A small connector actually has a big name, because the connector that acts as a bridge is the technical path to realize world interconnection. It is just that connector enterprises in the upstream of the industrial chain have always been heroes behind the scenes and rarely exposed, so they are not familiar with end consumers. As the largest connector manufacturer in the world, TE is also known as the "invisible giant", and has its presence in almost all places where electricity, signal and data flow. If based on the whole business sector, new products come out every day, from sensor technology in the automotive industry to contactless applications in the industrial field, or terminals on mobile terminals, and ultra-small antennas, the business scope covers almost all countries from consumption, transportation, energy, industry and other fields.

When the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 become new market engines, component manufacturers like TE have a long way to go. In James' view, the core of these market hotspots is simply "connection", the connection between cars, home appliances, and security facilities, including the connection between devices in industrial applications. However, the requirements for connectors are becoming higher and higher.

The requirements of connectors in the future are nothing more than faster, smaller, smarter and more environmentally friendly. However, each industry segment has different emphasis. James said, for example, the automotive industry needs to ensure the reliability and high quality of connectors under harsh environment. For the consumer electronics industry, lightweight is the most important, followed by reliability, but the reliability of the two is not the same level. To some extent, the speed of the introduction of consumer electronics determines two other special requirements: controlling costs and shortening the R&D cycle.

In addition to technical iteration, the regional distribution of connectors has also been skewed to varying degrees with the change of market share. Over the years, the global connector production capacity has begun to shift to Asia, especially China. Some analysts believe that Asia has become the place with the greatest development potential in the connector market, while China is expected to become the world's fastest growing connector market with the largest capacity.

In the past, most connector suppliers made more use of China's low production costs, but now they are thinking more about how to serve this emerging market. The answer given by TE is to transform the original "Made in China" model into "Made in China".