Company History
- 1960:
-
Multi-Contact Neidecker Co. was established as a result of the
pioneering spirit and initiative of its founder Rudolf Neidecker.
- 1962:
-
Multi-Contact was transformed into a company limited by shares. At that time it employed a staff
of ten in the three-country corner of Switzerland, Germany and France. The company devoted itself
solely to the production and marketing of high-quality products.
- 1964:
-
After the blade spring plug, the spring-wire-bundle plug, and the spring-wire plug followed the
hollow plug, which was female and male in one and can be plugged
consecutively with a very low contact resistance.
- 1968:
-
With the introduction of the Multilam Technology,
sales of our products experienced an explosive development. The big switchgear manufacturers such as
BBC, Siemens,
AEG and Toshiba showed a strong
interest in the new technology. As a result a whole range of products for contact systems was developed
which now enjoys an international reputation for dependability.
- 1978:
-
Multi-Contact France was founded on May 16, 1978 in Saint-Louis, France.
The aim of establishing this company was to concentrate the group's activities within a radius of 10
km while still taking account of the special conditions prevailing
in the different countries.
- 1979:
-
On November 9, 1979 Multi-Contact Deutschland
GmbH was born in
Weil am Rhein, Germany. This demonstrated the importance that the German market had acquired for the
Multi-Contact Group. With local technical, design and production departments the rapid development of
Germany's market potential was made possible.
- 1980:
-
Multi-Contact's premises at the Sommergasse in Basel were becoming too small for our growing company. As a
consequence Multi-Contact moved to the Fabrikstrasse in Allschwil and finally to its present
location in the Stockbrunnenrain. The move from the Fabrikstrasse
to the industrial zone of Allschwil opened up many new possibilities, and Multi-Contact now occupies a total
of five buildings in Allschwil.
- 1981:
-
On 4 January 1981 Mr. Fred Binggeli went to Asia to establish a foothold for Multi-Contact in that part
of the world. Multi-Contact (South East Asia)
Pte. Ltd. Singapore was established. From this base
the whole of the East Asian market (excluding Japan) is being covered today.
- 1982:
-
After our products had for some years been marketed by the firm of Multilam, we decided to
establish our own marketing company in the United States. Multi-Contact incorporated on
June 18, 1982 and we opened our first sales office in the town of Petaluma, Sonoma County.
- 1986:
-
Multi-Contact USA moved
north to Santa Rosa.
- 1988:
-
In spring of 1988 Multi-Contact UK
Ltd. was founded in London. This substantially
strengthened our position in the British market. With their solid foundation of know-how, our British
sales engineers are able to give customers competent advice and develop application-oriented solutions
on the spot.
- 1989:
-
As a result of its successful development and rapid growth, the French
subsidiary relocated to a new building which was erected in the industrial zone of Hésingue (France).
- 1990:
-
Multi-Contact USA opens its second sales
office in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1991:
-
Multi-Contact Italia was founded in Grandate (Italy) in January of 1991.
Our long-serving employees Franco and Nadia Delvecchio were entrusted with building up this Multi-Contact
subsidiary to gain better access to the Italian market.
Multi-Contact USA moves to its
present location at 5560 Skylane Blvd. in Santa Rosa, California.
- 1992:
-
Multi-Contact GmbH Austria
was established in March and is now responsible for marketing Multi-Contact products throughout Austria.
Multi-Contact USA opens its third sales office
in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1993:
-
Since March 1993 Multi-Contact Benelux N.V./S.A.
has been responsible for customer care in the Benelux countries. Its office is strategically
positioned in Belgium, with good transport connections to the Netherlands.
The quality of Multi-Contact plug connectors and Multi-Contact contact elements has always been
very high. It was therefore only a matter of time before the Multi-Contact production facilities
received ISO certification.
Multi-Contact USA opens its forth sales office in Texas.
- 1994:
-
On October 20, 1994 Multi-Contact decided to incorporate the firm of HCK
(Heinrich C. Kosmeier) located in Essen Germany into the Multi-Contact group. HCK is an important
supplier of test and measuring accessories, as a result of which there were synergies between the
two companies. The amalgamation resulted in a strengthening of our market position which is ultimately
of benefit to our customers.
Founding of the Multi-Contact Holding Deutschland
GmbH.
Multi-Contact USA opens its fifth sales office
in New Hampshire.
- 1996:
-
The many partnerships and companies made it necessary to set up a holding company. In this way a
organizational structure was created which enabled the administrative and strategic positioning of
the whole group, the creation of a corporate identity and the strengthening the feeling of team spirit.
Multi-Contact USA opens its sixth sales office
in Florida and the seventh in Pennsylvania.
- 1997:
-
As a modern company we naturally have to keep abreast of all new developments in the fields
of hardware and software. In order not to be left behind by the speeding
IT train, we have set up an Internet server of our own.
Multi-Contact USA opens its eighth sales office
in Scotts Valley, California.
- 1998:
-
Multi-Contact USA opens its ninth sales office in Michigan.
- 2000:
-
Multi-Contact USA opens its tenth sales office
in Southern California.
- 2001:
-
Multi-Contact USA opens its eleventh sales office
in British Columbia, Canada.
Multi-Contact USA's photovoltaic array goes online.
- 2002:
-
In September 2002 the Multi-Contact Group specializing in high-quality electrical plug connectors was
acquired by the Stäubli Group. A union has thus taken place
between two groups that have many features in common and know-how. This will allow synergies to develop
and enable us still better to meet the needs and expectations of the market by providing complete plug
connection solutions for all fields of application.
- 2003:
-
For more than 15 years we have been successfully represented in the Spanish market by the firm of
Circutor. In view of the steady increase in demand and excellent results, we have decided to set up
a company of our own. The grand opening was on 1 September 2003.
- 2004:
-
Multi-Contact Benelux and Stäubli
joined their offices under a single roof. This further strengthens our customer support and facilitates
our efforts to create synergies in the fields of fluid, gas and electrical plug connectors.
- 2005:
-
2005 saw increased sales with innovative products rewarding us with its most successful in our history
to date. Particularly in our relatively young product areas of photovoltaic
and medical industry connectors, we experienced an enormous demand
for our products.
Multi-Contact Switzerland has created an online e-catalog which always provides access to up-to-date
product information. Another path breaking development is the CombiTac
Configurator. This tool simplifies the complex configuration of modular plug connectors.
Multi-Contact has benefited from the experience of the Stäubli group in China and has decided also to
invest in this expanding market by opening Multi-Contact China.
- 2006:
-
The Multi-Contact Group declares all its products RoHS conform.
Multi-Contact Czech Republic opens as a separate branch office
in Pardubice (CZ) to further enhance our market presence in Eastern Europe.
Long-standing Multi-Contact CEO, Dr. Peter Duss, has announced plans to stand down from the operative business
and switch his focus to the strategic development of the MC group. His 27 years at MC have been shaped by
continuous growth and financial success. As of January 1 2006, Peter Duss will be succeeded by Rainer Isenrich,
who will assume management responsibilities for the successful MC group and its 600 highly motivated employees.
To date, Isenrich’s career highlights feature a degree in Electrical Engineering, a Master of Science in Management
and management positions in different international companies. As a consequence, the new CEO looks set to continue
the MC success story.
The Multi-Contact headquarters in Allschwil was extended with the erection of a large new building. This houses,
among other things, a modern storage rack system which enables orders to be picked quickly and safely, thus
minimizing response and storage times and streamlining the production process considerably.