Design and manufacturing company, RTL Materials Ltd has secured £550,000 of fresh funding to expand its reach into new frontiers.
Coming from the Emerging Technology Unit at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, the funding will aim to see the RTL Materials target international expansion for its patented technology used in the space industry.
The Hampshire-based company has developed and pioneered a new composite technology – Bi–stable Rolled Composite (BRC) – which reportedly provides a disruptive materials capability across a broad range of mechanical structural applications.
Working in the same way as a retractable tape measure, the composite is currently used in the aerospace, civil engineering, defence and energy sectors. Unlike a tape measure, BRC is stable in both a rolled and unrolled form.
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Applications for the firm’s products include communications masts and antennas, extending arms for use in space satellites, oil and gas flowlines, and sensor tripod mounts.
Over the coming four years, RTL Materials aims to expand in to more export markets and increase its work force from its current number of 30 by more than 50% each year.
According to the company, the funding will specifically be used to expand its sales activity, enhance its product range, improve its manufacturing capability and meet the working capital requirements of planned international growth, particularly in the US.
The deal is among the first from Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Banks’ Emerging Technology Unit – a team created at the end of 2015 to support high growth technology businesses to access finance.
The unit’s director, Richard Thwaites commented: “The aim of the Unit is to provide support for entrepreneurial companies with innovative technology and strong intellectual property which has the potential to make its mark on the global marketplace.
“RTL’s Rolatube technology is already widely used by major organisations across a variety of sectors and the management team clearly sees major potential for further growth in overseas markets.”
