Designer Bruce Renfrew avoids working with universities
It is no surprise to find that most people outside of the design industry have never heard of Bruce Renfrew.
Like many of those behind popular products, he likes to keep a low profile and let his work do the talking.
The 57-year-old is one of the UK's leading industrial designers and his business, the Renfrew Group, creates products for a string of blue chip customers.
The company, in Abbey Meadow, Leicester, designs a diverse range of well-known everyday products, including trains, cars, motorcycles, children's furniture and medical equipment.
But, like many firms in the sector, the commercially-sensitive nature of what it does means Renfrew does not court publicity.
The company, launched in 1982, has helped boost the county's status as a centre for design, along with firms such as retail designers Checkland Kindleysides and Sheridan & Co, and architects Pick Everard.
"In terms of product design in Leicestershire, we are probably the biggest," said Mr Renfrew.
"In order to make ourselves attractive to the next client, we try to create something novel in the product, a unique selling point which the clients owns."
Leicestershire and Rutland have the largest design sector outside London, developed 30 years ago on the back of the city's leading role in the manufacturing industry.
Renfrew, along with more than 300 design firms in Leicestershire and Rutland, features in Design Leicestershire, the book launched last month to market the county's talent to the world.
A quick look at the book, as well as the company's website, highlights the firm's huge diversity. Mr Renfrew said the aim was to increase the amount of yacht design it does, as well as work for the NHS – it recently created a washing and toilet facility to prevent the spread of hospital superbugs.
It also recently created a new type of helmet for firefighters, currently being trialled.
"When I set the company up I took on a lot of different types of projects," said Mr Renfrew. "These have diversified into a myriad of different strands."
This array of projects has meant the company, which employs 31 people, has hardly been touched by the economic downturn, he said.
"Diversity really helps you to weather the storm," he said. "It's not really affected us. We have got clients who are looking to the long and medium term. We have had some projects put on hold, but others have come through to absorb this."
Despite business being buoyant, and a projected rise in turnover this year of around a third to £3m, Mr Renfrew is still keeping an eye on the competition – some of which he says is unfair. Mr Renfrew does not work with universities because he feels he does not need to, but also because he does not like the way they operate.
The 57-year-old says they use their huge, publicly-funded resources to set up in competition to the private sector.
"First of all, I don't think collaborating with the universities makes any difference to our business," he said. "We can establish the specialisms we need from the general pool of people we have in our business
"Where some have issues is with the universities setting up businesses appearing to be in conflict with people like ourselves and other SMEs.
"What I am talking about is where universities are setting themselves up as a business to provide design development and other specialisms in direct competition – I am not talking about the spin-outs, who are vital."
One area where Mr Renfrew seems happy with the involvement of the public sector is the Design Leicestershire brochure, which received £240,000 of public funding. "I think it's a fabulous idea," he said.
"I haven't seen anything like it before."
Source : thisisbusiness-eastmidlands.co.uk Tuesday 21st July 2009
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