Series 16 – Episode 9 – Exploring Avnet's Tria brand

Avnet, a global technology distributor, has introduced a new product brand, Tria, alongside a corresponding business unit, Tria Technologies. This move aims to consolidate Avnet’s compute, design, and manufacturing offerings under one cohesive brand.

Engels provided a detailed overview of the motivation behind the creation of Tria Technologies.

“Looking at the former Avnet Embedded, it was consisting of four different groups inside that organisation. Tria focuses on defining, developing, and producing its own products, mostly around open industry standards like COM Express and COM-HPC. Bringing everything together under one umbrella ensures clarity for customers and sales partners,” he explained.

This consolidation creates a dedicated entity for the development and manufacturing of Avnet’s embedded compute solutions. By separating Tria Technologies from Avnet’s other branches – such as distribution and professional software services – it offers a clear interface for customers while streamlining product development and integration.

The embedded market, known for its vast potential and evolving demands, has always presented opportunities for innovative solutions. Engels described how Tria’s large product portfolio positions it to meet these needs: “We have a very large product portfolio of different module standards, supported by various CPU architectures from ARM and x86. Together with our in-house production capabilities and expert support and engineering organisations, we are well-positioned to provide tailored solutions to customers.”

Tria’s focus on in-house production ensures control over quality and scalability while enabling rapid response to customer requirements.

The first product under the Tria brand, the COM Express Type 6 carrier, exemplifies the company’s dedication to supporting engineers in system development. Engels elaborated on its features: “It’s an essential element for customers to bring up the module and conduct initial testing. The carrier is designed to support newer module generations, such as PCIe Gen 4 and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, aligning with advancements in processor interfaces.”

Engels highlighted the complexities engineers face when designing with high-performance CPUs, particularly for low-volume applications.

“Sometimes engineers want to develop everything themselves, which works well for simple microcontrollers. But with complex CPUs, design teams often lack the budget, resources, or expertise to justify a fully customised design. That’s where a computer-on-module approach comes in,” he said.

Tria’s support structure, including design reviews and expert guidance, ensures customers avoid common pitfalls.

With Tria Technologies, Avnet is setting a strong foundation for the future of embedded compute. By consolidating expertise, simplifying customer interactions, and supporting engineers with comprehensive tools like the COM Express Type 6 carrier, Tria is poised to address the evolving demands of the embedded industry.

To hear more about Tria and much more, you can listen to Electronic Specifier’s interview with Christian Engels on Spotify or Apple podcasts.