Spotlight On


A spotlight on GD Rectifiers


GD Rectifiers is shining in this month’s spotlight. The company is more than a distributor of electronic components; they offer a wide range of niche services suited to engineers and purchasers with a focus on customised solutions, from design and build to prototypes and mass production runs. Paul Bentley, managing director reflects on their journey so far and discusses what the future has in store for the power electronics industry


manufacture a wide range of heatsinks suitable for power semiconductors, LED lighting and commercial applications, and also offer a repair and replacement service for faulty or ageing semiconductor rectifiers, converters, inverters and regulators.


GD Rectifiers has been around for 54 years. Can you give us a brief history of the company?


Paul Bentley G


D Rectifiers has been a distributor of power semiconductors for over 54 years. As the industry’s one- stop shop for power electronic components, they offer a wide range of standard and customised solutions. Alongside distribution, GD Rectifiers works closely with customers to design and manufacture bespoke components, including: selenium and silicon rectifiers, suppressors, converters, inverters, regulators, capacitors, heatsinks and power assemblies. They manufacture an extensive range of power components and assemblies to suit all applications. They design and


34 June 2018


The company was founded in 1964 as Semikron Rectifiers & Electronics Ltd and began initially as a distributor for Semikron. In 1985 the company was renamed to GD Rectifiers and in 1994 we became an official distributor for IXYS Corporation; IXYS UK Westcode, IXYS RF and IXYS ICD which provided a broader product offering of diodes, MOSFETs, IGBTs, RF Modules, thyristors, heatsinks, power assemblies, fuses and capacitors.


I joined the company in 2002, that same year we launched a power assembly manufacturing facility offering single phase, three phase and hexaphase assemblies. Five years later, in 2007 we launched a heatsink manufacturing facility offering an extensive range of aluminium heatsinks and started providing customised heatsinks for the rail industry.


In 2015 we built a new modern, state- of-the-art factory and office in Burgess Hill which we moved in to in December. Over the last 10 years we have become official distributors for some of the world’s leading power electronics brands, including: Eaton Bussmann, Mersen, API Capacitors, KON AR, Enerdoor Group,


Components in Electronics


Ocram, Sirio, Telcon, Electronic Devices Inc and United Automation. Today, we’re an all encompassing distributor and manufacturer, we support the global power electronics marketplace, providing: thermal management solutions for a wide range of industrial applications including: railway traction, HVDC, LED lighting, renewables, aviation, medical, military, laser, welding and automotive. We’re proud to be RISQ accredited and an approved supplier for some of the world’s most pioneering infrastructure networks such as Network Rail and Cross Rail.


What are the key markets for GD Rectifiers and do you envisage these changing in the future?


Our key markets are industrial power control applications that require regulators, inverters, rectifiers, suppressors, power assemblies and heatsinks. We are BSI certified for compliance in low-voltage switchgear and control gear, contactors, motor


starters, AC semiconductor controllers, contactors for non-motor loads and semiconductor converters. We have always primarily been a distributor of semiconductor components but over the past five years have been branching out in to ancillary parts used with semiconductor devices such as traction converters and subsystems, liquid cooling systems, surge arresters and voltage stabilisers.


Recently we’ve seen a shift in demand for heatsinks designed for LED lighting applications, and a steady growth for power assemblies, heatsinks and semiconductor component sales. Component sales will continue to rise as the automotive industry continues to manufacture electric vehicles.


Beyond the basics of distribution and delivering products to customers, what is your strategy to support engineers and especially the new emerging community of ‘makers’?


We work extremely hard to support www.cieonline.co.uk


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