resources, focus, and preemptive actions to win. Competition gets fiercer and fiercer—it’s a survival game, and only the strongest and fastest can win. Our business model and values have so far put us ahead of our rivals…but for how long?
What is the secret to becoming a great salesperson? There is no magic recipe you can use to become a perfect salesman—it is all about hard work and maintaining close contact with your customers. You must keep them busy with you and “infiltrate” their R&D in order to qualify your products at an early stage, and make sure you understand your customer’s requirements and needs, present and future. Beyond the product, provide excellent service—customers want solution-oriented suppliers, and that’s what I have always tried to be during my career.

And the winner is...
Viranchi Purohit, global supply chain commodity manager for Ingersoll Rand in Davidson, North Carolina, U.S. Thanks, and congratulations.

Question from ConnectorSupplier.com Volume 6, Issue 2: Who coined the term “bit” for a binary digit? And when was it first used in print?

Bonus question: Who coined the word byte? When did this first occur?

Answer: While working with John von Neumann on early computer designs, John Tukey introduced the word “bit” as a contraction of “binary digit.” The term bit was first used in an article by Claude Shannon in 1948.

Bonus answer: The term byte was coined by Dr. Werner Buchholz in July 1956, during the early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer. The term byte stems from bite, as in the smallest amount of data a computer could bite at once.

Trivia Question for ConnectorSupplier.com Volume 6, Issue 3: What connector company won the first DesignCon award for innovative connector products? What was the product and when was it awarded?

Provide us with an interesting trivia question related to the connector world, and if we use it, we’ll send you $50. If you know the answer to this issue’s question, you could also win $50.

Send your answer to trivia@connectorsupplier.com. If there are multiple correct responses, a random winner will be drawn. You must subscribe to be eligible to win. Good luck!

● Preci-Dip Expands its Product Distribution with Arrow Central Europe more
● Heilind Expands with Tyco Electronics’ Corcom DB Series Power Inlet Filters more
● TTI Provides Customers with Enhanced Side-by-Side Part Comparison more
● Hypertronics Corporation to Present at MD&M West more
● FCI Launches its New Corporate Website and T-Block Microsite more
● Digi-Key Corporation Surpasses 2,000 Employees more
● Lemo USA Signs Agreement with Avnet Electronics Marketing more

● Molex Extends Impact Backplane Connector System: Visit DesignCon #509 more
● JAE Develops New Solder Contact for Circular Connector more
● Suyin SMT USB Receptacle Offers More Space for Small Chip Placement more
● Radiall Expands Composite Connector Line for Outdoor Telecom Use more
● Aries Kelvin Test Socket is Ideal for Low-Resistance Testing more
● Schurter Power Entry Module Provides Added Seal Protection more

Connector Fundamentals

April 26 and 27
and
Power Connector/Contact Fundamentals
April 28 and 29

Spring Seminars
 

Location
Colonel Blackinton Inn
Attleboro, Mass.
 

Tom Peel, of Contech Research Inc., and Dr. Bob Mroczkowski, of connNtext associates, announce their Spring Connector Seminar Series. Two seminars will be presented, Connector Fundamentals and Power Connector/Contact Fundamentals. Connector Fundamentals will be offered April 26 and 27, and Power Connector/Contact Fundamentals on April 28 and 29. For further information on the seminar content, contact:

Tom Peel
Contech Research Inc.
tpeel@contechresearch.com or CONRESTFP@aol.com
Tel: 508.226.4800

IEC Recognizes Most Valuable Contributions to Electronic Design
2010 DesignVision Awards Finalists

The International Engineering Consortium (IEC) announced the finalists of its 2010 DesignVision Awards program, recognizing the industry’s most unique and beneficial design tools and products.

           Samtec BullsEye              Molex EdgeLine CoEdge               FCI TwinMezz

In the Interconnect Technologies and Components category, the nominees are: Samtec for BullsEye™, Molex Incorporated for the EdgeLine CoEdge connector, and FCI for the high-performance, high-density TwinMezz™ connector. more

David W. Pheteplace, Bishop & Associates’ cable assembly market director, will present an in-depth assessment of the current industry situation and provide a forward look at trends in the connector and cable assembly industries at the WHMA Conference in Orlando, Fla., February 24-26, 2010. For more information on the conference, visit www.whma.org.

View Complete Calendar