DistiBlog - the Electronic Distribution Blog

When Dick Skipworth Won Back Memec

"It feels great to have it back. We feel we're different to most distributors. We're the world's biggest specialist distributor. We're a truly independent global supplier of semiconductors.”

Celebrations Under Way At Foremost

Alan Cook won’t forget November 21 1989 in a hurry.

Avnet, Freescale (previously Motorola) Celebrate 50 Years

Well I’m guessing this hasn’t happened too often in the history of component distribution. Yesterday, the Avnet Electronics Marketing operating group of Avnet, and Freescale Semiconductor celebrated the 5Oth year of their alliance.

 

When the clock ticked to 12:01 a.m., Jan. 1, 1960, America was a nation full of promise. That year, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 was passed, Chubby Checker was taking The Twist to number one in the US Top 10, the first planar Integrated Circuit was fabricated and President Dwight D. Eisenhower predicted 1960 would be the most prosperous year in U.S. history. Harold MacMillan was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Real Madrid were European Cup holders.

 

 It was also the year that Hamilton Electro Sales and Motorola  signed a regional semiconductor distribution agreement that set the groundwork for one of the industry's most enduring and prolific supply and design chain partnerships.

 

Despite the mergers and spin-offs that transformed Hamilton and Motorola's semiconductor division into the entities known today as Avnet Electronics Marketing and Freescale Semiconductor, the two companies have remained committed to bringing state-of-the-art technology and solutions to market. Neither have other industry issues such as the antipathy many years ago to sharing a distributor with competitors, first from the US and later from Japan, shaken this partnership.

 

"From the first silicon-based transistors in the 1960s and the introduction of the world's first communications processor in 1989 to today's embedded devices and industry-leading i.MX515 multimedia applications processors, Freescale and its predecessors have been central to the advancement of semiconductor technology," said Ed Smith, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. "Being a part of this journey has been an amazing experience, and I fully expect the next half century will be just as exciting and rewarding."

 

"Freescale is immensely proud to be part of Avnet's rich 50-year history. Essential to Avnet's longevity - and its continued future success - is the company's ability to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit while remaining true to its core values. Freescale shares Avnet's passion for enabling our mutual customers' success by delivering innovative technology and service," said Henri Richard, Freescale senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer. "Together, we continue to shape and lead markets to benefit our customers and grow our companies."

 

 

Sarsen Celebrates 10 Years With School Sponsorship

Hats off and congratulations to Sarsen Technology, the embedded hardware and software distributor which has decided to celebrate its 10^th anniversary and a doubling of its year-on-year turnover by

 

 sponsoring a state-of-the-art physics laboratory at St. John's secondary school in Marlborough.

70 Years On: Farnell Hosts Customer Day

Never be shy about celebrating anniversaries. That's a golden rule which Farnell is observing faithfully.

Farnell Clocks up 70 Years in Leeds

 Big picture for a big anniversary. Last week Farnell celebrated 70 years in its UK headquarters in Leeds. From radio parts through resistors to FPGAs, the company has transformed itself into  a leading multi-channel distributor.

The company was founded in 1939 by Alan Farnell and Arthur Woffendon and has never strayed from its Leeds roots with its HQ still in the city along with the Maybrook distribution centre.

Andy King, president of Farnell Europe and global head of EDE, said: "This is a hugely significant achievement for our business. Over the past 70 years the electronics industry has evolved and developed at a faster rate than perhaps any other sector. The impact that electronics now has on the everyday lives of the world's population is immense. It is remarkable to think that Farnell has played a long-term role by helping to push new technologies through to design engineers for use in products that were once only dreamt of, but that we now all take for granted.

A nice touch in the picture too. Andy King is flanked by Stephen Briggs who has worked at Farnell for 30 years and Lucy Nicols who joined the company just one week ago. 

Cake and candles time (but no diamonds)

It's come to my notice that TTI and Harwin the connector company are celebrating their tenth anniversary this month.