Bell Micro Authorized By Mitsubishi

The semiconductor group of Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc. tapped distributor Bell Microproducts Inc. to bolster its channel coverage.

The manufacturer of semiconductors and system components added Bell Micro to its roster of partners in what amounts to the vendor's largest distribution signing to date.

The move is designed to provide broader availability and support for Mitsubishi's semiconductor and system products in North America and to expand its reach among small regional OEM customers, said Bob Olszewski, Mitsubishi director of sales.

"Prior to this year, we did not have a strong focus on distribution partners, but we wanted to expand our distribution sales programs in North America," Olszewski said. "We were drawn by [Bell Micro's] tech-support capabilities in the semiconductor arena. They seemed to offer us strong focus and engineering capabilities."

Bell Micro's interest was sparked by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Mitsubishi's storage products, especially the SuperDisk LS-120 floppy-disk drives, which come with 120 Mbytes of usable capacity, roughly 80 times the capacity of conventional 1.44-Mbyte 3.5-inch diskettes. The success of Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac PCs rekindled customer interest in the drive, said Phil Roussey, vice president of marketing for Bell Micro.

"There has been a high demand for that product as the after-market proliferates for that computer line," Roussey said. "The deal was made by virtue of mutual need."

Bell Micro will sell the vendor's semiconductor and component products, including static RAM (SRAM), flash memory, application-specific and memory. The distributor also will supply technical development, field applications engineering, marketing and sales support.

Other distribution partners the vendor authorized recently include Arrow Electronics Inc. (formerly Bell Industry Inc.'s Electronics Distribution Group), All American Semiconductor Inc., Covenant Electronics Inc. and Diamond Advanced Components.

Last year, Bell Micro management said the distributor wanted to raise its profile by adding to its roster of VARs, integrators and OEMs. Mitsubishi has more brand recognition in TVs and cars than in semiconductors, but Bell Micro management said it has confidence that putting its weight behind a company with the brand recognition of Mitsubishi can help fuel this growth.

It also expands the San Jose-based distributor's semiconductor offerings to its industrial and commercial customers, said Ron Maybry, senior vice president of marketing at Bell Micro.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi's Semiconductor Group is providing extensive product and system-level technical training for all its distributors as part of the increased channel emphasis. This support includes microcontroller development tools, such as evaluation boards, emulators and development software.

"Our goal is to significantly expand Mitsubishi's distribution channel in North America," said David Schwartz, vice president and general manager of sales at Mitsubishi's Electronic Device Group.