A Powys based machinery manufacturer has secured a string of US deals and contracts with the support of the Welsh Government following the opening of its first American outpost in Delaware.
RM Group, based in Newtown, designs and builds both manual and automated machinery used to process and package items for sectors including food and drink, construction, energy, utilities and general industry. The business was founded over 20 years ago as a small packaging business, initially focused on animal feed.
The company now exports its products to more than 15 countries from its factory in Wales, including Iceland, Australia, New Zealand and Iraq.
In early 2022, RM Group opened its office in Delaware, in response to an increase in enquiries from the US. The ambitious move has been a huge success for the company, and it has recently picked up a significant number of deals across the US, in states including Delaware, Illinois, Arkansas and Utah, among others, as well as a significant order for an automated bagging system for an industrial salt production company in Florida.
RM Group also recently signed a deal with a US automation company, which now orders RM Group equipment under its own branding and sells to clients across the Utah belt in a deal that is forecast to be worth up to £10 million over the next five years.
In Chicago, one deal of note includes the development of an innovative £750,000 mobile packing plant made from shipping containers to create a modular factory, for another client operating in the industrial salt sector, Midwest Salt.
Kevin Humphreys, Export Manager at RM Group, said: “Our ongoing success in the US has further underlined the value of exporting to our growth, with our international sales now representing over 20% of our trade and growing year on year.
“Unlike the UK market, which is extremely competitive and hugely cost driven, which drives profits down, international export markets are far more open and provide a huge number of opportunities for a specialist manufacturing company like ours.
“This means that we are far more innovative, efficient and profitable when it comes to our overseas trade, which naturally means that we want to do more of it!”
Outside of trade in the US, several representatives from RM Group have just returned from a visit to Australia, supported by an Overseas Business Development Visit grant from the Welsh Government, where they attended APPEX – Australasia’s Processing and Packaging Expo in Melbourne, an exhibition that represents all sectors of the industry, including machinery, ancillary equipment, materials and packaging, food processing and industry services. Whilst in Australia, RM Group directors also met several new in-market partners and contacts.
The visit to Australia is part of RM Group’s wider expansion into the territory after the firm recently employed a full time sales manager there. At present, the company is on the cusp of signing several new deals in the country, in what will be a major entry into its market.
Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language said: “The export success of RM Group is a fantastic example of how exporting can support company growth. I am extremely pleased that Welsh Government support, delivered as part of our Export Action Plan, has contributed to their success in global markets”
