Molex is the world's second-largest supplier of connectors for all sorts of uses, but they are best-known for the many connectors which they have contributed to the PC computer. The large four-pin D-keyed power connector on PC peripherals like CD-ROMs and hard disk drives is frequently referred to simply as a "molex connector", but is actually the Molex 8981 series. They also make many products for fiberoptic connections, and for the auto industry.
Molex is also (not coincidentally) the name of a plastic developed by the late Frederick August Krehbiel, who founded the Molex Products Company in 1938 in Brookfield, Illinois to manufacture parts from it. They added metal stamping to their factory in the 1940s and began making electrical connectors. In the 1960s they began making parts out of nylon, which is what their computer power connectors and most of their automotive connectors are made from today.
Molex is traded on the NASDAQ National Market System in the U.S. and the London Stock Exchange as MOLX. it was added to the S&P 500 Index In 1999.
References:
- Website: Molex. (http://www.molex.com)