RS Components recently celebrated 80 years since opening its first business operations in London. Founded as Radiospares, in 1937, the company started as a supplier of parts to the burgeoning radio market, and has evolved to become a global distribution enterprise with operations in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, offering a diverse portfolio of more than 500 000 industrial and electronic components across 2500 global brands.
RS South Africa opened its doors in 1996, the flagship operation in Africa, celebrating 21 years of distributing products and components to engineers around the continent. Brian Andrew, general manager of RS South Africa commented: “How things have changed. In 2009 we took the decision to print our last paper catalogue. It was a big risk to take in a market where e-commerce was just taking off and where the industry was still quite traditional, with engineers requesting our 3000 page catalogue to search for their favourite parts. We started off with just 5% of sales coming through the website in 2009, and this has steadily grown to 65% of all sales now coming through the website. The shift has been phenomenal with unbelievable efficiencies gained through the use of technology.”
The company’s founding principle of service excellence, with ease of doing business at its core, has been a major factor in its success and longevity. Innovation is another vital keystone for supporting customers and suppliers through the product life cycle, and RS is continuing to develop its DesignSpark engineering community, offering technical support, free tools and inspiration to engineers in the design phase.
Mike England, UK managing director and head of Northern Europe region at RS, commented: “RS has a unique offering and an unparalleled 80-year heritage, which we are proud to celebrate today. Customers are at the heart of everything we do, and our focus remains on service excellence, which we will achieve by keeping abreast of technology and market dynamics. This approach, along with our passion to innovate and to inspire the next generation of engineers, is vital in ensuring that RS continues to prosper for the next 80 years and more.”
Meeting the Western Cape’s occupational health and safety needs
News
“A-OSH EXPO Cape Town is a dedicated platform where visitors can explore the latest products, services and training to safeguard their teams, improve workplace conditions, and ensure compliance with evolving legislation.
Read more...Bühler hosts Student Career Expo
News
Bühler Southern Africa recently hosted its fourth annual Student Career Expo, reaffirming its commitment to inspiring and guiding the next generation towards diverse and rewarding career possibilities.
Read more...The unseen crisis in our taps
News
South Africa’s water crisis is no longer looming. It is already here. To move forward, water treatment must become part of a broader infrastructure renewal agenda. This includes decentralised solutions, private-sector innovation and long-term investment.
Read more...A technical partnership that lasts Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
News
Ian Loudon, international sales and marketing at remote monitoring specialist, Omniflex reflects on the longevity of the partnership with Sasol, the key technology milestones along the way, and the most recent project in South Africa.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version