Avnet Electronics Marketing to Distribute Hitachi Flat Panel Displays.

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--Avnet Electronics Marketing has signed an agreement with Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA, Inc.) to distribute the company's flat panel displays, including Active Matrix TFT, STN and Super TFT panels.

Hitachi's flat panel displays feature "SUPER TFT" technology with patented in-plane switching which offers 160 degree viewing angle (both horizontal and vertical), 200 cd/m2 brightness level and deep brilliant color saturation levels. The Hitachi TFT flat panel display's unique Flip Chip Attachment (FCA) technology is unsurpassed in reliability and durability and enables the use of fewer interconnects. Additionally, the color and monochrome passive matrix displays offer transmissive, transflective and reflective modes in a range of resolutions from 1/8 to full VGA.

"We entered a distributor agreement earlier this year with Hitachi," stated Steve Church, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing. "We will continue to expand our relationship with Hitachi and distribute more of Hitachi's products, like the flat panel display, in order to bring the maximum value to our customers."

In addition to the Hitachi flat panel display offering, Avnet Electronics Marketing has full integration capability including interface boards, custom cases and systems integration.

Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., a wholly owned 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 microprocessors and embedded processors, ASICs, LCD drivers/controllers, DRAMs, SDRAMs, DRAM modules, SGRAMs, Ferroelectric RAM devices, flash memories, flash cards, EEPROMs, MROMs, optoelectronics devices, cable/data modem ICs, hard disk drive ICs and wireless communications components. Substantial design engineering, manufacturing, and research and development facilities in the United States help bring the world's best technology to U.S. customers. Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and semiconductors. Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading electronics companies, with fiscal 1996 consolidated sales (ending March 31, 1997) of $68.7 billion.

With over 3,500 employees, Avnet Electronics Marketing (formerly Hamilton Hallmark, Time Electronics and Penstock) generates approximately 75 percent of Avnet's total revenue. Avnet Electronics Marketing inventories over $700 million in product, including semiconductors; interconnect, passive and electromechanical products; computer products and radio frequency/microwave products from over 100 manufacturers.

Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company with annual sales exceeding $5.4 billion. Avnet markets, inventories and adds value to the products of the most prestigious electronic components and computer equipment manufacturers for industrial and military equipment customers worldwide. The Avnet Electronics Marketing home page is located at em.avnet.com.

    CONTACT: Avnet Electronics Marketing
              Troy Blanchette, Vice President, OEM Systems
              602/643-7526
                   or
              Hitachi Electronics Devices
              Jim Aden, Vice President
              770/409-3000, ext. 2200