TE Connectivity [NYSE: TEL]: Ushering A new Era of Connectivity

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Terrence R. Curtin, CEO & Board Member, TE Connectivity [NYSE: TEL]Terrence R. Curtin, CEO & Board Member  
It is the year 2025. You are headed to a business meeting on a blue-skied, sunny morning in your Ford. The car’s windshield’s electronic smart tint kicks in to shield the sun’s glare, allowing you to scan messages and view the news stream on the heads-up display (HUD). All of a sudden, the phone starts to ring, and the news stream pauses. It is your co-worker’s face on the HUD, calling to clarify a piece of information on the presentation you are about to give! This is what the connected car of the future is going to look like, and it is not far from being a reality.

From early-stage car infotainment features to today’s on-demand mobility services and fully-autonomous vehicles in the future, connectivity in the car has been the driving force behind automotive tech advancements. Today’s automakers are focused on bringing innovative technology to create a unified, fully-integrated, and highly personalized vehicle experience that will change the way of driving. Leading this transformation in the auto industry from the forefront is Switzerland-based TE Connectivity [NYSE: TEL]. The $14 billion technology company offers a distinct portfolio of novel solutions that support end-to-end automotive connectivity, addressing all the physical layer challenges and the increasing need for autonomous driving. “With the insatiable demand for a more connected world growing daily, we are focused on creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future through our solutions and services,” says Terrence R. Curtin, CEO and board member of TE Connectivity.

Today, with approximately 80,000 employees—including more than 8,000 engineers—the long-standing firm is working alongside customers across 140 countries to co-create solutions to solve their toughest problems and turn ideas into innovations that move the world forward.

Enabling End-To-End Connectivity

Talking in-depth about the connected car technology, Curtin notes, “For the connected car to reach its full potential, a key requirement is the ability to capture correct and complete data about the surrounding environment.” This is where sensor technology plays a pivotal role. By collecting data from different sources such as high-resolution mono and stereo cameras and radars, the sensors can alert the driver about road conditions and driving hazards, such as congested roads or potholes, well in advance of encountering these problems.

For the connected car to reach its full potential, a key requirement is the ability to capture correct and complete data about the surrounding environment

Today, TE offers a wide range of sensors for automotive applications including those that measure everything from position, speed, and humidity (in-cabin, engine air intake) to pressure (brake HPS, urea), and temperature. For example, the firm’s humidity sensors are designed to improve performance, reduce energy consumption, and increase safety in environments where temperature affects performance. TE’s sensors within the engine, transmission, and braking systems are expected to open the door to an era of predictive maintenance, where vehicles will be able to schedule a visit to the mechanic before an issue arises.

Alongside, the company also provides data connectivity systems and manufactures innovative antennas solutions for infotainment and tuner systems. TE’s antennas provide high-quality transmissions in wireless devices in a wide variety of frequencies including, but not limited to Bluetooth, WLAN, Cellular, and ZigBee.“The connected vehicle is powered by the demand for more convenience and safety. The demand, in turn, is driven by the need for connections with consumer devices and information to provide a safer environment for the driver and pedestrians,” informs Curtin. This is where TE’s data connectivity offerings makes all the difference. The highly robust data connectors prove useful to safety-critical, ultra-high data volume applications such as LiDAR and RADAR, which generate very large amounts of uncompressed data. The connectors provide the robustness required for safety-critical applications.

In a nutshell, these state-of-the-art solutions, are helping TE is address the various challenges currently perturbing the automotive sector, including the ability to transmit large amounts of data in real-time, the flexibility required to integrate heterogeneous devices and chip protocols, and the ever-increasing industry requirements for miniaturization and flexible packaging.

The TE Difference

What perhaps talks for itself is the firm’s in-depth understanding of rigorous automotive standards as well as their unparalleled expertise in sensors, data networks, interconnects, and antenna technology, which is not only helping accelerate success for carmakers in today’s burgeoning market but also proving to be beneficial for other sectors. For example, the company’s advanced catheter systems, guidewires, and medical balloons are helping across several key therapeutic areas, including peripheral vascular, structural heart, electrophysiology, and neurovascular.

“The use of our products results in improved outcomes for people and lowers the cost for these procedures,” mentions Curtin.

"With the insatiable demand for a more connected world growing daily, we are focused on creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future through our solutions and services"

That being said, Curtin also accredits the continued success of TE to his co-workers and employees, “It comes down to giving people opportunities. One of the things about our work culture is that even though we are a large, global business, we act like a smaller company.” The firm partners with each customer from the early of the design process to accelerate innovation. “By applying our knowledge that we have gained from decades of working with customers, we are able to meet evolving challenges and requirements in designing quickly,” he adds.

Paving the Path for an Innovative Future

In the last 75 years, TE has added several feathers to its cap—from being recognized as one of the world’s largest connectivity and sensing companies to having more than 14,000 patents issued for its advanced connectivity and sensor solutions. The firm’s list of honors include a spot on the ‘Top 100 Global Innovators 2016,’ being recognized as one of the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies 2017,’ named as Fortune Magazine’s ‘Most Admired Companies for 2018,’ and ranked 204 on the S&P 500 list, among other things.

Talking about TE’s future, Curtin says, “Today, with technological disruption such as 5G set to enhance connectivity across networks, companies will require devices that can operate within a much broader bandwidth at exceptionally higher speeds.” In light of this, the firm is already designing and building ultra-compact, powerful solutions that will optimize 5G connectivity and support the increased speed, capacity, and bandwidth of these networks. TE is also investing in significant research, development, and engineering to meet the rigorous demands of the customers’ increasingly complex technology. “Our expertise in materials science research, advanced design methods, and global manufacturing capability allow us to create the rugged and reliable solutions engineers and entrepreneurs need,” states Curtin. TE also intends to partner with leading players in the market in order to continue expanding its portfolio of products as well as geographical footprint worldwide.

With its undivided focus on reliability and durability, commitment to progress and the unmatched range of the product portfolio, TE will continue to lead the market and aid organizations big and small to turn ideas into technologies that will transform how the world works and lives tomorrow.

- Kenneth Thomas
    July 31, 2019