Power Management – Answers provided by Martin Brabham, regional sales director, XP Power Italy and France

EONEWS: What are your opinions regarding the major trends for this market (slowing, growing, booming…)?

BRABHAM: The domestic Italian economy has been uncertain, and has slowed considerably. Several of our customers in Italy are reliant on Government-funded programs in transportation and healthcare, and we have seen a dramatic cutback in business. However many of our Italian customers have been focused on export markets in healthcare, defense and broadcast electronics and they have seen growth in the last 12 months. We have also seen several international companies transferring production to Italy attracted by the high level of local skills and competitive cost base which makes it easier to do business than moving production to Asia.

EONEWS: What are the key strategies adopted by your company in the short/medium period to address (or to better address) the needs of the market?

BRABHAM: Our strategy implemented in 2012 was to complete the acquisition of our distributor and bring it into the XP Power group as a wholly owned subsidiary. This has also enabled us to hire more staff that provide better direct support to our customers. Also our local Italian office is part of our global SAP system that gives them instant access to worldwide inventory and real time updates from our factories in China and Vietnam. Many customers have complimented us on our high levels of support in Italy.

EONEWS: What are you doing in order to implement your strategies (partnership/agreements, new acquisitions, investments in activities like R&D, people….)?

BRABHAM: Our most exciting activities now are the release of several new high efficiency power supply platforms that are over 96% efficient which means they waste less energy than our previous generation products. From an engineering point of view this means the critical components within the system run cooler, require less cooling, use less energy and therefore increase MTBF significantly. The new product release has been fueled by an R&D spend of approx. 8% of revenue ensuring our customers are getting access to the newest technology. We also have a partnership with Premier Farnell that gives customers the option of purchasing low volumes of products for prototyping.

EONEWS: What are the most important application?

BRABHAM: Our primary focus has been healthcare, broadcasting, communication and specalist industry.

EONEWS: Which are the key factors that set your company apart from the competition?

BRABHAM: XP Power is very different from the majority of power supply companies in Italy as we have our own office and own support people. This has enabled us to form direct relationships with design engineers, quality engineers and supply chain professionals. This enables us to provide superior technical support and service that can decrease our customer’s time to market and competitiveness. With this close collaboration we are able to modify our standard products to make them easier to integrate into the customers end equipment.

EONEWS: And in the middle/long term (if you have a crystal ball!)?

BRABHAM: Our recent investment in Italy has enabled us to become approved at many new customers and bring more value to our existing Italian customers. We are starting to see an increase in our Italian revenues and also multiple new design wins that will fuel future growth. For the Italian market in general there is an established engineering base and a range of companies with world leading technology being manufactured in a relatively low cost market (relative to UK or Germany). This is a good combination for companies that are focused on lucrative export markets.

The italian version on EONews 565-June 2013

Contenuti correlati

• 
  XP Power presenta convertitori DC-DC da 150W/200W

  I convertitori DC-DC della serie RDF di XP Power offrono potenze nominali di 150W e 200W e sfruttano un sistema di raffreddamento di tipo baseplate. Questi moduli sono caratterizzati da una tensione di ingresso particolarmente ampia (nominale...
• 
  XP Power inaugura lo SVIC a San Jose

  SVIC è l’acronimo di Silicon Valley Innovation Center, la nuova struttura inaugurata da XP Power a San Jose, in California. Gli 8.000 metri quadrati ospitano l’Headquarter in Nord America, ma anche le aree per ricerca e sviluppo,...
• 
  XP Power: convertitori DC-DC per usi medicali

  XP Power ha esteso la sua offerta di convertitori DC-DC ultracompatti con le nuove serie JMR03/10/20 da 3W, 10W e 20W, approvate per uso medicale. Questi dispositivi incapsulati forniscono infatti 2 x MOPP con una corrente di...
• 
  Alimentatori certificati OVC III da XP Power

  XP Power ha realizzato una nuova serie di alimentatori certificati OVC III (categoria di sovratensione III) con ingresso ultra-wide da 85-528 VAC per applicazioni di automazione industriale e apparecchiature in edifici commerciali e residenziali. La nuova serie...
• 
  Usare dispositivi GaN per ridurre le dimensioni degli alimentatori c.a./c.c. medicali esterni  

  Oltre a soddisfare i severi standard in vigore nel settore medicale, gli alimentatori c.a./c.c. di XP Power utilizzano dispositivi GaN che permettono di dimezzare le dimensioni rispetto ad analoghi prodotti basati sui classici dispositivi in silicio Leggi...
• 
  XP Power presenta nuovi alimentatori da 550W per applicazioni medicali e industriali

  La nuova serie di alimentatori AC-DC a basso profilo da 550W di XP Power comprende modelli approvati per l’utilizzo sia in applicazioni mediche che industriali. Questi alimentatori, utilizzabili con raffreddamento a convezione naturale, a conduzione o ad...
• 
  Progettazione di alimentatori per applicazioni medicali: cinque considerazioni chiave

  Con il continuo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie e apparecchiature a supporto dell’assistenza sanitaria, questo mercato in continua crescita necessita di soluzioni di alimentazione robuste e affidabili, destinate a un’area che è forse l’apice di ciò che può...
• 
  XP Power: alimentatori programmabili da 3 kW per applicazioni mediche e industriali

  XP Power ha annunciato la nuova serie di alimentatori programmabili da 3 kW 3HPF3K0 utilizzabile nel settore medico. Sono disponibili quattro varianti con uscite singole nominali da 24, 36, 48 e 60VDC. L’efficienza raggiunge il 93% e...
• 
  Gestione termica nei sistemi elettronici: le basi fondamentali

  In questo articolo vengono analizzate le potenziali fonti di calore all’interno di un’applicazione elettronica e illustrati vari metodi di gestione termica Leggi l’articolo completo su EO 514
• 
  Accordo di distribuzione strategico tra Avnet Abacus e XP Power

  Avnet Abacus ha annunciato una partnership strategica per i mercati EMEA con XP Power per le sue soluzioni adatte a diverse applicazioni medicali e industriali. I prodotti XP Power sono progettati e fabbricati per essere facilmente integrati...