Open lever, insert conductor, close lever - this connection technology, already familiar from the '221' can terminal block from Wago, has now been transferred to the 'Topjob S' terminal blocks. This means that conductors can also be connected and disconnected by hand in the control cabinet without tools. Dr. Karsten Stoll, Head of the Electrical Interconnections division at Wago, explains the background to the development: "Particularly in an international environment, we occasionally experience uncertainty when working with our terminals with actuation opening. With the terminal block with pusher and even more so with the terminal block with lever, it is now clearly marked which is the actuation opening and which is the conductor entry opening, so that no one puts the round into the square." This reduces the risk of forgetting terminal points when wiring or connecting conductors incorrectly. In addition, the terminal blocks with levers leave both hands free for wiring the conductors because the clamping point does not have to be held open with an operating tool.

The terminal blocks with levers are suitable for solid, stranded and fine-stranded conductors. They use push-in technology so that, in addition to rigid conductors, fine-stranded conductors from a cross-section of 0.75 mm² with gas-tight crimped ferrules can also be connected directly. In the terminal block with lever, the lever simply remains closed. Thanks to their lateral conductor entry, the terminal blocks with lever make it easy to connect even conductors with large cross-sections that are difficult to bend.

Successive portfolio expansion

In the first step, the terminal blocks with lever are available in the nominal cross-sections 2.5, 6 and 16 mm². The field side of the terminal block is equipped with a lever; for internal wiring, there is a choice of push-button or actuation opening. When asked about the area of application, Dr. Stoll explains: "In particular, the lever makes sense where connections are made again in the field, where perhaps two modules are linked or a machine is put into operation, where perhaps regular rewiring is required or where the mains connection is simply made in the field." The use of terminal blocks is not related to specific industries - it is a classic portfolio that makes sense in any industry.

While the variant with a lever is a "real step forward", Dr. Stoll sees the variant with a lever handle simply as an addition to the portfolio. The clamping point of the terminal blocks with push-buttons is opened with a freely selectable actuating tool. The actuating element can be clearly distinguished from the conductor entry into which the conductor must be inserted by the orange-colored push-button. The feed-through terminal blocks with push-buttons are available for a cross-section range of 0.25 to 25 mm² and are available as 2-conductor, 3-conductor and, depending on size, 4-conductor versions.

Turnover tops the last seven years

The Wago Group has recorded the best sales result in its 66-year history for the 2017 financial year. With an increase of 13%, the company not only exceeded its target, but also achieved the largest increase in sales in the last seven years, totaling 862 million euros. "We have recorded an increase every year since 2009 and have more than doubled our turnover in these nine years," explains Chief Sales Officer Jürgen Schäfer.

The increase in turnover is due to continuous growth in all national markets; the upswing in Europe is remarkable. This led to a slight shift in market shares: While Germany traditionally represents the most important market for Wago with a 28% share of sales, the rest of Europe accounts for 42%. This is followed by the markets in Asia with 17 % and America with 12 %. Particularly high growth was recorded in Hungary, Mexico, Turkey and Russia.