Obsolete part? We'll hunt it down
When the OEM says end-of-life and the distributors say no stock, that's where we start. We source discontinued PLCs, HMIs, drives and modules through our own stock, our trade network and the worldwide surplus market — and every unit is bench-tested by a controls engineer before it ships.
Emergency sourcing
Line stopped on a dead legacy part? Tell us the part number and where you are — we treat breakdown requests as the priority they are.
Critical spares holding
Running legacy platforms by choice? We'll help you build a spares holding now, calmly and at sensible prices — not at 2am panic rates.
Bench-checked first
Sourced units are powered up and function-tested before dispatch. If we can't verify it works, we tell you exactly what we could and couldn't test.
Platforms we source
The kit that keeps UK factories running long after the brochure disappeared: Siemens S5 and S7-300/400 families, Allen-Bradley SLC 500 and PLC-5, older PanelViews and SIMATIC HMIs, discontinued PowerFlex and Micromaster drives, Omron C-series and CJ1, Mitsubishi A-series and FX1/FX2 — and the awkward one-off modules, comms cards and power supplies that stop a whole rack when they fail.
Because we also buy surplus stock and clear factories, obsolete parts flow through our hands constantly. If we don't have your part on the shelf, there's a good chance we know who does — or which decommissioned line it's sitting in.
A word of honest advice from the factory floor: if your machine depends on a part that's already obsolete, the cheapest spare you'll ever buy is the one you buy before it fails. Ask us about building a small critical-spares holding — it's a fraction of the cost of one emergency breakdown.
Common questions
How fast can you find a part?
Sometimes same day if it's in our stock; typically days for network sourcing. Genuine unobtainium we'll tell you straight rather than string you along.
Are sourced parts guaranteed?
Everything we can power up gets bench-tested before dispatch, and we describe condition honestly — you'll know exactly what you're buying.
Can you repair instead of replace?
Sometimes — and where a repair or a compatible substitute makes more sense than a hunt, we'll say so.
Do you buy obsolete stock too?
Constantly — it's half our trade. If you're holding legacy spares you'll never use, we pay cash for them.
Tell us the part number
The more you can give us — part number, machine make, how urgent — the faster we can tell you what's possible.
Chasing a part number?
Send it over — with the machine make if you know it — and we'll tell you what we can do, usually the same working day.
Or message us on WhatsApp — 07849 506371 · info@automation-outlet.co.uk