Rubix, Europe’s largest supplier of industrial MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) products and services, is buying the Eriks UK & Ireland industrial distribution business for an undisclosed sum. Rubix describes the acquisition as “complementary” and says it will bring together two multi-specialist industrial distributors offering a broad range of products and services, while extending Rubix’s flow technology portfolio.

Rubix group CEO Franck Voisin says that through the acquisition, Rubix UK, Ireland & Iceland will become his group’s second-largest regional market, with combined annual revenues of more than €850m.

Eriks UK & Ireland distributes flow products such as hoses, valves, sealing and gaskets, as well as associated technical services including customisation and repair. It incorporates the earlier Wyko business which Eriks’ Dutch parent company bought for £139m in 2006.

The Rubix group was created in 2018 by renaming the former IPH Brammer, which had itself been born the previous year when the venture capital firm Advent International, which already owned Brammer, bought the European industrial supplies distributor, IPH, and combined the two businesses.

Since then Rubix has acquired several other UK businesses including Matara, the supplier of automation, linear motion, pneumatics and actuator products and services, and Knowlton & Newman, the electromechanical repair services business. In 2023, Rubix bought Gapp Automation, the Bedford- distributor of motion, control and automation systems.

Today, Rubix has a global network spanning more than 750 locations in 22 countries, and has a team of 9,000 experts helping customers to specify, supply and install industrial products and services. Rubix claims to be the only distributor with a pan-European footprint that carries all of the sector’s premium brands. In 2023, it had a turnover of €3.15bn.

Vince McGurk, CEO of Rubix UK, Ireland and Iceland, says that the complementary UK businesses, “provide the opportunity to deliver a more comprehensive solution to the needs of our customers. The strong fit, shared values and commitment to meeting customer needs would make this a very positive move for the manufacturing sector across the UK and Ireland, and I look forward to working with my new colleagues in the future.”

Rubix group CEO Franck Voisin, adds: “Our consistent approach to industrial distribution, driven by providing multi-specialist technical expertise and specialist services to all our customers, will enable the creation of an even stronger combined business in the UK and Ireland.”

“This partnership delivers exciting opportunities for both organisations,” says Eriks UK & Ireland CEO, Pamela Bingham. “The combination of our product and service offerings will significantly enhance our ability to meet the ever-changing and diverse needs of our customer base.”

The transaction, which is subject to the customary regulatory approvals, is expected to complete this year, once these approvals have been obtained.