WHMA Annual Conference Review

This edition of Cable Assembly Supplier is devoted to the annual conference of the Wire Harness Manufacturers Association (WHMA) held in San Diego, California, March 2-4, 2011. The WHMA is dedicated to providing our members with the technical support, access to leading edge technology, benchmarking, and the ability to network with industry leaders in wire processing equipment, services, and manufacturing. The meeting was attended by 125 members.

During the recent WHMA conference, board chairman Lyle Fahning set aside some time to discuss the current state of the industry with Bishop & Associates’ director of cable assembly, Dave Pheteplace. Here’s what they discussed.

David Pheteplace, CableAssemblySupplier.com: How did WHMA members fare in 2010?

Lyle Fahning, Chairman of the WHMA: The vast majority of members saw significant rebound in business in 2010. This certainly varies by industry segment, but the overall cable and harness business was up significantly in 2010. The fact that WHMA had a membership growth rate of about 20% indicates that our members’ businesses are certainly on the rebound. Of course, continued business competition from overseas and a lagging economic climate are still a couple factors that cannot be ignored for the future. Also, even though the volume of business increased, there continues to be a squeeze on profits where OEMs want to improve their profitability by keeping their costs low. And at the same time, the cable and harness manufacturers’ cost of materials, such as copper and petroleum, continue to rise.  All in all, though, 2010 was a turnaround year for most in the industry.

CAS.com: What trends do you see in the cable assembly marketplace?

Fahning: There continues to be a trend to rely on the cable assembly manufacturers for not only assembly services, but also design and development capabilities. Even though cables and harnesses are not perceived as a very glamorous piece of the OEM’s products, they are many times the last thing to be developed and tend to hold up production and shipment. Therefore, the OEMs need a very responsive and capable supplier who can give them good designs and manufacture assemblies in a short amount of time.

There continues to be a trend to smaller and more compact assemblies. Also, there is growing emphasis on higher performance, such as fiber-to-the-home and lower-cost options to combat the commodity price increases. In this area, the use of aluminum, where previously a large copper conductor was used, is an example.

CAS.com: How do you think the cable assembly market will do in 2011?

Fahning: Overall, the cable assembly market and manufacturers will do very well in 2011. The key issues will be, what will happen in following years? And, how will the cable and harness companies prepare themselves to address the future? As the saying goes, “the only things certain in life are death, taxes, and change.” The industry has changed, and will continue to change. Some market segments will grow, and some will decline. This industry does a huge dollar volume of business, over $115 billion in 2010, and it is very fragmented, with over 700 companies in North America alone. In general, being smaller, these companies have the ability to adjust quickly during good and bad times, which makes them very flexible in meeting their customer’s needs and also being able to stay in business during uncertain times, such as the recent recession.

CAS.com: What were some accomplishments for WHMA in 2010?

Fahning: In addition to the dramatic increase in manufacturing company members, a highlight was entering into a joint venture with Bishop & Associates on a North American Cable Assembly Profile report. It has been a couple decades since this type of industry snapshot has been produced. The report will be unveiled at the annual WHMA Wire Harness Conference. Many of the supplier members of WHMA have been waiting anxiously for this type of inside look into the business activity going on in the industry.

Another major push this past year at WHMA was strengthening our involvement in the continuing development of the A-620 workmanship standard. This joint venture with IPC is really gaining traction with end-users of wire harnesses around the world, and it is quickly becoming the workmanship standard that manufacturers must meet.

Finally, for the first time, we now list our members on our website, organized by the market segments they serve. End-users had asked for this and we responded. We think this will help drive new business to our members by making the search process easier for potential customers.

CAS.com: What challenges face WHMA in 2011?

Fahning: An ongoing challenge for any trade association like WHMA is continuing to provide real value to its members and prospective members through its portfolio of services and products. WHMA only exists to provide its members the tools they need to enhance their opportunities for success. Our motto is “WHMA connects you to resources that make you an industry leader.” The growing acceptance of the A-620 standard, the Performance Benchmarking Survey we offer our members so they can see how the measure up against their competitors, and the new industry research report, are all great tools for our members to use in their day-to-day operations. But rest assured, WHMA will not rest on past laurels—we will continue to listen to our members and fill as many of their knowledge and information needs as possible.

CAS.com: What are the goals and plans for WHMA in 2011?

Fahning: 2011 is a year for us to build on the membership growth we experienced in 2010. We need to continuously communicate with all our members, but especially with our new members, who are discovering the resources that are available through WHMA. We live in a communication-cluttered world, and we need to make our messages to the members concise and compelling.

We also need to hear from our members. The WHMA Listserv is a terrific tool in that regard. By allowing members to speak directly with their peers to solve business issues, WHMA becomes a much-needed resource.

—David Pheteplace, Managing Director, Cable Assembly Division, Bishop & Associates Inc.