The PCB connector specialists, who started in 1994 with a 21 m2 office, can look back on 25 successful years.
It all began in 1994 in Königbach-Stein (Baden-Württemberg), founded as a distribution company for electromechanical components for printed circuit boards. Alongside Jürgen Weber, Monique Clerc and Dirk Matenaer were also present, however Jürgen Weber has been the sole owner now for several years.
As early as 1995 the production of own products started in Taipei, Taiwan and the first company move to larger offices and manufacturing facilities in Bünde promptly followed. The first edition of the connector catalogue was also printed in 1995, it was also the first SMD catalogue in the connector industry to date. W+P’s trade fair debut was also in 1995, since then the connector specialist has been exhibiting at electronics trade fairs several times a year.
Since 2001, high-quality standard connectors have been produced in Shenzhen, China. Today, with more than 380 employees in China, the focus is on the automotive and special connector sector.
In 2007, the production facility at the German site in Bünde completed the takeover of its long-standing manufacturing partner HEB GmbH & Co. KG. Now part of the W+P Group as W+P Electronic GmbH, with an emphasis on customer-specific connectors. Because the signs were pointing to growth, the company moved again in 2008 to larger premises within the headquarters in Bünde. This solved the recurring problem of a lack of space.
Another milestone in W+P’s history was the founding of W&P Electronic Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong in 2015, to be able to offer customers in the Asian region even more delivery flexibility in particular. Jürgen Weber’s accolade as Manager of the Year for the trade magazine Markt & Technik was just as much a part of this as the expansion of the management team by Michael Rullkötter. Since January 2018 he has been supporting W+P with his many years of experience in production control and management.
Entrepreneurial skill, innovative strength and passion have paved the way for the past 25 years and ensured the reliable development of a company that now operates all over the world. Around 520 employees worldwide, 140 of them at two locations in Bünde, are contributing to the success story with their commitment.
The company’s declared objectives are to expand its market position and safeguard jobs. This is because W+P is one of the market leaders in Germany and Europe when it comes to small PCB connectors in all pitches. With pride we look back on our achievements, however, we will not rest on our laurels, but rather expand it in a targeted manner.
W+P’s perspective was already apparent 25 years ago, with the clear intention of growth and innovative strength – thanks to this development opportunity it continues just as rapidly. Despite the expansion of cable-independent solutions, the prospects for the connector sector are still excellent. For example, control systems in what we call ‘white goods’, i.e. household appliances such as washing machines, electric cookers, etc., would be inconceivable without connectors. The same applies to industrial control systems and embedded computers.
