Press Release- Red Box International Ltd enter their 20th year and further expand their service and product offering

By Kerry Corrigan
August 2013

Red Box International have been manufacturing Ground Power equipment since 1994. Started by Allan Ross in a small workshop at his home, they have established themselves as the ‘go to’ manufacturer of high quality solid state GPU’s, and are regularly chosen to provide bespoke power solutions to the military and associated equipment providers. A keen pilot himself, Allan was inspired to fly when he first took a trip in a bomber with his Grandfather at the age of 4, and aviation has played a huge part in the development and history for Red Box as a company.

He was taught by Dickie Snell, who was a Class I Pilot in the RAF, and whilst out sailing together, Allan asked Dickie to teach him how to fly. Dickie took Allan to RAF Middle Wallop, where he took his first solo trip, and gained excellent ground knowledge to his flying career, although there were a few bumps along the way, including a near miss with a barn near Salisbury!
Years later, Allan received a phone call from Ian Snell, son of Dickie, who had an idea for a business. Allan agreed to meet and discuss the idea, and at a pub in Boscombe, the idea was born, and the red tin box containing one of the units became the inspiration behind the company name.
Allan started the business in a small workshop at his home in Michelmersh in 1993. On the books was Ian Harding, now Technical Director at Red Box.

Red Box expanded their product range in 1998, by adding quality camera inspection kits, for almost any space and situation. These systems are used by Police and Fire departments, as well as companies such as Audi, Skoda, Volvo and Volkswagen. These are more and more becoming staples for MRO’s in the aviation industry. These borescopes and fiberscopes allow for access to areas of a plane or helicopter’s engine that would be previously have been unreachable without dismantling- saving time and money.

2006 saw Adrian Jackson taking over as Managing Director. With his experience in Sales, Business Development and Marketing, he quickly set about expanding the Red Box range. Subsequently Red Box also introduced a range of pre-designed aviation tool solution kits into their product offering. These toolkits are used by many of the world’s leading airlines, MRO’s and military organisations, and Red Box can also offer individual tools, cabinets and engraving.

The next additions to the Red Box product range in 2008 were our aircraft moving tugs, which are able to move aircraft weighing up to 25,000 lbs, and over 15 tonnes, which were manufactured at our office in Georgia, USA. Early 2013, Red Box once again expanded product range were the Cool-Space portable evaporative coolers, which use water and forced air to cool an area by up to 28ºF, and can be used remotely without the need to connect to a hose. These have proved particularly popular with the warm UK summer this year, and for continued use in event areas, equine facilities, factories and warehouses.

In April 2013, Red Box acquired Weld and Metalcraft, who for 50 years have specialised in sheet metal work and intricate fabrication. They have the ability to provide a complete design, prototype and production service. This has allowed the Red Box Group to manufacture aircraft moving equipment in the UK. This helps to provide better after sales support for their customers, with more readily available parts and maintenance, and drastically reduced lead times and freight costs.

As well as this, Weld and Metalcraft offer services including Design, Engineering, Prototyping, Water Jet Cutting and Welding. All with the same Red Box high quality their customers expect. These services can be used both in a business and domestic application, varying from producing the chassis and panelling for three stealth supercars, to one of kind household items, such as a bespoke art deco mirror.

With Red Box International now coming into their 20th year; they’re going from strength to strength.

Red Box International can be contacted on sales@redboxint.com – +44 (0) 1794 518888.