Continental demand boost for distributor

Neil Harrison, European president of the Leeds-based electronics distributor, said the general electronics market on the mainland remained healthy despite the recession, with a push on design sustaining demand for their products.

The group, which is due to report its second quarter results on Thursday, makes 37 per cent of its sales in Europe, where clients range from small engineering companies to Siemens, Bosch and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, where the Collider was tested.

Mr Harrison, who stepped up to become Farnell Europe president in January, said: "The general electronics market in Europe is relatively buoyant. That is caused by shortages in the electronics market, which has experienced relatively good growth.

"When markets are subdued, people focus on new products and design activity tends to increase. When there is a slowdown, it forces businesses to be more creative and innovative."

Premier Farnell Europe has traditionally performed well in Britain, Germany and France, but Mr Harrison said there was now increasing demand from nations like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

The firm has created local language websites and appointed local sales representatives to boost its presence there.

Its push on electronic components, such as semi-conductors, and test equipment, is also driven by a contact centre in Leeds, where it has taken on Eastern European staff.

Mr Harrison said there was a "massive" trend for new design beyond the former Iron Curtain and it was helping create a shift in the way such countries were viewed.

"We have a very buoyant business in Eastern Europe. A lot of people thought that market was for new products but it was also for new design.

"Eastern Europe will move from being seen as a low-cost production area to a hotbed of design. A lot of people are migrating back to Eastern Europe having taken education, new skills and ambition from Western Europe."

Premier Farnell has also worked with Cern, which used the $10bn Large Hadron Collider, which smashes atoms together to try to re-create conditions close to those immediately after the creation of the universe.

It supplied electronic and testing equipment, micro-processors and advanced memory devices.

The group also supplies thousands of components, ranging from LEDs to microchips and batteries, to small companies and individual engineers.

One of those has been amateur photographer Robert Harrison, who used his ingenuity and a collection of parts costing just 500, to take spectacular pictures of the Earth, using a Canon camera which he launched 35km – more than 20 miles – into the air on a weather balloon.

The shots taken by Mr Harrison's Icarus project, based in Huddersfield, were so good that space agency Nasa got in touch to find out about them.

Premier Farnell's most recent results were hailed by analysts after showing a rise in pre-tax profits, from 13m to 22m, in the three months to April 30.

Chief executive Harriet Green said it showed the firm had come out of the recession "fast, early and well".

Other customers include Philips, Microsoft and Nokia.

Mr Harrison also confirmed that Premier Farnell remained on the acquisitions trail in Europe but said there was a balance to be struck between firms which had a low sale price because of the downturn and those which could offer long-term value.

NEIL HARRISON

Neil Harrison, 43, began his professional career in the finance and insurance industry as an adviser, and in sales.

He started his career at Farnell InOne UK as a field sales executive in 1995. He went on to work in e-commerce and was named general manager for Farnell InOne Holland and Belgium and re-located to Utrecht, where he grew sales by 25 per cent.

He also worked in France, achieving a doubling of compound sales, and in a series of other senior roles before becoming managing director, Farnell Europe, in mid-2008.