Fusion Worldwide expands in EMEA and APAC regions
The open-market distributor has major expansion plans for 2023. The company is looking to expand its offices in Germany, Japan, and also open new offices in Taiwan and New Hampshire.
These investments aim to improve Fusion Worldwide's service and experience in high-density customer locations, supporting industries such as automotive, telecommunications, industrial, aerospace and defense.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including chip shortages and manufacturing disruptions, combined with surging demand across various industries changed supply chain operations over the last few years, creating new dependencies on the open market. As a result of these market changes, independent distributors grew at double the rate of franchise distributors between 2020 and 2021, according to an analysis from Fusion.
From 2021 to 2022, Fusion's global headcount increased by 58% to nearly 600 employees and annual revenue increased to USD 3 billion – representing a whopping 150% increase. The company also continues to invest in adding new technical capabilities to its services and test facilities, with a 62% growth in IT roles and an over 50% increase in warehouse personnel, to add increased capacity and choice.
To support this corporate growth and increasing customer demand, Fusion invested in new global office locations to better serve local markets. Last year the company opened new offices in Brazil and Japan due to increased local investment in semiconductor production. Its Japan office is now one of the company's highest-producing locations. Fusion also unveiled an expanded 26,000-square-foot electronic component test house for its subsidiary Prosemi in Singapore and expanded its office in Boston.
"Fusion's accelerated growth plan requires us to expand our geographic footprint to meet our customers' needs while maintaining the commitment to quality and standards they've come to expect," says Paul Romano, COO, Fusion Worldwide, in a press release. "Market responsiveness is paramount to navigate today's complex supply chain. We're confident that our global expansion plan and technology offerings will enable us to meet evolving demands for the electronic components market."
For 2023, the company has additional expansion plans, and some have already come to fruition. On January 9th, 2023, Fusion opened its largest US office in Boston – just over 21,000 square feet, double the space of the previous building. In Taipei, Taiwan, the company opened a physical office presence on February 1st to further expand its long-established foothold in the Taiwanese market.
Just a few days later on February 13th, the company opened its new and expanded 2,626 square feet space in Tokyo, adding new services allowing customers to visit and host meetings at one of Fusion's highest-producing offices. The investment will support meeting local growth projections for 2023. Next month, on April 1st, the company will open the doors to a new office in Munich, which supports its plans to expand headcount by 50% establishing Fusion's second-largest presence in the EMEA region, supporting automotive and industrial customers in addition to other industries.
"As we continue to grow our vast network of suppliers to help our customers find the components they need to stay on top of supply requirements, we are also making investments that support the relationship-driven nature of our business," says Tobey Gonnerman, President, Fusion Worldwide. "Increasing our proximity to customers demonstrates our commitment to communicating in the local languages and understanding the cultural and business nuances of every market, sector and geography we serve."
Fusion currently operates 19 office locations across the globe and will open a new global headquarters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on March 1st, 2023.
