14 Reed Relay Manufacturers in 2024
This section provides an overview for reed relays as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 14 reed relay manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked reed relay companies as of November, 2024: 1.Ross Engineering Corp., 2.Comus International, 3.Binsack Reedtechnik GmbH.
Table of Contents
What Is a Reed Relay?
A reed relay is an electromagnetic switch that is activated by passing an electric current through a drive coil.
It consists of one or more reed switches surrounded by electromagnetic coils and a small relay that opens and closes by electromagnetic force. The magnetic field generated in the coil mechanically actuates the contact point, so that current leakage when the switch is not operating is very small compared to semiconductor switches.
One of the advantages is the independence of the input and output sides, with no polarity, reducing errors during installation and providing resistance to pressure, high insulation, dust, and external gases.
Applications of Reed Relays
Reed relays are used in a wide variety of electrical equipment. While semiconductor relays currently dominate the relay market, reed relays are often preferred for specific use cases where semiconductor relays may not be suitable.
Reed relays are particularly well-suited for he environments:
- Electrical equipment that is greatly affected by the weak leakage current that flows when semiconductor relays are open.
- Electrical equipment that must operate in an environment where there are substances that can contaminate semiconductors.
- Circuits used for relays with extremely high voltages or in high-voltage environments.
Specific examples of use are as follows:
- Storage batteries for electric vehicles, solar batteries
Reed relays are used when the system voltage is high and stable operation is required even at voltages exceeding 1,500 VDC. - Medical equipment
Highly reliable switches are required for applications such as electrocautery control, bed position detection circuits, high-voltage charging circuits for AEDs, and detection of surgical instruments left inside the body.
Reed Relay Principle
Reed Relays consist of a reed switch and a coil. The reed switch consists of a glass tube sealed with an inert gas. It contains two leads with a gap between them. Inside the reed switch, there are reeds made of a magnetic material that respond to the influence of a magnet. The points where the reeds make contact with each other when driven are fitted with a high current-carrying metal.
When current flows through the coil surrounding the reed switch, it generates a magnetic field. This magnetic field causes the two reeds inside the reed switch to come into contact, allowing electricity to flow through the contacts and perform the relay function. When a Reed Relay is driven, a magnetic field is generated by the coil.
This may affect surrounding electronic components, so care must be taken in the mounting position and conditions of use. In addition, the circuit in which reed relays are employed should be designed properly, including the incorporation of spark-elimination circuits and the installation of protection circuits to handle temporarily high currents and for reverse currents.
Characteristics of Reed Relays
Reed relays have many features compared to other relays:
- Compared to semiconductor switches, mechanical switches have a very small leakage current when the contacts are open.
- No polarity specification for both input and output, reducing operational errors.
- Generally high withstand voltage and high insulation.
- Compared to general electromagnetic relays, the contacts are hermetically sealed to minimize the effects of dust and organic gases.
- Compact, lightweight, and long life.
- High-speed operation and recovery time of approx. 1/10.
Other Information on Reed Relays
1. Life of Reed Relay
Relays have electrical and mechanical life spans.
Electrical Life
This is the life in a resistive load test in which a load of rated voltage is applied to the coil to open and close the reed switch. Electrical life depends on the volume of the load, the variety of the load, the frequency of opening and closing, and temperature conditions.
Mechanical Life
It refers to the life span in a no-load test where no load is applied. Relays are mechanical parts, and opening and closing them causes fatigue and wear of the parts themselves. Relay life also differs depending on the environment in which the relay is used, such as temperature conditions and cases in which a load greater than the coil's rated voltage is applied.
2. Precautions for Using Reed Relays
Important precautions in the use of reed relays are cleaning and magnetic interference.
Cleaning
Since the reed portion of the reed relay coil is sealed in a glass tube, cleaning will not degrade the characteristics of the reed portion. However, when cleaning the product, a special cleaner must always be used.
Magnetic Interference
Magnetic fields generated by relay coils have an effect on the external environment. Especially in the case of close mounting, relays may not operate properly due to magnetic interference between relays. Therefore, relays that are not magnetically shielded must be mounted with a minimum distance of 15 mm between relays.
Furthermore, it is necessary to refrain from using relays in locations where objects that generate strong magnetic fields, such as transformers or permanent magnets, are present, as they may cause malfunctions.
List of 14 Reed Relay Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
Sort by Features
- Default
- Company Size: largest first
- Year Founded: oldest first
- Year Founded: earliest first
Sort by Area
- United States of America
- Germany
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
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Sensata Technologies, Inc.
Miniature High Voltage Relay
Manufacturer Overview
Sensata Technologies was originally founded in 1916 as General Plate Company and is now headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The company is a developer, manufacturer, and seller of sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components, and other products used in automotive, industrial, energy, telecom, and construction industries. The company has 20 product categories including force sensors, tire management solutions, inverters & charges, and pressure sensors.The company’s next generation of products are designed to improve the efficiency of industrial pumps, fuel efficiency in ICE cars and energy efficiency in TVs, and facilitate usage of IoT devices.
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Ross Engineering Corp.
Reed Relays
Manufacturer Overview
Ross Engineering Corporation, founded in 1964 and based in Campbell, California, is a manufacturer of a wide range of high-voltage electronic and electro-mechanical devices and is ISO 9001 certified. It stocks over 25 lines of high voltage devices such as voltmeters, relays, and probes used in several fields such as industrial plants, communication transmitters, and power supplies with ranges from 0.01mV to 1,200,000 V. The company is ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certified and has a calibration lab for testing and calibrating dividers, relays, and probes up to 450kV.
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Comus International
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Comus International, founded in Clifton, New Jersey in 1978 is a manufacturer of tilt switches, relays and proximity sensors. The company's product portfolio includes liquid-level pressure sensors and reed switches. smart sensors and custom products. Their products are used in markets such as Automotive and Transportation, Telecommunications, Industrial Automation, Healthcare and Medical Devices and Aerospace and Defense.The company also provides services including global distribution, product selection, customized services, technical support and customer service.
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Coto Technology, Inc.
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Coto Technology, founded in 1917 in the USA, is a manufacturer of relay, switch, and sensor products. The company's products include reed relays, electromechanical relays, reed switches, solid-state switching relays, and digital TMR magnetic sensors used in various applications by original equipment manufacturers for proximity detection, rotary sensing, fluid level detection, and door and lid closure detection. Coto Technology also offers contract manufacturing that includes engineering, procurement, high-volume production and supply chain management.
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Littelfuse
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Littelfuse founded in 1927, is an industrial manufacturing company empowering a sustainable, connected, and safer world, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The company's product portfolio includes the solutions for both individual and entire systems, as a global manufacturer of technologies in circuit protection, power control, and sensing. Across more than 20 countries, and with approximately 18,000 global associates, partner with customers to design and deliver advanced solutions. Serving over 100,000 end customers, their products are found in industrial, transportation, and electronics end markets.
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Standex Electronics, Inc.
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Standex Electronics is a worldwide market leader in the design, development and manufacture of standard reed switch-based sensor solutions and custom electro-magnetic components, including magnetics products. Their company history dating back to 1969, Standex has provided their service to a high customer base globally for more than 50 years. The company has high-quality standards, work by the approach of "partner, solve, deliver", focus on a customer driven innovation and commitment to absolute customer satisfaction. Their diverse capabilities and dynamic solutions allow them the ability to achieve the highest quality levels of efficiency and productivity. Sustainability is a high focus of the Standex product line, with long-term sustainability improvements continuing to drive consistent technological growth. Green switching applications are a growing demand for their customers, and they ensure to deliver.
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Cosmo Electronics Corporation
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Cosmo Electronics Corporation has been a manufacturer of photo couplers and relays based in Taiwan since 1981. The company produces a wide range of photo couplers that are designed to give different types of output. There are also different types and forms of Reed Relay and Solid State Relay and these products have applications in the power industry such as being implemented in adapters and UPS including smoke detectors, home security panels, and cameras. They are also used in Industrial based products such as NC machine tools, robots, and solar power conditioners and also by Consumer Electronics and the Automotive Industry.
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ECE
Reed Relay
Manufacturer Overview
Excel Cell Electronic, founded in 1981 is a manufacturer and supplier of electromechanical components and stamping products headquartered in Taiwan. The company offers electromechanical components including industrial control switches, stepping motors, terminal blocks, resettable fuses, and relays. Their stamping products include heat spreaders for BGA, high-precision electronic components, and lead frames of semiconductors for discrete devices / integrated circuit & photoelectric products. The company is ISO/TS 16949:2009, CNS15506: 2011, TOSHMS: 2007, ISO 14001, and ISO 9001-certified, and their products are used in various applications in optoelectronic, security systems, power energy, network, and communication industries.
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Binsack Reedtechnik GmbH
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Binsack Reedtechnik, established in 1993 and based in Hesse, Germany, is a manufacturer of monitoring sensors that measure level, flow, and position. Binsack Reedtechnik's monitoring sensors come in different shapes, sizes, and materials to ensure that they are amenable to customization depending on the client's requirements for their application. These sensors produced by the company are applicable for vehicles, household appliances, air conditioners, medical technology, mechanical engineering, and agriculture. Other products of the company are float switch, suction pipes, and flow switch.
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Cynergy3 Components
Reed Relay - High voltage
Manufacturer Overview
Sensata Technologies was established in 1916 and is headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA as a manufacturer and supplier of sensing, electrical protection, control, and power management solutions. Their extensive product portfolio includes pressure and temperature sensors, liquid level sensors, proximity sensors, solid-state relays, and more. Their products find applications across industries, such as, in the automotive industry, their products enhance vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. In the aerospace sector, their solutions ensure accurate measurements. In industrial applications, their products enable precise monitoring and control. Their offerings have also found applications in telecommunications, energy, and medical equipment.
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Bright Toward Industrial Co., Ltd
Reed relay / Wet reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Bright Toward Industrial Co., Ltd., founded in 1988 with headquarters in Taiwan, is a manufacturer of relays and related electronic components. The company's product line includes solid-state relays, opto-MOSFET relays, opto-SiC MOSFET relays, reed relays, and RF MEMS switches used in semiconductor testing, battery management systems, automatic test equipment, industrial controls, and telecommunications. Bright’s products are found in industrial machinery and electric vehicles. The company has long-term partnerships with OKITA Works, Menlo Microsystems, JEL Systems, and Teledyne Relays and Coax Switches.
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Celduc Inc.
Reed Relays
Manufacturer Overview
Celduc Inc. through Celduc Transfo was founded in 1960 as a manufacturer of transformers. Celduc Inc. is based in, France. Celduc Inc. was officially created in 2020 and headquartered in Centerport, New York. Celduc creates electronics and customized products for industries including railway, plastic, packaging, medical, and electronics. Celduc’s main product lines include solid state relays, magnetic proximity sensors, reed relays & switches, and customized products. Customized products are versions of other products adapted for use in industries with special needs such as nuclear power, aircraft, and agriculture.
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Struthers-Dunn, Inc.
Reed Relays
Manufacturer Overview
Struthers-Dunn is headquartered in Timmonsville, South Carolina, and was established in 1923, making it one of the oldest relay manufacturers in the world. The company’s relays and related electrical components are utilized in traffic signals, power generation, factory automation, construction, and water treatment applications. The company’s product lines primarily consist of relays such as general purpose, motor, timer, and sequencing relays. Other products include accessories and special-purpose relays for super high voltage applications such as gas turbine power plants.
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Pickering Electronics
Reed relay
Manufacturer Overview
Pickering Electronics Ltd. was established in 1968 and is headquartered in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom, as a manufacturer of reed relays and associated products. They offer an extensive range of product categories, including Single-in-Line (SIL) reed relays, Dual-in-Line (DIL) reed relays, surface mount reed relays, and high voltage reed relays. Some of the key industries that utilize their reed relays and associated products include telecommunications, test and measurement, medical equipment, industrial automation, and aerospace. These industries rely on Pickering Electronics' products for applications such as signal switching, automatic test equipment, medical device testing, process control, and more.
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Reed Relay Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Engineering Corp. |
13.2%
|
| 2 | Binsack Reedtechnik GmbH |
9.9%
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| 3 | Bright Toward Industrial Co., Ltd |
9.6%
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| 4 | Comus International |
9.2%
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| 5 | Struthers-Dunn, Inc. |
7.3%
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| 6 | Cosmo Electronics Corporation |
7.3%
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| 7 | Sensata Technologies, Inc. |
6.9%
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| 8 | Cynergy3 Components |
6.6%
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| 9 | Celduc Inc. |
6.3%
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| 10 | Standex Electronics, Inc. |
5.9%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the reed relay page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
- Binsack Reedtechnik GmbH: 48
Newly Established Company
- Bright Toward Industrial Co., Ltd: 1988 (36 years ago)
- ECE: 1981 (43 years ago)
- Comus International: 1978 (46 years ago)
Company with a History
- Coto Technology, Inc.: 1917 (107 years ago)
- Struthers-Dunn, Inc.: 1923 (101 years ago)
- Littelfuse: 1927 (97 years ago)
Reed Relay Manufacturers in United States
*Including some distributors, etc.
- Sensata Technologies, Inc.
- Ross Engineering Corp.
- Comus International
- Coto Technology, Inc.
- Littelfuse
- Standex Electronics, Inc.
Global Distribution of Reed Relay Manufacturers by Country
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
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United States of America
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6 | 54.5% |
Taiwan
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3 | 27.3% |
Germany
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1 | 9.1% |
United Kingdom
|
1 | 9.1% |
