Allied Electronics

Electrocomponents plc/Allied Electronics         

Electronics distributors serving industrial markets are upbeat about business conditions in 2012, pointing to steady growth in manufacturing over the last two years and strength in key sectors such as the oil and gas, agriculture, and automotive industries early in the year.

Although business isn’t booming in every sector of the industrial economy, taken as a whole the outlook is good—especially for companies serving a wide range of end markets, says Mark Simon, vice president of sales for distributor Allied Electronics, which sells original equipment manufacturing (OEM) components as well as maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies to makers of a wide variety of capital equipment.

“Our outlook is positive when you look at it holistically,” says Simon. “The greatest strength Allied has is its diversity of clients. By segment, some are up and some are down. It’s good to have that kind of variety.”

Simon points to strength in agriculture and oil and gas exploration, in particular. He says key projects at some of the cash-rich oil companies remain underway, signaling ongoing robustness in the sector. The automotive industry rebound is another bright spot. Most of Allied’s business in the automotive sector is with ancillary markets that support the major auto manufacturers, and business has picked up quite a bit there in recent months, he says.

Ian Mason, Group Chief Executive

Lee Davidson, President and CEO, Allied Electronics

Company Headquarters: Oxford, United Kingdom;Fort Worth, Texas (Allied Electronics)

2012 Sales: $1.46 billion global (Allied Electronics, approx. $440 million)

Locations: N/A

Employees: 6,200 global (Allied Electronics, 781)

Company website: http://www.alliedelec.com/