• 2017 WHMA Shines in San Antonio
• Think. Plan. Do. Measure What Gets Done
• Creating Competition in the Deal Process
• Basic Guide for Tensile Testing of Crimped Wire Terminals
• Steady Growth and Diversification: Keys to Success at TCP Cable
• Mitigating EMI, Stray Ground Currents and Voltage Reflections in VFD Systems
May
June
2017
Steady Growth and Diversification:
Keys to Success at TCP Cable
By Joe Tito
Wiring Harness News
_____________________________
F
or over 40 years, TCP Cable
has been manufacturing
wire and cable assemblies
for the specialty automotive, military,
industrial/commercial, and home
appliance sectors. As the second
largest harness supplier in Canada,
TCP has a plethora of OEM and
tier 1 customers throughout Canada,
the United States, and Mexico.
TCP is actually a holding company
formed as a result of the 2008 merg-
er between Terminal & Cable Inc. of
Canada, and Prodam (Canada) along
with Prodam’s Mexico assembly arm
known as Promamex SA de CV. WHN
recently caught up with Marc April,
President of TCP Cable and Denis
Coderre, Vice President, about the
history of the company and the stra-
Basic Guide for Tensile Testing
of Crimped Wire Terminals
By Andie Davidson
for Wiring Harness News
_____________________________
W
ire harnesses and
looms are used ev-
erywhere in connect-
ing electrical and electronic equip-
ment, from aerospace to domestic
machines. Whilst some are power
conductors, many are signalling, con-
necting electronic controls and com-
Cross sectional testing at Prodamex.
tegic rationale for the creation of the
group.
Marc shared the company’s hum-
ble beginnings in the garage of a Mr.
Millette. He made cable assemblies
for the fledgling snowmobile indus-
try in the early 1970s. Having moved
to a bespoke facility in Carignan,
Quebec, Marc’s father purchased Mr.
Millette’s shares in 1976. Tough times
were ahead, though, as the snowmo-
bile market flattened. “Everyone who
wanted one had one, inflation was
high, and the industry had a difficult
period,” Marc revealed. They began
to diversify and expand and Marc’s
father began to turn things around.
In 1980, the company began a facil-
ity improvement phase of six expan-
sions over the next 12 years.
Along the way, Marc acquired
shares in the company, and com-
_____________ Continued on page 38
ponents. Predesigned for easy fitting,
most are pre-bound and assembled
with a variety of push-on connectors,
and may include permanent splices.
This enables rapid assembly in mass
production lines, and complete elec-
trical pre-testing of all connectors.
Simple wire connectors, with ter-
minals on both ends may be made
semi-manually with bench presses, or
_____________ Continued on page 26
Wire processing station at Prodamex.
The 2017 WHMA Shines in San Antonio
By Joe Tito
Wiring Harness News
_____________________________
I
Typical setup for motorized crimp pull testing.
f you’ve ever visited San Anto-
nio, you no doubt remember
the beautiful sights, rich his-
tory and the delicious food. But if you
attended the 24th annual Wire Har-
ness Manufacturers Association An-
nual Conference this past March, you
also came away enriched by fresh
relevant seminars, and the many new
connections you made. Some 170 at-
tendees were on hand for the event,
with a record setting 42 first time at-
tendees. There were 34 exhibitors on
hand, which is the second highest for
the event.
The Conference Planning Com-
mittee goes to great lengths to cre-
ate a compelling seminar schedule
designed for attendees to reflect on
their operations, and return home
with many new tools for improve-
ment. This year was certainly no ex-
ception.
Joe Theismann
The keynote speaker was legend-
ary quarterback Joe Theismann, who
gave a riveting and inspiring speech
on leadership. He related his success-
es on and off the field and also spoke
of tough lessons he learned along the
way. He was quick to point out that
he has never had a failure, “just edu-
cational experiences that didn’t go as
planned.”
_____________ Continued on page 17