Committed to offering design engineers the newest technologies first, leading multi-channel electronics distributor Newark, part of the global Premier Farnell Group, has signed a franchise agreement with Altera Corporation, to supply their FPGA and CPLD devices, the latest development kits and the Quartus® II design software in North America.

This agreement follows recent signings with Premier Farnell for its European and Asia Pacific regions, who have executed multi-channel marketing plans leveraging local sales support and inventory on Altera’s latest products

"We believe Newark will help us reach new design engineers with our latest programmable technologies. This new partnership is important to us to capitalize on the increasing demand Altera has seen for its latest FPGA families such as Cyclone IV and Stratix IV," said Steve McMinn, vice president, worldwide channel sales, Altera.

In support of Altera’s recent launch of its Cyclone IV family, a dedicated engineering community has been created online within element 14 at http://www.element-14.com/cycloneiv offering free software, and Web 2.0 tools to enable designers to discuss the technology with colleagues around the world. element14, together with Altera, will be hosting a webex event on November 25 at 3pm GMT, to discuss the new Cyclone IV FPGA family. Engineers are invited to register their attendance at element14. A replay of the event will also be available following the sessions. element14 is an innovative technology portal and collaborative community for electronic design engineers that was launched in June at www.element-14.com

“Utilizing the phenomenal power of our collaborative element14 community, designer engineers can learn how to incorporate Altera's industry leading, innovative devices into the early concept stage of a new design,” commented Laurence Bain COO Premier Farnell and President of Newark. “And with Altera’s world-class products and our broad reach to design engineers globally in key industries like medical, alternative energy and the military, it is possible to accelerate the use of programmable logic into new and exciting applications. We are confident that we will achieve the same success in the Americas as we continue to do in the rest of the world.”

About Newark

Newark, part of the global Premier Farnell Group, and a leading multi-channel, high-service electronics distributor supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals across the Americas, is known for offering the broadest selection of components and test equipment from 440+ top manufacturers for design engineer and maintenance technicians. With multiple sales channels, customers do business with Newark through contact centers, a local branch network, field sales force and a world-class website at www.newark.com that offers exclusive tools to manage, track and review purchases, quotes and invoices online. Committed to innovation and reducing its environmental impact, Newark has been making a difference in the electronics industry for 75 years.