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No Goal

No Goal + No Direction = Where on Earth are We Going?

No Goal + No Direction = Where on Earth are We Going?  “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” ~ Yogi Berra - New York Yankees Hall of Fame Catcher Have you found throughout your career that there…

Case Study: Converting a Proprietary Process into an eCommerce Product Line

Converting a proprietary process into an eCommerce product line has certainly served as a game changer for Falconer Electronics.  As a custom manufacturer (aka Job Shop), life can be extremely challenging.  A custom manufacturer makes products…
Wire Harness Assembly

Wire Harness Terms: A Helpful List for New Buyers

A Helpful List of Wire Harness Terms  The list below includes a number of Wire Harness Terms and Definitions. Many of our customers are new to outsourcing their wire harness assemblies. Therefore, you will find these Wire Harness Terms helpful.…
Change

19 Tips for Curing "I Hate Change" (Plus a Healthy Dose of eCommerce)

"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." ~ W. Edwards Deming - 20th Century Global Quality Expert   That's a powerful quote and also a scary thought as well.  Do you hate change? On the other hand, maybe you…
insulation

Twentieth Century Wire Insulation: History of Wire Harness Assemblies

Twentieth Century Wire Insulation Wire Insulation drastically increased in popularity in the Twentieth Century. Especially when advancing technology became more accessible. The twentieth century saw the use of natural rubber compounds to…
Insulation

Nineteenth Century Wire Insulation: The Beginning of Wire Insulation

Nineteenth Century Wire Insulation The history of wire insulation starts in the nineteenth century. Insulators are in electrical equipment. Also, insulation helps support and separate electrical conductors. An insulating material that encases…

Top 13 Reasons Why Manufacturers Struggle with eCommerce

Why do some Manufacturers Struggle with eCommerce?  Struggle in the sense of wondering where to even start. Additionally, struggling with the question if eCommerce will actually provide a return for their business.  As the saying goes,…

Wire Harness Accuracy: Mechanical Integrity and Electrical Requirements

The team at Falconer Electronics has a keen eye for wire harness accuracy. This is due to our creation of literally millions of wire harness assemblies. Assembling of a wire harness needs to include complying with the manufacturer's requirements. These…

Crimping Tools: Wire Harness Manufacturing at Falconer Electronics

Crimping Tools When crimping wires and cables for our customers, utilizing heavy duty Crimping Tools allows our team to execute jobs with accuracy and efficiency. As a wire harness manufacturer, Crimping Tools play a key role to long term…

The SBDC Recognizes Falconer Electronics

Our team is completely honored to be recognized by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at JCC.    We extend a huge thank you for all of their help!      SBDC Success Story: Falconer Electronics   September…

The Cons of Doing Business with Foreign Countries

An American business purchasing products from foreign countries certainly creates many challenges. When working with a foreign company there can be some difficulty with achieving a positive final outcome. A few issues that can arise include: Misunderstandings…
onshoring custom manufacturing

Onshoring Custom Manufacturing in the U.S. is on the Rise

Falconer Electronics Inc. is seeing a strong upward trend in onshoring custom manufacturing. As a United States based contract manufacturer for over 30 years, we have witnessed many ups and downs in manufacturing. Recently, it seems like…

Offshoring: How it Affects Our Country’s Economy

Offshoring occurs when a company chooses to have their production outsourced to a country outside the United States. This is due to the hope that their labor costs will be lower. However, there's something these companies don’t realize. Their…

Crimping Wires: The Do's & Don'ts with Wire Harness Manufacturing

Crimping wires is a core function for all Wire Harness Manufacturers. Consequently, at Falconer Electronics we like to say that crimping wires with strict accuracy and precision is an art form.  Developing a highly skilled staff takes years. It…

Wire Harness Assembly Standards

Following IPC Wire Harness Assembly Standards offers tremendous benefits for Wire Harness Manufacturers.  The Wire Harness Manufacturer's Association and the IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries) combined forces to create the…

Partnering with Electrical Engineer Steve French at Volt Vision

Volt Vision President Steve French has been designing electronics for over 25 years. Along with his vast experience and expertise, Steve also brings a deep passion for electronics with every project. According to the Volt Vision website: "Volt…

Creating Proprietary Product Line at a Custom Manufacturer

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As we continue our blog series on New Product Development, this post covers creating a proprietary product line. In particular, creating a proprietary product line from the perspective of a custom manufacturer. Our team at Falconer Electronics…

Accidental Manufacturers: Our Favorite Movie Heroes Who Weren't Heroes

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As we continue our blog series on American Manufacturers in the Movies, today we take a look at movie characters who became "Accidental Manufacturers". What do we mean by "Accidental Manufacturers"? Those who stumbled into manufacturing by…
Real-Life Manufacturers

Real-Life Manufacturers in the Movies: Our Favorites Who Made an Impact

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Last week we kicked off our blog series on American Manufacturers in the Movies. We started our series by identifying movies featuring Millionaire Manufacturers (who are most likely billionaire manufacturers by now). These fictional characters…
Lovable Millionaire Manufacturers

Millionaire Manufacturers in the Movies: Our Favorite Lovable Movie Millionaires

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Ever take note of the number of movies with characters in American Manufacturing? In particular, highly successful entrepreneurs. There are lots! Due to this interesting observation, we have compiled our favorite movies that include America…

The Ground Strap QuoteBuilder = Fast & Easy 

Welcome to the Ground Strap QuoteBuilder Looking for a Custom Ground Strap? In particular, a ground strap manufactured in the U.S.A. Well, look no further. You have landed at the right place. Falconer Electronics proudly announces the brand…

Digi-Key Answers the Call Each and Every Time

Digi-Key serves as a remarkable resource for our company as well as our customers. Simply put, they rock! When you encounter tight customer deadlines and narrow windows to complete a project, vendor reliability is critical. Relying on trustworthy…
8 Outlet Commercial Power Strip

Helpful Tips for New Product Development

Developing a new product brings a wide range of emotions such as excitement, frustration, encouragement, depression, and exhilaration (not necessarily in that order). The bottom line: Developing a new product brings hope. Hope that the product…
Edis

Studying Entrepreneurial Success: The Edison Papers at Rutgers University

Are you deeply passionate about electronics? Do you love history as well? If so, you need to check out the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University (click here). The Edison Papers at Rutgers University serves as an extremely ambitious…

Interview with Professor Thomas Jeffrey of Rutgers University on Thomas & Mina Edison

Several months ago we decided to blog about the greatest inventor and entrepreneur in electronics, Thomas Edison. At that time, little did we know where this path would lead us. As a result, we were blessed to interview Professor Thomas Jeffrey, Senior…

American Made: Understanding "All or Virtually All"

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Many small manufacturers in the U.S. struggle to determine if the product that they assemble, manufacture or produce truly qualifies for the labels "Made in USA" or "American Made". Complying with American Made Standards The world is shrinking…

Summertime Gadgets to Get You Through Any Heatwave

Everyone knows that summertime means outdoor activities. Also, it means trying to stay cool indoors. Summertime Gadgets are a must to get through the hot days and nights. Below we have compiled a list of electronic gadgets that are must haves for…

Thomas Edison Quotes: Falconer Electronics Inc. Favorites

Why Thomas Edison Quotes The Thomas Edison Legacy stands as not only one of the greatest inventors in history but also a brilliant entrepreneur. As such there are so many Thomas Edison quotes that still apply to today's society. Being an…

Happy 153rd Birthday Mina Miller Edison: July 6, 1865

On this day, 153 years ago, July 6, 1865, an amazing woman was born: Mina Miller Edison. Mina was a positive force which she demonstrated with her many incredible achievements. Especially as the wife of Thomas Edison, a wonderful mother and…

Facts You May Not Know About the Thomas Edison Family

The Thomas Edison Family name is well known. Everyone that has ever learned about electricity knows of Thomas Edison. However, how much does anyone really know about the entire Edison family? The facts below can bring the entire Edison family…
t.e. voting machine

Inventions of Thomas Edison: Successes and Failures

Thomas Edison's Successful Inventions In the Beginning Thomas Edison had many inventions. However, in 1868, at the age of 22, Thomas Edison invented an "electrical vote recorder". This was Edison's first patent. This recorder was a very simple…

Utilizing LinkedIn for Small Manufacturers

Fortune.com recently announced that LinkedIn has now grown to 500 million users in over 200 countries. Estimates also show that 227 million LinkedIn users are active on a monthly basis. As the largest professional social network, are you…
EEVBlog

The EEVBlog: "No Script, No Fear and All Opinion"

Do you love electronics as much as we do? Do you also have a wicked sense of humor? Enjoy watching awesome videos on electronics as well? In particular, videos delivered with a contagious enthusiasm? Well we have the answer for you. Due to popular…
Brian Dean

Struggling with SEO? Check Out Brian Dean at Backlinko

Struggling with Internet Marketing and SEO? Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Do you find link building daunting? Well help is just a click away. Check out Brian Dean at Backlinko.com. Brian Dean is a MUST read for all small business owners. Especially…
e-commerce

E-commerce for Manufacturers

As an electronics custom manufacturer for over 30 years, we have watched many trends come and go. This week we discussed the continued steady growth with B2B E-commerce. Of course, this trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. So…
B2B Ecommerce

Small Manufacturers Embracing B2B Ecommerce

B2B Ecommerce is an explosive growth market showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. This is exciting on two fronts. Not only for the tremendous growth opportunities for B2B companies but also the sheer size of the market. Forrester predicts…
Problogger

The ProBlogger - From Down Under - Will Help Take You to the Top

In 2008, when blogging was still relatively new, I purchased a book (pic below) about blogging. In attempt to figure out how to approach this new fad at the time. The title of the book, "ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure…
Bald Engineer

James Lewis: The Bald Engineer Delivers Electrifying Information

As electronics geeks, we thoroughly enjoy following James Lewis (aka: the Bald Engineer). James delivers outstanding  information, tips and product reviews on his electronics blog. If you are an electronics junkie like us, you will find his…
glowing keyboard

WordPress Blogging Guide for Manufacturers: Getting Green in Readability and SEO

The History of Blogging The internet has been around since the 80's. However, blogging was first established in the mid 90's. The term "blog" wasn't recognized back then. Due to this, the first "blog" was a personal homepage of a college…
Neil Patel

Need Help With Internet Marketing? Follow Marketing Guru Neil Patel

If you are new to Internet Marketing and Social Media for your business, you must follow marketing guru Neil Patel. Additionally, even if you are a seasoned veteran with online marketing strategies, you should still follow Neil Patel as well. You…
Man surfing social media

Social Media Marketing For Manufacturers

Why use social media you may ask? In particular, our friends in manufacturing. There are many ways to utilize social media websites for your business. They are free to use and can be a great marketing tool to get your information out. The content…
Inbound marketing

protocol 80 + Inbound Marketing = Hitting Goals

Inbound Marketing with protocol 80 Falconer Electronics had the privilege of working with protocol 80 this past year. This program was made possible through a partnered effort with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Jamestown…
UL Standards

UL Listings at Falconer Electronics

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As we continue our series on New Product Development, a key component with the process includes obtaining certification at UL Standards. In the last post we discussed "The Importance of UL, CSA, and ETL Safety Certifications". Earning UL listings…
Prototype

Start With a Working Prototype for Your New Product

Prototype! A well working Prototype! To continue our series on New Product Development by building "Building a Better Mousetrap", let's explore creating a prototype. When starting out with a brand new product, perfecting a working model…

Are You Designing a New Product in Electronics? You Need Predictable Designs

John Teel at Predictable Designs WOW! After reading several fantastic blog posts from John Teel at Predictable Designs, we decided to share this extremely valuable information. Especially for the individual or company that is plunging…
Electrical Engineer

How to Find an Electrical Engineer

Searching for an Electrical Engineer  Last week we discussed "Building the Better Mouse Trap". So let's just say that you have a brilliant new product in mind. A solution that customers will love! It's now time to move forward with your…
Wire Harness Manufacturing

 Wire Harness Manufacturing Terms, Tools, and Tips of the Trade

Wire Harness Manufacturing is our foundation. It's in our blood. Dating all the way back to 1985. The Team at Falconer Electronics Inc. (FEI) takes tremendous pride in manufacturing amazing products for our customers. In addition, as a Custom…

"If You Build a Better Mousetrap, the World Will Beat a Path to Your Door"

Building a Better Mousetrap That is Profitable  "If You Build a Better Mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with that famous line from the nineteenth century. However,…
Ribbon Cables

Ribbon Cables and Where You Can Find Them Being Used

What are Ribbon Cables Ribbon Cables consist of multiple wires attached to each other in the form of a flexible ribbon. Due to their flexibility Ribbon Cables have many different functions. Also, they are a vital part of multiple electronics. …

Light Switch Manufacturing: Soldering & Assembly

Custom Light Switch Manufacturing  Companies of Light Switch Manufacturing and Lighting Control seek our expertise in soldering. Falconer Electronics can provide either a complete turnkey comprehensive solution as well as a customized plan…