Rubix UK buys Gapp Automation to raise its electrical profile
The MRO company Rubix UK has bought Bedford-based Gapp Automation, which distributes motion, control & automation (MCA) systems in the UK and Ireland. The acquisition will extend Rubix’s activities into the electrical MCA sector, alongside its existing mechanical businesses. Details of the transaction have not been revealed.
Gapp will become part of the Rubix UK’s Motion, Control & Automation business, keeping its existing branding, and becoming “a Rubix company”. Gapp's managing director and co-founder Peter Walker, sales director Graham Goodge and other members of the team will retain their current roles, except for co-founder Jattinder Panesar, who will retire. Gapp Automation will report to Bob Clark, managing director of Rubix’s MCA business in the UK.
Gapp’s history dates back to 2008 when Peter Walker and Jattinder Panesar, both previously with Lenze, set up an operation to sell and support PLCs, I/Os and HMIs from the German automation supplier Vipa (in which Yaskawa took a controlling stake in 2012). In 2015, the business was reborn as Gapp Automation, reflecting the wider range of products and services from a variety of manufacturers that it was supplying by then.
Gapp now distributes machine controls, visualisation technologies, electric drives, linear motion, measurement and sensing, motors and gearboxes, mechanical transmission, and light and sound products. Its has 10 employees, and generated sales worth around £4m during 2022.
“Over the past 15 years we have developed a comprehensive range of MCA products, from industry-leading supply partners,” says Walker. “Becoming part of the Rubix family is a natural next step for our business. Working more closely with Rubix’s existing mechanically-focused MCA businesses, Matara and KJN, provides great synergy and a fantastic opportunity to continue our growth and business expansion plans.
“We are very appreciative of the strategic alliances we have built over the past 15 years with our supply partners and we look forward to further expanding these relationships now that Gapp is a key part of Rubix UK,” he adds. “With our growth plans, together with gaining full access to the greater resources we will enjoy being part of Rubix, we look forward to working closely with all of our customers in the future, and developing our support resources and capabilities further.”
“The acquisition further develops our multi-specialist offer by expanding our capabilities in the high-growth MCA sector,” says Rubix UK CEO, Vince McGurk. “The team’s deep technical expertise and commitment to creating customer value reflects our approach perfectly and I am looking forward to working closely with them on the immediate opportunities this will create.”
The Rubix Group is Europe’s largest supplier of industrial MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) products and services. It was created from the merger of IPH with Brammer in 2017, following the acquisition of Brammer by Advent International. It has 8,500 employees operating from more than 750 locations in 22 countries, serving more than 20,000 customers. The business had sales worth €2.6bn in 2021.
Rubix UK: Twitter
Gapp Automation: LinkedIn
