Say Cheese!

By Arthur Visser, Bishop & Associates Inc.

People outside of our industry may think connectors are limited to computers and high-tech devices. But this continuation of our European connectors series illustrates that connectors make nearly everything in our world work — even cheesemaking.

It can sometimes be a creative challenge to explain the connector industry to the average person outside of our industry. It’s easy for people to understand that connectors enable our computers and cellphones. But they are integral to nearly every other part of our lives as well, right down to the food we eat. Here’s a new way to illustrate it: Without connectors, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy cheese. And the connector industry and the cheesemaking business have a few other things in common, too.

Any savvy diner will be familiar with Boursin and Parmesan. These cheeses can represent France and Italy, two important European economies, ranking second and fourth in size, respectively, by GDP in the European Union. Continuing our series on the European connector market (see Germany and Switzerland) let’s take a closer look at France and Italy. Both countries have a sizeable domestic connector market and are also home to a number of important connector manufacturers, including FCI, Souriau, Radiall, ATI-Interco, Nicomatic, ILME, Stelvio Kontek, Cabur, and Compel.

In the years between 2005 and 2010, both countries saw their domestic connector market decline in U.S. dollar value. While Italy has been suffering from virtual stagnation of its economy for the past decade, France has been going through a difficult process of privatization of government-owned enterprises, which, when the 2008 crisis hit, wasn’t easy to follow through, resulting in a decline in specific industrial activities, which has eroded the French connector market. The Italian connector market, less than half the size of France’s connector market, was remarkably resilient, despite the economic woes.

Both France and Italy have relatively important industrial and automotive end-use equipment markets for connectors, which, when combined, represent more than 45% of the domestic connector market. Other important end use equipment connector markets in both countries are the military equipment market, the transportation (non-auto) market and the data communication/telecommunication market.

The macro-economic downward trend in both countries has left its traces in the respective connector markets, illustrated by the next graphs, which depict the Compound Average Growth Rate between 2005 and 2010 by country by end-use equipment market sector. It shows the price both countries paid in terms of the automotive industry (vehicle production) and a further decline in the computer and peripherals connector market, which is a trend in most Western European countries. Italy has also lost some of its volume in the domain of consumer electronics, more specifically its dominant position in the production of white goods, which it now has to share with countries such as Turkey.

These high-level numbers give us an idea of the domestic connector market in each country, but it can be more interesting to focus on specific end-use equipment markets and applications. Take, for example, the cheesemaking industry. Cheesemaking is a highly regulated industry, serving millions of customers at home and abroad. In 2007, Boursin production at Unilever’s daughter company in France recorded a 100 million turnover (50% in France). In 2008, according to the producers’ association, sales of Parmesan totaled €1.54 billion (25% from exports).

The market for cheese-manufacturing machine makers is robust, especially in Italy.
 

Cheese Machinery Manufacturers Italy

FACCHINETTI SRL

DUE CI INOX SNC

ALMAC S.R.L.

ANDRITZ FRAUTECH S.R.L.

B.C. DI BETTATI CESARE E FABRIZIO E C. S.N.C.

C.M.A.I. IMPIANTI S.R.L.

CAMPESE CARLO

CAVECCHI ENZO S.R.L.

DOM - INOX S.R.L.

FILIPPINI DI FILIPPINI SANTINO & C. S.N.C.

M. I. INOX - S.R.L.

MAGNABOSCO S.R.L.

MARTIK S.R.L.

MILKYLAB S.R.L.

PIETRIBIASI MICHELANGELO S.R.L.

PRIMA DI PANSA PENNA & C. S.N.C.

ROTA GUIDO S.R.L.

ROVERSI S.R.L.

ROVERSI UMBERTO & FIGLI MASSIMO & FAUSTO & C. SOC.N.COLL.

TECNOLAT S.P.A.

TECNOMECCANICA BELLUCCI S.R.L.

Italy is the world’s fourth-largest cheese producing country. France is the third-largest cheese producing country, behind the United States and Germany, but France is the biggest cheese exporting country in the world. Italy takes fourth position in global cheese exports.
 

The cheesemaking industry, and thus the production of machinery used in the cheesemaking industry, is a very important industry in Europe. Cheese continues to be the fourth most important export product, measured in euro, of the EU food and drink sector.

Many varieties of connectors support this industry, including BNC or SMA-905 connectors in measuring sensors; M8/M12 sensor connectors; heavy-duty rectangular and circular connectors on the machinery and PCB; and I/O connectors for the control boards and control equipment like servomotors or inverters. Many of those used “outside the box” will be designed to operate in the food industry, where hygiene and thus cleaning of machines with aggressive cleaning agents, water, and pressure hoses is important and requires high IP grades (IP65/68 and IP69K) and corrosion-resistant shells and housings. Products need approvals for use in the food industry by regulatory bodies such as the FDA (U.S.) or IEC/EFSA (Europe).
 

Electrical power plugs and sockets will have the same requirements, as illustrated by the DSN connector by Marechal, especially designed for the food industry.

To learn more about cheesemaking and to see a clear illustration of the process, see this brochure from SMC Corporation. Additional statistics on the cheesemaking industry can also be found at www.clal.it or The Dairy Site. Or visit the next International Cheese Technology Expo. In any case, the next time you have a piece of cheese, think about all the connectors that were used in producing this delight.

Arthur Visser Managing Director—Europe, Bishop & Associates Inc. Arthur Visser has been active as a professional in the industrial market for 25 years. He started his career at Océ Corporate headquarters in Venlo, the Netherlands, and has since worked in management positions for OMRON Corporation, a leader in industrial automation equipment, and later as managing director for HARTING Belgium/Luxembourg, a leader in industrial ‘heavy duty’ connectors. Arthur has a Bachelor of Science degree in Airplane Engineering, degrees in marketing and finance, and a master’s degree in e-media enterprising. His native tongue is Dutch, but he also speaks English, French, German, and Russian. Using his successful career and solid education as a stepping -stone, Arthur started his own company in 2003 and is based in Brussels. Arthur represents Bishop & Associates in Europe and is as such a liaison for the European Connector industry.