Pickering Electronics, a UK designer and manufacturer of Reed Relays, has announced they are now a member of the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA), the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors.

Since 1968, Pickering Electronics have been manufacturing high quality Reed Relays for Instrumentation and Automatic Test Equipment (ATE), High voltage switching, Low thermal EMF, Direct drive from CMOS, RF switching and other specialist applications.

Pickering Electronics has developed a solid customer base in a wide range of industries/applications, including their sister company; Pickering Interfaces; designers and manufacturers of modular PXI/PCI/LXI Switching Systems. Pickering Interfaces are a large Reed Relay customer who work very closely with Pickering Electronics on leading edge Reed Relay designs, reliability testing, life testing, production engineering, amongst other things. This close relationship greatly benefits both companies and gives Pickering Electronics a strong insight into demanding functional test Reed Relay applications.

Consecutive years of double-digital growth in sales, and recent investments to expand the capacity of the organisation, have led Pickering Electronics to update their strategy in the USA, to begin establishing strategic partnerships with representatives and distributors that are focused on the electronic components/test and measurement market.

Pickering Electronics, a manufacturer of high-quality reed relays, has announced that this year marks 50 years in business.

Pickering Electronics was founded in 1968 by the late John Moore. Five decades later its future is looking bright, with sales in 2017 up by 30% on the previous year.

“Fifty years of designing, manufacturing and distributing reed relays means that we have a very good understanding of the product we are selling and consider ourselves to be the leaders in reed relay technology,” said Graham Dale, technical director at Pickering Electronics.

“Since 1968, we have gradually evolved our reed relays from very large, relatively crude parts to the small, ultrareliable parts we have today. Production methods and quality systems have improved a great deal over that time, and costs have been radically reduced.

“When I started designing reed relays in the late 1970s some were saying that these electromechanical devices would have a limited lifetime. Instead, the market for high-quality reed relays has increased into areas that were inconceivable in those days.”

In 1983 Pickering Electronics established SoftCenter technology and former-less coil construction, setting it apart from other reed relay manufacturers. SoftCenter protects the sensitive glass/metal seal of the reed switch capsule, thereby increasing contact resistance stability and improving the life expectation of the relay. Former-less coil construction maximises magnetic drive and increases packing density.

Pickering has now become renowned for designing reed relays for high-density applications. Just last year the company released what is claimed to be the world’s smallest footprint reed relay — the Series 120 4 mm² — switching up to 1 A while stacking on a 4 x 4 mm pitch.

The Pickering Group now comprises two privately owned companies: Pickering Electronics, a specialist in reed relay design and manufacture, and Pickering Interfaces, which since 1988 has been designing and manufacturing modular signal switching and simulation for switching systems. The group employs over 380 people worldwide, with manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic along with additional representation in countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia.

To celebrate 50 years in business, Pickering Electronics has various celebrations planned, including a book about the company’s first 50 years. The book features various milestones in Pickering Electronics’ history, along with stories, quotes and personal photographs from its founder, directors and employees. The book is available to download from the company website here>>.

You can view the original article here>>.

Pickering Electronics, an innovator and manufacturer of high-quality Reed Relays, plan to showcase the world’s highest density Reed Relay at Semicon Korea 2018, on booth A611.

Pickering’s new Series 120 4mm^{2 TM} reed relay range (Figure 1) has attracted a lot of interest since being released in 2017 at Semicon West in San Francisco. The relays require a board area of only 4mm x 4mm, making it the highest packing density currently available, taking up the smallest board area ever.

Two switch types will be available, a general purpose sputtered ruthenium switch rated at 15 Watts, 1 Amp (3 Volt version) or 20 Watts, 1 Amp (5 & 12 Volt versions) and a low level sputtered ruthenium switch rated at 10 Watts, 0.5 Amps.

These are the same reed switches as used in many other long-established Pickering Electronics ranges but are orientated vertically within the package, allowing this very high density. The small size of the package does not allow an internal diode. Back EMF suppression diodes are included in many relay drivers but if they are not, and depending on your drive methods, these may have to be provided externally.

Figure 2: A total of 528 Series 120 relays on Pickering Interfaces ultra-high-density PXI module illustrates the packing density of these extremely small Reed Relays.

The relays feature an internal mu-metal magnetic screen. Mu-metal has the advantage of a high permeability and low magnetic remanence and eliminates problems that would otherwise occur due to magnetic interaction. Relays of this small size without magnetic screening would be totally unsuitable for applications where dense packing is required.

To learn more about this industry changing Reed Relay visit Pickering Electronics in booth A611 at Semicon Korea, January 31 – February 2, 2018.

You can view the original article here.

Pickering Electronics, a local electronics company manufacturing high-tech electronic relays, has announced that it has been in business for an impressive 50 years and is still going strong, with sales in 2017 up by 30% on the previous year.

Founded in 1968 by the late John Moore, the future of the business Mr Moore built is bright, with the company now continuing to be overseen by Keith, John Moore’s son. Keith commented: “Pickering has grown and prospered a great deal in the past few years, we are investing heavily here in Clacton to further build on the past 50 years of success that my father, John Moore, created from scratch”.

The Pickering Group now employs just under 200 people locally, with a further 180+ globally, with manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic, along with additional representation in countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia.

As the company has grown in revenue over the years, they have been keen to give back to the local community. Pickering annually donates to St. Helena’s Hospice Tendring Centre and Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Sarah Green, Director of Income & Communications at St. Helena Hospice Tendring Centre, said: “The ongoing support of Pickering Electronics at the Tendring Centre now totals £70,000 which has allowed us to directly impact care for many patients.”

Having just enjoyed a record year in 2017, the company will continue to give to local charities, who they strongly believe are vital to the community.

The company’s success is due to its unique ability to design high quality components, a strong vision from their founder, the speed in which they get innovative designs to market, a good relationship with their suppliers and commitment from their much-valued staff.

Graham Dale, Technical Director at Pickering Electronics, commented, “Pickering was based in Colchester for 5 years, before relocating to Clacton-on-Sea, where we have been based for the past 45 years. In that time, the company has seen many hundreds of local people pass through our doors, some staying with the company for 20, 30, or even 40 years. We have a very high regard for all our staff, considering them to be our most valuable asset. We would like to thank them all for their continued support.”

To celebrate 50 years in business the company have various celebrations planned, including a party for all their staff, as well as publishing a book about the company’s first 50 years. The book features various milestones in Pickering’s history, along with stories, quotes and personal photographs from their founder, directors and employees. The book will be available to download from the Pickering Electronics’ website from the beginning of February.

You can view the original article here.