Würth Elektronik CTO at the DLD Conference in Singapore

Design competence for innovation

Waldenburg (Germany) – The Digital-Life-Design (DLD) Conference was once again held in the Asian metropolis of Singapore on October 22, 2019. On stage, Alexander Gerfer discussed with digital marketing researcher Joe Nguyen why companies have to reconsider their ideas about creativity.

Alexander Gerfer, CTO of one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of passive components, referred to the major importance of hardware partners for young, innovative digital companies. For them to be successful, it is crucial to have a partner that can advise them about the most suitable components and how best to use them – a partner that is also prepared to deliver these components in small quantities to developers. “The end customer doesn’t see us. But we are an important partner for developers and in the design process. It is especially the biggest ideas that need someone to take care of the details,” said Alexander Gerfer, getting to the heart of Würth Elektronik’s commitment, its intensive customer service, and its design support.

Würth Elektronik also researches and is a developer itself so that it can support the innovative concepts of its customers. In Singapore, Alexander Gerfer mentioned some examples of ongoing projects, such as the cooperation with the University of Munich in the area of LEDs for vertical farming, smart textiles, and the company’s involvement in Formula E. Only because we are close to our customers, we are able to understand their challenges and find solutions.

The company’s cooperation with GlobalFoundries in Singapore shows just what can emerge from creative ideas that aim to resolve customers’ pressing needs.

Jin Siew Lim, Head of Business Development at GlobalFoundries, revealed how the closeness to developers, customers, and market developments that his company gains from Würth Elektronik has given it a significant competitive advantage. In a joint project, the two partners developed miniaturized Power Supply in Package and Power Supply on Chip solutions. The target markets for these highly integrated components are mobile measuring devices in medicine and other industries. As highly integrated subsystems, they help reduce the number of components on PCBs and speed up design processes.