South Australian company Redarc has been named the 2014 Telstra Business of the Year. The electronics specialist is now part of an elite group of Australian businesses whose outstanding business practices have demonstrated great success and achievement.
The award was presented by Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey at the 2014 Telstra Australian Business Awards ceremony in Melbourne.
Will Irving, Telstra Business Group Managing Director and Ambassador for the Telstra Australian Business Awards, said the 2014 national winners were “trail-blazers” who excelled in their ability to be brilliantly different and change industries by either creating new businesses or thinking about old business models in new ways.
“Redarc is a high growth, high quality manufacturer that has focused on innovation, deep customer understanding, targeted marketing and investment in new capability,” Mr Irving said.
“They demonstrate that with a very strategic focus on their value proposition, as well as partnerships with universities and high levels of investment in research and development and production quality, domestic manufacturers can capture value and not just survive, but thrive.”
Redarc CEO and Managing Director, Anthony Kittel, said the secret to the company’s success was the commitment to continually invest a minimum of 15 per cent of its sales revenue back into research and having about 25 per cent of its staff working in R&D and innovation.
“As an advanced manufacturer we need a highly skilled and empowered workforce. The commitment of the Redarc employees to learning and embracing training is impressive. Without a highly skilled workforce our product wouldn’t be at the technology level it is.”
Mr Kittel and his team were recognised by the Telstra Awards judges for having a huge pipeline of ideas that were turned into a stream of product development that drives Redarc’s growth.
Redarc, which also won the Medium Business Award, has over 30 years experience in the research, design, development and manufacture of a range of electronic voltage converters and associated products, inverters, power supplies, battery chargers, turbo timers, glow plug timers and trailer braking products.
