Rowse Celebrates 20 Years In Business

A little over 20 years ago, Rowse Electrical Wholesalers was established in Plymouth, Devon, by John Rowse. Calling on his solid experience in industry, John based the company on a “customers first” business model. With his friendly, hands-on approach, John has guided us to increasing success. The emphasis has always been on knowledge, quality and great service for customers. 

Today, we’re still a leading technical distributor in the South West region – but that’s not all! Throughout the past 20 years, John has worked hard to expand the business, which now proudly hosts five major divisions: Rowse Electrical, Rowse Automation, Rowse Pneumatics, Rowse Rail and Rowse Defence. In recent years, Rowse’s on-the-ground premises have been given a bright new aspect, and in 2020, we consolidated and greatly expanded our online presence. 

Now we have a more comprehensive and friendly customer interface, including one-click ordering via our quick quote system. Having separate websites for each area of technical interest helps us to provide you with a better, faster customer experience, with plenty of useful information and technical support. We also offer a range of specialist services in the rail and defence sectors.

Relationships And Experience

Throughout the years, Rowse has worked closely with leading manufacturers in all areas of our business. This has helped us improve our product ranges and services for our customers. In addition, the Rowse team has been able to increase its in-depth understanding of many areas of our work. Our team are experts in electrical, automation, pneumatics, rail and defence products, and offer a broad knowledge base. We’re always happy to help you with technical assistance or advice. 

At Rowse, we also continue to maintain our solid base in supplying components for the defence and rail sectors.

Evolution And Innovation

In recent years, Tom Rowse has joined the company, using his innovative expertise in industrial automation and technology to help achieve more significant milestones. As the world of industry evolves increasingly rapidly, Tom’s focus on growth and technological innovation underpins our vision for the Rowse brand, and helps keep us ahead in this constantly developing landscape. 

Over our 20 years in business, we’ve gained strong professional recognition and certifications, such as our official partnerships with Festo and Siemens. Indeed, at the Festo Official Partner Conference of 2024, we were proud to be named Festo Distribution Partner of the Year. This is a great professional honour and underlines the solid collaborative partnership existing between Festo and Rowse. 

Earlier in 2024, we also took part in the Combined Naval Event (CNE) at Farnborough. As a Plymouth-based company, Rowse has long been a prominent player in the naval defence industry, so we were delighted to join this important event in the industry calendar. More than 50 nations were represented, comprising some 200 companies and over 1,500 participants. Rowse is strongly committed to strengthening our naval capabilities, and we were proud to display our own considerable array of procurement offerings.

Accreditation And Contribution

Rowse is registered with professional associations such as the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR), and the government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme. We’re also fully certified by the International Standards Organisation under ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

We’re invested in the local community and currently sponsor Plymouth Argaum U13s Rugby Club. We also contribute to national and international organisations and events, including World Book Day. We couldn’t do any of it without the help and loyal support of our customers.

Here at Rowse, we've been thrilled to collaborate on so many of your projects over the years. Whether it was helping supply simple electric components for the household, or planning for larger installations, we’ve always worked closely with you to achieve your goals. Since widening our focus to encompass pneumatics and automation, we’re delighted to have met and helped so many more new clients. 

So, at this notable landmark in our history, John, Christine, Tom and the whole Rowse team would like to offer our profound thanks – to our valued customers, our business partners and everyone who’s offered us support and encouragement over the past 20 years in business. We’re looking forward to the next 20!