CHICAGO (BUSINESS WIRE) - Oct. 30, 2000 - eConnections, Inc., a leading supply-chain-management solutions provider, announced at today's National Electronics Distributors Association Executive Conference that more of the market-leading electronic components' manufacturers – Artesyn Technologies (NASDAQ:ATSN), Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML), AVX Corporation (NYSE:AVX), Bourns Inc., FCI/Berg, Fujitsu Takamisawa America, Hitachi Semiconductor America, KEMET Corporation (NYSE:KEM), Micron Technology (NYSE:MU), Molex Inc. (NASDAQ:MOLX and MOLXA), Murata Electronics North America, NEC Electronics, QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QUIK) and Toshiba America Electronic Components – have joined its online quote utility. Quotility is the only quoting service that is collectively authorized by these manufacturers, and the largest and most prominent electronics distributors in the world, to provide access to and information on virtually every electronic component available.

Quotility, which currently is in beta testing and scheduled to begin service in late November 2000, is the only neutral marketspace where customers needing electronic components can request, collect, and compare critical product information from distributors and manufacturers, confident that the data is authorized, timely, reliable, and secure. Quotility's distributors and manufacturers have given it explicit permission to communicate their price and delivery information to customers within the service.

"The sheer number of leading electronics companies choosing to participate in Quotility illustrates the market demand for an authorized, independent, neutral quoting service," said Robin B. Gray, Jr., executive vice president, National Electronics Distributors Association. "The fact that these distributors and suppliers are coming together to use Quotility demonstrates the power of the electronics community working together to support their authorized channels."

Quotility replaces traditional inefficiencies with automated and intelligent quote distribution, tracking, consolidation, and reporting capabilities. Customers can upload quotes, select the authorized distributors and suppliers they wish to quote, then receive an automated spreadsheet containing detailed information as to price, delivery, manufacturers' part numbers, and standard packaging. And, because that information is from authorized sources, customers know they'll get what they pay for: genuine components, warranty protection, technical support, customer service, inventory management, and value-added services.

Quotility is a neutral third party, designed to support the ongoing relationships between distributors, suppliers and customers. "eConnections created Quotility in order to provide an authorized, independent, neutral quote utility for the electronics community," said Rob Rodin, chairman and CEO of eConnections. "Our company is designed to reflect our strong commitment to dealing only with authorized connections in order to maximize efficiency and not interfere with the customer-supplier relationship."

These suppliers join All American Semiconductor (NASDAQ:SEMI), Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW), Avnet (NYSE:AVT), Bell Microproducts (NASDAQ:BELM), Kent Electronics Corporation (NYSE:KNT), The Memec Group (which includes Impact Technologies, Insight Electronics and Unique Technologies), Nu Horizons (NASDAQ:NUHC), Pioneer-Standard Electronics (NYSE:PIOS), Reptron Electronics (NYSE:REPT), and TTI, Inc., as part of Quotility.

About eConnections, Inc.
eConnections represents the next-generation of solutions for supply chain management for the electronics industry. Built by a team with deep domain expertise, eConnections streamlines the complex process of bringing electronics products to market, giving supply-chain partners an intelligent, integrated and customizable system with direct authorized connections to electronic component suppliers and distributors. For more information, visit www.eConnections.com.

About Artesyn Technologies
Artesyn Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., is a leading provider of power conversion equipment, real-time systems and logistics management for the communications industry. For more information about Artesyn Technologies and its products, please visit the company's web site at http://www.artesyn.com.

About Atmel Corporation
Founded in 1984, Atmel Corporation is headquartered in San Jose, California with principal manufacturing facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Irving, Texas; Grenoble, Nantes and Rousset, France; Newcastle, England; and Heilbronn, Germany. Atmel designs, manufactures and markets, on a worldwide basis, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and RF semiconductors. Atmel is also a leading provider of system-level integration semiconductor solutions using advanced CMOS, BiCMOS, bipolar and SiGe process technologies. For more information visit http://www.atmel.com.

About AVX Corporation
AVX Corp. is a leading international electronic supplier of components with worldwide manufacturing facilities, offering the world's broadest selection of passive electronic components. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:AVX). For further information on AVX, visit www.avxcorp.com on the web.

About Bourns Inc.
Bourns, Inc., is the leading manufacturer of Trimming Potentiometers, Precision Potentiometers, Panel Controls, Encoders, Modular Contacts, Switches, and Resistor/ Capacitor Networks. Bourns also sells Chip Resistors, Chip Arrays and Inductive Components. Bourns produces an extensive line of PPTC Resettable Fuses and Line-feed Surge Resistor Networks which are part of Bourns Circuit Protection product offering. Headquartered in Riverside, California, Bourns serves a broad range of markets, including telecommunications, computer, industrial, instrumentation, automotive, consumer, medical, audio and various other market segments. Bourns' products are manufactured according to ISO 9000 and QS-9000 standards under six sigma quality programs. Bourns, Inc. is headquartered at 1200 Columbia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92507 USA. Phone: (909) 781-5500; Fax: (909) 781-5006; URL: www.bourns.com.

About FCI/Berg (Framatome Connectors International)
Set up in 1989, FCI is the third largest connector specialist worldwide and the only European company among the world leaders. Its activity hinges around 5 main activities: Electronics, Electrical, Microelectronics, Automotive and Interconnection. In 1997, it had 43 manufacturing sites and 44 subsidiaries located in 25 countries. With a turnover exceeding 1 billion US dollars in 97, FCI accounts for 33% of the overall turnover of the Framatome Group, its parent company. BERG Electronics was acquired by FCI in September 1998.

The integration of BERG, its products and capabilities into FCI's Electronics Group has created one of the world's pre-eminent interconnect companies both in terms of products and global presence. Information on FCI and our on-line catalog including data previously contained in the BERG Electronics website berg.com and bergelect.com has now been integrated with that of FCI in a much updated and expanded FCI website http://www.fciconnect.com.

About Fujitsu Takamisawa America
Fujitsu Takamisawa America, Inc. markets and distributes electronic components throughout North, Central and South America. Products include electromechanical relays, connectors, keyboards and thermal printers. The company is headquartered at 250 E. Caribbean Drive, Sunnyvale, California, 94089. For product information, telephone 1-800-380-0059, email marcom@fta.fuijitsu.com or access the FTA Home Page at http://www.fujitsu.takamisawa.com.

About Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc.
Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., supports the requirements of the North American marketplace with a broad range of standard and low power semiconductor solutions, including RISC and CISC microcontrollers and microprocessors; memory ICs, including PC100 memory chips, DRAMs, DRAM modules, SRAMs, Flash memories, Flash cards, and EEPROMs; logic ICs; discrete devices; optoelectronic devices; communication ICs; RF/wireless ICs.; and mass storage ICs. Substantial design engineering, manufacturing, and research and development facilities in the United States help bring the world's best technology to U.S. customers. For more information on Hitachi Semiconductor Components, please visit: http://semiconductor.hitachi.com/pointer/

About KEMET Corporation
KEMET Corporation, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, is the largest manufacturer of solid tantalum capacitors and the fourth largest manufacturer of multilayer ceramic capacitors in the world. KEMET's common stock is listed on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KEM. Company information is available via the Internet http://www.kemet.com.

About Micron Technology, Inc.
Micron Technology, Inc., and its subsidiaries manufacture and market DRAMs, very fast SRAMs, Flash, other semiconductor components, memory modules, and personal computer systems. Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol MU. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit its Web site at www.micron.com.

About Molex Incorporated
Molex Incorporated is a 62-year-old manufacturer of electronic, electrical and fiber optic interconnection products and systems; switches; value-added assemblies; and application tooling. Based in Lisle, Illinois, USA, the Company operates 52 manufacturing facilities in 19 countries and employs approximately 17,650 people.

About Murata Electronics North America
Murata Electronics North America, Inc. (www.murata.com) is one of 47 wholly-owned subsidiaries of the worldwide organization of Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan (NIKKEI:6981). Established in 1965, U.S operations are headquartered in Smyrna, Georgia, with a manufacturing facility in State College, Pennsylvania. Murata is a leading patent holder and global manufacturer of ceramic electronic components for the telecommunications, computer/peripheral, automotive, communications and EDP markets.

About NEC Electronics Inc.
NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is one of the leading developers, manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products in the United States. Committed to meeting customers' cost, performance and time-to-market requirements, the company offers solutions ranging from standard products to system-on-a-chip (SOC) solutions, as well as customized products for next-generation designs. NEC Electronics also offers customers the benefits of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Roseville, Calif., and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company, NEC Electron Devices, the semiconductor arm of NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY). For more information about products offered by NEC Electronics Inc., please visit the NEC Electronics web site at www.necel.com.

About QuickLogic Corporation
QuickLogic Corporation began developing the Embedded Standard Product (ESP) architecture in 1998, an innovation on its core Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology, that delivers the guaranteed performance and lower cost of standard semiconductor products and the flexibility and time-to-market benefits of programmable logic. QuickLogic's ViaLink metal-to-metal interconnect technology offers high performance and is the foundation of the company's ESP families as well as its core FPGA products. Founded in 1988 by the inventors of programmable array logic (PALO), QuickLogic is located at 1277 Orleans Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1138. For more information please visit the QuickLogic web site at www.quicklogic.com.

About Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc.
Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) is the North American engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sales arm of Toshiba Semiconductor Company and Display Devices and Components Company. Toshiba's Semiconductor Company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products including LSIs, microprocessors and controllers, and advanced memory products, in addition to discrete and bipolar components. Toshiba is recognized as one of the world's largest suppliers of semiconductor, electronic component and storage solutions. The company is also responsible for global sales and marketing of other major electronic components including liquid crystal displays, color display and picture tubes, lithium-ion and other secondary batteries. For additional information, please visit TAEC's web site at http://www.toshiba.com/taec.