April 2026 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 RS GROUP IS BUYING BPX GROUP, the Leicesterheadquartered distributor of industrial automation and control products, for £27m, plus a possible £3m linked to its 2026 performance. BPX, which has more than 6,000 customers and operates through 20 branches and two distribution centres (in Leicester and Huddersfield), will expand RS’s technical capabilities in automation and control – a segment that already accounts for more than 40% of its revenues. BPX, founded more than 50 years ago, employs around 230 people and has seven trading brands. It holds more than £10m of stock, spanning more than 100,000 products. It holds more than 60 distributorships, with Schneider Electric being its largest partner. BPX will operate as a standalone brand within RS. “We are delighted to welcome BPX Group into the RS family,” says Raj Patel, RS managing director for UK & Ireland. “This acquisition will strengthen our product technical capabilities in the automation and control category and help to accelerate our growth plans within the UK and Ireland markets. “Through the technical expertise and specialist knowledge of BPX, combined with the scale, knowledge and reach of RS Group, we will find new opportunities to win in the markets in which we operate, and continue to grow our businesses together,” he adds. “The BPX heritage is what makes it such a special business, so we want to celebrate that alongside our own RS story – and look ahead to a brighter future together.” BPX Group director, Guy Collins, says: “This is an exciting step for BPX Group which will take the business to the next level. BPX is a complementary business to RS in the UK and Ireland. Both are high-service level distributors of automation and control products with an overlap of product range and a customercentric focus, but each serving the market in different ways. p The Japanese motors giant Nidec is facing a possible loss of 250 billion yen (£1.175bn) after a third-party report found widespread accounting fraud in the group, which it blamed on intense pressure from the company’s founder, Shigenobu Nagamori, who formed it in 1973 and built it up to sales of around 2.6 trillion yen (£12.23bn) and more than 100,000 employees. Although the report found no evidence that Nagamori ordered the fraud, it concluded that he was aware of, and had condoned, some of the practices. Nidec’s chairman and three other executives have resigned, while president and CEO, Mitsuya Kishida will take no salary until late 2026. Nagamori has resigned his position as honorary chairman. p ABB has appointed Halesowen-based Hayley Dexis as the first UK national distributor for its high-efficiency, lowvoltage electric motors. To support the partnership, Hayley Dexis has established a stock of ABB IE3 motors at its Dudley, West Midlands, facility. It is guaranteeing replacement stock within 5-7 working days. In the longer term, the agreement will give access to other ABB motors including its IE6 SynRM machines. For the first time, the agreement includes direct support from ABB for onsite commissioning and installation services for motors and drives. p The UK events organiser, Nineteen Group, is launching a US version of its Smart Manufacturing Week conference and exhibition in Detroit from 19–22 April, 2027. The launch marks the next step in its plans to build a platform for the advanced manufacturing, reliability and asset management markets. Smart Manufacturing Week US will consist of two shows – Smart Factory Expo and Maintec (covering maintenance, reliability and asset management) – as well as the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit and The Reliability Conference, which Nineteen acquired when it bought Reliabilityweb. p Ipswich-based Boardley & Roberts has bought the East Midlands electric motors business, W H Shoebridge & Sons for an undisclosed sum. Shoebridge has been run by one family since it was founded in 1919. Operating in Northampton, Wisbech and Peterborough, it sells and repairs electric motors, geared systems and spares. Managing director Robert Shoebridge, the third generation to run the businesses, is retiring. He wanted to sell the firm to a buyer with a similar ethos. NEWS BRIEFS BPX’s headquarters are located in Leicester n NEWS RS buys Leicester-based automation and control distributor BPX, for £27m THE NORTHERN IRELAND industrial drives and motors supplier, Technidrive, has launched a scrappage scheme to help businesses to cut their energy consumption and operating costs. The scheme will allow them to trade in their existing motors or drives for IE3, IE4, IE5 or IE6 efficiency motors from WEG, and receive a scrappage value that can reduce the cost of the upgrade. The scheme includes a simple assessment and approval process, compliant recycling, and the disposal of the old equipment. Technidrive says that by cutting upfront costs, the scrappage allowance can shorten payback periods significantly for businesses upgrading their legacy equipment. The company will provide upgrade recommendations based on the application. Upgrades to the new high-efficiency motors, supplied and commissioned by Technidrive, will qualify for trade-in credit, cutting the cost of moving to the newer technology. Where speed control is possible, adding a VSD could deliver further savings by matching the motor output to demand. WEG has a payback tool that compares efficiency classes, forecasts energy savings and calculates returns on investment. It can include VSDs for centrifugal applications. “What many businesses don’t realise is how much value may be tied up in the equipment they already own,” says Technidrive’s technical director, David Strain. “By combining trade-in credit with a properly engineered upgrade and commissioning service, we’re helping our customers to modernise with confidence and to build a greener, more cost-effective operation.” www.technidrive.co.uk/solutions/ energy-efficiency Electric motor scrappage scheme will cut costs and emissions
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