To mark the occasion a surprise birthday cake - complete with model transducers and instruments all made from icing sugar - was presented to the directors by the employees
For transducer specialists RDP Electronics, 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the company's foundation.
Advances in technology at that time made integration of electronics possible and transducers simpler to use.
Today RDP is recognised not only for its highly reliable, accurate and cost effective transducers and measurement systems, but also for expert advice in helping customers select the right products for specific measurement tasks.
Peter Smith, who with Richard Garbett founded the company in 1966, recalled that "RDP's particular ambition was to design transducers for the general industrial and scientific market that were easy to apply".
This was to be achieved by means of a design based on inductive sensing with incorporated electronic conditioning.
It appeared at the time that the LVDT Displacement Transducer had the best potential and the very first product was a DC-DC device with a range of 1.0 inch and an accuracy of 0.25%.
From this a huge number of ranges and variants for use in many hostile environments were designed, eventually making RDP one of the world's leading manufacturers of this type of device.
Many other types of transducers and electronic instrumentation have been added to the product range over the years, but the humble LVDT is still the backbone of the company's production and the directors are convinced that it will be many years before any alternative can be found for this adaptable device that will give the same cost to performance ratio.' RDP owes its success to a clear vision for the future and the dedication of its workforce, many of whom have remained with the company until retirement.
To celebrate 40 years of success the directors invited all employees, past and present, to a very enjoyable dinner and evening 'at the races'.
To mark the occasion a surprise birthday cake - complete with model transducers and instruments all made from icing sugar - was presented to the directors by the employees.
In Peter Smith's words, "a totally unexpected, but very much appreciated gesture".
