Hitaltech, the connecting technologies and enclosures specialist, is celebrating 25 years of board-to-board, wire-to-board and enclosure innovation. Southern Manufacturing & Electronics, returning to the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre on 8-10 February 2022, “seemed like the perfect place to celebrate,” says Managing Director Andy Fitzer.

Hitaltech is no stranger to SME. It has been a regular presence at the annual expo for many years. The 2022 edition will coincide with the company’s silver jubilee year, but that has presented a challenge: how do you top expos of the past and deliver a stand worthy of such a milestone? The answer is to bring products from across the company’s entire range of components and enclosures, focusing on three core areas in particular.

“Best of both world” connectors

Joining the well-established Conex-it range of flexible interconnect products will be a vast range of rigid connectors. “Our clients need both rigid and flexible connectors,” Matt Hughes, Hitaltech sales manager, explains. “For PCBs that are manufactured in panels and whose end applications may be a somewhat obscure, flexibility is often essential. However, if PCBs are stacked on top of one another or at right angles, a rigid system may often be the natural choice. By launching a rigid system to complement the flexible, we’re enabling manufacturers to enjoy the best of both worlds.”

Despite the breadth of product range, Matt is keen to stress that customers can still customise their connectors: “Our customers can choose customised pin lengths, special platings and insulators. It’s all about giving our customers products that match their application needs, and protecting and developing the relationships we’ve built with them.”

DIN rail enclosures evolved

Hitaltech’s Italtronic range of DIN rail PCB enclosures has grown significantly since its introduction more than a decade ago. The latest addition to the range is a new Modulbox, the first to have capacity for 15 modules. Meanwhile, the company’s new 2-tier Modulbox offers new levels of compact design flexibility. Both will be present at SME 2022.

“Every time we consider introducing a new product to the range our first question is ‘how does this enable heating, lighting control or energy metering manufacturers?’”, says Andy Fitzer, Hitaltech MD. “What additional capability does it give them, and how can we maximise that capability? Even then, our customers still have the option to customise our products still further, taking an off the shelf product that’s almost a perfect match for their application, and making it absolutely right.”

Adding value everywhere

Hitaltech’s Value Added Services (VAS) is the collective name for Hitaltech’s customisation options. They have proved an enormously popular introduction, both as a topic of conversation at SME, and as a way of enabling product manufacturers to bring bespoke customisation to the development process without the bespoke price tag.

“All too often, product development is about compromise,” explains Andy. “It’s an exercise in scaling back ambition because of cost, time and technical constraints. VAS removes the need to compromise.”

A range of ‘pick and mix’ services encompass every stage of design, from R&D to assembly to delivery. Machining and mould tool modification options enable manufacturers to add inserts to enclosures, remove unwanted tabs or create additional space for inputs, outputs or LEDs. Kitting and buffer stock packages keep supply chains solid and improve assembly speed and simplicity. While custom printing options enable manufacturers to embrace the functional (with printed wiring diagrams, for example), the aesthetic (laser etched branding or colour options) or both.

“Every industry faces a range of challenges right now – in our 25 year history you could argue things have never been more challenging ” Andy explains. “So it has never been more important to support our manufacturing clients and help make life easier for them. Our wide range of value added options – and every new connector and enclosure we introduce – are intended to do just that.”

Hitaltech will be at Stand J115 of SME.

To explore how Hitaltech can support your manufacturing ambitions, call 01253 899910 or email uksales@hitaltech.co.uk