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Company News

Avnet’s Steve Church talks customer service in Boston
Avnet Inc. executive Steve Church touted the importance of cultivating engaged employees as a way to create loyal customers in a recent speech to business leaders in Boston. Church was a keynote speaker at the Aberdeen Group’s Chief Service Officer Summit, held Oct. 12-13 at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center, where he talked about “Driving Shareholder Value with Service Champions.”

Using Avnet’s experience in transitioning to a value-based management philosophy following the 2001-2003 recession, Church explained the distributor’s shift to a service and solution-based company and its realization of the important link between committed, dedicated, motivated employees and a loyal customer base.

“We link the customer experience to pretty much everything we do,” said Church, Avnet’s senior vice president, chief business development and process officer, adding that one way Avnet links that experience back to employees is by pointing out the value of the company’s work as a solution provider to customers around the world.

“[More and more], employees are looking for cause and purpose [in their work],” Church explained, pointing to the younger generations entering the workforce in particular. “…We have said, let’s become the company in our industry that solves customers’ problems and makes their lives easier.”

Church added that engaged employees trust the company’s senior management, have healthy working relationships with their supervisors, take pride in the company’s brand, and believe they are getting the training and development they need to succeed in their current and future job.

“We’re out here because we’re very proud of our company,” Church said in an interview with SourceESB following the event. “We have a lot to learn and we have a lot to share—and we’re happy to share it.”

Arrow to relocate headquarters to Colorado

Arrow Electronics said it will move its corporate headquarters from Melville, N.Y., to its existing Englewood, Colo., location next month.

Arrow, which had 2010 revenues of $18.7 billion, has had a significant presence in Englewood since 2000.

“With our Colorado operations serving as Arrow Electronics' global headquarters, our commitment to our employees, customers and suppliers remains the foundation of our strategy to create value for our shareholders,” said Michael J. Long, chairman, president and chief executive officer for Arrow Electronics. “As we embark on the next phase of the company's history, we look forward to Colorado being the headquarters for the 52 countries that we serve.”

The Englewood facility has served as the global base for the company's Enterprise Computing Solutions, Americas components and global services businesses. It will officially become Arrow’s global corporate headquarters on November 15. The Melville, N.Y., location will remain open.

“Our New York operations will continue to play a key role in the company,” said Mr. Long. “Our global reach and local touch serve as a differentiator with our more than 115,000 customers and 1,200 suppliers around the world. We are looking forward to continuing our tradition of excellence from our new headquarters in Colorado.”

New and Expanded Distribution Agreements
Avnet Electronics Marketing expanded its agreement with RF Monolithics to distribute RFM products to electronic OEMs and EMS providers in Asia.

ELMOS Semiconductor AG signed a distribution agreement with Hong Kong-based Technokey, a distributor of proximity and gesture recognition systems with a special emphasis on customers in China.

Farnell/element14 announced new agreements with Linear Technology, Wuerth Elektronik, Eurocircuits, and Samtech. The distributor will stock new power conversion products and evaluation kits from Linear Technology and Wuerth Elektronik; has added Eurocircuits’ quick-turn board PCB prototyping services for European customers on the element14 knode; and increased the number of Samtec products it represents from 12,000 to 62,000.

Heilind Electronics announced the expansion of its franchise with Orion Fans following the distributor’s acquisition of Columbus, Ohio-based Thompson Electronic Supplies earlier this year.

USB chipset firm Future Technology Devices International (FTDI) signed a distribution deal with Yosun Industrial, which will represent FTDI in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Nu Horizons Electronics, an Arrow Electronics company, signed a distribution agreement with Samsung LED to represent its complete portfolio of energy-saving, long-life and environmentally friendly mid-power and high-power LEDs along with indoor and outdoor light engines to customers around the world.

Mouser Electronics signed new distribution agreements with SEGGER and Amphenol SV Microwave. Mouser will represent SEGGER’s embedded development tools to customers worldwide; the distributor will represent Amphenol’s broad range of RF and microwave connectors and components.

Events
Don’t miss the ECIA Executive Conference and other upcoming industry events worldwide:

Arrow Data Conversion Techniques Seminar
Arrow Electronics, Freescale Semiconductor and Linear Technology
Various dates and locations throughout the U.S. and Canada through November
http://www.arrownac.com/solutions/adcts/

ECIA Executive Conference
Oct. 23-25
Chicago
Intercontinental Chicago O’Hare Hotel
http://www.eciaonline.org/meetings/calendar.aspx

Electrical and Electronic Equipment and the Environment Conference
Nov. 16-17, 2011
London
Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Heathrow Airport
http://cobham.era.co.uk/conference2010/

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