Palladium Energy's Powerful Future

By Arthur W. Salyer, Palladium Energy CEO

May 5, 2011 - For more than 30 years, I have worked at some of the best, high-tech companies around the world—like Technicolor/Thompson, Avery Dennison, Trojan Battery and PepsiCo. Throughout my experiences, I have developed a passion for really cool electronic gadgets and the power inside that keeps the world in touch and up to date.

The Lithium-based Battery Pack Industry

One taste of the battery industry and I was hooked. Specifically, lithium-based chemistries for battery packs are fascinating because of the inherent key attributes (capacity, temperature range and sustainability) that today’s OEMs desire in order to meet consumer demand for portable, small and light weight devices. Poised for tremendous growth, lithium-based battery pack business is projected to grow by 23% to $23.5 billion by 2015.

Palladium Energy: The Newest-old Battery Pack Company Around

I started working with Palladium, a lithium-based custom battery pack manufacturer, once the divestiture away from Tyco Electronics was complete and we were rebranded as Palladium Energy. Within a two-year period, I was able to help the company experience double-digit revenue and EBITDA growth despite the economic recession. The secret to our success? Three reasons:

• The people.
• Our competitive advantage—Technology and Engineering.
• The fact that we take our customer’s brands as seriously as they do—ensuring a safe, reliable product that is packed with performance.

The Future: Focused on Our Stakeholders

My vision for Palladium is quite simple—one that was developed with the help of my leadership team and addresses each of our stakeholders:

• Customers: To be the supplier of choice for all OEM and contract manufacturers for small and mid-sized lithium-based battery packs, AC Adapters and other power supplies.
• Suppliers: To be the seen as a mandatory customer by all suppliers of cells and other pieces and parts that go into building battery packs, AC Adapters and other power supplies.
• Investors: To continue to deliver double digit revenue and EBITDA growth year over year.
• Employees: To be seen as the employer-of-choice for our size and industry in every region we are located plus for all of our employees to see their job as rewarding, enriching and fun for the long-term.
• Communities:  To be famous for our ethics, safety and sustainability…and to always have a positive impact on the communities we thrive in.

There is a lot to accomplish—but with focus and the right people, I know we can power the world…well, at least all of the really cool electronic gadgets.

As published in ECN: Electronic Component News