“The entire industrial electronics sector benefits from the cluster meetings”

Trade association FHI is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. The corona crisis has accelerated the need for digitalisation and FHI responded by improving its member profile, organising network meetings in the form of clusters and online events. Heynen has been a member from the very beginning and is pleased with these developments. CEO Lennart Heijnen: “Actively participating in a cluster provides immediate benefits.”

By Frank van de Ven

Heynen specializes in electrical solutions for various niche markets. The company was at the foundation of FHI. “We have been a member for a long time. In fact, we are one of the founders together with a group of others,” Heijnen explains. “With a number of representatives within the same sector, we started a joint trade fair in a hotel. This initiative led to a collaboration in a number of areas and the trade association was founded. By working together, we are stronger and can promote our sectors. The FHI strengthens the sectors and brings people together.”

The trade association has brought Heynen a lot. “Our participation in Het Instrument (now World of Technology & Science) has brought us a lot. For example, our name recognition and our network have increased,” says Heijnen. “FHI organizes many events and is good at it. For example, the Power Electronics event and the Telecom Infra are well-organized and attract an interesting audience. The trade association is closely involved with its members and responds well to current developments. When the corona crisis broke out in all its intensity, they quickly switched gears. For example, the webinars – which were conceived and developed at a rapid pace – are a good alternative to physical trade fairs.”

Intensive process
FHI is a trade association with various members from various sectors. Heijnen finds the association's reach a great advantage: "Services such as the salary compass and purchasing and sales conditions via FHI are very useful. You don't have to reinvent the wheel and this saves a lot of time."

Since the beginning of this year, FHI has been undergoing an accelerated digitalization process. member profile has been improved and expanded, so that a completed page provides better online findability. Heijnen is also aware of the online possibilities and is already fully responding to them: “Digitization is a theme that has been playing a role for a long time with us and the other FHI members. This theme also offers commercial opportunities. For example, we support telecom operators, governments and companies in optimizing the availability of digital services. We do this by supplying test equipment and monitoring solutions. However, digitization is a theme that is increasingly commonplace in various companies and organizations. For example, all our files are digital and you hardly ever receive orders in hard copy anymore. I think that this is everyday fare for many companies.”

Spruce
The member profile is an easy way for members to benefit from FHI's good Google rankings. By filling in your own company page as completely as possible on FHI.nl members can be found online more quickly. Heijnen has already done this: “Our contact details and logo are visible. We have also placed a few news items. We still have to look into how we will further set up our page. We are very aware of the power of our online visibility and are currently investigating what role the member profile can play in addition to our own website.”

Online is an important aspect of FHI, but that does not mean that offline is neglected. On the contrary. The trade association wants to bring people together and connect them. One of the ways in which this happens is via clusters. “Being part of a cluster is very pleasant, because you can spar with your network,” says Heijnen, who is active in two clusters. “In a cluster, current themes and subjects are discussed in detail. Learning from and with each other is the goal of these sessions. We recently discussed the theme of scarcity in the electronics industry. This is a subject that both the Components cluster and the EMS cluster are struggling with. By bringing these two clusters together, more attention is paid to each other's side of the story.”

Active member
Because FHI plays a connecting role, there is no commercial interest. “The purpose of the clusters is to share knowledge and that is something that the entire sector benefits from,” says Heijnen. He is an active member of FHI and is very proud of it. “Being a member of a cluster provides direct benefits. Various promotional activities are planned from the clusters. This allows you to build your name recognition without having to reinvent the wheel. Really very useful. Another advantage is that the clusters are a kind of forum where the latest developments in the field are discussed. It is very useful to hear what your colleagues are up against. Sometimes these are the same issues that you are struggling with yourself. This creates a new perspective or mutual understanding.”