Wide range for integrated solutions

Had they wanted to bring every product in the range to Indumation, they would have needed more than one hall. But it will be limited to stand 445. As an exclusive Rockwell Automation distributor, Routeco will show the added value for machine builders and end users of working with the world's largest player in industrial automation. After all, anyone wanting to make a difference in order to achieve a more sustainable, productive or safe process needs to start thinking more and more integrated. And then the breadth of Rockwell Automation's offering, backed by the Routeco team's field expertise, is an incredible asset.

Routeco has been making waves as one of the UK's leading distributors of industrial automation products since 1978. The partnership they have entered into as an exclusive distributor with Rockwell Automation is certainly something in between. Having previously touched down in the south of the Netherlands, the heart of the mechanical engineering market, Routeco also set up its own Belgian branch in Turnhout in 2020. Something for which Rockwell Automation was certainly in demand. 

Regional channel manager Jan van Gameren explains: “Our strength is the enormous breadth of our offering. From a simple pressure switch to PLCs for control and even the umbrella software to further optimise plants. We have everything. By opting for in-depth cooperation with partners, we are closer to our customers and the challenges they face. They are our antennae in the field, we make sure our range continues to meet all requirements. You can realise more added value together. One plus one does not have to be two.”

With feet firmly in the field 

A key requirement for this, of course, is the presence of technical know-how. Routeco Belgium's team, led by country director James Jonckers, is therefore seasoned in industrial automation. “Our people are real ‘boots on the ground’, technical specialists who help find and work out solutions. And who especially build local presence.” 

Rockwell needs little introduction, of course; every machine builder is familiar with the name, but few realise exactly how wide and how deep this automation specialist's offering reaches. Sales manager Johny Vangeel: “Rockwell stands for the ‘connected enterprise’ . After all, automation is all about the integration of control and information technology. OT and IT. That is the way to make your production an ecosystem that constantly optimises itself in terms of efficiency, flexibility, safety and quality. From the software, to the hardware, from the smallest safety switch to the largest PLC, from IoT software to cybersecurity...: we can offer it all and set up an architecture that lets data flow seamlessly.”

Support with hardware, software and services

In this, too, Routeco clearly shows its added value. Vangeel: “Digitalisation is happening at different speeds in the industry. We therefore try to bridge the gap in practice between how far companies are already in that transformation today and, above all, where they want to go. We provide the support with hardware, software and services.” 

Jonckers adds: “Do they want to pursue higher quality? Do they want to be more energy efficient? Do they want fewer production stoppages? We look together with them at what data are needed for this and how they can be deployed. We also try to look beyond tomorrow, at how smart machines can lay the foundations for new business models, for example. Digital and integrated working really offers opportunities to further differentiate yourself from competitors and get more out of your machines. The advantage of a partner like Rockwell is that they have everything available in-house, from the smallest sensor to the PLC and all the overhead software. But at the same time, they represent a very open architecture, to which you can also hook up other components and services to create one integrated system. That way, your entire factory can be perfectly known, known and controlled. That will be our message at Indumation.”