For Salcomp, one of its most important success factors are its expertise and vast experience in demanding product development projects carried out in cooperation with the customers. Salcomp’s R&D focuses primarily on serving customers’ needs by seeking new, more cost-effective solutions for the current charger technology. At the same time, Salcomp’s R&D looks to find alternative solutions and develop the power supplies of the future, even though they do not at present have considerable significance. The company’s pioneering strategy also involves close cooperation with many research and educational institutions.
Salcomp’s main customers usually require highly tailored products to meet their own special equirements. The specifications of a new charger are usually developed in cooperation with a single charger manufacturer, after which this manufacturer is the first to start mass deliveries. The specifications of a new charger will also be submitted to the competitors of the supplier responsible for the design, and they will aim to develop their own solutions to produce a charger with the required specifications. This will ensure that each new charger will be produced by more than one supplier who will be competing mainly on the basis of quality, delivery assurance and pricing. As normal procedure, mobile phone manufacturers aim to spread the manufacture of the specific chargers they require between a few suppliers to whom the delivery orders are allocated.
Salcomp’s R&D activities are based on meeting all customer requirements and authority regulations pertaining to product safety and the environment. Salcomp’s chargers have the right to use the international ENERGY STAR energy-efficiency labeling, and Salcomp is also committed to the European CoC Energy-Efficiency Standard.
Focus in 2009
The requirements on chargers’ energy-efficiency and new stand-by recommendations remain challenges also in 2009. Customers are preparing to introduce so-called 5-star chargers with less than 30 mW of stand-by power, while most of the current products feature stand-by powers in the range of 150–300 mW. This creates challenges for product development; new, innovative and cost-efficient solutions and technologies will be needed for developing chargers with low stand-by power.
In addition to energy-efficiency, customers are also interested in making chargers smaller and more efficient, because mobile phones with an increasing range of functions consume more power and, consequently, call for more efficient, faster chargers.