Molex LLC is a manufacturer of electronic, electrical, and fiber optic connectivity systems. Molex offers over 100,000 products across a variety of industries, including data communications, medical, industrial, automotive and consumer electronics. They are notable for pioneering the Molex connector, which has seen universal adoption in personal computing. The company is considered the second largest electronic connector company in the world.
Molex was established in 1938 by Frederick Krehbiel. The company began by making flowerpots out of an industrial byproduct plastic called Molex. Krehbiel developed this material by combining asbestos tailings, coal tar pitch, and limestone. Aside from flower pots, Molex also sold salt shakers before it expanded into electrical connectors and sensors.Later they made connectors for General Electric and other appliance manufacturers out of the same plastic. Molex acquired Woodhead Industries in 2006; the largest acquisition in the former's history at the time.