MIKE WENDLAND: Metro firms take glitz, know-how on the road

January 13, 2003

BY MIKE WENDLAND
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

LAS VEGAS -- Detroit-area technology firms were well represented at the just-concluded Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, displaying innovative products and services that ranged from glitzy automotive technology to a magazine dedicated to the booming handheld computer industry.

In the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, JDI Industries of Auburn Hills had crowds of electronics store buyers two and three deep looking over the company's line of surge protectors and connectors.

JDI used to make products strictly for other manufacturers. Now it is entering the retail market under the GoldX brand.

What makes the products special is that they are standalone or expandable and stackable. A small surge protector is the mainstay. But you can use it to also power and protect an Ethernet router that snaps right into the top. A USB device can plug into it. A FireWire router can stack on top of that.

A DC Hub connector box may be JDI's most exceptional offering. It eliminates all those cumbersome power supplies that are tangled up beneath our computer desks.

Steve Burman, JDI's vice president of marketing, said the show gave his company lots of visibility with industry leaders. "We're very excited by the response," he said.

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Contact MIKE WENDLAND at 313-222-8861 or mwendland@freepress.com.