Case studies

R24 Tall for pre-payment meter boxes

Shortly after we had developed the R24M lid and frame unit, we were asked by Langstane Housing Association in Aberdeen if we could modify it to accommodate a larger, pre-payment gas meter.  This was the state of some of Langstane’s gas meter boxes:

As we design and manufacture all Ritherdon products ourselves, we can make this sort of alteration (as well as creating new products from scratch) very quickly and easily.

So we now have the R24M Tall model to repair floor-mounted, GRP boxes that house the larger pre-payment gas meters, and Langstane seem pleased with the results.

“...the new boxes fit nicely, and are a considerable improvement on what was there before.”

Property Services Manager, Langstane Housing Association

Nottingham City Homes

Nottingham City Homes is responsible for the maintenance of 30,000 homes, many of which have external GRP meter boxes. The boxes are very often a target for vandalism or become damaged through normal use.

Sourcing spares for the wide variety of GRP boxes in use was problematic and the cost of replacing the boxes was prohibitively expensive because utility supplies often needed to be disconnected.

Nottingham identified the range of Ritherdon replacement door and frames, and with our help, composed a list of suitable products based on the sizes of meter boxes used on the estates in and around Nottingham.  See the full story here.

Electricity Metering

For over twenty years Ritherdon & Co have made metal cabinets for electricity metering in the industrial and commercial premises served by several of what were the electricity boards.

Soon after the boards became the regional electricity companies, we were approached by some of our REC customers with a view to fitting the electrical hardware such as bus bars, fuse-holders and test terminal blocks to these cabinets.

The next step towards purchasing completed units was taken when we started to fit the wiring looms as well as the electrical components, and this is now the accepted method of supply for most REC industrial cabinets.

In order to take advantage of our production flexibility and ability to hold finished stock of a wide variety of cabinet types, we were able to offer one REC a weekly call-off system. Under this scheme, specifications for cabinets of varying types and for individual installations are received weekly. We make up the individual requirements, complete with individual fitting instructions, and deliver them within two working days to the depots that will be installing them. For even tighter schedules a same-day collection service is regularly used.

This has now been running for over two years with no missed deliveries. The customer is delighted with the improved service, which gives them increased ordering flexibility at a lower cost than operating from a centralized depot. We feel that the partnership perfectly demonstrates Ritherdons’ emphasis on customer service which results from a combination of flexibility and speed of response with the resources to manage and hold stock to support the operation.

Business Link Case study on Ritherdon from 2004

Ritherdon & Company Limited £500,000 INVESTMENT IN BID TO WIN NEW BUSINESS A CENTURY-OLD engineering firm has just signed off its biggest ever investment in an ambitious expansion move.

Ritherdon & Co has placed an order for a £500,000 high-tech machine which will significantly increase capacity and efficiency at its Darwen works.

The investment comes on top of an £80,000 machine recently bought by the company which is a leading player in the sheet metal industry.

The new machinery represents a major investment for a small firm like ours but we are confident it will make us more flexible, improve our capabilities and help us win new business, said managing director Howard Ritherdon, whose grandfather founded the family firm back in 1895.

The Lorne Street company, which employs 40, is now the largest supplier of steel electricity meter boxes to utility companies in the UK. It also supplies customers including local councils with metal enclosures for electrical supplies.

The £500,000 CNC punching centre, used for producing components from sheet metal, is expected to be delivered by the summer. The £80,000 press brake, which bends metal components, has already been installed at the factory.

The investments come as the firm continues to see the benefits of increasing its sales and marketing efforts to win new customers throughout the UK.

The firm has been working with Business Link for East Lancashire adviser Peter Dickinson on its strategy for the past two years. It was an area we needed help with and Peter has been looking at the whole sales and marketing area and how we can improve it, said Howard. He finds all sorts of ways we can promote ourselves and his input has proved invaluable.