RS and Hilscher form strategic partnership to increase global availability
Hattersheim 07. Apr. 2025 – RS Components (RS) and Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH (Hilscher) have entered into a strategic partnership to open up new sales channels. Users will now be able to purchase Hilscher products such as cifX PC cards, gateways, IO-Link wireless, netMIRROR and IIoT solutions such as sensorEDGE or netFIELD Compact through RS’s online store. Hilscher remains focused on enhancing customer satisfaction by optimizing the already high product availability, improving order processing efficiency and further expanding market coverage.
Global distributor with industry-leading communication technology
Through RS, Hilscher will gain better access to a wide range of target groups in development, automation and maintenance. As a specialist in small and medium-sized volumes, RS is a digital-first, globally operating distributor offering product and service solutions to industrial customers. The company has strong expertise in customer outreach and logistical efficiency, as well as solutions like process cost optimization, specifically tailored for this segment.
Initially, the following markets will be supplied with Hilscher products via the RS online shop:
- Europe
- Asia excluding Japan, South Korea, China and India, where Hilscher is represented with own sales units
Customers can now purchase small quantities of up to 10 units directly through the RS online shop. Larger order volumes or orders as part of a larger project will continue to be processed directly by Hilscher.
Hilscher products available through RS
Users and those interested will find nearly the entire product range of Hilscher’s multiprotocol network components available in the RS webshop:
- cifX PC cards in almost all common form factors as master and slave. The PC cards are available for all industrial fieldbus and Real-Time Ethernet protocols and are supplied with all the necessary drivers and standardized interfaces. It’s the largest range available worldwide. Siemens-specific versions for the SIMATIC IPC series are also available.
- Gateways for converting all industrial protocols. From simple conversions between networks with netTAP to remote master applications with netHOST, or specific applications such as PROFINET S7 controllers with netLink.
- Edge hardware for Industrial IoT. High-performance edge gateways like the netFIELD Compact or the Edge IO-Link master sensorEDGE, which can make machine data available directly for IoT applications.
- Other solutions from Hilscher such as the netMIRROR Ethernet Test Access Point, the SmartWire-DT gateways, or the IO-Link wireless master with the IO-Link wireless bridge for wireless connection of IO-Link sensors.
High customer satisfaction and the short-term availability of our products are important goals that Hilscher continuously strives to improve. We see RS as an international distribution partner that adds value for our customers through its digital market presence and logistical efficiency.
Oliver Heidl
Manager Sales and Integration Partner / Partner Management
Hilscher
RS and Hilscher at a glance:
About RS
RS is a digital global distributor of product and service solutions for industrial customers. RS supports over 1.1 million customers worldwide in meeting their maintenance, repair, and operational needs while adhering to safety and sustainability requirements. RS supplies more than 750,000 industrial products and their electronic components from over 2,500 leading suppliers. RS improves the customer experience, drives operational excellence, and simplifies the supply chain at every level.
RS is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RS1. In the past fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024, the group reported annual revenues of £2.942 billion.
For more information, visit www.rs-online.com
About Hilscher
Hilscher is the leading technology and solution provider in industrial communication. Hilscher products and solutions automate machines to communicate with each other globally—fast and secure—so that production and processes run smoothly. From hardware to the cloud—Hilscher’s industry 4.0 technology makes it possible. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities when it comes to connectivity, giving customers access to a wider market. Hilscher’s core products include multiprotocol communication controllers netX, related components such as embedded modules, cifX PC cards, and the edge management platform netFIELD.
Hilscher was founded in 1986 in Hattersheim/Main and has since grown into an internationally operating company with more than 400 employees at 13 locations worldwide. Hilscher is driven by its passion for technological innovation through its experience and know-how, and motivation to always find the best solution for industrial communication of the future.
Related links
From turn-key products to highly integrated solutions and complementary software, Hilscher is your partner for industrial communication. Get an overview of how we can help you take the networking of your machines to a whole new level!
Our solutions enable machines all over the world to communicate autonomously and securely with each other. From communication controllers, PC cards and embedded modules to network analysis and Industry 4.0, we make industrial communication possible. Read more in our success stories.
