Global distributor for engineers RS Components reached an agreement to integrate pneumatics solutions provider Festo pneumatics products into its range in June, which will enable the company to further extend the range of brands it offers to its customers.

The two companies have agreed to align in key markets across Europe and South Africa. The Festo range complements the RS Pro pneumatics offer and will strengthen its offer in all markets and particularly in those where the Festo brand is very strong, such as in Germany, where, for example, Festo has a significant share of the market.

RS will initially offer about 1 000 stocked products and it 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 both global and local level.

“This partnership is great news for our industrial customers. With unrivalled access to industrial customers and market-leading service and support, RS is a perfect match for us as a distribution partner,” says Festo Europe senior VP Gian Paolo Arosio.

Festo is a market leader in pneumatics and electrical automation in many countries across the world. Established in 1925, the company is a privately owned business with a yearly turnover of €2.64-billion. The company highlights that research and development play an important role in its operations, with the manufacturer investing the equivalent of 8% of its turnover in these activities.

RS Components and electronic components distributor Allied Electronics are the trading brands of global electronic and engineering components supplier Electrocomponents. With operations in 32 countries, Electrocomponents offers more than 500 000 products through the Internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over one-million customers.