Radstone Technology
"Northamptonshire is an excellent place to do business"
The history of Radstone Technology in Northamptonshire goes back to the Second World War when, in 1940, The Plessey Company Limited moved to Caswell Farm, two miles north of Towcester, in order to avoid the bombing in London. A research laboratory was established at Caswell Farm, which was at the forefront of developments in silicon microchips from the 1950's to the 1970's.
Plessey Microsystems was subsequently established in Towcester, and a management buyout in May 1988 saw the formation of Radstone Technology. Radstone continued to operate from the Water Lane site, moving in June 2004 to a purpose-built 75,000 sqaure foot office and manufacturing facility at Tove Valley Business Park on the outskirts of Towcester.
Radstone was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1994 with a market capitalisation of £19.2 million. Eight years later, the company was promoted to the FTSE SmallCap Index with a capitalisation of £63.9 million. In the last financial year, Radstone's turnover was close to £50million.
Radstone Technology is an international business, with more that 70% of the company's revenues deriving from the United States. As such, overseas travel is a fact of life for many Radstone employees, and ease of access to the M1 motorway means that London Heathrow and Birmingham airports can be easily reached. Similarly, Towcester is very accessible for Radstone's customers from abroad.
Radstone relies on its competitive advantage on being able to recruit and retain engineers of the highest calibre, and Northamptonshire is an attractive county to prospective employees in terms of landscape, facilities, infrastructure and affordability.
"Northamptonshire is an excellent place in which to do business", commented Jeff Perrin, Cheif Executive Officer of Radstone Technology PLC. "Its central location and transport infrastructure make travel easier, while the county itself is an attractive place to live- helping us to recruit the kind of people on whom our success has been based, and on whom our future depends."