• • • EDITOR’S INTERVIEW • • • Connecting technology
Lane Electronics is the UK’s leading electrical connector products distributor, which offers the widest available selection of interconnection solutions from many of the industry’s leading connector manufacturers. Simon King sat down with Nick Wheeler, the company’s sales director, to find out more about the company
N
ick Wheeler, sales director of Lane Electronics, started his career as a design engineer, ultimately moving across to the
connector industry from one of the main defence contractors, Marconi, at the time. “I slowly got entrenched in the connector
industry,” Mr Wheeler said. “I’m sure it happens across all industries, but there is a common saying that once you’re in connectors, you’re in connectors for life, and that’s me.” He has had a few different roles in both the
engineering side of things and sales. He dealt with Lane Electronics over many years, as a distributor of products that he was responsible for. Mr Wheeler said: “All the time, Lane Electronics
has been a highly respected, great team to work that offered good results.” Mr Wheeler joined Lane Electronics three and a
half years ago and he is based at the company’s head office near Horsham in West Sussex. There are two companies located on the site –
distributor Lane Electronics, and Weald Electronics, a connector manufacturer, “It’s a slightly unique opportunity to have both of
those companies operating in the same location,” Mr Wheeler said. “We share a certain amount of the management
and the support functions. Weald Electronics, although it’s a standalone entity, is much embraced within the Lane Electronics operation.
“Being able to work quite independently, but so
closely together, helps us save costs as well and makes us a more cost-effective entity, with two quite different companies.” The core competences of Lane Electronics can
be split into four main sectors. Mr Wheeler said: “The first one is aerospace and
defence. We don’t supply into main airframe type applications, but the electronics that goes into aircraft, and the support electronics. “Motorsport is a key area of activity, and the
other one is more general industrial, components that support electronics, including test and measurement, data logging and control systems. The fourth competence is quite a niche area – mining.”
Opportunities arising from
the pandemic Mr Wheeler said that while business at Lane Electronics was affected by the pandemic, like most businesses, it was able to build on some of the opportunities that the pandemic created. He said: “We weren’t affected as badly as some
companies and certainly coming out of the pandemic, it’s been nothing but very strong growth since. “We, like many other companies, were able to take account of where we were and what we were
doing through the slight slowdown that we had. We utilised that time by thinking very carefully about how we could improve our business, and what steps we could take to make it easier for people to do business with us.” There’s no doubt that the pandemic significantly
affected supply chains and customers needed to have that reassurance that their suppliers were able to continue to perform. Mr Wheeler said: “We have quite a robust
resilient supply chain for a reasonable proportion of our business and we looked at how we could improve other people’s supply chains. “One of the biggest measures was having stock
available and being proactive in making sure we has the right stock. Lane Electronics a good reputation in the industry and we looked after businesses before the pandemic. “A lot of those customers were aware of that, so
they came to us to help solve their problems, and because that was our mindset. As people were cutting back, we spent a lot more on having stock available, which then enabled us to pass that on to customers that were in need of it, and that built new relationships too.” Other measures introduced during the
pandemic included enhancements to its online shop and Lane Electronics established an online chat function, so people could access the business a lot easier. As an entity, both Lane Electronics and Weald
Electronics work at component level as well as finished connectors. “We buy in those components and those and
we’ve seen lead times go way out there, so we’re buying them two years ahead of when we need them,” Mr Wheeler said. “If they’re available earlier, we’ll bring them in
earlier and hold them here, so that we know we have that ability to continue to do what we’re here to do and that’s to manufacture and supply electrical connectors.” Mr Wheeler said that the company approaches
it supply in two ways. “We have high levels of stock and it’s stock that
rotates regularly,” Mr Wheeler said. “We usually have 90% of our supply in-stock. “We also supply via component parts. We supply
assembled connectors from component parts via Lane Electronics or via Weald Electronics. “We can react both quickly flexibly. Delivery
wise, if it’s in stock, we ship the same day; if the orders received early enough, for connectors that we assemble, we offer a genuine 24-hour turnaround.”
14 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • NOVEMBER 2022
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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