50 Year Magazine R&M

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050.5866
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050.5867
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050.5868
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050.5869
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050.5870
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launched the VS83 Modular distribution
system (4) – and exceeded all expectations.
At the same time, the product
range was expanded to more than five
times its initial size. R&M established a
subsidiary in Italy; in Wetzikon the first
ever fully automatic production plant (5)
was commissioned to produce connection
modules. The success of these
products allowed the workforce to rise
to 140 in 1989. In 1993 a subsidiary was
established in Poland (6), and in 1994
another was established in Singapore.
1995 to 2004: breakthrough into
generic cabling sector;
second generation owners take over
the company's management
1995 saw the start of a global partnership
with IBM and consequently a
breakthrough into generic cabling (Office
Cabling) (7). In 1996 the Reichle
family acquired all the shares of Renato
De-Massari who withdrew to the Board
of Directors. In 1997 R&M built a stateof-the-art
plant in Pfäffikon, Switzerland,
(8) for the production of RJ45 direct
connection modules. In 2004 the company
employed 474 people worldwide,
290 of whom worked in Switzerland. The
Wetzikon-based company had by now
established a presence in the Middle
East too.
1968
The first employees
The company’s headquarters are moved to Uster. The duo who founded the company are joined
by their first two employees. Quite out of the blue, they are invited by the general management
of PTT to take part in a project competition. Their task is to develop terminal boxes using
40-pin connectors. The first T+T outlets are soon being delivered to customers.
The surgeon Christiaan Barnard performs the first ever successful heart transplant.