With about 300 unique products for heavy-duty and military automotive electrical systems, one manufacturer requires an array of electrical connectors and wire harnesses to support rapid product development, cost reduction and limited in-house harness-building capacity.
While cost is undoubtedly a factor in purchase decisions, availability also comes into play. With Amerline as a partner, the manufacturer gets high-quality electrical connectors and wire/harness assemblies faster and at a competitive cost.
Cost-Effective Commercial Connectors Delivered in Less Time
Amerline’s connectors are tested to the harshest conditions and manufactured to be interchangeable with MIL-SPEC (MS) connectors. At the same time, they offer environmentally friendly plating options at a lower cost with superior market lead times.
With a partnership that dates back over 25 years, the manufacturer has worked closely with Amerline to design and manufacture a significant number of custom electrical connectors and wire/harness assemblies for their products.
“If we use other connector manufacturers, we usually have to deal with distributors who may or may not have stock,” the executive said. “If they don’t have stock, then it can take them months to get parts and in high minimum quantities, particularly for necessary cadmium-free plating options. Amerline doesn’t have these issues.”
Amerline’s efficiency is also reflected in custom-designed connector solutions. In one case where a standard off-the-shelf connector wasn’t adequate, the Amerline team worked with the manufacturer to develop a custom insert that included the specific contact arrangement the customer’s application required. Building off this initial design, Amerline manufactured an entire family of connectors for the manufacturer and managed the qualification process to verify and document that the product performance requirements were met.
Amerline Is the Manufacturer’s Main Supplier for Wire Harnesses
Much like the connectors, Amerline’s wire harnesses have proven to be very competitive in terms of price — so much so that the manufacturer rarely goes elsewhere for their wire harness needs.
“Some value-added distributors try to chase the wire harness/assembly business, but they typically want high volume,” the executive said. “We might just need to order 20 at a particular time while competing value-added distributors typically have a much higher minimum.”
When the company sends their drawings to Amerline for wire harnesses, that elevated service is once again emphasized. The Amerline team leverages their industry expertise, materials knowledge and knowledge of the customer’s applications to offer proactive feedback on how to enhance the product design.
On the back end of the process, Amerline assists the manufacturer in meeting all of their requirements, such as DFARS 252.225-7007 compliance. The customer receives a certificate of conformance (COC) that indicates none of Amerline’s products are made in China, providing the customer the approval they need to keep projects moving forward.
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