Case Studies

Ruth Lee Limited

30/04/2008

Corwen-based manufacturer of fire and rescue dummies, Ruth Lee Ltd, has clocked-up a record turnover in January 2008, thanks to a collaboration with MAS Wales.

Ruth Lee, a market leader in the fire and rescue equipment industry, saw turnover rise from £28,000 in the month of January 2007 to £90,000 in the month of January 2008 - an increase of 300 per cent.

"MAS Wales helped us change the way we operate," confirms Ruth Lee managing director, Susan Edwards. "MAS also helped us meet customer demands by sourcing essential high-quality flame retardant material so that we could fulfil the need for a specific 'hot fire' training dummy."
Ruth Lee prides itself on product innovation, and recently created a bariatric or obese training dummy that is the only one of its kind on the market. Weighing 28 stone, it requires six people to lift it.

"It isn't possible to simply add dead weight to one of our existing dummies, as that does not accurately represent the weight distribution in a larger person," says Susan Edwards. "Our aim was to achieve a 'fluidity of movement' and our top designer Sarah Hughes created a dummy that replicates, as closely as possible, the body mass of a large person, creating a realistic training tool."

In addition to manufacturing fire and rescue dummies, the company also supplies a range of other products, such as resuscitation dummies, and aims to become a one-stop-shop for this kind of equipment.

Overseas markets are expanding rapidly thanks to support from the Welsh Assembly Government's overseas trade and investment arm, International Business Wales (IBW). Ruth Lee now exports to the USA, Europe (including Germany, Scandinavia, Eire, and Portugal), Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.

"As our business is growing we needed to look at our unit and its capacity as we operate from a converted school rather than a purpose-built unit. MAS Wales helped streamline the operation, and reorganised the facility so that we were able to make best possible use of the plant - creating a more efficient system and upping productivity," says Mrs Edwards.

"Now that the daily operations are more self-sustaining, there is more time available to develop new business opportunities, and product innovation."