Randy rides to the rescue – demand grows for life-size training aid
Randy – the rubber rescue horse - a life-sized, fully articulated model used in animal rescue training exercises is proving to be a galloping success for it creators.
Randy is the first product to come from the Resquip stable – a Welshpool company specialising in developing high quality, versatile, and affordable rescue training equipment to the Emergency Services and organisations involved in rescue and disaster management training programmes.
It is also one of the more unusual exports from Wales.
Randy is already in service in the United States at two Fire and Rescue Services, a Large Animal Rescue Training Centre and Florida University; takes pride of place at a University in Turkey and is currently stabled at twelve Fire and Rescue Services in the UK - with orders from another three - and two Universities in the UK.
Standing at 15.2 hands high and weighing in at 200kgs Randy cuts an impressive figure and certainly caught the eye of potential buyers at the six day Interschutz exhibition in Leipzig this month.
Resquip had support from the Welsh Assembly Government to exhibit at Interschutz where – with a little help from Randy - they received forty five serious enquiries from around the world – including four requests for fully articulated camel mannequins!
Resquip marketing director Paul Barrett-Brown said the company, which was only set up two years ago, is a spin off from The Big Beast Company which designs and makes props, models, sets, creatures, costumes and more for the entertainment, exhibition and leisure sectors.
Paul Barrett-Brown and Steve Merchant, who have more than sixty years experience between them set up Big Beasts in 2007 and their products are used in films, TV, theatre, museums, theme parks and leisure attractions.
Resquip is now focussing on making inroads into the European and North American markets and is currently working on four new orders – two for the US, one for Belgium and one for the UK.
“We are doing really well in the UK and want to ramp up our exports so Interschutz was an ideal springboard. It is the world’s leading exhibition for this sector and only held every five years. It covered 90,000 square meters of display space and attracted 125,000 people from 53 nations.
“Support from the Assembly Government was essential to enable us to attend and we are extremely pleased with the response and are now following up those leads. Randy did us proud. “
Resquip, which recently moved into larger premises at Leighton, has had requests to make a range of other specialised training aids.
It has just developed a rescue training mannequin cow by the name of Ermintrude while a smaller version of Randy, and a range of human dummies, are in the process of being developed.
Randy, which has a price tag of £5900, was built around an articulated steel skeleton and has full articulation of the head, neck and limbs. Delivered on a wheeled floor stand it can be lifted off to stand on its own legs.
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