Metals Manufacturer Consolidates

25 May 09

Sunshine, Vic. based business RMD Press Co has completed a major company reorganisation to consolidate its metals manufacturing and develop its product related trading subsidiaries under the new banner of RMD Industries.  

The four RMD Industries manufacturing and distribution businesses are Downee, Henderson RMD, Pratco and Ductware.  

Downee, which previously traded as RMD Metal Products, has a high speed metal pressing manufacturing facility at Sunshine and sales and warehouse operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.  

The Downee product range includes gate automation systems, fence fittings and sliding door and track systems for the commercial, domestic and rural markets.  

New product ranges include stainless steel fittings for glass fencing and balustrading and modular glass fencing and balustrading systems.  

Henderson RMD is based in Sydney with sales offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.   This division designs and manufactures architectural sliding and folding door hardware for Australian and overseas markets including America, Europe and Asia.  

Pratco manufactures sugar cane harvester blades, lawn cutting blades and trencher teeth for mining equipment.   Pratco has manufacturing facilities in Brisbane and Ayr in Queensland and a new facility in Brazil.   Pratco is a significant exporter and the OEM supplier of cane harvester blades to John Deere and Case New Holland.  

Ductware supplies the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry in all Australian States with hardware for the manufacture and installation of ducting systems.   Some product is manufactured by Downee while Ductware is the exclusive distributor for industry leaders, Ductmate and Gripnail.  

Australian manufacturing capabilities within the RMD Industries group include high speed metal pressing, laser cutting, heat treatment, robotic welding and hard facing, and plastic injection moulding.  

New business systems utilising Microsoft Dynamics AX are also being implemented to ensure the future viability and success of the long established group.  

A new corporate livery, together with common themes for all literature, product catalogues, all promotional materials and web sites etc., is in the process of being implemented effective from 16 March 2009.  

RMD Industries (the initials are derived from the original Ryan, Morrison and Doidge families who founded the business in 1953 and whose descendants still control the company) is today a group of companies employing nationally over 200 people with an annual turnover exceeding $50 million.  

Bob McQuillen, RMD’s Managing Director says that a certain percentage of the metal forming and pressing manufacturing and contract work which the company traditionally undertook has been lost overseas to low labour cost countries.  

 “RMD has progressively moved away from its traditional base of metal manufacturing and we are no longer simply ‘a metal basher’.  

 “RMD has now concentrated our business around four strong brands manufacturing niche products and selling them into strong and geographically diverse markets.  

“Diversification is the dominant theme; our products are designed and manufactured in house in Australian and offshore facilities, or are sourced from local and overseas manufacturers.  

“Our sales are spread across markets in Australia, North and South America, Asia and Europe.  

“I think we have bitten the bullet: the re-positioning and re-definition of our business will allow us to retain our core manufacturing business while diversification has enabled us to prosper in difficult economic conditions” McQuillen said.

Click here to locate suppliers of metal pressings and metal stampings.

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