DOWDING & MILLS / BSL ALLIANCE OFFERS CUSTOMERS THE WIDEST RANGE OF ENGINEERING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE UK

Dowding & Mills and BSL have announced an alliance, which jointly makes both companies the number one supplier of engineering services and products in the UK.

Customers will benefit from a nationwide infrastructure that provides end-to-end servicing of manufacturing assets, including a complete range of on-site maintenance and stores management services.

Both companies will work with customers to reduce manufacturing downtime, reduce the direct costs of running plant and the financial costs of holding stock. According to Martyn Habgood, chief executive, Dowding & Mills, the alliance will open up a huge range of value-added services to customers:

"Our companies are a perfect strategic fit and jointly we can approach the market with a nationwide and integrated service. The market has been crying out for a service like ours that can provide the maximum number of services from one single point of contact."

"We will work seamlessly together to reduce downtime and drive efficiencies throughout our customers' businesses. We're looking forward to delighting our customers and creating new benchmarks of excellence in the engineering services sector."

Lawrence Jackson, chief executive, BSL, said, "Our complementary services provide simple answers to complex issues for our customers. Jointly Dowding & Mills and BSL can remove the hassle of maintaining manufacturing assets, allowing customers to concentrate on what they do best.

"Both companies share a customer-focused culture. The increased integration and synergy that the alliance creates is good news for everyone involved in the engineering sector."

The alliance will focus on those customers who are seeking a single source of engineering products and services. The sales forces of each company will work together to maximise customer awareness of the range of services each company can provide.

Dowding & Mills is the number one supplier of engineering maintenance services in the UK with over 1,900 employees, working from 38 sites across the country. Services include on-site predictive maintenance services, and the workshop repair of electronic, electrical and mechanical manufacturing equipment.

Dowding & Mills' alliance partner, BSL, is the number one provider of industrial engineering products in the UK, with over 900 employees servicing over 40,000 customers, through more than 100 sales branches. BSL's extensive product range includes bearings, mechanical and electrical power transmission, seals, gearboxes, pneumatics, hydraulics, tools, health and safety products and maintenance consumables.