Welsh machinery manufacturer opens US office as part of global expansion

A Welsh machinery manufacturer is celebrating its expansion into the United States with the opening of an office in the country.

RM Group, which employs 62 people at its base in Newtown, Powys, designs and builds both manual and automated machinery used to process and package items for industries like food and drink, construction, energy, utilities and general industry.

It says the expansion in the US market follows a surge in demand for its products across the globe.

Just 20 years after it was founded as a small packaging business, initially focusing on animal feed, the company now exports its products to more than 15 countries from its factory in Wales, including Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Iraq and the USA.

The business – which started its in-house manufacturing 10 years ago – will open its first American office in Delaware, in response to an increase in enquiries from the US. This, it says, will enable clients based there to speak to sales representatives and advisors in their own time zone.

It says the latest expansion into the US market, where demand for its products has soared, represents a major success for the company and has further underlined the value of exporting to its growth. International sales now represents 20% of its trade.

Rosie Davies, Group Director at RM Group, said diversifying its trade across different international markets helped provide stability to the business’ income streams if ever there was a dip in a particular region.

‘Foundations’ 

She said: “After establishing ourselves in the UK, we realised we had a model that we could replicate elsewhere. Exporting provides us with another strain of revenue that supports the foundations of our business and its growth.

“Exporting also offers us security as having a diverse client base across various regions means that if trade ever drops in one industry, we can move and market ourselves in another.”

In addition to recruiting a US business development manager to assist with the expansion in the US, RM is also hiring a dedicated export and business development manager to support its ambitions to move into even more new territories worldwide. The company has set an ambitious target to increase exports by 50% in the next two years.

RM’s recent success has been assisted by the Welsh Government, which provided financial aid to support company representatives to attend trade missions. It is also conducting detailed research into potential new territories, including the US, to determine the appetite for its products. Welsh Government will also be partially funding hiring costs for RM Group’s new international manager role in the US.

Rosie added: “The Welsh Government has helped us to substantially grow the export side of our business. Exporting may seem daunting but trading on the international stage can reap huge rewards and I would encourage any export curious businesses to investigate further.”