Appointment adds strength and experience!

Electroustic has added a new technical manager to its growing team of experienced specialists. The appointment of Steve Brown comes during a period of growth that saw the company become a technical distributor of the renowned component manufacturers Bulgin and Amphenol Industrial, as well as expand its portfolio to include Hirschmann's industrial Ethernet range. 

Steve Brown

Electroustic has over 50 years experience supplying top brand industrial connectors, leads and electromechanical components to a variety of sectors.

To add to this, Steve's appointment brings 30 years worth of experience with both analogue and digital electronics. Electroustic's new technical manager previously worked as principal test engineer for a leader in road safety systems and traffic data collection. Here, he developed a strong working knowledge of local area network (LAN) and wireless local area network (WLAN) systems.

Steve also worked as an engineer manager at Holden Manufacturing, an electrical and electronics manufacturer.

His background in both engineering and manufacturing places him in great stead to use his technical expertise to help Electroustic's customers fulfill their requirements.

The appointment is set to improve the company's technical prowess and boost its industrial Ethernet knowledge.

"In my nine years at Golden River traffic management systems, I was fortunate enough to get hands on experience using cutting edge equipment," explained Steve. "Electronic engineering is something that's always fascinated me and I've sought out roles whereby I can use the technical knowledge and know-how I've amassed over the years on a daily basis.

"Because Electrousic is a franchised distributor for big industry names like Amphenol, Hirschmann, Lumberg Automation and Bulgin, I'm able to give our customers insightful technical advice when it comes to things like putting together the best quality loom for the job."

Reducing the British skills gap in science & engineering!

Electroustic is investing in the future of engineering by donating £3000 (€4200) worth of stock to Milton Keynes College (GB). In recognition of the current British skills gap in science and engineering, the company is seeking to promote practical learning opportunities and help cultivate bright young minds for the future.

Mark Pears

"The innovative and progressive nature of the connector and industrial Ethernet market dictates that products must constantly evolve to keep up with security, speed and power developments,” explained Paul Carr, managing director of Electrousic. “This means equipment becomes obsolete faster than in more traditional industries. Electroustic didn’t want to see older generations of fully functional connectors, capacitors, resistors and components go to waste.

"We came up with the idea of asking our local campus, Milton Keynes College, whether it had any use for the equipment. The response was very positive and the outreach has opened talks for future collaboration with the college. Electroustic would like to encourage other engineering companies to reach out to local schools more and get involved in training the next generation of engineers."

Thw stock was donated to the Department of Leadership Technology and Built Environments to provide learning materials for the college students for years to come.

"The call from Electroustic asking if we wanted the stock couldn't have come at a better time really," explained Mark Pears, deputy director for Leadership Technology and Built Environment at Milton Keynes College. "A lot of the electronics donated were things that we were about to order anyway. This meant that we were able to allocate that budget on other equipment for the department, creating a richer learning environment and attracting prospective pupils to the college."

Connector connections!

"Come hell or highly waterproof connectors!"

Industrial connector specialist Electroustic has teamed up with  environmentally-sealed component manufacturer Bulgin to supply, design, prototype and manufacture customised cable assembly and box build solutions. 

As Bulgin’s technical distributor, Electroustic will supply all the products from the connectivity expert's catalogue. Thanks to the close-knit collaboration between the two companies, Electroustic offers bespoke solutions for a multitude of applications, from industrial automation to marine, petrochemical and surveillance. 

Bulgin’s range of circular connectors, IECs, fuseholders, battery holders and vandal­resistant switches are all designed and manufactured in house. The extremely robust, environmentally-sealed Buccaneer® series of connectors are IP66, IP68 and IP69K rated, providing an ideal solution for industrial power and data applications. 

The IP69K rating means they can withstand water from high pressure or steam cleaning, making them suitable for use in environments such as food and beverage production, where sanitation and cleanliness are cardinal requirements. This versatile connector range also includes Ethernet, USB and mini USB connectors, as well as ATEX Zone 2 and Zone 22 rated options. 

“The main reason for making Electroustic our technical partner is the company’s excellent understanding of manufacturing process and customer service,” explained David Luu, product marketing analyst at Bulgin. “Just like Bulgin, Electroustic likes to work closely with its customers and build long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. We’re certain that our cooperation will result in benefits for both current and future clients.”

“Demand for high ingress protection connectors has been on the rise in recent years,” commented Amy Wells, marketing manager of Electroustic. “We were keen to broaden our offering to include Bulgin’s waterproof and IP69K connectors, which are at home in some of the harshest and most demanding industrial environments on Earth.”

Distributor for industrial security system for Britain!

"The industry has come a long way since StuxNet."

Electroustic now distributes Tofino's Xenon industrial firewall. Manufactured by Hirschmann, the Tofino Xenon security system is the latest addition to the Tofino family and is purpose built to provide comprehensive network protection for production systems.

The Tofino Xenon security system is both versatile and rugged, allowing it to withstand the harshest of environments, making it ideal for any industry in which maximum data security is required. This includes plant and process engineering, the transportation sector, oil and gas, power transmission and renewable energy applications such as wind farms.

Security in industry has become of paramount importance in recent years. The cost of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure is now measured in billions of dollars worth of damage.   

With Tofino's Plug-n-Protect technology, Xenon is incredibly simple to implement. The application can be installed in a live network with no special training, pre-configuration or changes to the network itself, eradicating expensive downtime.  

The industrial firewall's security stems from stateful packet inspection (SPI) that not only examines a packet based on its header, as with traditional static filtering, but rather packet contents, to establish more information than simply source and destination. SPI tracks each connection - traversing all interfaces of the firewall and ensuring its validity. 

Furthermore, as an added security measure against port scanning, the SPI closes off ports until connection to a specific one is requested.

"Here at Electroustic we provide industrial Ethernet solutions to a variety of industries," reported Paul Carr, managing director and owner. "Security is currently a very pertinent and prominent issue for nearly all the sectors we supply to.

“That's why we recommend Tofino products that help customers meet and exceed NERC CIP (North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection) requirements and ISA/IEC-62443 Standards. The Xenon firewall delivers peace of mind, which is essential – the industry has come a long way since StuxNet." 

In addition to the Xenon's in built features, optional deep packet inspection (DPI) is available. This feature allows the user to implement detailed filters within their system. Tofino’s flexible architecture goes beyond traditional firewall security by providing tailored protection zones to protect critical system components.   

Harsh but fair connector range!

Electroustic is now a franchised distributor for Amphenol Industrial, one of the undisputed leaders in interconnect systems for harsh environments. Electroustic stocks a variety of Amphenol Industrial connector products, including Ecomate and the RT360 and AT series. The products are specifically designed for rugged applications in harsh environments and can withstand extreme temperatures and vibrations.  

The partnership allows Electroustic to offer complete Amphenol solutions, by working alongside several of the company’s divisions. From electrical, electronic and fibre-optic connectors, to interconnect systems and coaxial and speciality cable, Electroustic can guide its clients from the earliest stages of a project through to completion and post-purchase servicing.

Ecomate circular industrial connectors come with 3+PE (Protective Earth) or 6+PE contacts and can be used for measuring and controlling applications, as well as power supply. Ecomate connectors come in a wide selection of shapes and housings made from premium moulding materials. Different models come with screw, solder and crimp termination, as well as a fastening for the protective caps of the receptacle housing. Ecomate products were designed for plant construction and machine building, which is why they have a particularly high ingress protection (IP) rating of 65/67.

Similarly, the versatile RT360 series includes multi-way circular industrial connectors available in six shell and 22 insert arrangements with a variety of wire gauge options. The series is designed to be compatible with other industrial connector families. Due to their high average current, small package size and proven robust design, RT360 connectors are a perfect match for the most demanding industrial and transport applications.

The high-performance AT series of connectors for automotive, heavy equipment, alternative energy, agricultural and other demanding interconnect architectures will also be distributed by Electroustic. The rectangular connectors come with superior environmental seals and are compatible with all existing standard products. 

“Amphenol Industrial’s 80 years of experience combined with Electroustic’s 50 year history in the electronics market, makes for a unique three-pronged partnership based on expertise, quality and performance,” explained Amy Wells, Electroustic’s business development manager. “Harsh environment work is a burgeoning market for us and a growing demand, which is why we’ve chosen to partner with another market leading business.”