2016 was a pivotal year for magnetic components. The presence of hydroelectricity, wind electricity and solar power was felt in a significant way as countries around the world pushed for clean and renewable sources of energy. In conjunction with this trend, electric cars also contributed to the green drive making waves across the planet. At MPS Industries, we worked hard throughout 2016 to bring innovative products to our customers through top-notch engineering and support. As we look forward to 2017, MPS plans to continue our efforts for constant improvement of the overall customer experience.
Our 2017 plan to improve the customer experience is to offer a more expansive product offering, more engineering support, international support and presence, domestic production for improved lead times, and further relationship building. Our ultimate goal is to make our customers’ lives easier and be their complete solutions provider by taking care of all their magnetics problems and needs (thermal, electrical and mechanical).
Key solutions like domestic production expansion allow MPS to provide much faster service and turnaround to customers on samples, prototypes, and small runs for standard and “semi-custom” parts. We will proceed with U.S. manufacturing development and specialization of higher power in TX, and higher frequency, lower power magnetics in Gardena. We will be able to offer faster lead times to our customers by having two stateside manufacturing facilities in addition to our overseas manufacturing.
In 2017, we also plan to expand our global presence and product line. We are looking to expand our support in Europe, and hope to find a distributor or sales rep to assist MPS in this endeavor. Product expansion includes 3 Phase HEW chokes, a line of common mode chokes and general growth of our standard product line offering.
And, as always, the MPS team will be in attendance at important industry trade shows. This month
APEC will be taking place in Tampa, FL, followed by Del Mar in May in La Jolla, CA. Next you will spot us at the EP TECH shows in Canada (this June in Vancouver, BC and November in Mississauga, ON). We will also be attending EV TECH in September in Novi, MI.
At MPS Industries, we have risen to our challenges with robust, custom made designs that serve buyers spanning clean energy, telecommunication, video, lighting, welding, computers and inductive heating.
Now that 2016 is at a close, MPS is ready for 2017 with enhanced capabilities and a greater commitment to quality that will benefit both our customers and company at large.
If you are interested in learning more about MPS or how magnetics are changing the landscape of the most dominant technologies and industries, please follow our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages for regular updates, new product launches and relevant breaking news.
Before we give you a sneak-peek at MPS Industries’ 2017 agenda, let’s take an overview of 2016. It was a pivotal year for the engineers as they focused on bringing the best magnetic component innovations to a variety of industries, not limited to automotive, energy storage, solar, utility, wind, and HVAC. Our high-power, high-efficiency compact components have been implemented by all types of companies within this past year, including tier 2 automotive companies, one of the largest companies in the PV Inverter/Power Optimizer market, well-known semiconductor manufacturers, and various Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley start-ups.
In 2016, MPS focused on developing the widest range of standard HEW (helical edge wound) series and HEW product throughout the industry. In March, we introduced our new line of HWI4434 HEW High Current Inductors. With inductance ranging from 3.6µH to 83µH and rated current of 100 amps plus, our high-capacity HEW inductors have a very small footprint. In fact, the HW14434 series is so compressed and can carry such a high current that it is now both the highest-density and most compact inductor available on the market. Our HEW High Current Inductors have proven popular in automotive applications, alongside a range of energy and power applications. Thanks to its wide operating temperature range — from as low as -40 °C (-40 °F) to as high as 150 °C (302 °F) — the HW14434 series is suitable for many applications.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s push for renewable power contributed to tremendous internal growth at MPS. Today, the DOE aims to increase participation in renewable energy across all industries. Areas of focus in the go-green initiative include energy saving homes, sustainable transportation, and other emerging technologies. As a result, we saw more interest from the energy and automotive (EV and Hybrid) sectors in our transformer and inductor technology.
In September, we presented our HEW technology at the Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology (EV Tech) Expo, in Novi, MI. As the number-one trade show for technology and innovation in the electric and hybrid transportation field, it was the perfect place for our team to showcase our new HEW product.
Although we have allocated engineering resources to develop newer HEW product lines, we are still diligently working on our traditional “bread and butter” magnetics. MPS remains committed to pushing and designing transformers best suited for our customers’ needs, whether that means inductors and chokes based on a more traditional approach (round/litz wire winding), or a HEW wound component.
In whole, 2016 was an extremely productive and exciting year for our team here at MPS. Thank you to all of those who contributed. We look forward to collaborating with new and old customers this year and sincerely wish all those out there a healthy and happy 2017!
Keep an eye out for our next entry on what is to come throughout the upcoming year. You can follow MPS updates on our blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.
APEC 2016, the premier global event in applied power electronics, focuses on both the applied and the practical aspects of the power electronic business. The 2016 APEC Conference and Expo will be taking place on March 20-24 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in Long Beach, CA.
We are looking forward to attending again this year as we have been exhibiting for many years with great success. The APEC Conference draws visitors from around the world and offers designers, engineers, and manufacturers the opportunity to network with other professionals in a wide range of fields, to learn from educational seminars presented by experts, and to explore new, innovative technologies and equipment.
At the show this year we will be proudly displaying our world-class products and services in Booth #1122. Offering a broad product line and custom design options enables us to meet the needs of a wide range of industries and applications. At the show this year we will be featuring some of our HEW (Helical Edge Wound) High Current Inductors, which have been very popular in automotive, energy, and other power applications. We are very proud to offer the largest selection of HEW Inductors in the industry, as well as the highest density and most compact package high current inductor in our new HWI4434 series.
Featuring an inductance range of 3.6µH to 83µH and rated current of 100 amps or higher, the HWI4434 is a high current inductor in a very compact package. With operating temperature range from -40°C to +150°C, it is well suited for a wide variety of power applications. We also offer a variety of packaging and mounting options, including vertical and horizontal, as well as with mounting clip and base for increased support and strength.
If you are attending this year’s show we hope that you will stop by the MPS Industries booth to explore our full line of magnetic components. We specialize in manufacturing custom transformers, inductors, current sensors, and common mode chokes and look forward to discussing with you about our local U.S. based design and manufacturing support services.
If you have any questions on our products and services, please feel free to contact us.
We take great pride in the production of our magnetic components, and we continue to improve their quality and capabilities as technology continues to change the manufacturing world. It’s always interesting for us to see how our magnetic components fit into specific applications, which can range from a variety of different industries. Recently, we have seen the growth of two very different industries—automotive and energy—both of which our magnetic products can be used for.
Automotive
The automotive electronics market is a growing one, especially with the emergence of hybrid and electric vehicles. More and more cars are being controlled by a variety of electronics –think lighting, infotainment centers, power windows, power seats, and proximity sensors. Then you have the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles, which count electronics as a huge part of the vehicle’s controls. With all of these electronics, you need magnetic components for support and use—this is where MPS steps in.
Not only can we provide the magnetic components for all of the new electronically-controlled features in each new generation of cars, but we also provide products that are fit for critical applications, such as the automotive industry.
Energy
With solar and wind power and green energy becoming more and more popular, the energy industry is set to become a booming industry in the next few years. As many companies are beginning to invest in energy management systems and smart grids, which are able to store energy in a grid in order to distribute the energy evenly, we are seeing a rise in the use of inverters. These inverters need the use of our magnetic components in order to properly manage the use of energy.
The auto and energy industries also have a lot in common—as electric vehicles become more dominant, so will the use of auto charging stations, which utilize a lot of energy as well. In the near future, we see both industries growing tremendously and overlapping with one another. Our company and our magnetic components will be there every step of the way, helping the vehicles run smoothly and the energy grids to stay powered on.
