Philip Harting, CEO of the Harting Technology Group, was re-elected by the members of the ZVEI Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) trade association at the virtual general meeting for a further three years as the association's chairman. Harting has been an elected member of the ZVEI Executive Board since 2014 and chairman of the ECS trade association since 2017.
By taking over the ECS chairmanship again, he emphasizes the importance of the industry in a very difficult economic phase due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The components industry is at the beginning of the electrical industry's value chain. It has an influence on all sectors and is very important for Germany as a business location," explains Harting. Whether Industry 4.0, mobility development, the energy transition, building technology, consumer products or healthcare - electronic components make a significant contribution to the networking and intelligence of products in these sectors.
In addition, Harting focuses on the perception of social responsibility. "Updating the ZVEI Code of Conduct is a high priority for us". According to Harting, the principles of corporate governance developed by the ZVEI back in 2008, which take economic, technological, social and ecological consequences into account, are now an established industry standard. "This needs to be revised and strengthened in the current discussions and the increasing complexity of global supply chains."
The ZVEI ECS trade association represents one of the highest-turnover sectors within the electrical industry. With the sub-sectors of semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components, microsystems technology, sensors and actuators, the industry achieved a turnover of around 17 billion euros in 2020.
