Phoenix Contact poised for growth, company says

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The downturn in the economy has not affected research and development activities at Phoenix Contact, said Frank Stuehrenberg, the company’s senior vice-president of global sales. The developer and manufacturer of industrial electrical and electronic technology introduced 2,600 new products at Hannover Fair in Germany late last month – a record high for the company.

Stuehrenberg described the company as “strong,” “stable” and “sustainable” in a teleconference with a select group of Canadian media, including Manufacturing AUTOMATION magazine, last month during Hannover Fair. And although the company is not meeting growth expectations this year, they did plan for a difficult economy in 2009 and continue to move forward with cautious optimism. They may be suffering in the North American and German markets, but they continue to grow in Asia and South America.

“Project opportunities are already expanding,” said Stuehrenberg. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

What is Phoenix Contact’s strategy to come out of the global recession on top? It’s all about execution, explained Stuehrenberg. “We try to obtain the flexibility of a mid-sized organization, even though we are a large organization…In Canada, we believe we have a best-in-class distribution strategy, leveraging the strengths of our company and our partnerships.” Stuehrenberg added that introducing new products and finding new opportunities will help them out of the global economic crisis.

Ralf Massmann, director of sales – overseas, who also participated in the teleconference, predicted that the most promising industrial sectors to recover first in the current economic downturn will be infrastructure, energy, water/wastewater and transportation.

Some of the new technologies introduced at Hannover Fair include Industrial Connection Technology, Push-in Technology Terminal Blocks, a new line of Ethernet security modules and timer relays. For details on which new technologies will be made available in Canada, contact your local Phoenix Contact representative. More information can be found at www.phoenixcontact.ca.