New-Tech Europe Magazine | May 2018

A record year for Digi-Key Electronics

Ian Wallace, Digi-Key

2017 Growth Digi-Key had a record year in 2017. We reached a milestone of $2 billion for the first time in company history. To break it down, we were up 25%+ globally, 20% in the Americas, and 40% in both EMEA and APAC. We attribute the strong growth to the growing electronics industry as well as the strength of our business model and customer service. We are currently in a time of great technological advancement. The vast growth in application areas such as IoT, Automotive, Industrial Automation, and AI is opening the door for a rapid increase in new inventions, as well as improvements to existing ones. We are also seeing more and more people get involved in engineering. The Maker Movement allows anyone of any skill level to tinker around

with technology and electronics. Software Engineers are starting to get involved with hardware as the IoT naturally pulls those worlds together. Finally, we’re seeing more involvement in STEM in schools which generates an interest in engineering at a younger age than we had in the past. To keep up with this increasing demand, we are continually making sure our focus remains on supporting the NPI needs of our customers and suppliers and adjusting our in- stock level to fulfill the needs of the market. New Facility Digi-Key is currently in the process of building a 93,000-square-meter expansion that will allow us to expand our inventory even further to meet current and future demands of our customers. It will also allow us

to search out the latest and greatest technologies and products from new and existing semiconductor suppliers that will allow us to continue being a one-stop-shop for our customers in all industries. The project is currently on schedule. The building will be almost 3.5x the size of our existing facility. More visible progress was seen in the April/May timeframe this year with construction at various phases of development into the end of 2020. Global Trends in EMEA Market Right now, we are seeing tremendous growth in the EMEA market that is heavily weighted around the Automotive industry and its sub suppliers. More than 30% of the electronic component industry in EMEA involves automotive applications. With the

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