Our heritage

Our history started over 80 years ago with two businesses on opposite sides of the Atlantic, each breaking new ground as the radio industry was changing the way the world communicated. The entrepreneurial start-ups known as Farnell in Europe and Newark in North America each began with a simple mission – help customers get the parts they need, when they need it.

The world has changed a lot since the 1930s. The radio engineer has given way to other sorts of engineers: maintenance and facilities engineers, industrial engineers, design engineers, student engineers, and the purchasing professionals who work with them. And what was a simple trade counter and catalogue business has evolved into a global technology company, with over 30,000 products shipped per day.

Along the way we have charted our own course, delivering industry first innovations that have defined what is expected of a high-service distributor.