Electrocomponents : RS Components extends pneumatics offer through agreement with Festo

Step change in distribution model of market leader in pneumatics and electrical automation in many countries worldwide

Oxford, UK, 27 June 2016 - RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the global distributor for engineers, has reached an agreement to integrate Festo pneumatics products into its range, providing industrial customers with an even wider choice of brands from the distributor. RS is now a key part in the distribution strategy of Festo, a global player in pneumatic and electrical automation technology. The two companies have agreed to align in key markets across Europe.

The Festo range complements the RS Pro pneumatics offer and will be an essential brand on the A&C line card of RS from June 2016. This is another step by the distributor to better serve the needs of its customers when sourcing products for specific applications.

This launch will strengthen the RS offer in all markets and particularly in those where the Festo brand is very strong. In Germany, for example, Festo has a significant share of the market. RS will initially offer around 1,000 stocked products and plans to offer an extended range soon afterwards. The initial launch will be across Europe and South Africa, with an agreement in principle to extend this at a later stage. It will be supported by several sales and marketing activities at a global and local level.

'This partnership is great news for our industrial customers,' said Gian Paolo Arosio, Senior Vice President Region Europe at Festo. 'With unrivalled access to industrial customers and market-leading service and support, RS is a perfect match for us as a distribution partner.'

Festo is the market leader in pneumatics and electrical automation in many countries across the world. Established in 1925, the company is a privately owned business with an annual turnover of €2.64 billion. Research and development play an important role and so the manufacturer invests the equivalent of 8% of its turnover in these activities.

'By partnering with this leading player in Europe, we are addressing the gap in our pneumatics offer and enhancing our service to engineers,' said Kevin Shield, Head of Category A&C at Electrocomponents. 'The Festo range is powerful and well-proven, thanks to huge efforts in research and development.'

Photo caption (left to right):
Gian Paolo Arosio, Senior Vice President Region Europe at Festo; Kevin Shield, Head of Category A&C at Electrocomponents.

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About RS Components
RS Components and Allied Electronics are the trading brands of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers. With operations in 32 countries, we offer more than 500,000 products through the internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over one million customers, shipping more than 44,000 parcels a day. Our products, sourced from 2,500 leading suppliers, include electronic components, electrical, automation and control, and test and measurement equipment, and engineering tools and consumables.

Electrocomponents is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2016 had revenues of £1.29bn.

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

About Festo
Festo AG, based in Esslingen am Neckar, is both a global player and an independent family enterprise. The company provides pneumatic and electrical automation technology for 300,000 customers in factory and process automation in over 200 branches of industry. Its products and services are available in 176 countries throughout the world. Some 18,700 employees in 61 national companies worldwide generated a sales volume of about €2.64 billion in 2015. Around 8% of this sum is invested in research and development. In this learning enterprise, vocational education and training measures account for 1.5% of sales volume. The educational offers are not only provided to employees, however: at Festo Didactic SE, industrial education and training programmes also make automation technology readily comprehensible to customers, students and trainees.

For more information please visit www.festo.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
RS Components on Linkedin
www.linkedin.com/company/rs-components

Electrocomponents plc
www.electrocomponents.com
RS Components
www.rs-online.com
DesignSpark
www.designspark.com