Response to recent mergers and acquisitions activity in component market.

Blurred lines can lead to lack of transparency and independence.

Anglia Components which is one of Europe’s longest-established, independent, authorised distributors of electronic components, has warned of a looming potential imbalance in the supply chain, where traditional lines may become blurred, leading to a lack of transparency and compromised independence.

Steve Rawlins

Steve Rawlins, Anglia’s CEO reasons: “Last week, the news sneaked out that one of the leading electronic component brokers had been bought by a major CEM, confirming rumours that had been floating about for months. This is concerning because it places too much buying power in the control of one organisation, leaving the supply chain at risk. If this were to become a trend, with other Tier 1 CEMs buying brokerage companies, it could easily result in artificial shortages and price hikes.”

Anglia is speaking from experience. 25 years ago, the company set up its own CEM operation, which was in Rawlins words ‘a disaster’ as customers were confused and worried by the potential conflict. The experiment was swiftly terminated.

The issue really centres on how increasingly blurred lines between manufacturing, distribution, and open-market sourcing affect company governance. Anglia believes in forging strong, three-way supply chain partnerships between component manufacturer, the customer and the distributor. “We operate with full transparency in the best interests of our customers”, concludes Rawlins.

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• See also: Warning: Chip shortage. (29/6/2026); Guarding against inventory disruption. (18/1/2019).

@angliaComponent @angliaLive @BWW_Comms #Electronics #PAuto

Supply constraints are approaching rapidly.

"Some memory manufacturers have closed their books for new orders this year..."

Anglia Components, a leading independent, authorised distributor of electronic components in Europe, is actively advising customers of anticipated supply constraints in the market. The company is warning that the market is flipping from a downward price trend with most components available ex-stock, to an upward price trend and extending lead times. Prices are rising by 5-15%, and lead-times from manufacturers for standard products such as MCUs has already reached 23 weeks in certain circumstances. And this was already the status prior to the recent events in the Middle East, which are likely to compound and exacerbate the situation.

“We are hoping that it won’t return to the disruption experienced in 2020-2022 when customers without forward orders found themselves paying extreme premiums on the grey market simply to keep production running “, says John Bowman, Anglia’s Marketing Director (Pictured right). “But already, some memory manufacturers have closed their books for new orders this year, and across the board, our manufacturing partners are quoting progressively longer lead-times. You have to learn from history, and I am highly certain we are heading towards a period of restricted supply in the very near future.”

With more than 50 years of experience navigating market cycles, Anglia is advising customers to place orders early to secure their required production volumes. Bowman continues: “Customers need to take measured action now and lay down their component requirements for at least the next 12 months. Now is most certainly not the time to sit back and wait – as Theodore Roosevelt once said: ‘…the worst thing you can do is nothing’ “.

As manufacturer and distribution inventories tighten and die banks are drawn down, goods ordered today are likely to have a lead time of six months, and extending. But that is much better than being told that there is no availability and no chance of getting the parts you need other than falling back on the grey market. Anglia, known as the “Kings of Inventory”, are ready to work with every customer, large and small, to manage the challenges ahead.

Bowman concludes: “We have a reputation as the eyes and ears for SMEs. We are trusted to work with them through challenging times and help mitigate risks to their production. But it’s vital that our message is taken seriously — recent years should not create a false sense of security. Purchasing strategies need to adapt, and the time for action is now.”

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See also: Component market in full swing! ("Don't get caught out!")

@angliaLive @BWW_Comms #Electronics #PAuto #Components #Europe

Component market in full swing!

"Don't get caught out!"

Anglia Components the well known authorised distributors of electronic components, is advising customers that – as predicted in Q4 2025 – the market upturn is in full swing. “We're seeing a higher level of enquiries and sales are picking up, both in the UK and across the EU”, says David Pearson, Anglia’s Technical Director. “However, whilst we are happy to see the market moving at last, suppliers are now extending leadtimes on certain products - not yet across the board, but in certain product areas such as MEMS semiconductors.”

David Pearson

He continues: “In other areas, demand from exploding sectors such as AI data centres means that manufacturers are shifting their product mix to focus on the most lucrative products. Micron, for example is exiting the consumer memory module market and diverting its manufacturing capacity to high bandwidth memory. That’s putting pressure on supplies of DRAM such as DDR memory. Inevitably this is also resulting in price rises. Again, at the moment it’s only in certain sectors, and limited to 3-5%. But watch this space!”

“We’re not sure exactly when the tipping point will be”, concedes Pearson, “but we are sure it will come. Therefore our strong advice is get scheduled orders in now, before component manufacturers close their books for 2026, as has already happened with one memory supplier.”

Anglia has built a reputation as the ‘kings of inventory’, with stock turns deliberately much lower than the biggest corporate entities, and this is a policy which the company is sticking by. However, markets can change very quickly, especially in a volatile economic climate. “We’re in a better position than our competitors to support customers of all sizes from SMEs to large corporations”, concludes Pearson. “All we are saying is ‘don’t get caught out’ – talk to us now about your requirements for the year ahead and let us ensure that your supply chain is secure.”

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@angliaLive #Electronics #PAuto #Components

Where are your goods coming from?

"The supply chain can be fragile ..."

In the major changes in international trade conditions procedures used in ordering and receiving goods were relatively simple. Nowadays however long supply chains can lead to delays, price-instability not to mention a heavy carbon footprint. European customers using supply chains that rely solely on overseas warehousing should be very wary of significant challenges, warns Anglia Components.

Anglia's John Bowman

Shipping parts around the world always increases carbon footprint. The two major ‘high service’ - or as John Bowman, Anglia’s Marketing Director, refers to them, ‘self service’ – distribution players both ship exclusively from central USA locations. Shipping goods from their British distribution centre in Wisbech to customers in Britain or continental Europe incurs seven times less CO₂ than shipping the same goods from the US or other continents.

The current geopolitical instabilities and trade wars have massively impacted supply chains. “We are seeing leading semiconductor manufacturers such as Texas Instruments, which has consolidated its distribution network for its own gain with little regard for what the customer wants, choosing to increase prices across the board in response to international trade conditions and tariffs. The supply chain can be fragile and putting all ‘one’s eggs in one basket’ – both from the manufacturer and customer’s perspectives – is dangerous.”

He contrasts Anglia’s approach which is to stock in depth. Orders can be placed to mitigate against price changes caused by tariffs or currency fluctuations. "Having a local distribution and logistics centre, gives us an edge unlike many of our competitors, it also addresses the sustainability question and ensures that goods are available on a rapid one- or two-day delivery service."

For EU customers, overcoming BREXIT difficulties, parts are shipped by FedEx, Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). Invoicing is available in multiple currencies, and orders that are placed up to 17:00 (CET) Monday to Thursday are despatched same day. There is no minimum order value and DDP delivery is free for orders over €50/$60.

Also, Anglia has recently launched a loyalty scheme which offers Anglia Live customers 90 day credit terms and rewards worth up to £2,500 (€2870). Bowman adds: “We are big enough to offer the best logistics practices, but not so corporate that we forget about true customer service and what UK and EU customers really need”

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@angliaComponent #Electronics #PAuto

World cup could profit electricians.

Schneider Electric is giving electricians and contractors the opportunity to enjoy the World Cup in comfort, by winning a range of prizes with its ‘#getwinterfootballready’ promotion.

When electricians spend £100 or more in selected Schneider Electric distributors, they’ll have the chance to win the Grand Prize of a VIP box experience at the 2023 FA Cup Final! This includes four seats for them and their friends/family, and two seats for staff from the distributor they placed the winning order with.

For every £100 spent, participants earn a scratch card with a unique code on (each participant is allowed to enter up to five codes over the course of the promotion). When input in the dedicated online portal, this code enters them into the weekly rolling prize draw. This weekly prize draw concludes at the end of this year, the day after the World Cup final. The draw for the Grand Prize will take place on the 10th of January 2023 and will consider all qualifying entries, so the more you spend, the greater chance you have of winning!

Nico Van Der Merwe, VP of Home and Distribution at Schneider Electric, said “A Winter World Cup will be a totally different experience to what football fans are used to. We anticipate many fans will choose to watch the games from the comfort of their living rooms this year, so we want to support and thank our dedicated electrical community by giving them the opportunity to win a range of exciting prizes perfect for hosting friends and family.”

Any distributors that wish to partake in this promotion are advised to visit the link below for full details. Point-of-sale material to help support the campaign will be sent to all participating distributor branches alongside the qualifying order.

@SchneiderUKI #Electrical #Automation #FIFAWorldCup 🙌

High camera order intake & promising new products.

The industrial camera manufacturer, IDS Imaging Development Systems,  was able to exceed industry expectations in the first half of 2021. Instead of the 7% increase in turnover forecast by the VDMA for the machine vision industry, the company has so far generated more than double this growth.

The company expects consistently high growth until the end of 2021. The positive order situation and the strong development of foreign business give the camera manufacturer every reason to do so, despite the challenging procurement situation. Compared to the same period in the previous year the increase in turnover was particularly strong in North America.

The company bases its growth forecast for the VISION year 2021 primarily on the new IDS NXT cameras with artificial intelligence, as well as on the high demand in the 3D segment. New products, such as the cost-effective, industrial-grade Ensenso S, will explicitly complement the IDS product range in these areas. IDS is also expanding the uEye portfolio with new sensors and a new small C-mount housing camera – especially in the low-cost range for particularly price-sensitive and high-volume applications. On the software side, the new SDK IDS peak with many modern programming interfaces and new convenience functions promises real added value for both uEye and uEye+ users.

"We are developing innovative products and platforms in order to continually set new impulses for our customers and partners with new powerful solutions," explains Managing Director Jan Hartmann. By establishing its own development unit in Serbia last year, the industrial camera manufacturer has already paved the way for even more active AI research and development. "Cameras and artificial intelligence, a combination that allows IDS to reinvent itself and contribute to shaping the future." In the area of tension between increasing demand, high standards of efficiency and sustainability as well as security of supply, embedded vision solutions with AI – such as IDS NXT – are becoming more and more important.

With the online platform visionbay, IDS has now also opened a virtual marketplace for image processing with AI. There, users can access the know-how of experts in the field of artificial intelligence, get access to complete image processing solutions and thus save valuable development time.

@IDS_Imaging  @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #Vision 

Holding steady through 2021.

Endress+Hauser has weathered the crisis year 2020 in good shape. However, the Group’s consolidated sales fell – strongly influenced by exchange rate effects – by almost 3 percent to just under €2.6 billion. Even a strong laboratory business could only partially offset the shortfalls in process automation, which was hit harder by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.*

Bridging  the physical distance to customers in
the pandemic with digital & emotional proximity.

While sales development last year fell well short of targets, the Group maintained profits at a strong level. “Endress+Hauser’s financial solidity has not suffered during the crisis,” emphasized Chief Financial Officer Dr Luc Schultheiss. The company was able to avoid short-time work and even slightly increased employment. At the end of 2020, Endress+Hauser had more than 14,400 employees worldwide, over 100 more than a year ago.

Endress+Hauser has always remained able to deliver despite the pandemic. “We have bridged the physical distance to our customers with digital and emotional proximity,” said Chief Executive Officer Matthias Altendorf. He sees the company as well equipped, even if the next few months continue to be dominated by the coronavirus crisis: “Our innovative strength is unbroken. Endress+Hauser will launch more product innovations in 2021 than ever before.”

The impact of the pandemic continues to affect individual market regions, customer industries and fields of activity very differently. Nevertheless, Endress+Hauser has made a good start to the current year. The Group expects growth in the single-digit percentage range in 2021 but sees profits under increased pressure. The company does not expect a fundamental recovery in the global economy until the end of the year.

Christophe Roche of Endress+Hauser Ireland on how Covid-19 affects their business. (Jun 2020)

@Endress_Hauser @Endress_US @Endress_CA @Endress_UK #PAuto #Automation #coróinvíreas #COVID19 #coronavirus

US market leads growth in automation products.

Endress+Hauser experienced strong growth across all regions, sectors and product areas in 2018. The ongoing digitalization of the industry and positive development on the international markets provided impetus. The Group increased sales and profits, invested heavily and created hundreds of jobs worldwide.

Klaus Endress (left), President of E+H
Supervisory Board with Matthias Altendorf, CEO

“The bottom line is, 2018 was a good year for Endress+Hauser worldwide,” explained CEO Matthias Altendorf at the Group’s annual media conference in Basel (CH)*. The Group increased net sales by 9.5 percent to 2.455 billion euros, despite facing strong headwinds from foreign exchange rates. Expressed in local currencies, sales grew by 12.7 percent.

The business was bolstered by a strong economy in the process automation sector. Continued high demand from private consumers, as well as recovering oil and raw material prices, contributed to the solid growth. After years of somewhat restrained investment activity, large-scale projects made a return. According to Chief Financial Officer Dr Luc Schultheiss, Endress+Hauser’s performance “exceeded the industry average.”

Endress+Hauser made excellent progress in Europe. Business was dynamic even in Africa and the Middle East as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. Perhaps the most noteworthy statistics is the fact the United States has now become the biggest sales market for E+H, passing Germany for the first time in 65 years. “After 65 years, the US replaced Germany as our largest sales market,” reported Matthias Altendorf.  However China also grew at a double-digit pace. “If this trend continues, China could soon take over the top spot,” added the CEO.

Foreign exchange rate fluctuations not only slowed down sales growth, but also stifled cost structures, despite notable cost increases on the materials side. Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 31.4 percent to 330.6 million euros. Even though no one-off income was recognized in 2018, in contrast to the prior year, profit before taxes (EBT) still rose by 14.6 percent to 315.7 million euros. Return on sales (ROS) climbed 0.6 points to 12.9 percent.

Net income rose by 11.2 percent to 232.5 million euros, which reflects an effective tax rate of 26.4 percent which increased over the prior year due to a change in the composition of the profit. The equity ratio reached 71 percent, an increase of 0.8 points. The Group has no considerable bank liabilities.

Endress+Hauser’s growth was fueled by a wealth of innovations. The company brought 54 new products to the market last year. Research and development expenses climbed to 184.2 million euros, representing 7.5 percent of sales. The company filed 287 initial patents in 2018. At the end of the year, Endress+Hauser held nearly 7,800 patents and other intellectual property rights.

About one-third of the new patents were related to the IIoT, digital communications, diagnostics and electronics. “Digitalization is penetrating all areas,” emphasized Altendorf. Apart from 1,000 developers active in the Group’s centers of competence, various start-ups established by the Group are also busy working on products, solutions and services for the digital age. Endress+Hauser is furthermore collaborating closely with industry partners such as software specialist SAP.

A further driver of growth was process analysis. “The optical analyzer business performed extremely well,” said the CEO. Endress+Hauser established a European support center for advanced analyzers in Lyon, France. The network of sales specialists in this area is growing in Europe. The CEO is hoping for additional impulses to spur this business area.


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Endress+Hauser got off to a good start in 2019. Incoming orders and net sales for the Group are tracking well above prior year levels. The company nonetheless expects this trend to cool off in the second half of the year. “We are still anticipating solid growth in the mid-single-digit range,” said Luc Schultheiss. According to the CFO, the company plans to invest 260 million euros this year, and assuming the business continues to perform well, 500 new jobs will be created worldwide.

* More details and results here.

@Endress_Hauser  #PAuto 

Phenomenal growth in China for systems house.

Zenith Technologies has reported 400 per cent growth in its Chinese operations in the last 3 years.
The company now has a presence working on sites across five Chinese cities – Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi’an, Hangzhou & Guangzhou - and employs a growing team to work across its client base supporting pharma and biotech companies with the implementation of technologies to improve manufacturing efficiencies such as Automation, IT, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Digital and Data Analysis.

Liang Zhou, China Manager with 
Trevor Marshall, Global Engineering Director.

With the Chinese life sciences market currently set as the world’s second largest national market, and with an expected value of $220 billion by 2022, Zenith plans to double its operations in the country over the next three years and expand its work with local companies as well as continuing to support global multinationals.

Liang Zhou, General Manager of Greater China said: “The Chinese market has been leading the way in revolutionary cell therapy innovations, which are changing the face of medicine delivery. There is growing interest in the adoption of automating processes in this area as companies build a new generation of facilities in line with stringent international standards with a view to supplying across the world.

“We are well placed to support clients here who would like to adopt these solutions and have already played an integral role in the development of technologies to oversee these key cell therapy innovations.”

Zenith’s success in China represents the company’s latest endeavour in the Asian market having first set up a presence on the continent in 2002 with the opening of its regional headquarters in Singapore.
In 2008 the company set up an office in India, which now hosts more than 100 employees and serves as a global support hub to deliver software projects anywhere in the world, featuring a remote engineering centre and 24/7 IT support desk service.

Zenith, founded in Ireland in 1998, has 16 offices worldwide with over 900 skilled employees delivering manufacturing software to the life sciences industry. Across Asia the company now has a total workforce of more than 200 professionals and is actively looking to new Asian markets to expand its footprint to support the burgeoning number of life science hubs.

Bryan McSwiney, Asia Director said: “After more than 15 years in the Asian market, a quarter of our global operations are now based here and the latest growth figures from China demonstrate that we go from strength to strength.

“We now have an established presence in five Chinese cities – a significant footprint within a relatively short space of time – as well as a thriving support hub in India and a widely recognised HQ in Singapore.

“With a solid foundation now firmly established in the Asian market, we look forward to building on our successes and working closely with local and multinational companies on the continent who can benefit from the diverse range of technologies we can introduce into manufacturing facilities.”

 @ZT_Global  #LifeScience #PAuto #Systems #China

Recognised as global sustainability benchmark.

Delta has been recognized in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI)* 2018 assessment as the industry leader within the Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components sector for a third time, following previous successes in 2015 and 2012. Delta has now been included in the DJSI World Index for the 8th consecutive year and in the DJSI Emerging Markets Index for the 6th consecutive year. The 2018 DJSI survey, not only underscores Delta's continuous dedication towards climate change action and superior performance in economic and social dimensions, but also rewards the Company with the highest score in 6 criteria.

Mr. Ping Cheng, Delta's chief executive officer, highlighted, "Our long-term commitment is to realize Delta's corporate mission, 'To provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow', by leveraging our core competence in high-efficiency power electronics and by developing comprehensive energy-saving solutions capable of lowering mankind's carbon footprint. These aforementioned endeavors have helped us lead the electronics industry in 5 major criteria of the 2018 DJSI corporate sustainability assessment: “Codes of Business Conduct”, “Innovation Management”, “Product Stewardship”, “Social Reporting’, “Labor Practice Indicators”. And our cooperation with the Delta Electronics Foundation for the promotion of environmental education and green buildings has supported us lead in the “Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy” criteria. Furthermore, our proactive effort on climate policy and industrial automation talent cultivation was the main catalyst for improving the “Policy Influence” score and to achieve this year's industry leadership position.

Delta's 2017 CSR Report, which has been published this past week, elaborates on its unparalleled sustainability performance. Over the past 8 years, Delta's high-efficiency products and solutions have enabled electricity savings of up to 24.3 billion kWh for our customers, which translate into a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 12.96 million tons approximately. Moreover, our 18 certified green buildings saved more than 14.9 million kWh of electricity in 2017 alone.  

* The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices were launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks. The indices are offered cooperatively by RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Each year, they invite the world's 2,500 largest companies, classified as 60 RobecoSAM industries to report on their sustainability performance. The results of the Corporate Sustainability Assessment provide an in-depth analysis of economic, environmental and social criteria. The indexes serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, and provide an effective engagement platform for companies that want to adopt sustainable best practices.

 #Deltawww, #Pauto #DJSI

Expansion of Oil, gas & energy industries powers A&C market in CIS.

Upcoming brownfield and greenfield projects in the oil and gas and power generation industries will sustain the demand for automation and control solutions (ACS) in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Among the countries in the region (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Moldova), Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will remain market hot spots as scheduled oil and gas exploration activities as well as the anticipated modernisation of the industrial automation sectors pave the way for ACS adoption.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the Automation and Control Solutions Market in CIS Countries, finds that the market earned revenues of €321.4 milliom  (US$443.8 million) in 2013 and estimates this to reach €405 million (US$559.2m) in 2017. While programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and safety instrumented systems (SIS) will continue to dominate the market, the distributed control system (DCS) segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate.

“As awareness increases, industries in the CIS are deploying ACS to bolster production volumes, optimise manufacturing processes, decrease operational costs, and boost returns,” said Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation and Process Control Research Analyst Maryna Osipova. “Advanced solutions that offer asset management capabilities and enable the processing, displaying and archiving of information are particularly making a mark among end users.” 

One of the key challenges in the CIS ACS market is the lack of a well-qualified workforce. Innovative ACS systems require professional engineering resources for installation, operation and repair services, and the shortage of skilled assets affects project performance and customer service support for ACS products.

Another restraint is the economic downturn that has compelled customers to tighten budgets, resulting in the temporary shelving of present projects and the delay of future ones. High inflation rates further curb the purchasing power of customers and limit investments in automation.

Expanding into the region will help ACS producers overcome cost concerns from end users to an extent through geographical proximity and product customization activities.

“Building sound relationships with original equipment manufacturers will allow ACS service providers to deliver flexible solutions and carve a niche for their products in the competitive CIS market,” elaborated Osipova. “In addition, ACS suppliers must customise solutions to not only meet emerging customer needs but also add value to their offering and widen their reach in the region.” 

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Julia Nikishkina, Corporate Communications, at julia.nikishkina@frost.com, with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.