Farnell celebrates 30 years of success in Benelux

The company’s presence includes a professional sales force and dedicated team of local technical engineers, operations and service personnel, providing high levels of customer service available online, via phone and in-person. Farnell has a team of 36 people serving the Benelux market and is currently seeking new recruits to join the team as it looks to realise ambitious growth plans.

The online celebration to mark three-decades in business will take place on Farnell’s website and on social media. Many personnel who have been instrumental in driving the growth of this region will be profiled on social media, while employees Gert-Jan Stegeman (Benelux Regional Sales Manager), Christof Boyen (Field Sales Engineer), and Harry Smit (Technical Adviser) received awards recognising their long service with the company. Exclusive images and video footage from Farnell’s 30^th anniversary event will also be shared through these platforms.

Gert-Jan Stegeman, Benelux Regional Sales Manager, Farnell says: “With 30 years’ experience in the Benelux market we are optimistic about the region’s continued growth, particularly with the evolution of new semiconductor technologies and SBCs, passive components, electromechanical solutions, and advanced test and tool products.

“Our dedicated sales and technical teams know our customers’ needs and provide support at every step of their product development journey from design and development through to testing and production. Our customers will continue to benefit from our dedication to supporting innovation, our world class distribution service and supplier network as well as our increased local presence in the Benelux region.”

Farnell has heavily invested in software solutions to enable customers in the Benelux region to work remotely and achieve operational efficiencies with e-procurement and e-invoicing solutions, same-day dispatch and fast delivery. Technical hubs on the Farnell website, including the IoT Hub and the Industrial Embedded Computers Hub, provide access to technical articles on topics such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as exclusive tools such as the IoT Battery Calculator and AI Configurator to help tackle early-stage design challenges.

Farnell’s key milestones in Benelux:

• 1992 – Farnell established business branches in Belgium and Netherlands
• 2002 – Opening of Liege warehouse
• 2012 – Farnell launched the first Raspberry Pi
• 2016 – Farnell’s acquisition by Avnet 
• 2019 – Opening of new $60 million Leeds distribution centre in the UK to support logistics operations in mainland Europe

Farnell recently offered a major prize giveaway for visitors at the World of Technology & Science (WoTS) 2022 exhibition in Utrecht as part of the 30^th anniversary celebrations. Professional design engineers, electronics enthusiasts, teachers and students entered the draw to win one of 30 prizes, including a Linux-enabled BeagleBone Blue, Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) and ABX00023 Development Board with Arduino MKR Wi-Fi 1010, an ESP32 module and stackable shield headers, a USB soldering iron, a 25-piece chrome plated SL25 Socket Set, wireless headphones and more. 

Farnell stocks more than 950,000 products in its global online catalogue with more than half a million products stocked in mainland Europe. The company’s distribution service is supported by Avnet’s broad ecosystem. Farnell can assist at all stages of product development, offering specialist design services and manufacturing support to customers covering hardware and software solutions, test and measurement equipment, production and much more. Farnell’s wide product and manufacturer portfolio allows customers to streamline their supplier base, saving time and money and speeding up their design to production journeys.

Free online resources, data sheets, application notes, videos and webinars are available on the Farnell website. Customers can also benefit from no minimum order quantity, contract pricing and flexible pricing options as well as scheduled and consolidated orders.