Vaspba RPS Ltd

Today was a first for Vaspba RPS Ltd. We held the first Board meeting, following various appointments, with the new wider team that has been put in place to support the future growth and transformation of the business. And what better location, than in the wonderful sunshine at the BattleLab, on the Dorset Innovation Park. To add to the recent appointments of Elaine Plested from Copper Turtle as Director, and Miranda Tidswell as Office Manager, Vaspba RPS Ltd also welcomes Lt Col (Ret'd) Trevor Bowman MSc as Chairman and Chris Wardman responsible for Strategic Sales. "This new team will focus on the organisation's vision and deliver against the strategy and plan." (MDs Nicholas Spence and Dan Spence) And to continue the week of networking and collaboration, we welcomed South West Regional Defence & Security Cluster members, Russ COLE and Paul Edwards MBE FRAeS from ESL Group, to the BattleLab to mutually share updates on our products, our successes, our learns and our future direction of travel. Thanks to you both for travelling down to see us! All in all, a very good day! #VaspbaRPS #DronesForGood #UKTechnology #WaterproofDrones #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTransformation #SME #UKSupplyChain #Defence #Strategy #Team #Collaboration

There's nothing more stimulating than getting 6 like minded people in a room, to explore the opportunities to work together to achieve common goals. Today, MD Nicholas Spence, Office Manager Miranda Tidswell and NED Elaine Plested from the Vaspba RPS Ltd team went on the road to visit Poole based engineering firm ABP Technologies. At the kind invitation of MD Kath Clarke, who Vaspba RPS Ltd met through the South West Regional Defence & Security Cluster, it was great to have the opportunity to also meet Engineering Director Richard Morgan and Operations Manager, Graham Seddon. A tour around the site gave the team a chance to see first hand the facilities, get an idea of ABP Technologies' wide product range, skilled capabilities, as well as their future production capacity. With over 50 years’ experience serving public and private sector markets worldwide, ABP Technologies' highly specialised team provides a wide range of quality products and services. They design, manufacture and support complex systems and products, that are deployed in some of the world's most challenging and hostile environments. With a track record of delivering prestige projects for the UK Ministry of Defence, they have built a reputation with clients worldwide in both the public and private engineering sectors. Many thanks to Kath Clarke and the team for a warm welcome, and for hosting us today. Let's keep talking! Dan Spence, Chris Wardman, Copper Turtle, Trevor Bowman MSc MCGI #VaspbaRPS #DronesForGood #UKTechnology #WaterproofDrones #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTransformation #SME #UKSupplyChain #Defence #Collaboration

As an SME, diversification of your products and the market sectors you supply, is key for survival, especially in the current challenging market conditions. With the government looking to further back UK businesses, it’s imperative that SMEs look for every opportunity to collaborate and grow their business, including their UK supply chain and into the export market. With that in mind, several members of our Vaspba RPS Ltd team attended the first South West Regional Defence & Security Cluster event of 2025, hosted at Larkhill, the home of #UKDSE and the #ExportServicesTeam. Taking one of the 10 minute member spotlight sessions, MD Dan Spence introduced the family business and its strong background in aviation and military. “Over the last 10 years, we have been designing, building, flying and repairing UAV’s, with our USP being the leading manufacturer and supplier of IP67 rated,100% waterproof drone.” 🌊 Vaspba's recent investment and expansion of the Dorset based R&D facilities means that the waterproof drones will be designed and built solely within the UK, addressing any security and surveillance fears that are currently prevalent, and the UK based production will also mitigate any potential supply chain risks. This will give our company a strong competitive edge here in the UK, meaning we can assert our presence and dominance in the global drone market by offering high-quality, domestically manufactured alternatives that prioritise data integrity and compliance with regulatory standards. The first successful flight with the brand-new UK Flight Controller was carried out earlier this month. The drone was built using UK, US & EU components, and the firmware and software for the Flight Controller was written by Vaspba here in the UK. 👏 And innovation won't stop there, in future weeks, more work will be done refining specifications, design, testing and evaluation on: ⭐ A full flight system, including digital secure control and video feed ⭐ Adaptation to enable customisable distance ranges ⭐ Fibre data link ⭐ Accurate target tracking ⭐ The options of variable payloads ⭐ Thermal imaging, night vision and zoom capabilities 👀 As well as our quadcopters, we will be using this equipment on our brand-new H frame and a VTOL platform which will be configurable for any drone size. However, the main use will remain on our X frame IP67 rated waterproof bodies. These drones will have the ability to carry and deliver various payloads for example, medical supplies or life preservers to aid military operations and also organisations such as the RNLI or beach lifeguards. Nicholas Spence, Miranda Tidswell, Elaine Plested, Chris Wardman, Copper Turtle, BattleLab, Trevor Bowman MSc MCGI, Matthew McGarvey-Miles, Andy Teeton, Inoke Veikune #VaspbaRPS #DronesForGood #UKTechnology #WaterproofDrones #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTransformation #SME #UKSupplyChain #Defence

Fantastic turn out at the BattleLab for the DEMC (Dorset Engineering and Manufacturing Cluster) business breakfast with a focus on 'Demystifying the SME Defence Supply Chain'. Lots to learn from the speakers: ATLAS ELEKTRONIK UK that 44% of their suppliers are SMEs with a PO value of £20m, and 29% of their suppliers are located in the South West of England. Great to hear first hand from local SME, Weymouth Precision Engineers, about their experience of working with ATLAS ELEKTRONIK UK and other defence primes, and their journey of growth and development over the last 7 years. The support that JOSCAR can add in terms of aiding SME's to work within the Defence Supply Chain, as well as the relevance of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. Nicholas Spence, Dan Spence, Elaine Plested, Copper Turtle, Chris Wardman, Trevor Bowman MSc MCGI #VaspbaRPS #DronesForGood #UKTechnology #WaterproofDrones #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTransformation #SME #UKSupplyChain #Defence #UKManufacturing #UKBusiness

Very much looking forward to the first South West Regional Defence & Security Cluster event of 2025. It looks like it is going to be a fantastic event, to learn lots more about trade and export with the UK DSE Export Support Team (EST) at Larkhill, network with new businesses and see familiar connections again. We are delighted too that MD, Dan Spence and Trevor Bowman MSc MCGI will be delivering one of the 10-minute member spotlight sessions to talk about our growing business, new appointments and what the future holds. We are also proud to be able to support the Cluster further in the shape of a significant contribution towards the cost of the catering on the day. Nobody will go hungry! #VaspbaRPS #DronesForGood #UKTechnology #WaterproofDrones #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTransformation #SME #UKSupplyChain #TradeAndExport Nicholas Spence, Miranda Tidswell, Elaine Plested, Chris Wardman, Copper Turtle

Today, MDs Nicholas Spence and Dan Spence welcomed new recruit, Miranda Tidswell, as the new Office Manager of Vaspba RPS Ltd. As part of the organisation's continued growth, Miranda will play a key part in managing enquiries from the existing customer base, as well as actioning the ever increasing flow of new business. Non Executive Director, Elaine Plested from Copper Turtle commented "it is an absolute pleasure to welcome Miranda to the team. She will play a pivotal role in streamlining processes, managing the end-to-end customer experience, as well as supporting the wider team. Getting stuck in straight away, Miranda began by introducing herself to the BattleLab network at the monthly meet and greet. Over the coming weeks, we'll have more to share on the future growth and development of the business. #VaspbaRPS #BusinessGrowth #UKSupplyChain