Electronic Specifier Digital Magazine Launches

Our Electronic Specifier website is publishing as many as 300 product and news items each week so we have no shortage of material to fill the new magazine and we will be sourcing original material for content too. Our daily newsletters will continue, including Friday’s PowerPage and our recently announced Distribution Blog will continue to develop as the year progresses.

It’s all about giving our readers access to the latest information and providing an electronic path to manufacturers and suppliers. So why a new magazine at a time when so many are closing? Well, with closures comes opportunity and we also believe we do what we do better than most - which is why our Electronic Specifier website is the fastest growing product website in Europe.

We all work in or around an industry that never stands still. Why should the publications that serve our industry be any different? Practically every other sector of industry has used electronics technology to greatly enhance their own products and manufacturing processes. Think of the automotive industry where safety features and sheer driving pleasure are taken for granted. Much of this is down to electronics technology.

The Internet, the mobile phone and PDA (now combined by many makers), the laptop, medical systems that keep us healthy, GPS and navigation systems that make air, sea and land travel easier and safer – the list is almost endless. And, with the drive towards a “greener” future, the electronics industry will play a major role in helping us all to make the best use of our energy resources – from electric vehicles to solar power. Sadly perhaps, one area currently enjoying significant growth is defence electronics but, on a positive note, the ability to use the latest technology to protect humans is saving countless lives.
Last year, our industry overcame the shocks we all experienced at the end of 2008. Throughout 2009 there were very positive signs from several key sectors. Semiconductors, power sources, optoelectronics, medical electronics and communications all had a better than expected year and look forward to improved performance as 2010 unfolds. Distributors enjoyed some success, particularly at either end of the spectrum. The multinationals moved ahead, as did many smaller, specialist distributors. Those mid-sized companies fared less well, however, as the larger manufacturers looked to rationalise their disty network. Some key exhibitions performed better than expected particularly Embedded World in Nuremburg and Productronica in Munich where, although space taken was down, visitor levels were remarkably robust.

2010 is an electronica year which is always good for everyone in the electronics industry. It will be fascinating to see how the World’s biggest electronics exhibition takes shape in the next few months. So who will be the winners in 2010? We could be in for a year of good growth on many fronts. But I have been noticing component lead times beginning to increase and this and this alone could put the brakes on many manufacturer’s ambitions. With the panic of Autumn 2008, many companies reduced component and subsystem manufacturing capacity and are still reluctant to turn the taps back to full on. As a result, one group of 2010 winners will be those who have been brave enough to hold and maintain inventory – either as a manufacturer or a distributor. For them, meeting demand will be a profitable pleasure, for the rest, it could be a nail- biting 12 months. Enjoy this first issue and thanks for reading.

View the Electronic Specifier Digital Magazine