Rail Doing it right in rail
Cathy Henderson, business manager, rail at Aerco, looks at what it takes to be a successful distributor in this demanding industry
a strong reputation in the supply of electronic and electrical components in the military and aerospace industries and several years ago it recognised that the same disciplines and standards required in the military/aerospace market are required to be successful in rail. Aerco is now firmly established in the rail industry selling to principal manufacturers, train operators, subcontractors and maintenance and repair operators including: Bombardier, Knorr-Bremse, Wabtec Rail, Siemens, Unipart Rail, LUL, Alstom, Chiltern Rail, Eurostar plus subcontractors supplying major projects like Crossrail.
Cathy Henderson T
he rail industry is a buoyant sector of British industry that enjoys on-going investment in a number of large
projects. From a distributors’ point of view, it is both attractive and demanding in that the industry requires a wide range of components to serve applications that vary from the harsh environments experienced in rolling stock, trackside and signalling equipment to the comparatively benign conditions found in in-transit information and communications systems. Founded in 1956, Aerco has developed
The same tough standards Although project timescales tend to be shorter in the rail industry, many of the required disciplines are the same as in the military, aerospace and other demanding markets. Safety concerns are paramount and low fire hazard and halogen-free rubber insulators, grommets and bushes are used extensively. Just as in the military sector suppliers must go to great lengths to establish approvals to Mil-spec and DEFSTAN, so in the rail industry they may have to conform to IRIS, NFF or LUL standards.
Wide product range At Aerco we stock a wide range of products suitable for many types of rail
applications from a host of world-class manufacturers including: connectors from TT Electronics/AB Connectors, Smiths Interconnect, LPA, Provertha and TE Connectivity; cable and wire from Alpha Wire, AEI and Exane; cable accessories from PMA; relays from Barnbrook and HI-G; switches and circuit breakers from Honeywell and Carling Technologies; fans from ETRI, Adda and Delta; LEDs from Marl; lamps from Paramount and lamps, filters and interconnect products from Oxley.
It’s not all about products While a strong product offering is essential to compete in this sector, a distributor must also have the skill sets, experience, support structure and business philosophy to enable them to work closely with both suppliers and customers. They must also be prepared to make the commitment to hold high stock levels and invest in staff training, customer support programmes and added-value services. At Aerco we support vendor reduction
programmes and long term pricing agreements, offer design support, a full kitting service, component sourcing and obsolescence management. Obsolescence is an important issue as most rail projects last many years and continuity of supply is an important consideration.
A customer in the rail industry would also expect suppliers to have a deep understanding of the rail industry, carry the necessary approvals, conform to industry standards and be approved by RISQS (formerly Link-Up), the supplier pre- qualification service used by many buyers of products and services throughout the British rail industry.
All change
As with similar markets where the emphasis is on top performance with highly accredited components the market is mature with projects, sub-assemblies and components lasting for years - even decades. However, this is not to say that product development is stagnant. This is certainly not the case in the field of interconnect. Many connectors that originated in the military sector have been modified to suit the rail market and this trend continues.
For example, the ABCIRH from TT
Electronics/AB Connectors, Aerco’s biggest selling connector to the rail industry, is fitted with a low fire hazard, halogen free rubber insulator conforming to French NF F 16 101 norm and BS6853 to meet rail industry requirements. They also feature low-friction roller pins on the plug and stainless steel anti-wear pins on the receptacle to enhance service life in rolling stock that suffers severe vibration as trains get ever faster.
In addition, the ABMP range, based on the widely used ABCIRP connector, is designed for modern information systems and accommodates multi-pole contacts in any combination of co-ax, twin-ax, tri-ax or
38 June 2016 Components in Electronics
quadrax capable of handling Ethernet and data transmission for speeds of up to 1000 BASE-T on Cat 5e.
Another company with a strong rail-led development programme is Smiths Interconnect with its Hypertac range of circular and rectangular connectors. The use of the Hyperboloid contact system offers multiple line contacts of low resistance allowing higher connection density, thus saving valuable space, by carrying 30 per cent more current than traditional contact designs. With excellent performance under shock and vibration and long mating life due to low insertion force, the Hypertac range of rail connectors complies with key rail approvals and is used in applications including brakes, signaling, alarms, doors, lighting, air conditioning, passenger information and in the driver cabin. Meanwhile, Provertha, a company that has supplied D-sub connectors and die cast hoods to the rail industry for over 25 years has now developed a range of Profinet and Ethernet M12 connectors using crimp flange technology to provide the highest possible protection to shock and vibration. These are now used widely for Wi-Fi, audio-visual communication systems, video surveillance, ticket machines, passenger information display systems and in-train entertainment.
The quest continues With new products being developed for rail applications to meet the demand created by continued investment in expansion and modernisation of the rail network and new customer information and in-train entertainment systems, the rail industry will continue to be attractive to distributors both large and small. As Aerco completes its first 60 years we see the rail industry as being an important element for the foreseeable future.
www.aerco.co.uk www.cieonline.co.uk
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