Rick Long is one of the founders and owner of RDM Industrial Electronics in Nebo, NC. RDM is an industry-leading remanufacturer of petroleum and car wash electronics. However, it has come a long way since its founding in 1987. Rick and his brother studied electronics in school and talked about starting their own business someday. Working for a company rebuilding gas pumps that was going out of business, they decided to capitalize and use their knowledge and skills in the field to start their own business. For the first two years they were part-time working in the basement of his brother’s house.
The company went full-time in August 1989. “We just worked hard and never thought about it failing,” Rick states. Starting with $3000 cash and putting all of the money from the first few months into the business, they didn’t collect personal payment until January 1990. They would go market themselves to local convenience stores and gas stations, whether in person, by phone, or mailings. “One of the hardest obstacles is changing customers from a bigger company,” he points out, while adding “but you’ve got to project yourself to be bigger than you are. It’s not how you are, it’s how you’re perceived.” He goes on about this strategy, showing that the company, with only 75 employees, shares ad space with national businesses of 100,000 or more employees, particularly having the back cover of the Petroleum Equipment Institute Journal every year on their trade show issue.
As the company has grown, the goals remain the same. It’s still about establishing a relationship with the customers and getting things done efficiently. Once the company had employed about fifteen people, they had to add middle management, which took the growth to the next level. Instead of having to do everything themselves, they now are able to have someone whose job is buying products, twelve people dedicated to sales, and they can more efficiently run their business. The internet has become a large part of their business as well as trade shows. With the two they can get nationwide or even international business. Even with the growth of the company, they are still approachable at shows and other trade events, and keep no distance between themselves and the customer. This is because “we’re the face out front,” he says.
Looking back on whether he would do it all over again, he says he would but would probably have sold the business if he knew what state the economy would be in as well as all the government regulations that would be in place. Smaller companies can’t afford new pumps and are often going out of business, taking away from the market. Taxes are also a headache, in that all company money, regardless of where it is invested, is treated as profit, whether it is to pay employee’s salaries or buy new equipment. In fact, over half of the profit goes back to the government, whether to pay insurance, taxes, etc. However, the business has been a success and what once was a couple of brothers doing part-time electronic work in a basement has become an important part of the petroleum industry.
