Feature Editor’s Interview A rose is a rose … Or is it?
The focus on corporate identity and creating the ‘right ‘commercial image has become a well-established ethos for many modern day businesses and especially now so with the increasing trend towards globalisation. For many this is at the top of the list, particularly for companies seeking to take a ‘customer centric’ approach. But what exactly does ‘corporate identity mean? Wikipedia has it down as: “the overall image of a corporation or firm or business in the minds of customers, investors and employees … It is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks.” But is there more to it than that? To explore the principle further Michelle Winny, Editor of Electronics speaks with Bill Henderson, Business Development Director at Smiths Connectors|Hypertac to see how the company is evolving through its rebranding initiative
“Hypertac is rebranding to Smiths Connectors as we are looking to focus our customer corporate image by bringing the three Connectors brands of Smiths Group under one name”
Comment: Bill Henderson, Business Development Director at Smiths Connectors|Hypertac
H
ypertac has been part of Smiths Group plc. since 1995; over recent years Hypertac and the other Smiths Connectors brands, Sabritec and IDI, have forged a close working relationship based upon the natural synergies that exist between their respective technologies and businesses. “With this ‘internal’ integration, we are combining these three brands, cre- ating a cleaner branding architecture that simplifies the relationship among the brands, and that of the brands to Smiths, said Henderson.
In effect the logos of Hypertac, Sabritec and IDI have been redesigned and unified under the banner of Smith Connectors. Essentially this move will add value to the service and products the company is offering whilst ensur- ing each brand in the portfolio is equally represented and supported. “With this approach all brand tech- nologies are equal, and offer signifi- cant independent value but under the common umbrella of Smiths Connectors. This means offering our customers additional opportunities, at the same time supporting the business developed by each technology brand”, Henderson added.
14 Figure 1: KVPX Connectors
company recently launched its Dovetail Modular Connector Series, debuting at the Paris air show earlier this year. The innovative connector was developed by using IDI’s contact technology, featuring built-in high-grade spring probes that are resilient to shock, vibration and extreme temperatures.
The product has been designed for inside-the-box applications and will, in most cases, be used between two printed circuit boards within a sealed housing. The devices include a com- pact modular molding, with a design that allows custom configurations by the customers themselves from stan- dard component parts. The connectors enable instant prototyping, which ulti- mately can reduce time to market for new products.
Smiths Connectors also featured its high-speed, high-density Hypertac KVPX (VITA 63) connector series at DSEi 2013 in September. This series joins the company’s high performance standards-compliant interconnect portfolio. The KVPX VITA 63 is a ruggedised backplane and daughter card connector solution for OpenVPX systems requirements. This product is the company’s response to the need for a high reliability connector solution which meets the mechanical footprint and electrical performance of the VITA 46 and 48 specifications .
A new unified approach Bringing the three brands under the Smiths Connectors banner will enable the group to provide a far larger suite of interconnect product and service offerings, providing enhanced support and service to its customers. Also, this will unite the group, creating a unified corporate identity.
The company advises this will take shape in several ways including a revamped online presence with the launch of a new website early next year, combining all the products of each brand on one new, main commercial website.
Figure 2:
Dovetail Connector Series
Henderson advises: “The impor- tance of a strong online presence is vital, especially so now as we move towards a greater global outlook.” Smiths Connectors is a global provider of interconnect solutions that ensure optimal performance, reliability, durability and safety in critical appli- cations, such as those in the aerospace, medical, transportation, defence, and industrial electronics markets. Demonstrating its capabilities, the
This connector is designed for high performance in harsh environments while providing immunity to shock and vibration so is ideal for space, defence and aerospace applications. The reverse gender design uses low fretting corrosion characteristics of the hyperboloid socket contact that Smiths Connectors is well known for. In addition, a size16 Floating Fiber Optic Pin Termini is currently under development by the company, embedding innovative Sabritec contact technology.
A view to the future With an increasingly global outlook and move towards a more unified corporate image, Smiths Connectors is proving that there is much more to corporate identity than just a company name through an intensive focus on innovative new solutions. For the group this is underpinned by service and its core dedicated technologies, targeting key application areas that command highly specialised industry knowledge and solutions that make the brands already so well known. Smiths Connectors
www.smithsconnectors.com Enter 203
NOVEMBER 2013 Electronics
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