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The Company believes that its success in achieving industry-leading revenue growth throughout its<br />
history is the result of the following key strengths:<br />
• Broad and deep technological knowledge of microelectronic devices and techniques, power<br />
sources, coatings and materials.<br />
• Strong intellectual property portfolio that underlies many key products.<br />
• High product quality standards, backed with stringent systems designed to ensure consistent<br />
performance, that meet or surpass customers’ expectations.<br />
• Strong technical collaboration with customers.<br />
• Extensive experience with the product development process.<br />
• Broad geographical presence in developed and developing markets.<br />
• Continuous effort to develop an efficient, low-cost manufacturing footprint.<br />
• A broad range of products both for specific applications and for general consumption.<br />
Competition<br />
<strong>Molex</strong> intends to serve its customers and achieve its objectives by continuing to do the following:<br />
• Concentrate on core markets. The Company focuses on markets where it has the expertise,<br />
qualifications and leadership position to sustain a competitive advantage. <strong>Molex</strong> has been an<br />
established supplier of interconnect solutions for more than 60 years. It is a principal supplier<br />
of connector components to the telecommunications, computer, consumer, automotive and<br />
industrial electronics markets.<br />
• Grow through the development and release of new products. <strong>Molex</strong> invests strategically in the tools and<br />
resources to develop and bring to market new products and to expand existing product lines.<br />
New products are essential to enable customers to advance their solutions and their market<br />
leadership positions. In fiscal <strong>2005</strong>, the Company generated 30% of its revenue from new<br />
products, which are defined as those products released in the last 36 months.<br />
• Optimize manufacturing. The Company analyzes the design and manufacturing patterns of its<br />
customers along with its own supply chain economics to help ensure that its manufacturing<br />
operations are of sufficient scale and are located strategically to minimize production costs and<br />
maximize customer service.<br />
• Leverage financial strength. <strong>Molex</strong> uses its expected cash flow from operations to invest aggressively<br />
in new product development, to align manufacturing capacity with customer requirements and<br />
to pursue productivity improvements. The Company invested 14.3% of net revenue in capital<br />
expenditures and research and development activities in fiscal <strong>2005</strong>.<br />
<strong>Molex</strong> competes with many companies in each of its product categories. These competitors include<br />
Amphenol Corporation, Framatome Connectors International, Hirose Electronic Co., Ltd, Hon Hai<br />
Precision Industry Co., Ltd., Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd., Japan Solderless Terminal Ltd. and<br />
Tyco International Ltd. as well as a significant number of smaller competitors. The identity and significance<br />
of competitors may change over time. <strong>Molex</strong> believes that the 10 largest connector suppliers (as measured by<br />
revenue) represent approximately 51% of the worldwide market in terms of revenue. Many of these<br />
companies offer products in some, but not all, of the markets and regions served by <strong>Molex</strong>.<br />
The Company’s products compete to varying degrees on the basis of quality, price, availability,<br />
performance and brand recognition. <strong>Molex</strong> also competes on the basis of customer service. <strong>Molex</strong>’s ability<br />
to compete also depends on continually providing innovative new product solutions and worldwide support<br />
for its customers.<br />
Customers, Demand Creation and Sales Channels<br />
<strong>Molex</strong> sells products directly to OEMs, contract manufacturers and distributors. The Company’s<br />
customers include global companies such as Cisco, Dell, Ford, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Matsushita, Motorola,<br />
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