Having joined the team in April of this year, Matthew Richards is Rhino Doors’ new Project Engineering Director, brought on board to lead the team in continuing to develop its systems and processes, and contributing to business growth. 

To find out a little more about Matthew and his background in engineering, we asked him a couple of questions, delving into his career journey to date and his ambitions for the future of Rhino Doors.

Tell us a bit about your professional background and career to date.

I started my career as an apprentice in a family-run sheet metal fabrication company in South Wales, where I worked for five years while studying at the local college. During my time with the business, I worked my way up to a Technical Engineer, before leaving to take a role at a larger company, Vector International. 

I joined Vector as a Project Engineer, working on large-scale projects for the oil and gas industry, before moving into a Project Manager role, where I focused on challenging and high-value projects for our key customer accounts. I was then promoted to Senior Project Manager, which saw me overseeing a department of up to 20 employees working across multiple projects. 

In total I was with the company for 15 years, and I completed both my BSc in Computer Aided Engineering and my MBA during my tenure with Vector. Looking to expand my horizons and enter new areas of engineering and manufacturing, I came upon the Project Engineering Director role at Rhino and started with the company in April.

What made you want to join Team Rhino? 

With my background in managing large, complex projects and setting up systems and processes to support business growth, I was excited at the prospect of working with Rhino Doors because of the company’s great growth potential. 

I have a natural aptitude for recognising areas for improvement and putting in place the procedures to make those improvements happen. I am looking forward to working with the rest of the team, as well as my colleagues within the wider Group, to increase revenue and expand our operational capabilities. 

As someone who is relatively new to Rhino Doors, what was your initial impression of the company? 

The employee culture at Rhino is very positive and everyone bands together, working hard to achieve a common goal, which is brilliant to see.  

I’ve come into the company with a clear agenda in terms of the changes I’d like to see. The conversations I’ve had with my colleagues around developing and improving our processes have been very well received, which is really encouraging when you’re coming into an organisation with an outsider’s perspective.

Can you talk in a bit more detail about the kinds of process improvements you’d like to implement at Rhino? 

We have recently made additional investments in our Computer Aided Design capability. This will improve drawing efficiency, reduce the time to manufacture, and provide greater team flexibility to support the growth of the business.      

I intend to nurture a continuous improvement culture to capitalise on a highly experienced team and drive incremental positive change. That will be supported by the implementation of additional proven quality, process and analysis tools that will provide a foundation for growth. The initial area of focus will be on manufacturing processes with a goal of improving efficiency whilst reducing waste.

How do you hope to see Rhino Doors evolve over the coming years? 

We are a dynamic business with the capability to be reactive and capitalise on changes and opportunities in the macro environment. I believe we will use this flexibility, combined with our experience, people, and resources, to continue to grow in existing and new markets, with existing and new designs. It is an exciting time for the business and I’m delighted to be on board.

If you’d like to find out more about Rhino Doors and how we could support your business, get in touch today. And to find out more about the team, take a look at our recent Spotlight on Team Rhino articles, featuring Jon Walter and Jason Morris. 

Plus, if you’d like to learn more about our recently appointed Managing Director, you can read his interview with the International Fire and Safety Journal here.