A small connector actually has a big name, because the connector that serves as a bridge is the technological path to achieve world connectivity. However, connector companies located in the upstream of the industry chain have always been just behind the scenes heroes, rarely exposed, so they are not familiar to end consumers. As the world's largest connector manufacturer, TE is also known as the "invisible giant", with its presence in almost all areas where electricity, signals, and data flow. If based on the entire business department, new products are launched every day, from sensing technology in the automotive industry to contactless applications in the industrial sector, or terminals on mobile terminals and ultra small antennas, the business scope covers almost all countries from consumption, transportation, energy, industry and other fields.
As the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 become new market engines, component manufacturers like TE appear to have an increasingly heavy responsibility and a long way to go. In James's view, the core of these market hotspots, in short, is the word "connection" - the connection between cars, household appliances, and security facilities, including in industrial applications, the connection between devices. However, the requirements for connectors are becoming increasingly high.
The requirements for future connectors are nothing more than faster, smaller, smarter, and more environmentally friendly. But each sub industry has different focuses, James said. For example, the automotive industry needs to ensure the reliability and high quality of connectors in harsh environments. For the consumer electronics industry, lightweight and compact are the most important, followed by reliability. However, the reliability of these two is not at the same level. The speed of introducing new consumer electronics products to a certain extent determines two other special requirements: controlling costs and shortening research and development cycles.
In addition to technological iteration, the regional distribution of connectors has also shown varying degrees of tilt with changes in market share. In recent years, global connector production capacity has been continuously shifting to Asia, especially China. Some analysts believe that Asia has become the place with the most development potential in the connector market, while China is expected to become the fastest-growing and largest capacity connector market in the world.
In the past, most connector suppliers relied more on China's low production costs, but now they are more focused on thinking about how to serve this emerging market. The answer given by TE is to transform the original "Made in China" model into "Made in China".
