REDARC BOOSTS R&D CAPABILITIES

The company is on a path to become a trusted Tier One supplier

Australian advanced manufacturer REDARC has significantly boosted its R&D capabilities on its path to becoming a complete Tier One supplier to the automotive industry.
Over the past 12 months REDARC says it has grown its workforce of engineers, designers and testing specialists by more than a third as part of its ongoing commitment to supplying the highest quality products direct to automotive manufacturers.
REDARC Managing Director, Anthony Kittel, said the award-winning company had made the strategic decision to operate as a Tier One supplier to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as of 2023.
“REDARC has been in the automotive industry for over 40 years, supplying industry leading power solutions to the light and heavy vehicle, mining, defence and transport industries,” Anthony said.
“We want to continue to provide the greatest value by now working directly with all our automotive manufacturing customers.
“From March 2023, REDARC will be supplying the OEM sector exclusively as a Tier One supplier.
“This way, we can best engineer products and solutions for the specific needs of customers.
“This also allows us to provide greater supply chain certainty and efficiency, as well as more direct communication and technical support for the end customer. The initial feedback we’ve had to date is very encouraging and we’ve recently hosted various OEM groups through our advanced manufacturing facilities and to talk with our in-house designers and engineers.”
The new approach by REDARC comes as the 100 percent Australian owned and operated company embarks on a significant national and international expansion.
“Over the years we’ve built our capacity and expertise to meet the evolving requirements of the industry now and into the future,” Anthony said.
“This has included investing significantly in our in-house capabilities to remain ahead of the global innovation curve.
“Around 15 percent of our annual revenue goes straight into R&D.”
In the past 12 months, REDARC has hired an additional 100 staff including specialist manufacturing and software engineers as well as strengthened its in-house testing and validation department. The company now employs a workforce of over 380, approximately 150 of which are engineers, and its turnover has doubled over the past two years with annual revenue now around $130 million.
Export sales have grown 122 percent in that time with REDARC’s power conversion products now shipped to 50 countries around the world including across North America, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and South Africa.
In 2022 REDARC received the award for the Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Category at the Australian Export Awards and was named South Australian Exporter of the Year.
With its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities based in Lonsdale, South Australia and growing engineering facilities in Mulgrave, Victoria and Williamtown, New South Wales, REDARC designs, develops and manufactures its products here in Australia – and tests them in some of the harshest conditions on the planet.
REDARC recently teamed up with Mitsubishi Motors for testing of its range of all-terrain and 4WD vehicles.
The team from Mitsubishi set out from Adelaide into the Northern Territory, aiming to push all their gear to the absolute limit.
This included REDARC’s portable off-grid power management system featuring the award-winning GoBlock, a portable power source and a flexible in-vehicle dual battery system.
Mitsubishi National Technical Support and Service Manager, Neil Dunn, was impressed with the system’s performance.
“Well done REDARC – a sensational piece of equipment,” was his feedback.
It is this reputation for quality, reliability and durability that now has defence and space industry companies also seeking to partner with REDARC, the company reports.
“Our company’s success and growth are largely due to our customer-first philosophy,” Anthony said.
“It is about taking the time to truly understand the often-complex challenges facing our customers and then tailoring a technical solution that exceeds their expectations.
“And it’s this approach that we are now bringing to OEMs as a Tier One Supplier.”

For more information, visit www.redarc.com.au