Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH, one of Europe’s leading broadline distributor of electronical components is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Helmut Rudel founded Rutronik in 1973 in Ispringen, near Pforzheim, Germany. The expertise of the independent family-owned company lies in the distribution of semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components, embedded boards, storage and displays, as well as wireless products. The distributor’s customers drive high-growth future markets around Industry 4.0, (I)IoT, Future Mobility, and Energy & Power.
In the 1970s, color television became increasingly popular in Germany, especially because of the 1972 Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup in 1974. Exactly in the period between these two major sporting events, in 1973, Helmut Rudel founded Rutronik, which was specialized on the distribution of passive components. Rutronik is now one of Europe’s largest electronics distribution companies and generated sales of 1.28 billion euros in 2022. Worldwide, the family-owned company now employs more than 1,900 people in over 80 offices, as well as logistics centers in Europe, Austin (Texas), Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
“We are happy and proud to celebrate our 50th anniversary in the electronics industry this year,” said Thomas Rudel, CEO and chairman of the board at Rutronik. “From a small family business that I founded in a double garage in Ispringen in the early 1970s with great support of my wife, we have become a leading distribution company for electronic components within 50 years,” added Helmut Rudel, founder and president of Rutronik.
Providing customers with the best possible support
More than 40,000 customers benefit from the diverse product portfolio of leading manufacturers, technical support, individual logistics solutions, and in-house research and development (R&D). Rutronik has established design centers in Singapore and Lithuania specifically for its own R&D activities. With Rutronik System Solutions, the distributor is transforming itself into a system provider with unique, partly patented system solutions consisting of hardware and software to shape fast-moving innovation cycles in the industrial environment. With proof-of-concepts, Rutronik System Solutions significantly accelerates the pre-development phases of its customers to shorten the time-to-market of their new applications.
Continuous international growth with strong roots in the European market
“This year we are celebrating important corporate milestones around our growing product portfolio with leading suppliers and our global expansion with subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, and the USA. We are continuously expanding the latter as part of our regionalization strategy. The aim is to be as close as possible to our customers so that we can provide them with the best possible advice,” Thomas Rudel continued. “And we would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to our customers, suppliers, partners and, above all, our employees, who have always driven Rutronik forward, so that we will continue to write our success story together in the years to come.”
Find more information about our 50th anniversary on our website: rutronik.com/50-years