2
0
1
7
THE
-
Q
1
SAMTEC SIGNAL
Step inside the
NEW LOBBY
WELCOME 3 5 7 8 9 13 15 17 19 20 21 22
The New Lobby 5,600 Gallons In the Tank Fish Fun Facts Iron-Men of Samtec Breakfast Around the World Trade Shows Samtec Cable Darin Poe Terry & Richard .80 mm Pitch Edge RateÂŽ Customer Spotlight
Tessie is hiding somewhere in this newsletter! Once you find Tessie, email us at samtecsignal@samtec.com, or stop by HR, and let us know her location. Everyone who finds her will be entered to win a $25 gift card!
ROUND 2 PHOTO WINNERS
Gabriela Cardenas Costa Rica
Mark Bobo New Albany
Jenise Wehmiller New Albany
Tracey Morris New Albany
Eric Zbinden Samtec Optical Group
Gail Farris New Albany
Martin Reimer New Albany
Dmitri Jablonski New Albany
Phil Eckert New Albany
Taj Gateway New Albany
Charles Vaughn New Albany
Tom A. Evans Samtec Microelectronics Sam and Betty Shine interact with the Nook
The
NEW LOBBY Headquarters Remodel Update Samtec New Albany recently wrapped up the largest phase of the remodel. Over 200 Associates in Engineering, Operations, Quality and Purchasing moved into their new space around Thanksgiving, and we unveiled our incredible new lobby in early January of this year. The lobby has two video walls: one for interesting facts about our business, and one that plays a welcome video for visitors. There is also a 25 foot stock ticker that shares live data coming from our various systems like the number of part numbers built and shipped, and the number of visitors on our website in real-time. Two conference rooms are located just off the lobby with all the latest meeting room technology including a glass wall that fogs itself for privacy with the flip of a switch. The large aquarium that divides the breakroom and lobby finally got filled with water, and several species of fish were introduced. More fish were placed in the aquarium in early February before filming of the ‘big unveil’ for Animal Planet’s “TANKED”. We are still waiting to hear when the episode will air. Once we get the date, we’ll let everyone know. The facilities team and numerous contractors really knocked this phase out of the park with an on-time delivery, and we had the smoothest transition of people yet. We expect the last phase of the remodel to be finished in April, and the last group of Associates should move into their new space shortly thereafter. For the first time in roughly 18 months, we will all be together again!
3
These pictures are from New Albany’s new Lobby.
4
5,600 GALLONS 5
WHY THE TANK? Samtec is a global, multi-faceted company bringing together many cultures and areas of expertise to be greater than the sum of our parts. We serve many thousands of customers in a variety of industries. Our product line is also flexible and diverse; we offer over a trillion-part number configurations! Every Samtec Associate plays an important role, and the harmony found in our diversity is what sets us apart. This is a lot like the ‘ecosystem’ one might find in an aquarium like ours. Every one of the animals in this aquarium plays their part to create a balanced ecosystem. While having a wide variety of species, colors and sizes of fish is interesting and beautiful for viewing, we had to be sure every animal could also live in harmony with the others in the aquarium. We worked with experts from Animal Planet, Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM) and the Cincinnati Aquarium Company to be sure we created the absolute best environment for our finned friends, just as we have for our own Associates here at headquarters as well as across the globe.
6
IN THE TANK Our 5,600-gallon aquarium is 23 feet long, 5.5 feet wide and 5.5 feet tall. It is one of the largest private aquariums in the world! All marine life inside the aquarium comes from the Pacific Ocean, and each fish was specially chosen by the Cincinnati Aquarium for our tank. The fish are fed vitamin enriched frozen food once a day. Sharks, on the other hand, eat less frequently and are fed once every few days. Fish are less sensitive and produce less waste than sharks. For this reason, the fish entered the tank first. Once the ecosystem became balanced for the fish, the sharks could enter.
7
FISH FUN FACTS
Here are possible fish that may be in the tank now or considered in the future and some fun facts about them.
Lookdowns The Lookdown is a summer and fall visitor to inshore areas from Maine to the Carolinas, as it prefers waters over 60°F (15°C).
Atlantic Blue Tang This fish changes colors during growth from a yellow juvenile to a blue adult.
Blueline Snapper Their name comes from the four horizontal blue stipes on their bodies.
Foxface Rabbitfish The Foxface Rabbitfish has venomous dorsal spines that ward of larger fish.
Vlamingi Tang This fish has the ability to quickly and dramatically change its color from pale to brilliant to dark, depending on mood or environment.
Porkfish Porkfish are primarily nocturnal predators, targeting its prey while it rests.
Port Jackson Shark This common bottom-dweller is named for Port Jackson, the famed and stunning natural harbor of Sydney, Australia.
Horn Shark The Horn Shark like to stay put in the same general area, remaining there year after year. The longest distance a horn shark is known to have traveled is only 10 miles.
Naso Tangs Naso Tangs also known as the Lipstick Tang are very active fish and have been known to jump out of the water.
Shovelnose Guitar Fish Guitarfish lie in ambush buried in the sand with only their eyes sticking out, waiting for an unwary crab or flatfish to wander by.
Smooth Hound Shark They have the ability to continually replace the teeth in their upper and lower jaw. Teeth are replaced at a rate of one row per 10 to 12 days.
Unicorn Tangs The Unicorn Tang has two sets of retractable blades for defending territory and protecting themselves.
8
IRONMAN OF SAMTEC For 35 years, the Ironman Triathlon has challenged physical toughness and mental strength. The IronMan combines a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.22 mile run, into one day. Back-to-Back Races. No Breaks. It has been estimated that at most, only 0.0001% of the worlds population has completed an IronMan. This translates to 1 in 10,000 people. There are about 1,000 Associates at Samtec New Albany, 5 of which have completed the IronMan: Pat McWilliams, Steve Hillerich, Robert Stodghill, Travis Lozier, and Brandon Rogers. Here are their stories.
9
2.4
Mile Swim
112
Mile Bike Ride
26.22 Mile Run
PAT MCWILLIAMS Dates: 2004 & 2011 Finish Times: 12 hours, 21 minutes & 11 hours, 43 minutes Pat works in the High Speed/Array HUB and has been with Samtec for 20 years. He does machine design and development as well as manages machine build projects with other vendors. Pat’s Story: In 2003, Pat was 50 lbs over weight and out of shape. The birth of his son inspired him to take control of his health. He began to run to lose weight. At first, Pat couldn’t finish a mile, but he was persistent and found that the more he ran, the more fun it became. He started to compete in long distance races until he found the Ironman. He began training daily for the Ironman at 4 am, 12 pm and often after work as well. Balancing life between work, family and training was difficult, but with the encouragement and support of his wife and son, he was able to keep up his demanding training schedule. Just under two weeks before the Ironman, Pat injured his shoulder. The doctor said that Pat had a severe separation and could not hurt his shoulder more than its current state or he would need surgery. After talking to his swim coach, they decided he would race, but would tape his injured arm to his side to prevent further damage. When Pat first started the swim, it was complete chaos as everyone was fighting for room in the crowded, open water. The cut-off time to complete the swim portion of the race was 2 hours and 20 minutes. Pat remained calm and determined, and he completed his swim in just over 2 hours. Pat continues to run competitively today, and his wife and son have picked up the sport as well. He has since run a second Ironman in 2011, beating his previous time by more than 30 minutes. He has also completed two Half Ironmans, over 10 full marathons and countless half marathons. He says at least one more Ironman is in his future.
10
STEVE HILLERICH Date: October 9, 2016 Finish Time: 14 hours, 55 minutes Steve is a Product Manager for Glass Core Products, and his job is a mix between Engineering, Marketing and Sales. Steve’s Story: Steve regularly attended CrossFit classes in 2014. He enjoyed CrossFit, but wanted something different. He then started to run in half and full marathons. Those too became repetitive, and Steve was bored. That’s when Steve found the Ironman. He knew a few people at Samtec had completed it and thought he would give it a try. On Black Friday 2014, he bought a bike, and his training began. Steve remembers trying to swim and almost drowning, but he didn’t let that stop him. “It fueled my drive even more to have obstacles thrown in my way”, Steve said. He even read a book on how to swim, asked his friends for tips and started to swim in open water. There was a Half Ironman in July 2016, and Steve wanted to see where he stood after his training. He found that the swim was more difficult than he had anticipated. “People are all around you when you are swimming. They swim next to you, push you down and splash you in the face when you come up for air.” Steve explained. Steve took what he learned from the Half Ironman and went to his friend’s lake. His friend swam next to him in the water, splashed him and grabbed his legs. After 50 weeks total of training, he was now prepared not only for the swim, but for the full Ironman. Steve completed his first Ironman and is the only Samtec Associate that has an Ironman tattoo (which is a tradition to get after you complete an Ironman). When his kids are a little older, Steve wants to compete in another Ironman.
11
ROBERT STODGHILL Date: Louisville 2013, Wisconsin 2015, & New York 2016 Finish Time: 12 hours, 22 minutes, 11 hours, 48 minutes, & 13 hours, 22 minutes Robert is the Web Design Architect and supports the web team’s technical design and platform. “People always say ‘I can’t imagine racing in an IronMan’. They just need to want it more than anything,” Robert said. “People always say ‘I can’t imagine racing in an IronMan’. They just need to want it more than anything,” Robert said. Robert’s Story: Robert has always been active, but it wasn’t until he was a little older that he began competing in marathons. In 2013, he signed up for his first Ironman. He trained 12 - 22 hours a week for 8 months,. “It becomes your life,” Robert explained, “It made it a little easier because my soon-to-be wife signed up for the Ironman as well. We both had the same goals, and we held each other accountable.” Robert met Stephanie while training for a marathon many years prior. Since they met while racing, they wanted to get married while racing. In 2013, they competed in their first Ironman together. Robert crossed the finish line 10 minutes before Stephanie and waited for her. Once Stephanie crossed the finish line, they both walked a block away to where their family was waiting and were married. This is believed to be the only wedding to happen at the Ironman finish line to date! Robert has also competed in Ironmans in Wisconsin (2015) and in New York (2016). “Courses do not have the same difficulty level. In New York, you are biking through mountains.” Robert described, “This not only changes the race, but also how you train for the race.” Although New York was his favorite race because of the scenery, it was also his most difficult race because he was sick during the race. Robert is sponsored by “Big Sexy Racing” and plans to do a Half Ironman this year. He and Stephanie also plan to compete in Ironman New York in 2018.
TRAVIS LOZIER
BRANDON ROGERS
Date: August 28, 2011 Finish Time: 15 hours, 29 minutes Travis works in the Sales Department and quotes major business opportunities (MBOs) of $50,000 or more and custom ASPs.
Date: August 28, 2011 Finish Time: 14 hours, 30 minutes, 58 seconds Brandon works in the MIS Department and manages our Operations, Engineering and QA Application Development Teams.
Travis’ Story: When Travis turned 30, it hit him harder than he thought it would. He wanted to do something meaningful and new. Around the same time, Travis started to talk with Pat McWilliams about his experience competing in the Ironman a few years prior. They took a trip to the Louisville waterfront in 2010 to watch an Ironman. As Travis watched the race, it inspired him so much that he decided to sign-up.
Brandon’s Story: Brandon stood at the finish line watching his friend complete the 2010 Ironman. “It was the most inspiring moment that I have witnessed.” Brandon explained. From that moment, he began to train for the 2011 Ironman.
In January 2011, he began training for the Ironman. This kept Travis extremely busy as he was also helping plan his wedding as well as building a house at the same time. Travis was very grateful for his wife Debbie’s support during his training and their busy schedule. Finally, it was race day. Travis and Debbie stayed at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Louisville the day before the race. On the way to the race, they realized that they accidently left his water in the fridge in the hotel room. Since he didn’t have a car and all the roads were blocked even if he did, Travis decided to run back to the hotel to get his water. Before the Ironman even started, Travis had run 3 miles to the hotel and back, but he arrived at the start line, with his water in hand, just in time to start the race. Travis’ goal was to appreciate the day, not about his finishing time. He had trained many hours for the race and wanted to remember every second of race day. He took his time and greeted his family and friends at the transitions along the way. Travis now has a 1-year-old son and has also battled a few injuries, but he wants to compete in one more Ironman or destination Half Ironman when the timing is right.
Brandon trained most days with Travis. Figuring out a nutrition plan that worked for him proved to be the most difficult challenge. The average Ironman burns 10,000 calories during a Triathlon! Brandon had to fuel his body with enough calories to sustain him throughout the race and keep his endurance high. One memorably hot day during training, Brandon and Travis decided to ride the Ironman bike path. The “path” is 100 miles long, and around the 80 mile mark, Brandon felt his body crashing. He had hit a wall, a condition known by marathon enthusiasts as “bonking”, and he didn’t feel well enough to finish the ride. He knew then that he had to change his nutrition plan to finish the race. The next time Brandon rode the bike path, he tried something different. Halfway through the ride, he and Travis stopped at a gas station, where they indulged in BBQ sandwiches, chips and soft drinks. It worked like a charm, so Brandon had not only found his new nutrition plan for training rides and race day, but started a new tradition as well. On the day of the Ironman, Brandon was ready. Fueled by his go-to race day meal, he felt strong going into each leg of the race and missed his goal finishing time by just 58 seconds. Brandon continues to keep fitness a main priority and jokingly says he will do another Ironman when he “hits his mid-life crisis”.
12
BREAKFAST AROUND THE WORLD
13
Australia “In the warmer months, I tend to eat Rice Bubbles cereal with fresh fruit yogurt and honey followed by a good brew of coffee.” - Robert Famularo, Samtec Australia FSE
Brazil “Cafe da Manha” means “Coffee in the Morning” People have little time for breakfast, so they only drink coffee. Sometimes with bread and spread and fruits with yogurt.” -Lorenz Freutsmiedl, Samtec Brazil Sales Manager
Canada “Our traditional breakfast is definitely eggs, bacon (strip and “Canadian Bacon”), sausage, toast, hashed potatoes, pancakes/ French toast, with lots of maple syrup all over it and a coffee.” - Michael Ray, Samtec Canada Sales Manager
Germany “The most common breakfast in Germany isß bread rolls with cold cuts, cheese, marmalade/honey and a cooked egg with coffee or tea.” - Verena Prediger, Samtec Germany Customer Service
India “Bhatura is a type of bread that is served with chick peas cooked in a gravy made of tomotoes, onions, garlic and garam masala (a spice mix). Sometimes, this chick pea preparation is also served with kulcha (type of Indian flat bread), naan or chawal (rice).” - Ravindra Kumar, Samtec India Sales Manager
Israel “If you go to a restaurant and order an Israeli breakfast, it would have eggs, chopped salad, bread and an assortment of spreads like cream cheese, tuna, butter, yogurt etc. and coffee, We’re big on coffee.” - Noam Shachar Trau, Samtec Israel
Penang Malaysia “Nasi Lemak is one of the most popular breakfast options in Malaysia. It is a wholesome and healthy way to kick start your day. This Malaysian rice delicacy, consisting of coconut milk, sambal, nuts, egg and chicken.” - Ang Poh Ling, Samtec Penang, Malaysia HR Manager
Mexico “Making huevos rancheros—rancher’s-style eggs—is an inherently impromptu and simple affair at home. Briefly fry some corn tortillas to soften them, add a couple of crisply fried, runny-yolked eggs, and ladle on plenty of salsa. That’s it.” - Israel Diaz, Samtec Mexico FSE
Scotland “A full Scottish Breakfast contains eggs, bacon, link sausage, buttered toast, fried tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, and a tea or coffee. Black Pudding (a type of blood sausage) is our distinctive side.” - Victoria Young, Samtec United Kingdom Pricing and Quoting
China “A popular breakfast is the Baozi. It is a steamed bun stuffed with meat and vegetables. Coffee is also very popular since their is not much time for breakfast.” - Jane Wu, Samtec China HR Manager
Costa Rica “Our traditional breakfast dish is gallo pinto (rice mixed with black beans) served with eggs, natilla (sour cream), fried plantain, slice of white cheese and a corn tortilla with coffee or fruit juice.” - Marcela Zumbado, Samtec Costa Rica
Japan “Our traditional breakfast is grilled fish, eggs, and miso soup with rice. We also like to have Natto with rice.” - Ritsuo Hayashi, Samtec Japan Sales Manager
Korea
Sweden “Kalles Kaviar” is the most Swedish there is. Kalles Kaviar(a paste made from fish roe but far from the quality of Caviar!) on Wasa Crispbread.” - Niklas Maansson, Samtec Nordic/Baltic FSE
Taiwan “You Tiao is very popular. It is comparable to a Mexican Churro without the suger and cinamon. It does not have seasonings beceause the taste comes from what you dip it into. Most dip it into soy milk, peanut sauce or soy sauce.” - Crystal Lu, Samtec Taiwan Purchasing
“In Korea, it is popular to eat rice with soup and 4 -6 small side dishes such as beens, greens, veggies, fruits and more.” - Mae Li, Samtec Korea Sales Manager
France “The most typical French breakfast is a croissant, baguette with butter and jam, and an espresso. (I have it every weekend!)” - Collette Bryan, Samtec France Customer Service
JB Malaysia “A common breakfast for Malaysians is Roti Prata or Roti Canai. Prata/Canai is a fried flatbread cooked over a flat grill. It is usually served with a vegetable or meat based curry. Prata is known as Indian Pancakes.” - Evelyn Leong, Johor Bahru, Malaysia HR
United States “Eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and toast are all common in the United States.” - Whitney Beckley, Samtec New Albany HR
14
ELECTRONICA
This is a photo of Samtec’s booth at Electronica 2016. Electronica is one of largest trade fairs in the industry dealing with electronics. Although it is located in Germany, it draws industry leaders across the world. This event showcases the latest and greatest technologies.
15 15
TRADE SHOWS Industry tradeshows are an important ingredient in Samtec’s overall Marketing mix. In 2017, Samtec is scheduled to participate in over 30 shows worldwide. These shows range from small regional shows with one Samtec FSE, a table-top display and sample kits, to the largest electronics shows in the world. At one of those shows, Electronica in Munich, Germany, Samtec’s twostory booth was over 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) and featured a slightly smaller version of the interactive “nook” (the area outside of the New Albany Break Room that was featured in the 2016 Q3 edition of The Signal.) Electronics industry tradeshows have had a resurgence in the last decade, and especially so for Samtec. As our product line has grown to include optics, microelectronics, sensors and modules, automotive applications and signal integrity leadership, specialized tradeshows are an effective way to target specific customer groups. Three of our focus shows are in the Spring. The first is DesignCon, in Santa Clara, California, that covers all things highspeed. Later is Embedded World in Nurenberg, Germany, for embedded systems. Embedded systems use a wide variety of Samtec products. There’s also OFC, this year in Los Angeles, that focuses on optical networks and communications. The highlight of many shows, and a big draw for Samtec, is product and system demonstrations at our booth. For example, at OFC in March, we had four demos, including a demo of a FireFly active optical cable assembly, a demo of our soon-to-be released PCUO Series, a FMC card demo and our “active chassis”, to demonstrate the electrical performance of various highspeed Samtec interconnect systems. Samtec tradeshows are promoted in the electronics industry press, on social media and through our blog.
16
SAMTEC CABLE
“We have over 500 years of cable experience within the walls of Samtec Cable. It’s not only what we do, it’s who we are.” Samtec Cable’s Cindy Diegel was interviewed below. Cindy is the Wilsonville Operations Manager has been with Samtec Cable 13 years and also helped Samtec Cable open its doors. Where is Samtec Cable? Samtec Cable is located in Wilsonville, Oregon. Wilsonville is included in Portland’s greater metropolitan area dubbed the “Silicon Forest” as opposed to California’s Silicon Valley. The first major technology company in Oregon was Tektronix. Three of the Tek divisions were centered in Wilsonville in the early 80’s. Through the years, other technology companies have established their base here including Mentor Graphics, Flir, Tyco-Precision Interconnect, DW Fritz, and Samtec Cable! Why is Wilsonville a good location for Samtec Cable? Wilsonville is a great location because it is located in close proximity to Tyco-Precision Interconnect which allowed Samtec to pull from the vast cable experience of their employees and provide them a new opportunity to even further advance the industry with a company who valued their skills and talents. When did Wilsonville open? Samtec Cable opened in January of 2004. The first production shipment of cable occurred in May of 2006. How has your team grown? The original team consisted of five people, and currently there are 37 people who work in the Wilsonville facility.
17
How has your facility grown? Our first facility was a temporary space down the road from where Samtec Cable is currently. Cable’s space initially was divided into two separate units in one building, but we eventually tore down the dividing wall and now occupy the entire building. A couple of years ago we also did a buildout and added a “bump out” compressor room to the back of our facility. It’s a cozy facility of about 24,000 square feet, but there’s a lot that gets done in such limited square footage. What happens at Samtec Cable? Samtec Cable makes precision coax, twinax and microwave cable for Samtec’s HDR product offerings. How is this important to Samtec? Being able to include cable in the sudden service model was a win not only for Samtec, but for our customers as well. We are able to provide the customer with turn-key interconnect assemblies in the same sudden service time frame versus buying cable from a source that does not share our customer-focused service model. Because we have more to offer the customer, we often have more access to their design teams. This allows engineers to get to know us better which is always a win for Samtec. As sales show, every competency we’ve added over the years has been rewarded with increased sales. Adding SOG, SME and now Teraspeed takes us all the way back to the system architecture which gives us insight on many fronts in terms of what the customer needs for their own technology development.
How does Samtec Cable work with other Samtec locations? Samtec Cable only makes cable for internal consumption. We don’t sell bulk cable to outside customers. All of our cable is sent to one of the manufacturing facilities for final assembly processing. Most of our cable is consumed in New Albany, Costa Rica, Huizhou, and Johor, Malaysia. How have sales grown from start to now? Milestone shipment months (based on cable footage shipped): May 2006 50K’ July 2006 116K’ Sept 2006 276K’ Feb 2007 686K’ April 2008 1,107K’ June 2014 2,029K’ July 2015 3,232K’ Nov 2016 4,369K’ our all-time record! How have cables changed over the years? We started out making coax cable. Our next improvement was a micro-cellular foamed cable that provided better performance in a reduced size. Then came the capability to make co-extruded twinax for differential signals. Currently, we are working to perfect our twinax cable to reduce the skew to world class levels. We are also working to improve our RF offering.
How is Samtec Cable going to meet future needs of the customers? Our volume to date has been driven by the coax side of our business. In the future, the growth will come more from customers who want high-speed, high signal integrity in a differential signal which we continue to develop as part of our twinax product line. The addition of Teraspeed has really helped us to understand the potential of this market and what we need to be successful. Explain the culture in Cable. I would say that there are really two cultures here at Samtec. In the front office, we house the New Product cable team, operations and quality. This is a very “open” environment. We have no walls between our desks and communication is very free flowing. We move quickly and do all we can to provide support to the machine operators for both existing product offerings and prototype runs. The back office is our think tank of HDR design/scheduling team, cable MEG and Teraspeed engineers. This is a quiet space where deep thought and clever solutions are born. What are a few things that most people at Samtec wouldn’t know about WV cable? We have over 500 years of cable experience within the walls of Samtec Cable. It’s not only what we do, it’s who we are. Anything else you want to add? The best day at Samtec Cable is when we get to offer a job to someone to join the Samtec family. This is closely followed by shipping a prototype that solves a difficult problem for a customer in an unreasonably quick time frame.
18
DARIN POE Darin has worked in the Shipping Department for 13 years. “It has been a fast 13 years.” Darin explained. He loves making a connection with the companies that buy our parts with the things he reads about them or sees on TV. He has always been in Traffic. He loves the people he works with; they are like family. Growing up, Darin’s family was really close to the Pinnick family that lived down the street. When Darin was 9, he began to hang out with the Pinnick’s two sons: one 18 and one 25. “They were a very well respected family.” Darin explained. The Pinnicks were in the family business of being Funeral Directors. Darin grew up knowing that he would become a Funeral Director too. Many people questioned Darin, asking if he could stomach being a Funeral Director. Darin explained, “My Father was a hunter and would shoot then skin a squirrel. That is much more gruesome than the things I’d have to do.” Even so, when Darin was older, he reached out to Mr. Pinnick and asked to shadow him at work. Mr. Pinnick told Darin, “It is better to find out now, before you waste time and money on school if this isn’t for you. If you can watch my job, then you will know if you can do this.” Darin watched and was still certain that this was the right path for him. Darin started his college career. He took classes such as business management, science and ethics as well as some hands on classes such as meeting with the family, embalming, cosmetics as well as religion. Religion is important for funeral directors because different religions have different funeral traditions. He graduated in two years. Proudly, he was the first in his family to have a college degree. “Many people move to Florida when they graduate due to the higher death rate.” Darin explained, but he moved to Mooresville and got his first job at a funeral home. It was a large funeral home, and he was very busy. He only stayed at this location for a short time before moving home to Paoli. Once he was home, he started working at a local funeral home. He would receive calls at all hours of the day and night that there was a body and Darin was needed. Since he was now home, he would listen to the description of the person and it would make his stomach turn if the vague description matched someone he knew. Shortly after, Darin decided it was best that he get a job that has set hours. He now had a family and needed to be there for his kids. He applied at Samtec and has been here ever since. He thinks he may work as a Funeral Director once his kids are grown. He loved the work, just not the unexpected hours that came with the job.
19
A FEW WORDS FROM: Terry and Richard have been with Samtec for many years and have greatly impacted the company and those around them. They have both retired and below are their goodbye letters.
TERRY WHITWORTH
RICHARD KENNEDY
It is hard to believe it has been over 22 years since I started, but life just seems to fly by. I was very fortunate Dan T. called me about the Samtec Controller job in 1994, and now I have been in that position for over half the company’s lifetime. It has been great to be part of the growth from $66 million in 1994 to over $650 million this year, and from 4 physical locations to now 30+. Samtec is in a great financial position and I have no doubt will continue to prosper.
To all the associates I’ve worked with over the past 27 years, I want thank you for your respect, cooperation, friendship, and dedication to bringing Sam and John’s vision to life. Although my last day is Friday, I plan to come back to do some periodic work over the next 24 months. My responsibilities have been split between Ed Barnett, Joel Keinath, Glen Karrer, and Ed Messer. We have a great foundation in place to keep us moving in the right direction. I will mostly miss the daily interactions with everyone from my Samtec family.
A few final thanks: To John, thanks for opportunity many years ago. I wouldn’t be able to make this decision without you giving me the chance to be part of Samtec. To the accounting staff around the world, you made my work life so much easier thru the years. Thanks for all your dedication to make sure Accounting met the “Customer Service Done Here” mantra in our area. To everyone else at Samtec, it has been a pleasure working with you. I have always been amazed how many great people work here and how everyone not only makes sure we maintain “Samtec Sudden Service” thru all facets of the company, but also have a tremendous impact on the entire community. As I’m sure John and Sam would agree, the associates are who have made Samtec successful and enabled their vision for the company to continue to be carried out. Turrialba Volcano up close. Gabriela Cardenas captured this amazing phonto!
I’ve been truly blessed to have worked for so many years at a company that has provided opportunities for personal and professional growth along with a great deal of satisfaction. It’s been one heck of a ride that I truly appreciate. Many thanks to Sam and John for providing such a solid foundation of values and company culture to work in. The autonomy to make decisions, to take ownership of your daily tasks, and to share in tremendous growth (from $32M to $675M during my 27 years) as a result of everyone’s efforts has been second to none. Wendy and I plan to travel, do more fishing, relax, work her book business, and enjoy our time together. Best wishes to everyone for continued success and always take time to reflect on how fortunate we are to be a part of the Samtec story.
20
28
ERM8/ERF8 SERIES
G b p s
7 mm stack height Solder lock
mating high-speed cable assemblies
7
9
10
12
13
14
15
16
10 mm stack height with latching
18
Shielding 14 mm stack height with latching
available stack heights (mm) (actual size)
EDGE RATE SYSTEMS ®
0.80 mm PITCH EDGE RATE® SYSTEM Samtec’s Edge Rate® contact system is designed for high speed, high cycle applications. The surface of the Edge Rate® contact is milled creating a smooth mating surface area instead of a stamped contact that mates on a cut edge. This smooth mating surface reduces the wear tracks on the contact increasing the durability and cycle life of the contact system. It also lowers insertion and withdrawal forces allowing the connectors to be zippered when unmating. In addition to increased durability and extended cycle life, the Edge Rate® contact has superior electrical performance compared to most stamped contacts. The Edge Rate® contacts are positioned in the plastic insulator so the narrow edges of the pins are parallel to each other. This minimizes the parallel surface area reducing broadside coupling and crosstalk. Additionally, Edge Rate® contacts expand the electrical benefits to include impedance matching. The intricate details of the contact geometry are designed, simulated, and optimized electrically for 50Ω and 100Ω systems given the contact pitch and appropriate grounding schematics.
21 21
Right-angle & edge mount available
Features: • Controlled impedance Edge Rate® contacts optimize signal integrity by minimizing broadside coupling and crosstalk • Robust when “zippered” during unmating • Vertical, right angle and edge mount connectors on 0.50 mm and 0.80 mm pitch • 0.50 mm pitch system for up to 40% PCB space savings • Stack heights from 7 mm to 16 mm • High speed edge card connectors for rugged micro backplane applications • Floating contact system compensates for tolerance build-up and misalignment with “float” in X and Y directions
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Autonomous Vehicle One of Samtec’s high-visability customers has created an Autonomus Vehicle. It is historic, and the first driverless vehicle on public roads. In the first stages of the car’s release, it was closely supervised by a person who sat in the car along with a police escort. By the end of 2016, the car took to the streets for the first time driving solo. The car negotiated four-way stops, pedestrians, narrow streets and more on public roads! Our customer points out that they are not an autonomous car manufacturer or in the buisness of making better cars. They are a self-driving technology company with a focus to make better, safer drivers. They are currently in the “build phase” of putting next generation sensors in the Chrysler Pacifica. Earlier this
year, our customer announced a 100 car pilot project in partnership with Fiat Chrysler and are currently readying these vehicles for road tests. Uber is also working with carmakers in deploying its own self-driving vehicles for its ride-hailing service, including Ford and Volvo. Other automakers, like Volkswagen and GM, have opted to build or acquire their own self-driving technology and on-demand mobility service offerings. Our SEARAY™ SEAM/SEAF Series, RSPs (custom RF interconnect) and twelve HDR cable assemblies are in the car along with mating connectors. These vehicles feature significant SME content with lidar sensor assemblies with additional SME opportunities still in the works.
22 4
WE’VE BEEN
DON’T MISS OUR EPISODE
FRIDAY, MAY 5 @ 10/9C ON ANIMAL PLANET