Tips & News - November 2014

communications

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How do you see the telecom industry changing in the next 2 years, and how does your company plan to stay ahead of the curve? In addition to the incoming customer information, we spend a significant amount of time reading industry trade publications, industry standard committee notes and talking with parallel industry suppliers about what’s next. My role at HPS is to eval- uate the data and manage new product development projects so that HPS will have products that are relevant keeping us ahead of the technology curve. Our internal product develop- ment and acquisition related activities are focused at helping HPS build our product portfolio so we can offer the market relevant products that are needed for building next generation networks. Where do the great ideas come from in your organization? Tell us about an innovative solution you and your company developed to solve a non-traditional problem. Our great ideas come from listening and communicating with customers. Our team is using an innovation strategy called Need-Seeker, which focuses development efforts on anticipat- ing future market needs through better understanding our customers’ applications, and the challenges they routinely encounter. A recent example is a customer who wanted a universal antenna bracket for small cell applications. Once they approached Hubbell with the need, we assembled a team, held regular calls, and conducted on site meetings with them for the purpose of mapping out which features were important for small cell applications. I spent time with the radio frequency engineers who really helped us better understand antenna placement. Our team collaborated with several antenna manufacturers and cable assembly suppliers, which led to designs with modularity and cable routing features to help the construction crews. All of the great ideas originated from communication with our customer and parallel suppliers for this small cell bracket project, which solved their problem and answered market needs.

What does it mean to be innovative?

It means finding a better way. Being innovative is in our DNA at Hubbell Power Systems. Our company founders were inventors like Harvey Hubbell, who invented the electrical plug and pull chain light socket and Albert Bishop Chance, who invented the first practical earth anchor that we still use today to secure poles. I am fortunate to work with a team that continues building on the legacy of developing innovative products to help our customers solve problems and improve their network installations. Our sales and engineering team listen to our customers and spend time learning about our customers’ applications. We share our ideas on possible solutions with our customers and make adjustments based on their feedback. Innovative ideas come frombeing collaborative and responsive to our customers and helping them find better solutions. As new product development opportunities come up, our sales team and I are listening our customers trying to deter- mine the scope of the project and what resources will be required for a successful outcome. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement during customer conversations with new opportunities so it is important for us to keep our emotions in check and stay focused on getting the relevant data to determine if the project is going to be viable. One given is there will always be a some level of uncertainty and risk for each project we take on. The key to making a good decision is to trust your intuition. You have to trust your training and past experiences to guide you and not allow fear of failure to drive your decision making. What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization? With network evolution technologies moving so quickly, how do you and your company plan to stay relevant? We are fortunate at HPS to have a skilled and experienced field sales team who does an outstanding job at position- ing themselves as the “go to guys” with our customers. The HPS sales team has created a situation where our customers are continually coming to us with new product develop oppor- tunities. My challenge is to identify the best fit opportunities that will bring the best results for our customers and help grow HPS’ market share.

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Talk about small cells and your company’s role in that area.

The US added 12 million new wireless subscribers in 2013 with the majority being non phone devices. Mobile data accounted for 4% of revenue for wireless carriers in 2004. In Q4 2013, mobile data accounted for 50% for the first time. Small cell growth is driven by consumers who are connecting more devices to their carrier’s networks while demanding faster data rates. HPS’ product focus for small cell is building antenna brackets. We believe there is tremendous upside for these product lines.

HUBBELL POWER SYSTEMS |

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