Molex
 | |
| Company type | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Electrical connectors, Molex connector, Optical fiber connectors, Switches |
| Website | http://www.molex.com/ |
Molex® (Nasdaq: MOLX) is a manufacturer of electronic components, including electrical and fiber optic interconnection products and systems, switches, integrated products and application tooling. Founded in 1938, the company currently operates on six continents and makes annual sales of over $2 billion. John Krehbiel, Jr., grandson of the company's founder, is Molex's largest individual shareholder. Molex headquarters are in Lisle, Illinois.
Molex serves OEMs in industries that include automotive, business equipment, consumer products, industrial equipment, premises wiring and telecommunications. They offer more than 100,000 products to customers through direct sales and distributors.
Molex connector
Molex originated a large variety of connector types, but only one is commonly used in microcomputers, and thus known unambiguously as a "Molex connector" in that context. That connector type is the one pictured, which is used for power connections for disk drives and other computer components. An AT or ATX standard power supply normally has multiple connectors of this type.
| Color | Function | |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | +12 V | |
| Black | Ground | |
| Black | Ground | |
| Red | +5 V | |
A connector that delivers power has female pins in a male housing, as pictured; a connector that receives power has male pins in a female housing.
History
The company began by making flowerpots out of an industrial byproduct plastic called Molex. Later they made connectors for General Electric and other appliance manufacturers out of the same plastic. [1] Most recently Molex acquired Woodhead Industries in the largest acquisition in its history.