On 1 January, the distributor BSL Brammer became plain Brammer, with a single trading organisation and a single name uniting 11 previously separately-named companies across Europe. The move completes a programme started in 2004, when the Brammer Group began the transition from a series of wholly-owned national businesses to a pan-European company supplying more than 100,000 customers from 265 locations.

"While wanting to preserve the local nature of each of our national businesses," explains Brammer chief executive, Ian Fraser, "this move sees Brammer being able to deliver savings, alongside a consistent level of high-quality service, and broad range of world-beating branded products to customers from Aberdeen in Scotland, to Budapest in Hungary, or Zaragoza in Spain."

The move also recognises the growing number of multinational customers wanting a single-source supplier with common products, operations and services across all of their European sites.

"Being one company across Europe means considerable economies of scale for our customers," says Ian Ritchie, managing director of Brammer in the UK, where the organisation has more than 800 employees and 82 sales and service centres. "Being one of the largest customers for MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) products in Europe gives us considerable advantages when it comes to supplying parts and getting support from manufacturers."