Recently, I attended a seminar at which Ronald Bishop, principal of connector-industry research firm Bishop & Associates (www.bishopinc.com), gave the keynote address. His presentation provided insight into the current global picture for the connector marketplace, as well as a look into what the worldwide market holds for the industry in the future. It was based on the research that also was the basis for an article that Bishop authored for this publication (see “New electronics, new opportunities,” December 2006/January 2007, page 9).
One comment in particular that Bishop made both in his keynote and in his article was that 10 companies account for more than half of the worldwide connector revenue. That fact yields several significant implications for the connector industry, including that much of the growth within the Top 10 companies has come via acquisition.
Another point, as Bishop stated in his article, is that “many smaller companies will find it more difficult to be competitive in an increasingly complex global economy.” He then added, “This does not mean, however, that smaller companies will not survive. On the contrary, the connector industry is a ‘niche-rich’ environment ... Small, well-managed companies that have high-quality products and stick to their market niche will thrive.”
Bishop’s address was before the 2007 Symposium of the International Institute of Connector and Interconnection Technology (IICIT; www.iicit.org), and the notion of a top-heavy market that also has room for well-run small companies was quite an appropriate message for a meeting of that organization. IICIT is a group with a long heritage in the connector industry; the symposium that took place in May was the 38th such educational event produced by the organization. And, as I see it, IICIT represents an opportunity to use education as a bridge between the world’s largest few connector companies and the legions of smaller companies that, like their gargantuan counterparts, must exhibit innovation and keen engineering skill to remain competitive.
The proverbial cliffdive that the connector market took in 2001, followed by its bottoming out the next year, took a huge toll on the entire industry. That’s not news to anyone. But within that large story were many smaller stories of operations and programs that were not restored, even since the market began its rebound in 2003. One of those smaller stories is that, for all intents and purposes, the largest connector companies served as a training mechanism for much of the rest of the industry pre-bust. Today, those companies, like many, are leaner than before. One result of the post-2001 economy is that the many small connector companies have fewer training resources available to them today.
The fallout from 2001 landed on IICIT, too. As a group that relies on corporate and individual memberships for much of its revenue, the organization crept to economic recovery at a slower pace than the industry as a whole. Happily, IICIT is now back on its feet and is once again serving the connector industry tangibly-as evidenced by its 2007 Symposium.
Connector Specifier supports the efforts of IICIT in several ways. In our next issue, we will publish the papers deemed the best of the recent symposium. But beyond that, we believe that the group is poised to provide a significant service to the connector industry as a whole, and particularly the many small companies that Ronald Bishop referenced in his overview of the international landscape. Professionals who specify connector technologies today face a training gap that did not exist at the turn of the millennium. But they do not necessarily have to. The International Institute of Connector and Interconnection Technology stands ready to join need with knowledge, and in doing so, advance the technical and economic future of this industry.
Patrick McLaughlin, Editor-in-Chief
patrick@pennwell.com
