But Noone’s outlook couldn’t be more global. He spends a typical weekend watching Chinese-language movies and listening to Chinese-language tapes. At least once a week he makes sure to eat with chopsticks. “You’ve got to show people you’re interested in their culture,” he says.
Noone is interested, all right. The 54-year-old entrepreneur is founder and CEO of Capacitor Industries, which imports low-cost electronic components from China and sells them to motor makers and other manufacturers in the U.S. and, increasingly, abroad. His stock-in-trade is capacitors: tiny devices that store charges, maintain electrical currents, keep motors running, and protect computers and communications equipment from surges. Every motor manufacturer needs a steady supply of them, which has helped send Noone’s annual sales to $5 million.