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Our heritage
Our history started over 80 years ago with two businesses on opposite sides of the Atlantic, each breaking new ground as the radio industry was changing the way the world communicated. The entrepreneurial start-ups known as Farnell in Europe and Newark in North America each began with a simple mission – help customers get the parts they need, when they need it.
The world has changed a lot since the 1930s. The radio engineer has given way to other sorts of engineers: maintenance and facilities engineers, industrial engineers, design engineers, student engineers, and the purchasing professionals who work with them. And what was a simple trade counter and catalogue business has evolved into a global technology company, with over 30,000 products shipped per day.
Along the way we have charted our own course, delivering industry first innovations that have defined what is expected of a high-service distributor. We stock more than 900,000 products and brands from over 3,000 suppliers, 900 new products added each week, and access to over four million more on demand. We ship more than 19 million order lines every year with the majority of products available for same-day despatch. In addition, our Exclusive Brands portfolio: Multicomp, Pro-Power, Duratool and Tenma offer reliable components and equipment at low prices, providing you with great value.
1934 Newark Electronics founded.
2019 Farnell element14 rebranded Farnell, An Avnet Company. Newark element14 rebranded Newark, An Avnet company. Premier Farnell rebranded Farnell, globally.
Farnell operates across EMEA and is a high-service distributor of technology products, services and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair.
Global access, with service that’s close to home Farnell has operations in 38 countries across Europe, serviced from our regional distribution hubs in the UK and Belgium. We are committed to supporting local language, product and shipment needs. As part of Farnell’s global operations, our access to stock and stronger relationships with suppliers, we are better able to serve your needs.
We believe in the power of engineering to deliver innovations that can change the world…as well as those that keep the world running.
One of the broadest lines cards in high service distribution Our line card includes products, services and solutions that support the design journey, from prototype and test right through to production and maintenance. To keep pace with changing technology, our engineers actively identify and source innovative niche manufacturers for today's most in-demand application areas. Our direct relationships with industry-leading manufacturers, means you can access the very latest technology and information first and as an authorised distributor, we only sell authentic products, so you can be confident you are receiving the highest quality components and services available from proven suppliers