Connecting Technology – The Harting Way
Published on : Sunday 15-03-2020
The Harting Technology Group achieves another milestone later this year as the company celebrates its 75 Anniversary. Milton D’Silva reports from Espelkamp.
Power, Signal and Data – the three lifelines of industry is what Harting Technology Group is all about today, offering a wide portfolio of industrial connectors, board level connectors and components for industrial Ethernet. Established in 1945 in Minden, Germany, the company began with making useful everyday items like economy lamps and cigarette lighters. Later it added other electrical products and cigarette dispenser, juke boxes to the range, before it manufactured the first Han ® connector in 1956. Founder Wilhelm Harting recognised early on the need for a rectangular, robust and easy to use connecter which soon became popular, and there is no looking back since. As the company began to grow, in 1950 it moved to its present location at Espelkamp, where this writer was invited for a specialist press conference early last month, attended by select German and international media.
Presenting an overview of the company, Detlef Sieverdingbeck, General Manager Corporate Communication & Branding, highlighted the fact that Harting is a global company with 14 production sites, including one in Chennai – India, and 44 distribution companies worldwide. Asia is emerging as an important business region (over 24% market), the company now also operating at a new location – Thailand. Germany (28.6%) and the EMEA region (37.1%) form the largest chunk, with 9.5% coming from the Americas. With a turnover of 750 million Euros in financial year ended September 2019, the 100% family owned company, now run by the 3rd generation, employs 5,300 people across its global operations. “Harting is not a large company, but very innovative, in command of own technologies and R&D, helping the industrial transformation in its own way,” says Detlef.
Apart from a standard range of connectors, devices and networked components, Harting also offers customer specific solutions, complete range of e-mobility and electromagnetic product solutions, special machines and tools, optimised cash register zones and logistics and fulfilment services. Besides, the company’s MICA industrial edge gateway brings IIoT/Industry 4.0 solutions to existing plants and machines, and also offers smart factory solutions through its HAII4You initiative. Detlef referred to the ambitious growth plans of the company, with the ongoing capacity expansion at its two facilities in Romania.
Taking time of his busy schedule, Philip Harting, Chairman of the Board of the Harting Technology Group, presented an overview of the company’s offerings at Hannover Messe 2020, with a bigger booth. It would be pertinent to mention here that Harting participated in the inaugural Hannover Messe in 1947, just two years after inception, and has done so regularly since, without missing a single year! Alluding to this, Philip Harting stated that thecompany is two years ahead of the fair in celebrating the 75th Anniversary, and mentioned the following highlights for 2020 edition of Hannover Messe:
- Digital twin with PerFact
- Asset Management
- Ongoing developments in sending data from sensors to cloud
- New connectivity, and
- Trends in cobots and smart factory.
Elaborating on the Digital Twin with PerFact, Dr Robert Rae, Managing Partner – PerFact, in his presentation on Harting Digital Solutions elaborated how the cooperation between the two companies opens up opportunities for the industry with a host of professional software solutions for Industry 4.0. With MICA edge computing device as the binding element, PerFact software, which runs on open source (Linux), provides the ideal cloud platform that integrates into existing ERP system regardless of the company size or industry segment. With the joint appearance at Hannover Messe 2020, the two partners will showcase the HAII4YouFactory, which is the digital twin of the HARTING Smart Factory, apart from the warehouse management system and smart shelf systems.
Norbert Gemmeke, Managing Director, Global Business Unit Electric, made a presentation on the Rectangular Connector. He traced the journey of the Han range over the last 5 years, beginning with the Han-Eco A launched in 2015, followed by the Smart Han in 2017, Han- Eco B and rear mounting connectors in 2018, and the Han 1A and Han-Modular Flexbox in 2019. These connectors serve various industry verticals and are characterised with increased modularity, growing miniaturisation and pack density, also providing cost efficiency in terms of connector use and mounting. With emerging trends in segments like machinery and robotics, transportation, power generation and distribution and wind energy, the company anticipates changes in requirements in terms of concepts as well as regional preferences and looks ahead 5 years. With the Han DDD and Han S in 2020 – the latter for modular battery storage – Harting expects smart concepts for energy distribution in 2021, further evolution of Smart Han for 22 and by 2025, connectors for DC applications.
The DC application is key future technology for the integration of renewable energy as the trend is to avoid costly energy conversion, resulting in easy energy exchange between energy sources, storage and production facilities. Harting is working with partners on standardisation of connectors for DC applications in terms of connector face for power and data, for rated capacity up to 1500V (IEC/UL), 200A. Besides, the exponential growth in data centres presents its own challenges calling for solutions as well as worldwide support and availability of spare parts. The new concepts will be presented at Hannover Messe 2020.
Frank Quast, Head of PM Installation Technology and Andreas Wedel, Head of Technical Competence Centre, further elaborated upon the Safe Connectors for Energy Storage Systems with reference to the Han S and the various IEC and UL standards the range conforms to, for error free connection as well as easy and safe installation process. The Han DDD, to be made available in various sizes, will have the highest pin count for maximum miniaturisation, with higher contact density up to +130%. More interesting is the Han configurator that now has a new customising function. It allows users to use the configurator to design individual solutions for cable entry points and apply labels. When configuration is complete, all design- relevant data is available for download and users can order the customised solution. This enables customers to design products easily on their own and have them delivered within a very short time, making individual interfaces affordable, even in smaller volumes. The company will be adding more and more customising functions to the Han configurator.
Among other presentations were one by Guido Selhorst, Head of Corporate Market Communication on Green Mobility – Infrastructure solutions for future mobility providing connectivity solutions for AC and DC charging facilities. Joachim Finke, Product Manager, spoke on the theme ‘All for Ethernet’, and the growing share of industrial Ethernet in industrial communication and the Harting RJ Industrial connector, cabling products and Ethernet switches. He also referred to the SPE Industrial Partner Network which started with 7 members last year and has already grown to 17 by now.