Avnet Express, UBM Electronics Celebrate Electronics Innovation in Cross-Country "Drive for Innovation" Tour

PHOENIX and SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Electronics, a UBM company and the daily source of essential business and technical information for the electronics industry's decision makers, today announced a first-of-its kind cross-country journey showcasing electronics innovation in the new Chevrolet Volt.

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Sponsored by Avnet Express, the e-Commerce engine for Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), this year-long road trip begins in July. EE Times' Editorial Director Brian Fuller will be driving a fire-engine-red Volt to innovation hubs across America; interviewing engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, students and the occasional "mad scientist" – all while blogging and posting video updates about his experiences. As the ultimate road trip unfolds, Fuller will highlight not only these inspiring stories, but detail the electronics innovation behind the Volt and the future of plug-in electric cars.

Beth Ely, senior vice president of Avnet Express said, "The Drive for Innovation tour embodies Avnet's passion for promoting innovation in technology. Our customers, big and small, are the engineers of  tomorrow's 'next big thing;' this tour will not only highlight cutting-edge technology, but also ways that Avnet is supporting innovation through our supply and design chain services and technical support programs."

As the e-Commerce engine for Avnet Electronics Marketing, Avnet Express gives design engineers and purchasing professionals access to the world's largest catalog of electronic component products, which tops 5 million parts. Avnet Express offers parametric searching capabilities and the ability to upload a bill of materials (BOM) for easier sourcing of products and a consistent global platform of localized content. The site can be accessed in nine languages and 13 currencies.

Paul Miller, CEO of UBM Electronics, said, "The project was in keeping with the spirit of relentless innovation the publishing company has driven since its founding nearly 40 years ago with the launch of EBN and then EE Times."

"We were thrilled that Avnet came to us with this challenge because we share a common goal: to best serve the needs of electronics engineers in fun and creative ways," Miller said.

The multi-faceted "Drive for Innovation" is anchored by a website, www.driveforinnovation.com, that features content from the road trip, a drive tracker and interactive map that highlights the tour, as well as games and prizes to fuel community engagement.

Upcoming cities on the first leg of the "Drive for Innovation" road trip include:

• Chicago
• Milwaukee
• Detroit
• Cleveland
• New York

Check www.driveforinnovation.com for upcoming locations and sign up to follow the stories and request the Volt to pull into your town or city for a visit.

To learn more about Avnet Express, visit avnetexpress.com.  To follow the "Drive for Innovation" and the Chevrolet Volt travel across the United States, visit www.driveforinnovation.com.  Follow the "Drive for Innovation" on Facebook and Twitter.

About Avnet Electronics Marketing

Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. that serves electronic original equipment manufacturers (EOEMs) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers in more than 70 countries, distributing electronic components from leading manufacturers and providing associated design-chain and supply-chain services. The group's website is located at www.em.avnet.com.

About Avnet, Inc.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 3, 2010, Avnet generated revenue of $19.16 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.  

About UBM Electronics

UBM Electronics is the global leader in media and marketing solutions for the electronics industry.   UBM Electronics delivers results for the key influencers and decision makers involved in the design, development and commercialization of technology through its market leading brands, peer communities and professional education services.   More than 2.2 million engineering professionals engage with UBM Electronics brands which include EE Times, EDN, EDN China, EDN Asia, EDN Japan, Design News and Test & Measurement World, TechOnline, Designlines and Embedded.com across the globe to accelerate technology sales. The international electronics community gathers at UBM Electronics market leading events such as the Embedded Systems Conferences, DesignCon and ARM Technology Conference to share, learn, discuss, and advance the critical issues and challenges facing the electronics industry. Additionally, UBM Electronics provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation marketing, integrated media, custom solutions and research.  UBM Electronics is part of UBM (UBM.L) a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

About UBM plc

UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information on UBM Electronics please contact:

Felicia Hamerman, Vice President, Marketing
T: 516.562.5652, E: felicia.hamerman@ubm.com

For more information on Avnet Express please contact:

Bethany Helvie, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Avnet Electronics Marketing
T:  480.643.7183, E: bethany.helvie@avnet.com

SOURCE UBM Electronics