Avnet Celebrates 20 Years in Valley of the Sun

Business Wire, Dec 4, 2007

Donates $20,000 to ICAN to Benefit Youth at Risk in Chandler

PHOENIX -- Twenty years ago, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) embarked on a strategic path to consolidate warehousing operations and locate its North American flagship logistics center in Chandler, Arizona. It opened its warehouse in 1987 with less than 50 employees and 162,000 square feet. To accommodate its steadily growing business over the years, Avnet expanded the facility two more times. Today, more than 550 employees work in the Chandler logistics center, which is now 404,000 square feet and also houses the company's data center. The company moved its corporate headquarters to Arizona in 1998. Since then, Avnet has grown to become the second largest Ariz.-based Fortune 500 company and has nearly 2,400 employees in the Valley of the Sun. Moreover, Avnet has become an integral part of the community, supporting local community organizations, educational events and a wide variety of initiatives designed to improve quality of life for employees and Arizonans in general.

In recognition of its 20th anniversary in Arizona, Avnet has announced it will donate $20,000 to Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods (ICAN). The contribution will support the organization's programs that help at-risk youth become productive, self-confident and responsible citizens.

Avnet will celebrate its 20th Anniversary in Arizona on Friday, Dec. 7th, 2007 at its Logistics and Solutions Center, in Chandler, when it will present the donation to ICAN. City of Chandler Mayor Boyd W. Dunn will join Avnet's executive board and Avnet's Chandler employees for a luncheon celebration and the check presentation at 12:00 pm.

When Avnet chose Chandler as the location for its warehouse and data center, it considered several factors such as the attractive business climate, local available talent, quality of life for employees, highly reliable transportation, and a geographic location with relatively few transportation disruptions.

"Ultimately, the success of our choice for the logistics center positively impacted our decision to move headquarters to Arizona as well," said Roy Vallee, Avnet chairman and CEO. "It's worked out well for us, and I'd like to thank our Chandler employees for helping Avnet grow and develop this into a world-class logistics capability. The partnership we have with the City of Chandler is a great example of how working together creates more benefit for everyone. As a thank you to the city for helping Avnet succeed, we're giving this donation to ICAN to help the people of Chandler succeed as well."

ICAN provides free, comprehensive out of school time programs that help at-risk youth engage in productive, positive and fun activities that build confidence and self-reliance.

"This contribution comes at a critical time for our organization as we face an overwhelming increase in youth served," said Christy McClendon, CEO, ICAN. "We will be able to expand our services to additional schools in Chandler and make significant improvements to our programs including those for homework assistance, computer training, and the prevention of drugs, gangs and other delinquent activities. The best part of this generous donation is that it is the youth and people of Chandler who will benefit."

In addition to the Logistics and Solution Center in Chandler, Avnet has three other facilities in the Valley of the Sun, including its corporate headquarters. Avnet operates more than 40 logistics operations globally, including warehouse facilities, programming centers, and system integration centers.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and technology services and solutions with more than 300 locations serving 70 countries worldwide. The company markets, distributes and optimizes the supply-chain and provides design-chain services for the products of the world's leading electronic component suppliers, enterprise computer manufacturers and embedded subsystem providers. Avnet brings a breadth and depth of capabilities, such as maximizing inventory efficiency, managing logistics, assembling products and providing engineering design assistance for its 100,000 customers, accelerating their growth through cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007, Avnet generated revenue of $15.68 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.