New Business Area Belden EMEA
New Business Area Belden EMEA
Belden Inc. from St. Louis, USA has combined its daughter companies Belden Europe (Venlo, NL), HEW-Kabel (Wipperfürth), Hirschmann Automation and Control (Neckartenzlingen) and Lumberg Automation (Schalksmühle) into the new business area Belden EMEA. Dr. Wolfgang Babel has been appointed CEO and operations will be centred in the Stuttgart area.
Innovative solutions for data transfer in the field of automation
Belden EMEA is represented in Europe, the Middle East, the USA and in Asia. Production takes place in Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Globally there are 2,200 people working under the Belden EMEA umbrella, divided into 5 divisions: Industrial Networking, Industrial Connecting Solutions, Electronic Control Systems (ECS), Cable Infrastructure and Cable Speciality. Through its comprehensive competence in the field of data transfer the product portfolio now extends from data cables via plug-in connectors and I/O modules through to network equipment. In particular, it is the systems for futuristic wireless radio communications which will play an ever-greater role. “Whereas today we supply in the main components for automation technology, the focus in the future will also lie in sector-specific solutions in which our products will perfectly match the application needs of the customers and be offered in an all-encompassing package, including service and maintenance work,” said Dr. Babel.
Electronic Control Systems under new management
Following in the wake of this new order, the division ECS has gained new management. Since 1 May 2008 Harry Oortwijn from the Netherlands, married with two children, has been General Manager of Electronic Control Systems. Harry Oortwijn began his career with Philips in Venlo. Following a successful international career at Belden, since 2007 he had carried the responsibility as Vice President Operations, for the whole of European cable production. He is completely familiar with the structures, the processes and the culture at Belden.
Milestones for Electronic Control Systems
With ECS, Harry Oortwijn is guiding a company which is at the forefront in global terms in systems and components for load moment data capture, load moment indication, and overload control in cranes and machinery such as telehandlers, aerial work platforms and excavators. In the words of Dr. Babel: “In this area we are already offering complete solutions from sensors to control systems right through to operator consoles – and in this market segment we are the world’s number one.” With his own management team based in Ettlingen, Harry Oortwijn will utilize the great potential latent in ECS and develop it even further. He already has two promising milestones in his sights: the development of the Scalable Control System as well as matching ECS products to the prevailing new safety regulations. We wish Harry Oortwijn every success and look forward to new challenges.