INDUSTRIAL INFO-TAINMENT
• Onanon
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: • Feeding the Wolves
e
h
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T su re • Definition of a Good Buyer
Is tu • Wire Wisdom - CSA Flame Tests
a • Connectivity of Plant Floor Equipment
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F • Yazaki Rethinks Wiring for Autonomous Age
• 16th Annual Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo
Wiring Harness News NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 1
MARCH
APRIL
2016
Onanon
OEM innovator, designer and manufacturer of
connectors and cable assemblies
By Fred Noer
_________________________________
igh tech. Those two words
inevitably come to mind
when anyone mentions Sili-
con Valley in California.
With Onanon located in Milpitas, a
city of 70,000 people 45 miles south of
San Francisco in the northeastern part
of Silicon Valley, the same words
describe the company. It specializes in
designing and manufacturing a wide
assortment of cable assemblies and con-
nectors using high-tech processes and
equipment.
The extent of Onanon technology is
evident in the production department
that has $12 million worth of equip-
ment. If it were run at maximum capaci-
ty, 10 million pieces could be produced
in a day. Average production is 10 million
parts per month.
Another $200,000 in equipment is in
the engineering department. According
H
to Dennis Johnson, 48, president and
CEO, it has more equipment than the
mechanical engineering laboratory at
Harvard University.
The annual capital equipment budget
at Onanon is between $600,000 and
$750,000, Johnson stated. Expenditures
are made not only for production equip-
ment but for machines to build equip-
ment if none is available commercially.
Such investment serves one overarch-
ing purpose – provide exceptional value
for the 240 active Onanon customers.
“We always go above and beyond the
call of duty,” Johnson said. “When serving
our customers, we do more and give
them more than they paid for. It’s all
about value.
“We differentiate ourselves by look-
ing deeper into our customers’ needs,”
Johnson said. “We don’t just take a cus-
tomer’s spec and build it. We look at
their application and take extra steps to
make it better and more reliable with-
out adding cost. We can do an applica-
16th Annual Electrical Wire
Processing Technology Expo
ave the date for the 16th Annual
Electrical Wire Processing Tech-
nology Expo, to be held on
Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May
12, 2016 at the Wisconsin Center in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin. This Expo is tailored
specifically for those in the electrical
wire and cable manufacturing indus-
tries, processing industries and especial-
ly wire harness services.
Expo attendees will see the latest
S
Onanon employee at a cable force testing station.
tion-specific design very fast.”
Augmenting this approach are con-
cepts embraced by Johnson in the book
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and
Renée Mauborgne. He also is influenced
by Napoleon Hill’s ideas in such books
as Think and Grow Rich, The Law of Suc-
cess and Good As Gold.
The focus on value in products and
service has led to $12 million in annual
sales. In five years the goal is $24 mil-
lion. Five years ago, income was $8 mil-
lion.
“Profit has been very strong and is
increasing dramatically,” Johnson said.
“We are super laser-focused on eliminat-
ing anything that is not value-add and
shedding distractions that slow us
down. We’ve made a huge leap as a com-
pany.
“Our biggest mistake was allowing
ourselves to be distracted by customers
that did not add value,” Johnson said.
“They were high on our radar five years
ago, and we used to look at anything and
everything.”
Thomas Sahakian started Onanon as
West Coast Drilling in Milpitas on June
1, 1979, after obtaining funding from
friends and family members. The previ-
ous three years he ran a division at the
now-defunct Sayco Electronics.
West Coast Drilling cut and drilled
printed circuit boards for PCB manufac-
turers. Back then, most of them were
located in the United States and not
China.
Johnson came to Onanon in October
1989 by answering an ad Sahakian
placed for a programmer. Johnson did
programming and CAD work for Proto
Engineering in Sunnyvale, Calif., while
studying for his mechanical engineering
degree at San Jose (Calif.) State Universi-
ty.
“I was a natural fit at the company,”
Johnson said. “Tom and I quickly found
out we both shared the same passions,
and both of us had business acumen.”
They became 50-50 partners, incorporat-
ed in 1989 and changed the name to
Onanon, which was suggested by
________________Continued on page 40
electrical wire processing equipment in
operation, as well as various compo-
nents and services that are used in the
manufacture of wiring harnesses. Atten-
dees will have the opportunity to meet
one-on-one with industry experts, and
can also attend valuable technical semi-
nars focusing on emerging trends and
the future of the industry.
________________Continued on page 15
The 16th Annual Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo, will be held on
Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the Wisconsin Center in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.