DistiBlog - the EPN Distribution Blog

Keeping The Engineering Lifeblood Pumping

Manufacturing and engineering get a tough time these days. All eyes focus on the west's increasingly service-based economies, and a fat lot of good that has done us.

Squaring The Circle

There is a very nostalgic tinge to the news just announced that Avnet Memec is to distribute Zilog's Encore 32 Series microcontroller.

Consolidator - or Consolidated?

Acal plc's interim results to September 30 do not make pretty reading. Last year's £2.6m profit has plummeted to an £8m loss as a result of shrinking margins, the cost of paying off a chief executive officer and financial director and writing off 5 million smackers (pounds) on an investment in Singapore.

Jefferies Top Dog At Acal

In a shock move, distribution industry veteran Nick Jefferies has been named as the new chief executive at Acal plc. Two weeks ago Jefferies was present on the RS Components stand at electronica.

Gunboats On The Potomac

It's Turkey and Pumpkin Pie time in the United States of America as they celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Strong Xpresso Boosts Avnet Time

The Avnet Time team had reasons to be cheerful as the company picked up Fox Electronics' Distributor of the Year Award for 2007/2008.

REACH - It's Close to High Noon

The deadline is approaching. The European Union's environmental legislation that will require manufacturers to register chemicals used in products sold in the EU comes into force on December 1.

Way TO Go To Be Green

Not strictly distribution, but green electronics is an issue which is on everybody's agenda, and certainly featured as a topic at electronica, not least with the launch of Premier Farnell's e-waste campaign. 

AA Plot Successful Route For Kemet

Arrow and Avnet,or maybe Avnet and Arrow for balance, scooped the prizes at Kemet's 2008 Distribution Awards.

Mixed Signal Boosts Digi-Key

Mixed signals are going down well at Digi-Key. The Thief River Falls-based distributor has signed up IDT which supplies mixed signal semiconductor solutions for digital media making the IDT product line available through Digi-Key’s web sites.

TTI Anything But Passive

We will need to add a D to the IP&E tag which precedes the name of TTI. It's not for Dennehy, Glyn of that name, TTI's Senior Vice President and General Manager, as good a job as he has done.

Award Presentations Attract a Crowd

Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan, a motif borne out by the pix below. First up are the Abacus and Hirose teams. The Japanese interconnect specialist has named Abacus as its top distributor for the third year running. Wendy Leigh, handing over the award, commented, "In the current economic climate it is even more important that the overall efforts of our distributors are recognised." Alan Sadler, Hirose franchise manager at Abacus receiving the award responded,"We are proud once again to receive recognition from one of the world's leading connector makers." 

Now here's a twist - it's the distributor handing over the award here. TTI has conferred Gold Status on Murata. The status is awarded to suppliers who achieve very high ratings on a number of criteria.