Many electromechanical component and connector manufacturers had "fantastic" revenue growth in 2010, but growth will be more muted in 2011 with sales growth overall in the five to eight percent range.

Much of the growth will be driven by computing, communications, consumer electronics and industrial equipment manufacturers. However, other segments such as energy management, electric vehicles and transportation will also drive connector and component business in 2011.

"Last year was a fantastic year. It exceeded our budgeted expectations," said Gary Mountford, general manager of C&K Components based in Newton, Mass. "We closed 2010 up 40 percent over 2009, which put us just under our 2008 level."

Mountford said the same segments that drove growth for switches in 2010—consumer, industrial and automotive—will drive growth in 2011.

"We will grow in 2011, but we won't see the same growth that we saw in 2010. We are not budgeting half that amount, but we expect to grow double digits again in 2011," said Mountford. "Our distributors are forecasting three to eight percent growth in electromechanical components, and we have the market pegged at five to eight percent growth rate in 2011, which is healthy but not the same as last year."

Mountford said one product line that will continue to post growth in 2011 is DTEC switches, which are an emerging segment for C&K.

"These are switches that are miniature and have a lot of travel and over travel. They are used in handheld devices and are starting to be used in telecommunications equipment," said Mountford. "This is a segment we did not follow for four years and now it is one of our top five segments."

Mountford said there will also be strong demand for DIP switches, although they are mature products. He noted leadtimes were long last year for half-pitch DIP switches and some buyers double-ordered those parts.

Bill Chandler, marketing manager for relays, switches and connectors, for Omron Electronic Components in Schaumburg, Ill., said he expects strong growth from the energy management segment, including smart meters, appliances, and heating and air conditioning equipment.

Bavo Teunissen, global marketing communications director for FCI, said FCI will probably perform better than the overall connector market in 2011, which will grow in the five to seven percent range. According to Teunissen, growth will be strong across all industry segments including consumer, communications and industrial.

Jim Herman, vice president of global sales of ITT Interconnect Solutions, said he expects electric vehicles and industrial segments to be growth drivers for connectors in 2011.

"Our traditional markets are military and aerospace," said Herman. "They grew well last year, but we are seeing more growth in the electronic vehicle (EV) space and industrial space."

Herman said ITT's J1772 connector, which "has been widely accepted particularly with our 75-amp product and EV, is a high growth market. We have a strong product offering in that space."

Herman said ITT is also experiencing nice growth in the industrial market with its bayonet products.

Related Articles

Expect higher prices, shorter lead times for connectors and switches