Digi-Key Corporation and FTDI Announce Global Distribution Agreement

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota and Hillsboro, Ore. - June 24, 2008 — Digi-Key Corporation and Future Technology Devices International Limited (FTDI) announced today that the companies have signed a global distribution agreement.

FTDI's products provide easy interfacing to devices over the Universal Serial Bus (USB). Offering a simple route to USB migration, its products combine easy-to-implement IC devices with proven ready-to-use, royalty-free USB firmware and driver software.

FTDI products stocked by Digi-Key are featured in its print and online catalogs and are available for purchase directly from Digi-Key.

"We are very pleased to add FTDI's respected USB connectivity IC products to our product portfolio," said Mark Larson, Digi-Key president and COO. "Digi-Key customers will benefit from and are sure to appreciate the reduced development and debug costs and fast time to market associated with these products."

FTDI Sales and Marketing Manager Daniel McCaffrey commented, "Engineers constantly inform us of the importance of getting our products listed in the Digi-Key catalog. Digi-Key is recognized across the industry for it leadership in supply chain and support, and it is that credibility that helps our customers order from Digi-Key with confidence. Our products, with their royalty-free drivers that are supported across all operating systems, complement the service offered by Digi-Key."

About Digi-Key Corporation

One of the world's fastest growing distributors of electronic components, Digi-Key has earned its reputation as an industry leader through its total commitment to service and performance. As a full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, Digi-Key has been ranked #1 for Overall Performance for 16 consecutive years from among the nation's more than 200 distributors (EE Times Distribution Study/ May 2007). Offering more than a million products from over 400 quality name-brand manufacturers Digi-Key's commitment to inventory is unparalleled. Access to the company's broad product offering is available 24/7 at Digi-Key's top-rated website, www.digikey.com.

About FTDI

Future Technology Devices International (FTDI) specializes in the design and supply of silicon and software solutions for the Universal Serial Bus (USB). FTDI offers a simple route to USB migration by combining easy-to-implement IC devices with proven, ready-to-use, royalty-free USB firmware and driver software. The company's single and multi-channel USB peripheral devices come with an easy-to-use UART or FIFO interface. These popular devices can be used in legacy USB. A wide range of evaluation kits and modules are available to evaluate FTDI's silicon prior to design-in. Vinculum is FTDI's brand name for a range of USB host/slave controller ICs that prove easy implementation to USB host controller functionality within products and utilize FTDI's tried and tested embedded firmware to significantly reduce development costs and time to market. FTDI is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Glaskow, UK, with regional offices in Oregon, USA and Taipei, Taiwan. More information is available at www.ftdichip.com.

SOURCE: Digi-Key Corporation
06/24/2008