From Marseille to Sweden – A Journey Through the Electronics Industry
What began as a student's fascination with mobile telecommunications in the early 1990s eventually developed into a long-standing business relationship with Ericsson. From Marseille to Newcastle, through the international electronics industry and finally to Sweden, this is the story of how a young student's dream became reality.
My journey into the electronics industry began in the early 1990s, while I was studying at the Marseille Institute of Technology (MIT) in southern France.
In 1991, we received information about the GSM World Congress taking place in Nice, on the French Riviera. Mobile telecommunications was still an emerging technology, but I was already fascinated by its possibilities.
At the time, two European companies particularly captured my imagination: Nokia and Ericsson. I remember telling myself that one day, somehow, I would work with one of them.
During my studies in France, I also met my future wife, who came from Västernorrland in northern Sweden. At the time, I could hardly have imagined how important Sweden would eventually become, both in my personal life and in my professional career.
My interest in telecommunications continued during my studies at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England, where I wrote a report comparing mobile telecommunications in three European countries: the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland.
Graduation at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
After completing my military service with the French police in Paris, I began my professional career selling electronic components in southern France.
French National Police – Service Badge
A few years later, I joined CCD, a company based in Salon-de-Provence, where I worked as an international electronic components broker, connecting suppliers and customers across Europe and the United States, particularly in Florida, California and New York.
During this period, I came into contact with a Swedish company looking for someone to develop its international export sales.
On 1 April 1997, I moved to Sweden, beginning a new chapter in my life and career. From a small town in Östergötland, I started selling electronic components to customers around the world.
1997 – Leaving France for Sweden. The beginning of a new chapter in my life.
Without fully realising it at the time, I was getting closer to the ambition I had set for myself as a student in Marseille.
In September 2001, I founded two companies in the electronics industry.
European Components AB (ECAB) was established to specialise in the international trading and distribution of electronic components.
LE&AB, founded together with a business partner, developed a different but complementary activity.
From 2004 until 2026, LE&AB worked as a subcontractor to Ericsson, supporting the reuse and distribution of telecommunications equipment and spare parts for networks around the world.
Over those 22 years, we contributed to extending the useful life of equipment and components used in generations of telecommunications technology, from earlier systems through AXE, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G.
And somewhere along the way, I realised something.
The dream I had as a young student in Marseille had finally come true.
I had not joined Nokia or Ericsson as an employee. Instead, I had built my own businesses and established a long-standing professional relationship with one of the companies that had inspired me so many years earlier.
Looking back, it has been a remarkable journey — from a student fascinated by the future of mobile telecommunications to an entrepreneur working internationally in the electronics industry.
And although our long collaboration with Ericsson came to an end in 2026, the experience, knowledge and relationships built along the way remain an important part of our history.
Sometimes, the path to achieving a dream is very different from the one we originally imagined.
Today, the experience gained through more than two decades of international electronics trading and cooperation with Ericsson continues to shape European Components AB. Our focus remains on extending the life of electronic components, recovering value from surplus inventories and connecting customers and suppliers worldwide.
Eric Pazzottu
Founder, European Components AB
MAPAIE Group