Heard in the Channel: Heilind, Avnet make acquisitions

Distributors were on the acquisition trail early in 2013, with a major announcement from Massachusetts-based Heilind Electronics and more service-based news from industry giant Avnet.

Heilind announced its acquisition of New Jersey-based Interstate Connecting Components, which specializes in electronic components for military and aerospace markets.

"We are very pleased to be welcoming ICC into the Heilind family," Robert W. Clapp, Heilind’s president, said in announcing the deal January 3. "ICC has long been a leader in customer service and technical support in the mil-aero industry and will greatly enhance Heilind's ability to support customers in that marketplace."

ICC is a privately held company serving electronics military and aerospace OEMs and contract manufacturers from its Lumberton, New Jersey headquarters and through its network of sales offices in New York, Alabama, New Mexico and California.

The acquisition follows Heilind’s purchase last year of Kotek Eletro Electronica, a leading distributor of electronic components in Brazil serving electronics OEMs and contract manufacturers from its headquarters in Sau Paulo.

In other acquisitions news, Avnet, Inc. announced its purchase of TSSLink, an IT services provider that will become part of the distributor’s enterprise computing and IT business, Avnet Technology Solutions. TSSLink provides technical support, consulting and outsourcing services, field product installation, end-user training and technical staff augmentation, and is based in San Jose, Calif.

Avnet executives say the deal expands the distributor’s services portfolio and strengthens its position as an IT solutions provider.

In other news:

Mouser Electronics was named a leading corporate citizen by Mansfield, Texas, mayor David Cook. Mouser was recognized for its economic and civic contributions and for being named the 2012 Employer of Excellence for Tarrant County, Texas.
North Carolina-based distributor BTC Electronic Components launched a new web site offering user-friendly features, streamlined navigation and enhanced search functionality, http://www.btcelectronics.com/
Allied Electronics employees participated in the company’s fifth annual “Allied Angel Tree” program in December, providing gifts and sponsoring families through the Battered Women’s Foundation. Allied employees also embraced the holiday season by sponsoring a donation drive to help a local animal shelter, The Abandoned Ones. Employees donated pet food, toys, grooming accessories and more.

Still others made headlines recently with new distribution agreements:

Digi-Key signed a global distribution agreement with Cicoil, maker of flexible flat cable used in commercial and military applications.
Mouser announced a global distribution agreement with Marquardt, maker of switches, sensors and control devices. Mouser also announced the availability of Olimex’s new open-source OLinuXino-MINI Single-board Linux Computer, featuring the i.MX233 ARM926J processor from Freescale Semiconductor. The distributor also now stocks the VSOP98260 remote control code learning IC from Vishay.
Farnell element 14 expanded its agreement with ON Semiconductor to include the manufacturer’s complete offering of motor driver ICs.
element14 alsosigned a new distribution contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to sell the credit-card sized Raspberry Pi computer globally.
Allied Electronics signed a distribution agreement with Orion Power Systems, a maker of power protection solutions for data and security applications.