InfoPower

At 7 a.m., Jess, an Interpower Level 2 molder, prepares the ENGEL injection molding machine to mold Continental European (CEE) Cord sets. The CEE plugs will be molded onto 1 mm² international cable, and Jess checks to make sure the 100-lb. CEE mold and proper steel inserts are in place. An additional team member verifies that the correct mold inserts are in place.

In postwar Japan, Taiichi Ohno was tasked with rebuilding the Japanese car market from scratch. Known as the father of the Japanese Toyota Production System (TPS), Ohno inherited limited raw materials in a fledgling automotive market—the behemoth Fordesque assembly lines employed in the U.S. were too sprawling for Japan’s compact approach.

Passports to Global Markets Designing an accessory power system using IEC 60320 components eliminates the need for end users worldwide to reconfigure cords once they arrive. By creating a common interface, IEC 60320 products create a common connector interface making it possible for entire designs to be built around them. Like having a passport at the ready for traveling abroad, IEC 60320 products complement any country-specific plug if the opposite end of the cord is terminated with an IEC connector to plug into an accessory power strip or a power distribution unit. It also allows the option of not having to warehouse country-specific plugs.

Fairly or unfairly, many movies set in Mexico, or partly in Mexico, often feature banditry or other cartel unpleasantries which, of course, could be said of any other country in the world. Yet lately, Mexico has experienced a surge of crime directly affecting a major segment of their supply chain—ground transportation, or more precisely, the over-the-road trucking industry. While the U.S. has its own cargo theft issues (240 cargo thefts in the first six months of 2023) with the most pilfered states being California, Texas, and Georgia respectively ($360,000 per heist), Mexico’s cargo thefts are off the charts.

Universal Jumper Cord Set/Appliance Couplers Q: Our company spec sheet shows the cable we’ve been using is rated at 10A. However, the cable we received is rated “12A.” If the cable is rated at 10A, and one of the two connectors is rated at 10A but the other connector is rated at 12A, we don’t want people thinking it’s ok to run 11A of current through a 10A cable. The temperature rating is also different. Could you clarify these differences?