RS Components and Allied Electronics are the trading brands of Electrocomponents
plc. With operations in 32 countries, they offer around 500,000 products
through the internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over one million
customers, shipping more than 44,000 parcels a day. Products are sourced from
2,500 leading suppliers and include semiconductors, interconnect, passives
and electromechanical, automation and control, electrical, test and
measurement, tools and consummables. Electrocomponents is listed on the
London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2014 had
revenues of £1.27bn. History
RS Components was founded by J.H. Waring and P.M. Sebestyen in 1937 in London
under the name Radiospares supplying radio repair shops with spare parts.
When televisions became popular, television parts were added to
Radiospares' product list. By the end of World War II, the company had evolved
into a large national distribution company. In 1954, the founders of
Radiospares expanded the company's focus from shops and home users to the
industrial sector and began selling electronic components. The company
rebranded as RS Components in 1971. Sourced from 2,500 Global suppliers, the
broad product range includes electronics, automation and control,
test and measurement, electrical and mechanical components. RS now has
operating companies in 32 countries, including France, Italy and Germany,
with operations as far afield as Chile, New Zealand and China. Offering around
500,000 products through the Internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over
one million customers, the company ships more than 46,000 parcels on the same day
the orders are received. Milestones
First electronics and maintenance company to have an own label range
First distributor to offer free next day delivery
Corby distribution centre opened in 1984 First catalogue distributor to introduce
a CD Rom version Nuneaton distribution centre opened in
1997, adding half a million square feet of warehouse space in the UK
First transactional website in the industry, launched in 1998
First free-to-access PCB schematic tool, DesignSpark PCB, in the industry
iPad version of customer magazine, eTech, launched in 2011
First to launch a specialist app, MyLocalRS, for its branch network
Operations RS Components is part of the
Electrocomponents group, which trades as RS except in North America where it
trades as Allied Electronics. The group distributes more than 500,000 products,
including electronics, automation and control, test and measurement,
electrical and mechanical components, to over one million customers.
Electrocomponents has operations in 32 countries. The company uses a variety of
channels to market including selling via eCommerce, catalogues and trade
counters. The group has 16 distribution centres
across the world. In 2003, RS Components was awarded
'E-Business Strategy of the Year' by the UK National Business Awards. In 2011,
the company was named 'Distributor of the Year' and 'Company of the Year' at
the 2011 Elektra European Electronics Industry awards.
The RS Components site in Corby is the town's largest employer.
In 2013, both RS and Allied became one of the main manufacturers and
distributors for the Raspberry Pi. Products
RS Components stocks around 500,000 products across its regional warehouses.
It also sells and distributes Raspberry Pi computers worldwide.
The major product categories and ranges include:
1) Semiconductors Microcontrollers
Power management Development Kits
LED’s Data converters
Discretes Raspberry Pi
2) Automation & control Sensors
Contactors Machine guarding
Enclosures Electric motors
Circuit protection PLCs’ HMI
3) Electrical, test & measurement equipment
LED lamps Electrical cables
Cable accessories Multi-meters
Oscilloscopes DC-DC converters
4) Support Batteries
Tools & tool storage Safety & security
Fasteners & fixings Adhesives
See also Allied Electronics - Sister company in
the US DesignSpark PCB - DesignSpark PCB is a
schematic capture and PCB layout tool provided by RS Components.
Electrocomponents plc - Parent Company of RS Components.
References External links
RS Components Homepage RS Automation & Control centre
Designspark - Electronics development community
Customer facing international website RS-Storemanager vendor managed inventory
from RS Components RS UK Trade Counters
RS Components in Russia