At embedded world 2026, on the DigiKey booth, Lucy Barnard speaks with Peter Schneid, VP of Marketing at Harwin, about Harwin, Connector Solutions, Digital Design Tools, Harwin’s collaboration with DigiKey, market trends and outlook.
A £30 Million Commitment to UK Manufacturing
Harwin, the Portsmouth-based interconnect engineering and manufacturing company, is in the middle of one of the most significant chapters in its 70-year history.
At the heart of Harwin’s current momentum is a purpose-built £30 million headquarters expansion in Portsmouth. The investment is as much a statement of values as it is a business decision. “We are proudly based in this place where we’ve been for the last 70 years,” Schneid says. “It doesn’t feel right to uproot that and move it somewhere else or outsource it.” And with engineers now working at the company across three generations, Harwin’s knowledge base is a competitive asset the business is determined to protect and grow. The expansion also reflects the current global volatility: “The world is such a volatile place now that to put things further away or decentralise it just brings inherent risk,” Schneid notes when speaking about keeping design, IP, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing all under one roof in Portsmouth.
Sustainability built into the business
The new HQ will be built to the highest environmental standards, featuring solar power and energy-saving infrastructure. The company has operated an on-site water recycling plant for years, re-filtering process water to drinking quality and re-introducing 95% of it back into production.
A new purpose-built recycling centre is also being added, processing cardboard, plastic, and metal waste and reintroducing as much material as possible back into the supply chain. The company is also actively exploring biodegradable and plant-based packaging alternatives, and even investigating bioplastics that could eventually replace conventional plastics in the connectors themselves. Logistics, too, are under scrutiny — working closely with distribution partner DigiKey to reduce unnecessary air freight.
Digital tools and AI: helping engineers, not replacing them
Harwin has launched a virtual showroom that allows engineers to explore products visually and use augmented reality to project components into their working environment — a direct outcome of customer research the company conducted in North America in 2025.
“People like … a visual guide to where products end up,” Schneid explains. “It’s very easy to say we’re making this type of product, but where does it actually sit in a drone or an electric car?”
On AI, rather than replacing human interaction with chatbots, the company has built an AI agent that surfaces relevant answers from a growing knowledge base whenever a technical enquiry comes in.
“The worst experience as a customer you can have is [if you ask] a question today and the similar question tomorrow and you get two different answers,” said Schneid. “We can now ensure and guarantee you get a consistent and sound answer in a fraction of the time [delivered] by a human.”
Market outlook: uncrewed systems and space
Looking ahead, Schneider identified uncrewed systems — delivery drones, autonomous vehicles, underwater robots, vertical take-off and landing aircraft — as one of the most exciting growth areas for the business. Each platform requires dense sensor arrays and reliable signal interconnects. Space remains a perennial highlight, with continued growth in low-earth orbit satellites, CubeSats, and launch vehicles all driving demand for high-reliability connectors.
Harwin is also conducting its second year of independent market research into engineer sentiment across North America and, new for 2026, EMEA — tracking trends in AI adoption, job complexity, and unmet needs. The virtual showroom was born from last year’s findings; this year’s research will shape whatever comes next.
Watch the full interview below.
