OptiFuse is a manufacturer and marketer of over-current and over-voltage protective devices. The company is headquartered in El Cajon, CA and maintains a satellite office in Taipei, Taiwan. OptiFuse was founded in 2000 by Jim Kalb and other investors as an alternative manufacturer to the more established brands of Bussmann and Littelfuse. Prior to 2000, OptiFuse had designed and manufactured approximately 150 different products for Bussmann, Littelfuse and Ferraz-Shawmut under the name of Basic Power Engineering and Manufacturing. In 2000, Bussmann and Littelfuse announced that they would begin utilizing a limited distribution strategy centered solely around global distribution partners and would eliminate their corps of 2,500 electronic and automotive distributors. OptiFuse saw the opportunity to service these disenfranchised distributors by creating a catalog of fuse and fuse holder products. In addition to their own products, OptiFuse has created strategic alliances with other manufacturers of specialized over-current and over-voltage products. Today OptiFuse manufactures and distributes a wide array of products that include: Automotive and electronic fuses Resettable PTC type fuses Industrial fuses Panel-mounted, Inline, and PCB mounted fuse holders Fuse clips and blocks Thermal circuit breakers for automotive and line voltage applications Thermal temperature fuses Varistors and gas-tube arrestors Together, these products represent over 7,000 individual SKUs and are sold exclusively through OptiFuse distributors. All of OptiFuse products are RoHS compliant and/or lead-free. Many of the parts are listed or recognized by UL and/or other international safety organizations.
