Distributor Wesco opens third UK office

Distie opens Milton Keynes office and triples data comms salesforce as it aims to increase UK presence

Wesco Distribution has opened its third UK office and tripled one of its sales teams to accommodate its fast growth over the past two years.

The distributor, which focuses on electrical, industrial and communications MRO and OEM products, has opened a new office in Uxbridge, to go alongside its other UK facilities in Manchester and Aberdeen.

The US-headquartered distie tripled its data communication sales team last year, from three to nine, and plans to keep expanding in 2015, according to Richard Eichhorn, sales director of EMEA, data communication and security.

Eichhorn told CRN that Wesco is looking to add more bodies to its UK headcount, which stands at 25, and the company is planning to invest further in its UK operations in 2015.

"The last two years have seen strong investment in our UK operation, which has expanded from servicing a single customer to now supporting 20 global brands and a community of 500 integrators across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands," Eichhorn said.

Wesco has 20 vendors in the UK currently, and Eichhorn said the distie is in talks with an IP security hardware vendor in the UK to help make its portfolio more complete.

Last year, Wesco signed up network infrastructure vendor CommScope, and Eichhorn said this partnership has been critical to Wesco's recent growth.

"It has changed a lot for us. It has helped CommScope and us go to different marketplaces and to see new opportunities in the market, and it was a positive impact not only for us, but for the customers and the integrators."

Eichhorn said that working with CommScope, Wesco will focus on expanding in the intelligent lighting activities in the coming year.

In Europe, Wesco operates in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, and also supplies to countries such as Finland, Germany, Austria, and Spain.

Eichhorn said that over the next few years, Wesco is looking to expand into new European territories and increase its European presence, but said that the UK would be one of its "high-growth" markets.