HARTING Relies on Innovation in 'Electrical Connectors' to Drive Job Growth, Revenue Gains

ELGIN, Ill., March 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- You probably never heard of an electrical connector, but behind the scenes, it's doing amazing things – providing ignition on a rocket, helping to get winery grapes harvested on time, and providing the power to light up the Mardi Gras parade.  So when your job entails ensuring that your $1.3 million dollar Mardi Gras float lights up in the nighttime parade – when you only have the one opportunity to shine – your electrical connectors are, to say the least, critical.  

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Powering much of what makes the world work, and what drives innovation and "rocket-ready" reliability for many of its customers, are electrical and electronic connectors made by companies like HARTING, a privately held global company with 3000 employees.  Connectors are the rugged and sometimes tiny devices that supply automation machines, facilities and electronic components with the data, signals and power to perform.  The applications are varied, but the question's the same:  is there something I can depend on to ignite my rocket, build a Mardi Gras light show for 60,000 people, power the lights on my trailer hitch, or get my grapes to the crusher on time?

HARTING connectors drive both the routine as well as mission-critical applications, with designs that have garnered industry awards for the innovation that many say will be critical to economic improvement and job growth. That certainly was HARTING's experience:  thanks in large part to innovation from new products, the company increased its personnel by 8 percent and overall sales by 7 percent in 2010 compared to pre-recession 2008, powered by applications such as these:

IMAGINATION ILLUMINATION COMPANY FINDS HARTING HAN-MODULAR® ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR AS KEY LIGHTING SOLUTION FOR MARDI GRAS FLOAT

Consider the HARTING Han-Modular connector that has replaced older twist-lock devices in the lighting circuits on Mardi Gras floats. Frequent occurrence of poor connections between twist-lock connectors was causing lighting failures, completely destroying the impact of nighttime Mardi Gras parade floats.

This is why Imagination Illumination, a lighting effects designer, switched to HARTING's ultra-reliable Han-Modular connectors to supply power to fiber optic lighting. Imagination Illumination, a Louisiana-based company known for its creative use of fiber optic lighting in stage productions, casinos and other venues across the country, creates lighting effects on the floats constructed by Endymion, the largest non-profit parading organization associated with Mardi Gras. After spending millions of dollars and a full year of planning to build these masterpieces, Endymion cannot tolerate lighting failures. And everyone associated with the staging of Mardi Gras knows that float lighting effects are a big reason the crowds keep coming to Mardi Gras year after year.

HARTING CONNECTORS ON THE GROUND....

A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINERY REQUIRES EFFICIENT HARVESTING EQUIPMENT

What's the most critical component of harvesting wine?  Timing. In wineries, connectors are used on the agricultural tractor/trailer electrical circuits that supply the lighting and brakes used in harvesting grapes. Previously, automotive devices used for this application were prone to frequent failure and replacement. With timing critical to the grape harvest, where the "crush" occurs when the sugar content and flavor of the grapes are at their peak—failures of this type can impact the two-week harvesting window.  This impacts the quality of the grapes, and ultimately the finished wine and the price it commands at market.  By switching to HARTING's Han® molded housing series, they eliminated these potential failures. The design of these connectors makes them very easy to assemble and replace contact inserts. So if they do fail, they can be back in business very quickly. Notably, since switching to HARTING connectors, there have been no failures to date.

....AND WAY ABOVE GROUND

ROCKET IGNITER CRUCIAL FOR RELIABLE NASA SPACE LAUNCHES

Igniter systems start the combustion that provides the thrust to launch rockets and are subjected to extremes of physical shock, vibration, and temperature.  The huge cost of these launches means that every part of the launch system needs to work perfectly. Igniter circuits must be absolutely reliable and shielded against electrical interference.  HARTING's Han Quintax connector was used here to provide this reliability and to withstand 4-5 launch cycles without failure or maintenance.

Clearly NASA is one group that leaves nothing to chance when it comes to ensuring their peace of mind. The new connectors provide reliable ignition and are expected to be part of many more successful launches.    

About HARTING

HARTING develops, manufactures and sells electrical and electronic connectors, device terminations, backplanes, network components as well as cable harnesses for networks or machinery, or for power and data application in factories. Our products are used in mechanical and plant engineering, broadcast and entertainment, factory automation, power generation and distribution as well as industrial electronics and telecommunication. Founded in 1945 in Minden, Germany, HARTING currently employs a workforce of more than 3000 employees worldwide. With 40 subsidiary companies and representative in 27 countries, HARTING is committed to maintaining close proximity to markets and customers.

SOURCE HARTING