Meltric Corporation Joins Butt-contact Electrical
Connectors Manufacturers' Association (BECMA)

becma

FRANKLIN, WI (January 17, 2006) Meltric Corporation of Franklin, WI, a manufacturer of industrial duty electrical plugs and receptacles is pleased to announce that it is now a member of BECMA the Butt-contact Electrical Connectors Manufacturers' Association, based in Geneva, Switzerland. BECMA develops and maintains quality and interchangeability standards to ensure and advance the performance, safety and reliability of electrical plugs, receptacles and connectors.

BECMA members (including Meltric) manufacture electrical plugs and receptacles that feature a spring-loaded butt-contact technology similar to that used in motor starters and switchgear. This technology offers major performance, reliability and safety advantages over brass pin and sleeve or twist type contacts - making butt-contact type plugs and receptacles the best choice for connecting welders, motors, and other electrical equipment.

BECMA’s growing membership currently consists of six manufacturers, spread across four geographical areas: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Australia. Because all members must adhere to the same standards, users may be confident that the products they purchase from any BECMA member will interchange with and provide the same performance characteristics as similar products purchased from Meltric.

From a safety perspective butt-contacts are superior to the contacts used in pin and sleeve and twist type devices, both of which can be hazardous if connected or disconnected under load. In contrast, Meltric’s Decontactor Series plugs and receptacles are safe to make and break under full load up to 60 horsepower or 200 amps, they are also UL rated to make and withstand short circuit currents up to 100,000 amps. When Decontactors are used to connect electrical equipment users are protected from arc flash even if they accidentally plug or unplug into a fault condition.

For performance and reliability butt-contacts with solid silver nickel contact tips are preferred over the pin and sleeve or twist type brass contacts utilized by most non-BECMA manufacturers. Silver nickel withstands arcs very well and its conductivity in an oxidized state is more than twenty times higher than brass, thus providing lower operating temperatures and longer product life. The butt-contacts are spring-loaded (via a coil spring) to ensure constant pressure and performance over thousands of operations. When the contacts mate they do so with a self cleaning wiping action, helping to remove deposits from the contact surfaces and thus enabling performance in dusty or dirty conditions.

For more information about BECMA or butt-contact type plugs and receptacles visit www.BECMA.ch or contact Meltric Corporation at (800) 433-7642 or visit www.Meltric.com.