Electrocomponents : RS Components brings innovation truck to London’s King’s Cross in support of Year of Engineering campaign

Titan II demonstrates innovation in action to inspire local students and the community

London, UK, 6 July 2018 - RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponentsplc (LSE:ECM), a global multi-channel distributor, has taken its 35-tonne innovation truck, Titan II, to King's Cross in London in support of the government's Year of Engineering (YoE) campaign. Over 500 students, as well as local businesses, engaged in fascinating activities in and around the truck, helping to celebrate the world of engineering and inspire young people to enter the profession.

The week-long event took place from 2 July, where Titan II offered visitors the chance to interact with numerous technologies used by engineers across industry, including the RS DesignSpark platform, Raspberry Pi, 3D printing, robotics, Internet of Things, virtual reality and augmented reality.

Pupils from King's Cross Academy, Parliament Hill School and Christ Church School also had the chance to meet some of the engineers from the BrightSparks class of 2018 - the Electronics Weekly-RS initiative to celebrate the most talented electronic design engineers in the UK.

Mike England, Managing Director at RS, said: 'The Year of Engineering is a truly commendable campaign that aims to help address the significant engineering skills shortage in the UK. At RS we are committed to promoting engineering to the young and so were delighted to use our innovation truck to support this campaign and help inspire the next generation of engineers.'

Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, Stephen Metcalfe, said: 'Engineering is a chance to innovate and shape the world around us, but not enough young people are aware of the opportunities a career in the industry could offer. The Year of Engineering sets out to change this, giving young people inspiring, interactive experiences of this exciting career path and showing them what they could achieve as engineers.

'I was delighted to join students this week, alongside the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Camden Council, and local organisations and businesses, in visiting RS Components monster truck, packed with inspirational activities for the students. What a fantastic and original way for them to join us in celebrating the Year of Engineering, and capturing the imaginations of future engineers,' he added.

England concluded: 'The event was a huge success, and all of those who boarded the truck were excited by the technology. We ran competitions offering students the opportunity to win a Raspberry Pi starter kit, and schools the chance to win tickets to attend the New Scientist Live show in September. In addition, our DesignSpark team ran interactive activities and showcased the recently launched platform DesignSpark Marketplace, which supports the buying and selling of maker-created products.'

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) attended the event and ran the First Lego League demonstrations to encourage young people to enter the ultimate science and technology challenge. Camden Council was also in attendance to highlight its STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) campaign, which aims to give local young people the best skills and opportunities so they can play a full part in the borough's thriving creative, scientific and digital economy. Another key supporter of the event was Argent, UK property developer and part of the King's Cross Central Limited Partnership overseeing the regeneration project of King's Cross.

For further information about the Year of Engineering, visit www.yearofengineering.gov.uk.

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About RS Components
RS Components and Allied Electronics & Automation are the trading brands of Electrocomponents plc, a global multi-channel distributor. We offer more than 500,000 industrial and electronics products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers, and provide a wide range of value-added services to over one million customers. With operations in 32 countries, we ship more than 50,000 parcels a day.

Electrocomponents is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2018 had revenues of £1.71bn.

For more information, please visit the website at www.rs-online.com.

Editorial Contact:
Aakriti Kaushik
PR Manager - EMEA
RS Components
aakriti.kaushik@rs-components.com
+44 (0) 7795 400651

PR Agency Contact:
Janice Fenton
Account Director
Publitek Technology PR
janice.fenton@publitek.com
+44 (0) 1225 470000

Further information is available via these links:
Twitter: @RSComponents; @alliedelec; @designsparkRS
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/rs-components

Electrocomponents plc
www.electrocomponents.com
RS Components
www.rs-online.com
Allied Electronics & Automation
www.alliedelec.com
DesignSpark
www.rs-online.com/designspark