Low volume bespoke solutions engineer celebrates 20 years and looks ahead to record year

The company, which employs 38 people at its headquarters on Bilton Industrial Estate in Coventry, has a scope of operations that takes in Olympic projects, tier 1 automotive parts supply, groundbreaking 'telematics' for electric vehicles and new medical products. Demand for its bespoke engineering solutions and a commitment to aggressive investment and marketing has helped the company bounce back from the manufacturing recession of 2008, taking on an additional 18 staff to cope with the growth. The management's vision is to achieve £25 million turnover by 2018 and the first steps on this strategy have been put in place with the successful launch of three individual divisions…Automotive, Telematics and Meditec. "I set up RDM in 1993, after taking voluntary redundancy from Rover Cars, where I'd spent the last three years working on new vehicle variations, including the low volume MGRV8," explains David Keene, chairman. "During this time, I met many small and medium sized suppliers who could develop cutting edge products and systems quickly and with great flexibility. I noticed there was a gap in the market for an electrical-based solutions provider and thought I'd take a chance on filling it. "One of the first projects was working for Pininfarina in Italy, who were working for Bentley. They wanted me to help resolve issues with their window lift systems, which led to me to producing door wiring harnesses. "This was successfully completed and proved to me that there was a genuine global demand for low volume manufacturing." RDM Group was initially founded to provide engineering services to the automotive sector and this part of the business continues to bring in 80% of the group's total turnover. Today, the company currently supplies a number of tier 1s and OEMs with wiring harnesses/looms, electronic ECUs, PCBs, plastic mouldings, trim and metal assemblies and part logistics management services. Its team of expert engineers also offers an electrical and electronic design service and provides hardware design and software embedding capabilities. "We've enjoyed a lot of success in automotive, thanks mainly to our ability to offer rapid and robust solutions to complex problems, as well as appreciating the need to take cost out of the component," adds Mr Keene. "At RDM, we start with a blank sheet of paper and then manage the process through from design and development of prototype parts into volume production and supply – all based on world class performance measurements. "This has led to a global client base that includes Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota." RDM has invested significantly in building on its core engineering skills by diversifying into new markets, including telematics where it supplies a suite of cutting edge hardware and software solutions for vehicle tracking, data logging, remote diagnostics and asset management. These cater for petrol, diesel and LPG vehicles and, increasingly, the Coventry firm is working to provide crucial data acquisition for electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle trials. The final part of the Group portfolio is RDM Meditec, a division created to provide a route to manufacture and market for innovative products that offer better standards of living and improved dignity. It is currently working with Coventry University's HDTI department and med-tech specialist MDTi on a host of projects. These include the recent launch of UroDiary, a computerised bladder diary that aids the identification and management of lower urinary tract symptoms. Mr Keene concluded: "2013 is an important year for us, with lots of exciting opportunities to progress and possible investment in new machining and trim facilities. "The decision to appoint three divisional leads – Tim Lyons (Automotive), Rick Fairchild (Telematics) and Fiona Planterose (Meditec) – is an important step forward in our expansion plans and will help us meet £6 million sales across the Group in 2013. "There's no reason why we can't be at £25 million by the time our 25th birthday comes around, and this would lead to the creation of up to 35 new jobs."