West Michigan electronics makers find growth in IoT devices, autonomous vehicles
After years of leading the market for its signature technology, Fleetwood Electronics realized it let its position slip away.
For 20 years, the Holland-based manufacturer led its business with audience response systems (ARS) that used keypads and allowed users to communicate during presentations and meetings with instant polling or voting.
However, sales for its technology have declined in past years as smartphones encroached on the market, said Nick Hayhoe, the company’s vice president of sales and innovation.
“The truth about our business is it’s been a tough few years in our electronics division, mainly due to the decline in our ARS business, which used to be the majority of our sales,” Hayhoe said. “I think we weren’t able to keep up with the pace of innovation of other competitors. That’s where we changed our strategy on how we view our new product pipeline and business opportunities.”
Now, Fleetwood plans to take its technology and incorporate it into the growing market for connected devices, more commonly referred to as the internet of things (IoT). Fleetwood’s proprietary technology enables it to communicate over license-free Bluetooth or Wi-Fi channels with less power than standard systems, Hayhoe said.
“The biggest trend in the electronics industry is the internet of things,” Hayhoe said. “Any internet of things device realistically needs to be wireless, low-powered and networked. … It’s very common for people to go straight to bluetooth for internet of things devices, but we have ways of developing it that are superior technologically and from a power consumption standpoint.”
The company currently is developing both commercial and consumer products.
Fleetwood’s decision to innovate with IoT technology underscores a larger move by electronics manufacturers in West Michigan to stay ahead of constantly improving technological trends.
That’s true for EBW Electronics Inc. The Holland-based manufacturer plans to capitalize on technological advancements in its niche market of automotive lighting.
Since 2012, the printed circuit board manufacturer has nearly doubled its business, largely due to the proliferation of LED lighting systems in automobiles, said Pat LeBlanc, the chairman of EBW Electronics.
Moving ahead, the company plans to tap into opportunities created by autonomous vehicles, said Dennis Hawver, EBW’s director of engineering. Specifically, Hawver believes EBW can help address how fully autonomous vehicles communicate with pedestrians.
“If you pull up to an intersection with your Toyota Camry and there’s a person crossing the street, oftentimes the pedestrian will look at you and you will make some sort of subtle gesture to cross,” he said. “There’s a human-to-human gesture there.” West Michigan electronics makers find growth in IoT devices, autonomous vehicles