Passing the quality test

How do we ensure that you get an unbeatable blend of quality and price?
The answer is careful product sourcing, combined with comprehensive in-house testing.

Every company takes its brand seriously. But few, if any, can invest more time, money and expertise in maintaining and protecting its brand values than RS Components.

That's why every single product we sell under our own label is not only designed and manufactured to the very highest standards, but is fully tested for compliance with all relevant national and international requirements.

Only then can we be certain that we're offering our customers the unbeatable combination of quality and price on which we've built our industry-leading reputation.

At RS, our aim is to save you money. But not at the expense of quality.

In fact, every product carrying our label, from connectors and cables to mechanical and power tools, is comprehensively and expertly tested by our team of specialist engineers, to ensure that it meets all manufacturer claims, as well as the demands of relevant legislation. It's an approach which is rare among companies of our type, but it is an approach which is integral to our philosophy of delivering products our customers can trust.

"At RS components, we want to be 100% confident that our customers are buying what they think they're buying - outstanding quality and value."

It is a full-time challenge. In a world of constant change and continuous technological development, a new or replacement product is never far away - and they all need to be tested. This is where our dedicated testing laboratory at Corby comes in.

"As a company, we're focused on always offering the highest quality products," commented Alan Lund, Group Product Compliance Manager, "and there's a constant stream of products that need to be checked for compliance, often down to component level. Our lab even carries out a range of specialist procedures to check for BSI/RoHS compliance where appropriate."

These specialist checks include procedures such as XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) analysis. This allows Alan Lund's team to carry out a full compliance check of the materials used in the manufacture of components, and assess them for the presence of constituents such as heavy metals, including lead, mercury and cadmium.

A key requirement of the RoHS standard, this is especially important in testing components such as connectors and capacitors. The RS Product Compliance team also has advanced expertise across the full range of electrical testing procedures.

Of course, not every product meets the standards required. Although it's not often that a product fails the testing process, there are occasions where the RS Product Compliance team has to address the issue.

"Obviously, a rejected product is not sold in the form tested," said Alan, "and we do everything we can to resolve the problem with the vendor by making design or manufacturing revisions that will meet the necessary standards. Only when this is the case is the product included in the RS components product range."

But ensuring that products meet the required standards is just a means to an end. The end itself is total customer satisfaction. "Many vendors simply import and sell without checks,"concluded Alan Lund, "and this cannot be in the ultimate interests of anyone, particularly the end user. At RS components, we want to be 100% confident that our customers are buying what they think they're buying - outstanding quality and value."