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• 2017 WHMA Conference
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January
February
2017
37 Years of Marine Wiring
Proficiency at Pacer
By Joe Tito
Wiring Harness News
_____________________________
I
f you’ve ever traveled to Flor-
ida’s beautiful west coast, it
would be no surprise that it is
home to Pacer Group, a major supplier
to the marine electrical industry. Pacer
is uniquely positioned having integrat-
ed three major industrial components
into their business. At the heart is the
42,000 sq ft marine wire manufactur-
ing facility at their group headquarters
in Sarasota. Just east of there, in the
town of Wauchula, Pacer has a similar
facility where they manufacture electri-
cal panels and wiring harnesses. Pacer
maintains a 14,000 sq ft state of the art
marine electrical component distribu-
tion center in Hollywood.
I recently chatted with John Swait-
owski, President of Pacer Group, about
the company and their unique position.
“My father was in the wire and cable
business up north, and started the busi-
ness in Ft. Lauderdale in 1979,” John
began. It was a wire distribution busi-
ness at the time, and as John’s father
quickly grew the business, they began
to extrude and manufacture their own
cable. “There was a lot of marine repair
going on there, and it was a great busi-
ness to be in.”
The business continued to grow over
the years, even through the tumultuous
economic cycles that seem to dispro-
portionately affect the marine indus-
try. “The recession of the 1990’s was
actually beneficial for us because, as a
smaller manufacturer, we became more
accessible to the industry than some of
the large wire manufacturers. The ma-
rine OEM demand was reduced to a
point where a more agile supplier was
required,” John explained. Pacer out-
maneuvered the larger firms, with their
big overheads, and began to fill what
Pacer Group headquarters in Sarasota, FL
would have typically been a distribu-
tion role.
In 1996, Pacer was approached by
some of their marine OEM wire cus-
tomers about making assemblies and
harnesses. “At the same time, we saw
that our wire volume was somewhat
jeopardized as some of our other OEM
customers began outsourcing to assem-
bly contractors.” There was no guar-
antee that the raw wire business would
come back to Pacer in this changing en-
vironment, so they decided to venture
into the harness assembly realm. “We
have grown substantially, and have cap-
tured a good portion of that market, and
virtually 100 percent of our customers
are OEMs,” he advised.
Pacer has added a lot capabilities
to its arsenal through this growth. “We
don’t just manufacture wire harnesses;
we make a lot of electrical panels, and
we actually outfit the entire electrical
system of the boat,” John said. This lev-
el of integration means that Pacer has
positioned itself as a wiring system pro-
duction house for the marine industry.
“We’re not a job shop. Our capabilities
include hydragraphics, powder coating,
painting, and we have all the systems
to give a pleasing look to an electrical
panel for a boat.”
Pacer engineers work directly with
OEMs, and under recommendations
published by the American Boat and
Yacht Counsel, produce the harness
assembly, battery cable assembly, and
panel assembly to completely outfit an
electrical system. “Just imagine a 28 ft.
Pursuit, and look at all the electrical as-
pects of that boat; our products are in
the entire electrical system.”
The marine OEM industry is vastly
different from other industries in terms
_____________ Continued on page 23
The 2017 WHMA Conference
Poised to be Another Winner
By Joe Tito
Wiring Harness News
_____________________________
F
ew investments beat those
which enrich us personally
and professionally. A few
years ago, WHMA embarked on a jour-
ney to vastly upgrade the offering at
their annual conferences. WHMA con-
ferences of recent years have been un-
paralleled opportunities to learn, grow,
share, and discover new approaches to
many aspects of the wire harness busi-
ness. The WHMA Conference Com-
mittee has chosen excellent motiva-
tional speakers, as well as personal and
professional enrichment presentations,
that are still yielding results. I recently
spoke with Jim Manke, Executive Di-
rector of WHMA. It’s clear the 2017
Conference, scheduled for February 27
- March 2, in San Antonio, Texas, will
be another stellar event.
One of the departures from tradition
this year is the location. “We kind of
got stuck in that Orlando, Vegas, Ari-
Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, TX
zona rotation,” Jim said, “so this will
be a new venue and we’re excited about
San Antonio and all that it has to offer.”
The event will be held at the San Anto-
nio Marriott Rivercenter. “You literally
step outside the hotel, and you are on
River Walk, with its renowned specialty
bars, restaurants, and unique shops,” he
noted.
The next thing the Committee tack-
led was who to have as a guest speak-
er. After reviewing many options, the
group picked pro football’s legendary
Joe Theismann. Mr. Theismann is an
entrepreneur and the former star quar-
terback for the Washington Redskins.
He has spent the last two decades work-
ing on NFL broadcasts for ESPN and
the NFL Network. His keynote talk is
titled, “Game Plan for Success,” and is
sure to be a hit. “It’s certainly a recog-
nizable name,” Jim explained,” not only
_____________ Continued on page 19