For a long-life industrial programme in France, plan two grades of the same resistor before the design freezes. We counted Walsin Technology (Walsin) general-purpose thick film resistors: 8,162 of 10,202 specifications, 80.0 percent, also exist in an automotive-named series. The other 2,040 do not, and 755 of those are 01005.
Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, wrote this note for French buyers and design engineers whose programmes run for a decade or more, in energy, rail or aerospace-adjacent industry. It uses the Walsin chip resistor exports (137 files, 234,815 rows), the MR automotive approval sheet we hold, and our Hong Kong stock snapshot dated 23 September 2026. Every part number is real, and we re-counted every figure.
What does a 2038 programme date mean for a passive-component buyer in France?
It means the part you freeze today must still be buyable, and still be the same part, a decade later. World Nuclear News reported on 16 March 2026 that France plans six EPR2 reactors in three pairs at Penly, Gravelines and Bugey, with construction expected from 2027 and first commissioning by 2038. That is a 12-year window from the 2026 decision to first commissioning.
The same report says the government wants EDF’s board to take the final investment decision before the end of 2026. We cite the programme only as a clock. We make no claim that any French operator, contractor or supplier uses a Walsin part, and we do not say anyone is short of anything. Our view is narrow: any French buyer holding a bill of materials for a programme that long should know, per resistor, whether a second grade of the same specification exists. Walsin’s own catalogue states that products may be discontinued without advance notice, and we hold no change-notification policy for any line, so the second grade has to be found at design time, not after a notice.
How many general-purpose resistor specifications have an automotive-series twin?
Eight thousand one hundred and sixty-two of 10,202, or 80.0 percent. We define a twin as the same case size, resistance, tolerance, temperature coefficient and rated power in a series Walsin names “(Automotive)”. We parsed all 15,047 rows of the Thick Film General Purpose series and all 23,485 rows of its Automotive counterpart, then matched them on those five fields.
| Case size | Commercial specifications | With an automotive-series twin | Without | Match / mismatch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01005 | 755 | 0 | 755 | Mismatch: the automotive series has no 01005 |
| 0201 | 969 | 969 | 0 | Match on all five fields |
| 0402 | 969 | 969 | 0 | Match on all five fields |
| 0603 | 969 | 969 | 0 | Match on all five fields |
| 0805 | 969 | 969 | 0 | Match on all five fields |
| 1206 | 1,249 | 969 | 280 | Mismatch on 280 specifications |
| 1210 | 855 | 806 | 49 | Mismatch on 49 specifications |
| 1218 | 969 | 826 | 143 | Mismatch on 143 specifications |
| 2010 | 1,249 | 828 | 421 | Mismatch on 421 specifications |
| 2512 | 1,249 | 857 | 392 | Mismatch on 392 specifications |
| All | 10,202 | 8,162 | 2,040 | 80.0 percent paired |
We have not seen this counted anywhere: the pairing is complete from 0201 to 0805 and breaks only at the extremes. The four small sizes between them are fully paired, and every unpaired specification sits at 01005 or at 1206 and above. The pairing also runs one way. The automotive series holds 13,828 specifications, so 5,666 of them have no commercial counterpart in the general-purpose series.
The pairing is a specification match inside Walsin’s published export. It is not an approval, and the series name is Walsin’s, not ours. A twin can still differ in construction, marking, documentation and packaging suffix, so read both sheets.
Which Walsin part numbers pair up, and which have no twin?
Three shelf parts pair cleanly. Each carries a commercial code and one or two automotive-series codes with the same five fields. The last column states what differs, because “twin” is a specification statement and nothing more. Leave the incumbent column for your own part.
| Walsin commercial part | Specification | Automotive-series twin codes in the export | Your incumbent | Match / mismatch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WR06X1002FTL |
0603, 10 kΩ, ±1%, 1/10 W, ≤±100 ppm | WR06X1002FTLJ, MR06X1002FTLV |
Match on five fields; mismatch on series grade and code suffix | |
WR08X1002FTL |
0805, 10 kΩ, ±1%, 1/8 W, ≤±100 ppm | WR08X1002FTLJ, MR08X1002FTLV |
Match on five fields; mismatch on series grade and code suffix | |
WR25X3301FTL |
2512, 3.3 kΩ, ±1%, 1 W, ≤±100 ppm | MR25X3301FTL, WR25X3301FTLJ |
Match on five fields; mismatch on series grade; the MR sheet we hold does not list 2512 | |
WR20F1R00FTLHN |
2010, 1 Ω, ±1%, 1 W, ≤±100 ppm | none in the export | Mismatch: no automotive-series twin | |
WR12F1R00FTLFN |
1206, 1 Ω, ±1%, 1/2 W, ≤±100 ppm | none in the export | Mismatch: no automotive-series twin | |
WR01X10R0FDL |
01005, 10 Ω, ±1%, 1/32 W, ≤±300 ppm | none in the export | Mismatch: no automotive-series twin |
A part number does not tell you the grade. Of the 23,485 rows in the Automotive series, 9,919 carry the WR prefix and every one of them ends in a J, while the MR prefix holds the other 13,566. Our post on the automotive MR, SR and AEC-Q200 split shows the same prefix overlap across the whole resistor line.
What did the Hong Kong shelf hold on 23 September 2026?
Of 254 chip resistor lines in our snapshot of 1,125 part numbers, 234 are from the commercial general-purpose series. Every one of the 234 has an automotive-series twin in the export, and none of those twin codes is itself on the shelf. We checked each of the 234 by catalogue code against both series.
The shelf holds 5 part numbers from automotive-named series, and none of them is the general-purpose automotive series: 4 are in the Triple Power Surge series and 1 is in High Power. Five of the 254 codes have no row in any resistor export, including WR12X0000FTL, so we make no specification statement about them. A snapshot is not a promise and quantities move. Check Hong Kong ready stock for the current view and send the part for a dated answer. The practical reading is simple: if your programme wants the automotive-series grade of a stocked specification, expect to order it, not pull it from the shelf.
What does Walsin’s own automotive resistor sheet claim?
It claims compliance, not certification. The MR approval sheet we hold (ASC_MR_V13, March 2024) lists AEC-Q200 compliance and a military-standard compliance claim in its feature list, an anti-sulfuration test (ASTM B-809, 60 degrees Celsius, 500 hours) and halogen-free construction. The sheet names a military standard family but not a test method, so it cannot settle a rail or aerospace approval on its own.
Three limits belong in front of any French programme file. First, the sheet covers five case sizes, 0402 to 1210, so 2512 and 0201 specifications like WR25X3301FTL sit outside it. Second, the general-purpose WR sheet we hold (ASC_WR_V24) is dated September 2016, ten years old. Third, one of 28 datasheets we hold names a RoHS exemption, 7C-I, and it is this one. We hold no qualification report, no change-notification policy and no declaration of conformity for any resistor part number. Our post on what AEC-Q200 actually certifies explains why “compliant” and “certified” are different words.
What will we not claim for a French nuclear, rail or aerospace programme?
We will not claim any approval, qualification or fitness for those sectors, and we will not state a French or EU rule for them. The sourced fact is the programme date above. Everything else is a question for your compliance team, your customer’s approved vendor list and the manufacturer’s documents.
What we can give you is checkable: lot and date-code traceability, a certificate of conformity with each shipment on request, original sealed Walsin packaging, and the datasheets we hold, 28 of them across 451 pages. We tell you plainly what we do not hold. REACH, SVHC and quality-system documents are not in the documents we hold. We make no ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 claim for Venatech. Our contact is Unit 207, 2/F, Sun Ling Plaza, 30 On Kui Street, Fanling, N.T., Hong Kong, (852) 2628 4777, and our locations are Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore and Jiangmen, with Chengdu in preparation. We hold no office, entity or stock in France.
The short version
A 12-year programme window from decision to first commissioning is long enough to outlive a part. For general-purpose chip resistors, 8,162 of 10,202 specifications, 80.0 percent, have an automotive-series twin in Walsin’s export, complete from 0201 to 0805 and broken at 01005 and at 1206 and above. All 234 stocked general-purpose resistor specifications have one, but no twin was on the shelf on 23 September 2026.
Paste your incumbent into the free cross-reference tool, which decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers across 800,000+ crossable parts, or send the BOM lines. We return the Walsin parts with every difference stated, and qualification stays with you. And a question for the buyer who owns the 2038 file: which of your resistors has no second grade at all?
Browse the chip resistor range.
Sources
Fetched 20 October 2026. The programme statements come from the page below. All part data comes from our own Walsin exports, the two Walsin approval sheets named above and our stock snapshot dated 23 September 2026.
- World Nuclear News, “French ministerial council reiterates need for nuclear revival”, dated 16 March 2026: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/french-ministerial-council-reiterates-need-for-nuclear-revival
Frequently asked questions
What does a long French programme mean for resistor sourcing?
It means finding a second grade at design time. The EPR2 plan reported on 16 March 2026 runs from a 2026 decision to first commissioning in 2038. For general-purpose chip resistors, 8,162 of 10,202 Walsin specifications have an automotive-series twin in the export.
Does Venatech say Walsin resistors are approved for nuclear, rail or aerospace use?
No. Walsin’s automotive sheet claims AEC-Q200 compliance and a military-standard compliance claim, not a certificate, and names no test method. We hold no qualification report. Ask your compliance team and request the report for the exact part number.
Which case sizes have no automotive-series twin?
Every unpaired general-purpose specification sits at 01005 or at 1206 and above. At 01005 all 755 are unpaired. At 1206, 1210, 1218, 2010 and 2512 the unpaired counts are 280, 49, 143, 421 and 392. Sizes 0201 to 0805 are fully paired.
Is an automotive-series twin an approved replacement?
No. It is a five-field specification match inside Walsin’s published export, offered as a candidate. Series grade, code suffix and documentation differ. Confirm against both datasheets and qualify in your own circuit before production.
Can Venatech say when a Walsin resistor will be discontinued?
No. We hold no manufacturer’s discontinuation list, and Walsin’s catalogue says products may be discontinued without advance notice. We hold no change-notification policy either. Treat a documented second grade as your protection, and ask us for the current position on a named part.
Were the twin parts on your shelf?
No twin was. On 23 September 2026 our snapshot held 234 general-purpose resistor lines, each with an automotive-series twin in the export, and none of the twin codes. Snapshots move, so check the ready-stock page or send the part for a dated answer.