By Valerie Coffey
Speakers largely conveyed a message of growth in years to come at the Fleck Connection Congress, held Nov. 10-11 in Las Vegas. The 17th annual two-day Fleck Connection Congress focused on high-level trends for CEOs and other connector-industry executives.
Several presentations covered the hot topic of overseas manufacturing in China, Taiwan, and India. The movement of manufacturing capabilities to China has slowed, according to Fleck Research founder, Ken Fleck. Fewer U.S. manufacturing services have been transferred to China in 2005 than in the past several years. One of the reasons for the high rate of transfer in the past five years is the population of China and the growth of the number of high-end consumers there, which now far outpaces the number of high-end U.S. consumers. Although U.S. labor typically costs 18 times more than in China, the actual cost of manufacturing there is only two times as much as in the U.S., when materials, setup, maintenance, and other costs are factored in.
“Housing and meals for workers must be included in China, and while the costs are still low, the labor force is much less skilled than in the U.S.,” said Fleck.
In afternoon workshops, Fleck reviewed the industry trends poised to propel connector growth: continued demand in the medical and mil/aero sectors; wireless applications for computers, mobile phones, and digital broadcast TV base stations; and consumer connectors for MP3 devices, DVDs, digital cameras, games, and digital TV.
 John Yurtin of Delphi Connection Systems speaks at the Fleck Connection Congress in November in Las Vegas. |
The future of connectors in the automotive industry looks so bright, it has to wear shades, according to John Yurtin, staff product specialist at Delphi Connection Systems, in his talk, “So...What’s the ‘Real’ Future of the Automotive Connection Business, Anyway?” One important automotive trend, says Yurtin, is that the number of automotive connections per vehicle is predicted to increase, because options like power seats continue to increase. The demand for safety systems, family entertainment, and communications systems require new consumer electronics interfaces, all of which add content. Connectors will increase in complexity, too, adding value to the entire supply chain.
Automotive connectors, according to Yurtin, will be driven by a tremendous surge in hybrid vehicles in the next several years, which will in turn drive high-current (200-A) and high-voltage (42-V) connectors. Hybrid vehicles require advanced technology like EMI shielding, safety interlocks, and increased performance.
“I believe current hybrid vehicle sales projections are conservative,” says Yurtin (see Fig.). “I think they’re going to take off like a rocket ship.” Also contributing to this upward projection is additional connections for integration of consumer electronics and safety systems into the automobiles.
The sheer volume and variety of connectors involved in a single car is staggering. In one of the most interesting and well-attended presentations at the conference, Yurtin reviewed the plethora of automotive connectors and their parts. He discussed some of the challenges facing automotive connectors, such as size, weight, vibration resistance, and mating forces that cause medical problems for assemblers.
In what sounds like wishful thinking, Yurtin predicted that automakers are going to rebuild connector teams in the future to stay ahead of the competition. Could it be true? Hiring of connector specialists? Tell us more! Whereas device suppliers that buy connectors are often directly hooked to specific connector suppliers and connectors, often the connector suppliers are making devices of their own, and must buy connectors from yet another connector supplier. This invariably leads to consolidation. Because OEMs steeply cut back on staff with core connector knowledge in the downturn, rebuilding will be required, says Yurtin, and will lead to more “general-use” standard connectors with fewer types of connectors and differences. This is turn will lead to commercial connector integration with the same connector type being implemented in many different cars for the same function.
Concluded Yurtin, “the future is bright, but it won’t come easy.” With Delphi recently filing for Chapter 11, the pressures of competition, price erosion, and offshore manufacturing have made it difficult for American connector manufacturers to thrive even in a time of growing connector demand. “The road to the future will be paved with fiercer competition and tougher requirements.”
