Essex based computer reuse specialist RDC has been granted a Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade in the 2012 Queens Awards following sustained and impressive growth in overseas sales of products and services. This is RDC’s third Queens Award in a decade.
“Being recommended for a Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade in this, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year, makes this a very special honour” says RDC Managing Director, Gerry Hackett.
“The Queens Award for International Trade recognises the advance RDC has made in successfully developing our business in a competitive global market” Gerry Hackett adds. “This prestigious award recognises our success and is proudly shared by everyone working for RDC.”
Founded in 1992, RDC now employs more than 300 people and over £46m annual revenue. Headquartered in Braintree, Essex and with operations in Germany plus international partners and customers across the globe, RDC has seen revenues from international sales of products and services grow more than 200 per cent in the past three years.
Chris Farrell, head of Product Sales, worked part-time for the company whilst at college helping to manage auction sales. He now leads an international, multi-million pound sales team of over 30 staff. “I am excited at how Product Sales continues to grow” says Chris. “My team has expanded to sell to more than 6,000 trade customers in over 70 countries and now includes a multinational team who speak 19 languages.” In March 2012 alone, the Product Sales team shipped more than 135,000 computer units to its customers.
Head of Service Sales, Martin Series, sells RDC computer reuse services internationally. “RDC now operates with partners across the globe to securely recover used computers, protecting customers’ confidential data and returning revenue from reuse sales.”
Martin notes “Before selling computers for reuse, RDC first tests the equipment is electrically safe, functionally fit for purpose and eradicates previous users’ data held on computer memory using software approved for this purpose.”
Economically, RDC has self-financed growth to become an international, multi-million pound business without any public subsidy – proving green business can be good business.
Reuse of computers also offers other benefits. Gerry Hackett notes, “Reuse saves on materials and energy consumed in the manufacture of equipment. It also recovers apparatus for recycling. Obsolete apparatus or equipment damaged beyond economic repair is recycled with components reclaimed for reuse. RDC and its recycling partners send zero RDC IT waste to landfill. Socially, reuse provides affordable access to IT for low income families and developing countries.”
To enable continued expansion, in January 2012 RDC moved from its 140,000 sq ft Witham facilities to a new 350,000 sq ft warehouse and office complex on 22 acres in Braintree, Essex – the Tekhnicon is the largest dedicated computer reuse facility in the world.
The Queens Award for Enterprise for Innovation was awarded to RDC in 2002 for developing the IT asset management business model that forms the basis to the company’s success. RDC received the 2009 Sustainable Development award for setting an examplar benchmark in environmental, social and economic development.
RDC will now proudly display the latest Queens Award symbol in recognition of its achievement in developing a sustainable business, managing used computers on behalf of the world’s leading international companies, finance institutions, government and local business.
Further information on RDC
RDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Computacenter, Europe's leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services.
RDC is Europe’s largest IT reuse and recycling specialists, having processed more than nine million items of used computer equipment – more than two million items last year alone.
Visits to RDC’s site are welcome but must be by appointment.
Photographs are available on request.
Case studies of how RDC operate are available upon request;
