EndeavourAWARDS 2017 Endeavour Awards Winner SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION OF THE YEAR, MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING COMPANY (SPONSORED BY SEW EURODRIVE) AND MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY AIR LIQUIDE)
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This year, electronic equipment manufacturer Redarc Electronics managed to win three Endeavour Award titles: Supply Chain Integration of the Year, Most Innovative Manufacturing Company and the coveted Manufacturer of the Year. Manufacturers’ Monthly spoke with managing director Anthony Kittel and national sales and marketing manager Ben Marsh about the company’s triple-win at the Awards.
Anthony Kittel with Manufacturers’ Monthly managing editor Syed Shah, who presented the Manufacturer of the Year Award on behalf of sponsor Air Liquide.
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STABLISHED in 1979, Redarc designs and manufactures a range of electronic products and accessories, including solar panels, battery chargers, voltage converters, lighting, and much more. Over the last few years, the company has been working on diversifying its customer base into new markets, moving from simply selling “boxes” to selling solutions and systems, according to managing director Anthony Kittel. As a result, Redarc has sought the assistance of cutting-edge German research body Fraunhofer, which specialises in industry trends such as Industry 4.0. The company is looking to incorporate not only smarter processes, but also smarter products and what is needed to make these products through to 2025. At the same time, Redarc’s facility is expanding. In a multi-million dollar investment, Redarc’s footprint is going from 3000sq m to 5000sq m. The company is investing heavily in equipment, expecting a 250 per cent increase in its Surface Mount Technology room, for example. Redarc’s workforce is also expected to increase significantly, adding 100 jobs by the end of the expansion. 16 JULY 2017 Manufacturers’ Monthly
“It’s a really exciting time,” said Ben Marsh, Redarc national sales and marketing manager. “[The new equipment] opens us up to export markets, defence, medical, and some other avenues. It not only allows us to push more product through, but also to be more competitive on the world scale.” Winner of Supply Chain Integration of the year, Redarc imports raw components from all around the world, and tries to source components direct to the manufacturer rather than through third parties. This keeps the company competitive on a global scale, according to Marsh. Redarc currently exports to Europe, but is also looking to expand into North America, and has already started this process. When asked about winning Most Innovative Manufacturer of the Year, managing director Anthony Kittel noted the Dual Input In-vehicle Battery Charger range as something he was particularly proud of. “The BCDC1225D has been in the market for a few months now and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback,” said Kittel. New models BCDC1225D and BCDC1240D feature separate vehicle
Anthony Kittel with Darren Klonowski from SEW-Eurodrive after winning the Most Innovative Manufacturing Company Award. DC and solar inputs, simplifying installation. The units will charge from both solar and the alternator simultaneously and with inbuilt ‘Green Power Priority’, the battery charger will automatically select solar charge first, taking the load off the vehicle’s alternator. This is just one of the many innovative products that Redarc manufactures, according to Kittel, who has attributed the company’s success to “innovation, a culture of process improvement [and] investment in new manufacturing techniques and machinery”. Indeed, at this year’s Endeavour Awards Redarc took out the most coveted award – Manufacturer of the Year. “Key to the strategy and success of Redarc is being able to design and manufacture high quality products locally,” said Kittel. “[However] our biggest challenge has therefore been maintaining a strong market presence as an Australian manufacturer and competing against imported products from low cost nations.” Speaking about the Australian manufacturing industry, Kittel said:
“A key lesson for us is that we must continue to provide a compelling value proposition to our customers in the face of cheap imports, by ensuring we maintain our leading edge technology, high quality products and relationships through sustained high levels of R&D, employing highly skilled staff and customer service excellence. “Innovation must pervade everything we do and we cannot accept the status quo – we must continue to strive to find a better way. I would like to see more support programs for R&D within SME’s by the Government to encourage businesses to invest in this critically important area,” he added. As for the Endeavour Awards, Kittel said they are recognised as the premier awards program within the Australian manufacturing industry. “The Endeavour Awards provide manufacturers from around the country with industry-wide recognition and acknowledgement of the commitment of their teams. I think the awards represent innovation, continuous improvement, embracing risk, training highly skilled staff, and economic investment in Australia.” manmonthly.com.au