AGP client Rototherm Group to produce 100,000 medical visors a week for the NHS

A Port Talbot-based manufacturer has started making medical visors to help the NHS combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rototherm Group, which usually manufactures industrial measuring instruments such as pressure and temperature gauges, has started making the medical visors, in an effort to keep the NHS supplied with vital protective equipment. The firm, which employs just over 100 people at its factory on the Kenfig Industrial Estate near Margam, said it currently has enough material to produce in excess of 1,500,000 protective face shields.

Managing Director of Rototherm, Oliver Conger, said:
“In a short period of time, we have designed and had the product independently tested and approved by the BSI for use by the NHS, as well as reconfiguring our facility to produce the product in large volumes; a great achievement by team Rototherm.”

The company began making visors early in April and has ramped up production significantly in a short period of time, manufacturing 65,000 units a week with plans to increase to more than 100,000+ per week in the coming weeks. Over the past week the business has recruited an additional 36 people to support production. The face shields have been certified by the BSI and additionally hold the CE mark certification.

The company has received support from Accelerated Growth Programme, (AGP) since October 2015.

Richard Morris of Accelerated Growth Programme said:
“Rototherm is a leading business in its sector and we are so impressed by the way it has pivoted its operations almost overnight to develop and produce vital medical equipment for the NHS, which will protect many people.”
 

Director of Rototherm, Tarkan Conger said:
“Supporting the local supply chain is very much part of Rototherm’s DNA and we are fortunate to have so many fantastic Welsh businesses that are supporting us from the supply of materials to other specialist services that have enabled us to ramp up production so quickly”.

Rototherm has received calls for its visors from all over the world but is concentrating on supplying the NHS and the healthcare communities in the UK. The business has also set up a dedicated website at www.face-shield.co.uk.

With a heritage dating back to the 1840s, the Rototherm Group is a leading global manufacturer for measurement solutions for temperature, pressure, liquid concentration, dissolved carbon dioxide and flow.  In addition to its Headquarters in Margam, Rototherm has an additional manufacturing facility in Southport as well as offices in Edinburgh, Teeside, Dublin and Texas.

Rototherm has grown and developed its reputation within the Energy, Beverage, LPG, pharmaceuticals, water, transport and defence industries.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme​.

Meet the coach: Howard Jones

The Business Wales AGP programme provides access to a network of experts in a variety of subject areas, who can advise and help you grow your business.

Here, we talk to Howard Jones, a Business Wales AGP coach who uses his experience and passion for helping businesses grow to support Welsh business founders throughout their entrepreneurship journey.

Can you give us a potted history of your career journey to date?
I started my career at Natwest, where I worked for three years before going to the International Thomson Organisation where I stayed for 20 years, a period which culminated in a strategic management role. I used my experience in the publishing industry to become founder and chief executive of SWA Publications, in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects, publishing magazines and handbooks for specifiers.

I joined Business Wales AGP in 2017. I love helping businesses to grow and develop. That was my aim when I joined the programme. I help companies to balance processes and policies with the entrepreneurial attitudes needed to scale a business.

Howard Jones AGP Coach

What challenges have you faced during your career?
I haven't encountered barriers, but I've faced many challenges. One of the big things I've learned is that moving from a start-up company into a growth business takes a wide range of skills, knowledge and behaviours from that company's senior leaders and their teams. I use this knowledge as I help others on their business journey, with their own individual set of challenges.

Who have you learned the most from in your career to date?
Working at the International Thomson Organisation provided me with so much experience that I was able to use as I embarked on my business career and which I use now as a business coach. I was fortunate to have a mentor there who helped me look for solutions before raising issues. He was a great coach and someone who taught me so much. 

What is your approach to work-life balance?
It's certainly not as good as it should be! I enjoy my work very much, but the result of enjoying it so much is that I end up working long hours.

Who or what inspires you?
I think it's good for the mind and body to exercise. Running, listening to music and walking near the sea – I use all these things to help me sharpen my saw and put things in perspective.

In terms of people, American leadership guru Tom Peters provides regular inspiration. His approach to excellence and what he calls "Brand You" are motivational and practical, as well as inspiring.

What is the best piece of business advice you've been given?
Make sure you understand your values and use them to guide your behaviour – especially when you have difficult decisions to make.

I think that's important and something which guides me in my work, as well as something which I encourage those I'm coaching to follow.

What piece of advice would you give to anyone starting in business today?

● Go for it! You have to take risks in business if you want to be a success. 

● Believe in what you're doing – be passionate and enthusiastic.

What is the best part of being an AGP coach?
It's always an interesting job. I work with such a wide range of people and organisations, which means my work always absorbs me.

I get a massive sense of satisfaction from seeing these business leaders and their businesses grow and develop so they can achieve their aims.

There are some key qualities needed if you are to form a positive and productive relationship with a business, among them honesty, openness and empathy.

What, in your opinion, is the most important thing businesses need to have in place to grow?
I think you need a balance between entrepreneurial flair and that instinctive willingness to take risks and robust processes and internal systems.

It's also essential that chief executives and company founders recognise a need to build a team of people around them who are smarter than they are and delegate to them.


Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme​.

Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme clients scoop prestigious Queen’s Awards

Two Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme clients have scooped prestigious Queen’s Awards.

The awards were first established in 1965 and celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices. 

This year 220 UK businesses have been recognised for their contribution to international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Eight of these firms are based in Wales, and two are clients of the AGP programme – Corwen-based Ruth Lee and Swansea’s CPR Global Tech.

Corwen-based Ruth Lee manufacture training manikins designed to provide realistic simulated casualties for rescue and safety training. Founder Ruth Lee began producing the training manikins in the 1980s when a family friend who worked for Merseyside Fire Service asked if it could repair one of the brigade’s own manikins made from hessian sacking and old hose. Ruth spotted the opportunity to create something better, leading to the first Ruth Lee training manikin.

The business now employs 30 people and has gone on to become a world leader in the design and manufacture of training manikins for industries such as the emergency services, armed forces, lifeguards, maritime and health and social care. Exports represent 70% of the total business and this is growing over-proportionately year-on-year. Ruth Lee Ltd currently sells to more than 50 countries, through a network of more than 40 distributors and has sent manikins to every continent on the planet.
 

Ruth Lee managing director Paul McDonnell said: "We are absolutely thrilled and proud to share this news during difficult times.

"Our export success is built upon strong foundations of quality and customer service – our international customers know and trust us to deliver the best possible products for rescue, safety and manual handling training.

"We work with a fantastic network of distributors across the world to supply manikins to organisations dedicated to improving their safety and training standards. We must thank them for their continued dedication to training.

"Most importantly, though, I must thank our outstanding team here in Corwen. I am proud of the hard-work and dedication shown by everyone – it is this which makes Ruth Lee Ltd the success it is today.

"We are over the moon to be awarded one of the highest business accolades in the country and will continue to work hard to prove that Wales is key player when it comes to international trade."

CPR Global Tech Ltd has again been recognised for its excellence in International Trade after picking up the same prestigious award in 2018. CPR Global Tech was established in 2010 to tackle the growing problem of nuisance calls and produce a range of stand-alone call blocking devices that plug in to landline phones and allow the user to cut off and permanently block nuisance and scam calls.

As the issue of nuisance calls has grown into a global problem, CPR has followed suit and moved into foreign markets including the USA, Australia and throughout countries in Europe.

Andrew Sandbrook, CEO of CPR Global Tech, said: “Being recognised in 2018 for our international trade was amazing. To be acknowledged again this year is a huge honour. We are extremely proud and excited to receive such a prestigious endorsement – twice - and it is a testament to all of the hard work we have put in as a company over the last eight years to tackle the problem of nuisance and scam calls.

“The issue of nuisance calls is not one that is going away and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect those people who are receiving them regularly, especially those who are amongst the most vulnerable in society.”

Richard Morris, of AGP, said:
“The Queen’s Award is a recognition of the outstanding and pioneering work by Ruth Lee and CPR Global Tech. Working with AGP, these companies have been able to develop their exports and expansion overseas. Helping firms such as these, is putting Welsh business at the forefront of international markets. Both companies have an exciting future ahead of it and we hope to continue help them as they grow.”
 
For more information on Ruth Lee, visit here.

For more information on CPR Global Tech, visit here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme​.