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RP was founded in 2005 by Brett Mitchell and Darren Withers. They had previously been Directors at local tool-making company and between them had over 35 years of experience in the industry. The company was based in the Gunbarrel Industrial Estate in Cradley Heath in a unit approximately 1500 sq ft in size. The original setup comprised of 2 Hurco CNC machining centres plus various essential manual equipment and a pedestrian truck! We started with 1 toolmaker and 1 bench hand and Jane & Lisa managing finance and administration. In the next few of years the company developed steadily, increasing in both workforce and machinery.

In 2008 we extended into the next door unit, adding another 1100 sq ft to the footprint of the premises. This expansion also gave us the opportunity for a dedicated CAD room with 4 CAD engineers. At this time we also employed a dedicated sales engineer and purchased a CMM so we could offer measurement services to our customers. By the end of this year we employed 9 toolmakers and the plant list had increased to 7 CNC machining centres plus a suite of manual millers.

By 2010 it was obvious that the current premises would not be able to sustain the growth of the company so the decision was made to move to a larger site. We relocated to Hereward Rise, Halesowen in September of that year and took advantage of the additional space to purchase our first plastic moulding machine, producing prototype moulded parts in small batches. The change in location also made the production process much more efficient. The workforce was increased by another 7 toolmakers over the next couple of years, including the introduction of a toolmaking apprentice and a dedicated Quality engineer. The machinery was also invested in to give the company more flexibility, including a 5 axis machining centre.

The introduction of the moulding facility took off much better than expected and by 2012 it was decided to separate out that side of the business and set up RP Mouldings. New premises of 1600 sq ft were acquired to accommodate the moulding operations and a General manager employed oversee the company. 2 brand new Borsche moulding machines were purchased (320 & 150 Ton) and this was quickly followed by 60 Ton machine and new staff to operate them.

Now we’re in 2015 and the company is growing and developing every day with increased demand. We recently moved to a new facility in Kingswinford that’s 3 times larger than our previous premises. We’ve bought 3 new CNC machining centres, and 2 new injection moulding machines and now have a total of 37 employees!

Here’s hoping the next 10 years are just as successful.