RS Components announces the extension of its own brand product range

RS Components is pleased to announce the extension of its own brand product range. All products included in the range have been selected to provide customers with the quality, value-for-money and choice they have come to expect from RS.

Own brand products provide customers with a trusted and credible alternative to manufacturer brands, consequently widening product availability. RS own brand products offer a large cost saving compared to leading brands. The range covers over 35,000 products, which have been selected through direct customer research in view of the ever increasing focus on cost management.

“This initiative demonstrates our continued commitment to our customers, following the recent sales successes we have seen via the website and our Production Packaging service,” commented Neil Harrison, Market Development Manager at RS. “We only implement new services and products that will benefit our customers, which is why our own brand products undergo the same stringent tests as those we distribute from leading manufacturers.”

The RS own brand is not attempting to compete with leading brands, but provides customers with a quality, cost-effective alternative.

A team of engineers at RS’ Corby based laboratory ensure all own brand products comply with statutory and legislative requirements by working in conjunction with suppliers and other regulatory authorities such as the HSE to deliver high quality products.

The own brand range is supported by RS’ service reliability, which has a 99.7% order fulfilment record. For further information and to view full product listings from the RS own brand range then please visit rswww.com.

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RS Components has won the ‘Global Catalogue Distributor of the Year’ award for 2008 from Harting Ltd., the UK operation of the leading European supplier of connectors for the electronics, electrical and automation industries.

RS is a world-leading distributor of electronic components with a range of 450,000 electronic components and industrial products and a customer base of over 1.6M users worldwide.

‘The name of RS Components is synonymous with excellent customer service including next-day delivery for most products, and they have given us excellent support over the past year’, comments Doreen Sanderson, Distribution Manager for HARTING Ltd.: ‘In particular, they have worked closely with us on new product introductions and developing markets, and we look forward to maintaining this excellent relationship in the future.’

Kevin Thompson, General Manager of Product Management for RS Components commented: ‘RS is delighted to be named Global Distributor of the Year by HARTING. We have worked with HARTING to build the right range for our R&D and maintenance customers worldwide. With market-leading service levels and competitive prices, we always look to provide our customers with the best value for money offer available anywhere. It is gratifying to have this acknowledged by HARTING in their award.’

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Digi-Key Corporation Expands Cree Product Line to Include Gallium Nitride (GaN) HEMTs for Microwave Applications

Digi-Key Corporation and Cree, Inc. announced today that Digi-Key is now stocking Cree’s Gallium Nitride (GaN) HEMT transistors for general purpose microwave applications. Digi-Key’s portfolio of Cree offerings encompasses SiC power components, SiC MESFETs, high-brightness and high-power LEDs, and now, GaN HEMT transistors.

Cree’s GaN HEMT general-purpose transistors, in power levels ranging from 10W to 90W, are ideal for microwave applications that require high efficiency, multi-octave bandwidth performance. These transistors offer high frequency performance to 6GHz, high gain, and low parasitic capacitance within small package footprints. This enables smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient systems, often with fewer amplifier components, than required with other microwave transistor technologies.

“We are pleased that Digi-Key is stocking Cree GaN HEMT transistors,” said Jim Milligan, Cree’s director of RF and microwave products. “Digi-Key has the distribution expertise and industry channels to help accelerate the adoption of our GaN HEMT technology.”

Digi-Key President and COO Mark Larson commented, “Relied upon by engineering and purchasing communities for product selection and availability, Digi-Key is committed to providing its customers with the latest and most sought-after technologies. To that end, we are very pleased to make Cree’s GaN HEMT transistors available to our customers.”

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Stock to include inductors and EMC components

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it has signed a distribution agreement with Wurth Electronics Midcom, Inc., a dynamically growing company that focuses on the manufacture of inductors through its EMC & Inductive Solutions unit.

Mouser stock includes inductors, EMC components, common mode chokes, snap-on ferrite line chokes, ferrite beads, and modular filtered jacks. Specifically, Mouser will carry SMD-common mode choke design kits, SMD-shielded tiny Power Inductors WE-TPC, and a STAR-FIX ferrite bead cable assembly with security key.

Barry McConnell, Mouser Senior Vice President of Products, states, “The addition of Wurth Electronic to Mouser’s line card is exciting. With a large European presence, their ISO certified plants and distribution hubs ensure the highest quality inductors and EMC components for our engineering customers.”

Wurth Electronics Midcom presidents Denis Giba and Don Rigdon state, “As a leading catalog and online distributor with a strong emphasis on design-in activities, Mouser is an excellent choice to promote the strengths of Wurth Electronics Midcom’s engineering talents and up-front customer service.” Lars Fahrbach, distribution manager for Wurth, agrees, “Mouser Electronics and Wurth Electronics Midcom both hold the common goal of strong and consistent service to the customer. A great fit!”

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Aerco wins distributorship from Alpha Wire

Aerco has been appointed as a franchised distributor for Alpha Wire. Based in New Jersey, Alpha Wire, a division of Belden Wire and Cable, has been supplying cable products for over seven decades and with a product list of over 10,000 items, delivers the industry’s widest range of wire, cable and tubing products.

Cable product manager at Aerco, Andy Gale, said: “Alpha Wire has the branded products and the expertise that today’s advanced technology companies have come to rely on for their most critical applications. We can now offer a wide range of cable products from the tough, durable XTRA•GUARD® high performance electronic cables to the manufacturing-critical Alpha Wire Industrial Series through to a comprehensive range of heat shrink products.”

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RS Components celebrates Production Packaging milestone

RS Components is celebrating the success of its Production Packaging service, which has achieved £1m of sales across the UK in just 9 months of operation, with nearly 4,000 customers choosing to take advantage of the service.

“This achievement reflects RS’ understanding and commitment to its customers, as we continue to provide them with the products and services they require,” commented Richard Eden, Market Development Manager for Electronics at RS. “By listening to our electronic design and production customers, we have been able to implement a service that further demonstrates RS’ success as a distributor of electronic components.”

Production Packaging was launched in the UK, France and Germany in May 2008 and was extended to cover the rest of Europe and Asia in November. The service provides a flexible, cost-effective solution to meet the specific needs of small batch production customers. By allowing the purchase of electronic components in the quantities needed for a particular project in industry-standard packaging (tapes, reels, tubes and trays) the need to hold stock or dispose of any surplus components is eliminated. The service enables ease of placement directly into automated production equipment and is available on over 40,000 products, all held in stock for next day delivery.

Digitimer Limited has been manufacturing quality clinical and laboratory scientific instruments for over 30 years and has recently invested in pick-and-place SMT production equipment for small to medium sized production runs to support own-brand products and sub-contract manufacturing services. Cheryl Body a Buyer for the company is pleased with the time-saving aspect of this RS service and commented: “To be able to receive goods packaged in the same way as they come from the manufacturer means much faster turnaround from receipt of goods to factory-floor production. We are looking forward to purchasing further components from the RS Production Packaging range.”

Products available in Production Packaging are flagged for easy identification on the RS website, allowing customers to view packaging format, set the quantity required, check live stock levels, and place orders. Alternatively, orders can be made by phone by simply adding a P to the end of the RS stock number.

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Arrow UK announces extended Mini-Clamp connector range

Arrow Electronics can now supply an extended range of Mini-Clamp connectors from 3M and is offering customers the opportunity to receive samples of the new additions. Three new series have been introduced: the Mini-Clamp II Wiremount Plug 371 Series, Boardmount Socket 372 series and Wiremount Socket 373 Series. Target applications include factory automation and industrial controls.

A key feature of the range is the use of 3M insulation displacement technology (IDC), which provides higher connection reliability, while at the same time eliminating cable stripping and tinning, as well as the need for repetitive screw-type wire terminations. The IDC termination process enables time savings of up to 80% per connection, compared to manual crimping techniques. No specialist tools are required and terminations can be carried out using just a pair of pliers, helping to reduce the overall cost of wiring projects.

The 3M Mini-Clamp II connectors also have an integrated guiding and alignment feature built into the cover, which provides reliable positioning of the individual wires. Semi-transparent covers allow for visual inspection to check correct wire positioning prior to termination. Polarizing tabs help provide proper mating while latching features help provide a secure connection, even under severe conditions such as mechanical stress and vibration in industrial environments.

The new connectors are available in a 2mm pitch that use colour coding (red, yellow, orange, green, blue and grey) to ensure proper wire usage, wire alignment and retention of the cover.

As well as factory automation and industrial controls, typical environments for these connectors include medical equipment, packaging systems; flow meters; and sensors. They are also suitable for motion test and measurement systems; traffic light and control systems; food and packaging industries; and automotive and metal industries.

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Digi-Key Corporation and LEDdynamics Ink Global Distribution Deal

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest product selection available for immediate delivery, and LEDdynamics announced today that the companies have entered into a worldwide distribution agreement.

LEDdynamics is a custom engineering company specializing in the design and integration of LED technology for end-user and OEM applications.

Slated to be featured in future print catalogs, LEDdynamics LuxDrive line of products stocked by Digi-Key are now available for purchase on Digi-Key’s website.

“We are very pleased to add LEDdynamics to our line card,” said Mark Larson, Digi-Key president and COO. “We are certain that its products will be of significant interest to customers seeking the benefits of leading edge LED technology.”

“Working with Digi-Key has been a real pleasure,” said William McGrath, LEDdynamics president and CTO. “This distribution partnership combines the superior quality and versatility of LuxDrive power management solutions, lighting controllers, and light-engines, designed and manufactured by LEDdynamics, with world class customer service and consistent product availability.”

Digi-Key Corporation focuses on providing customers with superior service, which includes product selection and availability, on-time delivery, and responsiveness. Using leading-edge processes and state-of-the-art technologies, Digi-Key serves a global customer base from its single 600,000 square foot facility in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA.

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Global challenge offers engineering students and professionals rare opportunities to bring their designs to the marketplace

Premier Farnell plc, the leading multi-channel, high service distributor and its companies (Farnell, Newark, Premier Electronics, Farnell-Newark CPC, and MCM), today announced that design submissions for the international design competition, Live EDGE – Electronic Design for the Global Environment will close on the 31st of January 2009. Since the competition’s launch in October 2008, design engineers, students and academics from around the world have registered at www.live-edge.com to submit designs for an innovative product that utilises electronic components and has a positive impact on the environment. The majority of registrations to date have come from India, the US and China.

A unique prize package will be awarded for both the student and open/general competitions, which are running concurrently. The winner of each competition will receive a $25,000 USD cash prize, plus a unique package of support services valued at an additional $25,000USD from experts in the fields of design consultancy, marketing, legal and commerce, to drive the winning designs towards production. In addition, three runner-ups in each competition will receive $5,000 USD each.

“We are thrilled that the time to start judging the 2008 Live EDGE competition is approaching and we look forward to yet again experiencing the brilliance of our customers around the globe,” said Harriet Green, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Farnell plc. “Once again, Live EDGE will showcase the most innovative designs from the global electronic design engineering community. Last year’s competition was a huge success. I look forward to seeing this year’s winners and helping to bring their designs to market.”

Several of last year’s Live EDGE winners have written blogs offering advice to entrants and detailing their experiences. These blogs, a sample entry, and complete details on the challenge are located at www.live-edge.com. Live EDGE Design Challenge groups are also available on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Stock includes GPS receiver module and evaluation kit

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it has reached a distribution agreement with DeLorme, a pioneering technological innovator with a stellar reputation as a leader of mapping and GPS products.

Mouser’s DeLorme portfolio includes the GPS receiver GPS2058-10, a compact high performance module with complete GPS firmware for all navigation applications that require no need of external memories. In addition, Mouser is stocking the GPS2058 module evaluation kit that provides a complete hardware and software platform to test and evaluate the GPS module.

“DeLorme is excited to partner with Mouser Electronics for support of our mutual customers” said Brian Stearns, DeLorme GPS Module Product Manager. “Mouser provides a valuable service to the design community with their catalog and online product ordering, supporting our customers development needs and accelerating the design win process.”

Mike Scott, Mouser’s Vice President of Active Products, is pleased to include DeLorme in Mouser’s linecard. “The DeLorme brand is respected by designers. Their expertise and modular formats allow engineers to adopt GPS navigation into their designs without becoming experts themselves.”

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