EPN April 2012 - (Page 48)

40th anniversary interview Harting: keeping it in the family for 67 years It’s heartwarming and heartening to find Harting at 67 years old still 100% family-owned, and highly successful. The venture started in a Minden workshop is a global corporation which employs over 3000 people worldwide. It has a stellar reputation in connector technology, where its HAN products have found many applications in industrial electronics and telecoms. Here Harting Group President Dietmar Harting traces the company’s history in the connector market for EPN’s Mick Elliott. What were you doing in 1972? What would Harting consider to be one of its key innovations in connector technology? In 1972 I was Managing Director of the HARTING Group. When and how did HArTING start making connectors? Connector production started at the beginning of the 1950s with double row rectangular connectors with 10-16 contacts. How has the connector business grown in the past 40 years? The connector business has grown continuously in the past 40 years and is now the core business of the HARTING Technology Group. The reason behind this is that machines and facilities are built along modular lines, and the interfaces between individual components can be fitted quickly, securely and flexibly. What has been the company’s biggest challenge in the connector market? HARTING set a world standard with its industrial rectangular connector. In addition to this, our modular connector system is one of the key technologies of recent years, enabling us to design tailor-made interfaces for customers and increaxse the range of connection options. Other innovations include our secure and user-friendly locking systems, such as the Easy-Lock bracket, the Han-Yellock lock and of course our highly efficient connection systems, such as Han-Quick Lock. What has been the best selling Harting connector? Our entire Han range has been hugely successful for a number of years. How does HArTING see connector technology evolving in the coming years? Figure 1: 1972 DIN41612 pcb connectors. Our biggest challenge has always been and continues to be one of maintaining our role as a reliable supplier of quality products to customers in many different fields of application throughout the world. 48 April 2012 – epn issue n° 04 Modern connectors need to be quick and easy to use, flexible, modular and reliable. Fail-safe applications and installation costs are also important factors. Both now and in the future, connectors will also incorporate more and more of the functions of other system components, and are progressing from simple components to highly technical application interfaces. Advanced, leading edge materials, construction methods and surface technology ensure the required robustness and extended service life of connectors and deliver the optimal cost/ performance ratio for our customers. HArTING www.epn-online.com/search?search_keyword=47387 http://www.epn-online.com/search?search_keyword=47387

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EPN April 2012

Cover
RS Components
Contents
Edito
Bergquist
Contents Web
LEMO
New Products
Traco electronic
Panasonic
Digikey
Digikey
International Rectifier
Cables & connectors
Hirose
Mouser
Adtech Ceramics
International Rectifier
RF & Wireless
Digikey
New Products
Teseq
Fischer Connectors
Analog Devices
Tech report
Automotive Electronics
Digikey
Smartgrid
Coilcraft
Sensor & Test
Renewable Energy
Digikey
40th anniversary interview
Industrial Automation
Digikey
New products
PCIM
Hannover
Test corner
Power perspective
Distribution spotlight

EPN April 2012