Press Releases

PREMIER FARNELL'S $100K 2008 LIVE EDGE GREEN DESIGN COMPETITION NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION WITH SPECIAL INCENTIVES FOR EARLY SUBMISSION
A Live EDGE Energy Efficiency conference will be hosted at new Virtual "EcoSphere" community on October 15, 2008

October 1, 2008, London, England - Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), the leading multi-channel, high service distributor and its companies (Newark, Farnell, Premier Electronics, CPC, Farnell-Newark and MCM), today announced that design entries are now being accepted at www.live-edge.com  for the international design competition, ‘Live  EDGE’ – Electronic Design for the Global Environment. The competition invites electronic design engineers, students and hobbyists to design products utilizing electronic components, which will positively impact the environment

Two unique prize packages will be up for grabs in student and open/general competitions, which will run concurrently.  The winner of each competition will receive a $25,000 cash award, plus a unique package of support services valued at an additional $25,000 from experts in the fields of Design Consultancy, Marketing, Legal and Commerce, to drive the winning designs towards production.

While submissions are accepted through January 31, 2009, entrants who submit completed designs early are automatically entered into monthly regional drawings held at the end of October, November and December 2008. One winner from each region will be selected each month-from the Americas (Newark), Europe/Asia (Farnell) and China (Premier Electronics)-to receive $2,000. A total of $18,000 will be awarded to help entrants move their designs forward.

Additionally, the Live EDGE program will be hosting a series of technical learning and networking events held in a virtual global community, the Live EDGE EcoSphere.  Registration is available at www.live-edge com for the first event on October 15,  2008, Designing for Energy Efficiency This event will showcase the newest energy-efficent technologies from 27 leading component manufacturers, including National Semiconductor, Vishay Intertechnology and Ohmite Manufacturing, who also serve as global supplier sponsors of Live EDGE. Attendees will have the opportunity to chat live with manufacturer representatives and network with colleagues, engineering students and hobbyists. Technical videos and whitepapers will also be available for download.

“We are thrilled that the 2008 Live EDGE competition is now open,” said Harriet Green, Chief Executive Office of Premier Farnell plc.  “Live EDGE will support the most innovative ideas that benefit the global environment from design conception through to production in both our student and open categories.  Last year’s competition was a huge success and I look forward to seeing the new innovations our global electronic design engineers are working on.”

Details on the challenge and the virtual events are located at www.live-edge.com.
Live EDGE Design Challenge groups are available on Facebook and LinkedIn.

About LiveEDGE
Electronics engineers, students and inventors around the world are invited to submit designs for an innovative product that utilises electronic components and has a positive impact on the environment.

Entries can be submitted between the 1st of October 2008 and the 31st of January 2009.  Judging will start on the 1st of February 2009 and winners will be announced on the 2nd of April 2009.  The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over.

In addition, up to 3 entrants for the full-time student category and 3 entrants for the general/open category will be eligible for ‘honourable mentions’, each receiving a cash prize of $5,000 USD.

More information about LiveEDGE is available at www.live-edge.com.

About Premier Farnell
Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl) is a leading high service, multi-channel distributor of electronic, maintenance, repair and operation products and specialist services throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. While global in scope, and with over 4,100 employees Premier Farnell recognizes the individual needs of each market and has continued to internationalize its model accordingly, trading locally under different brand names. Its primary electronics businesses trade as Farnell in the UK, Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, Newark in the US, Canada and Mexico, and Premier Electronics in Greater China. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Brazil the operation is known as Farnell Newark.  For information visit www.premierfarnell.com.

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