4QD Ltd is owned and run by Steve Smith and Erica Richardson.
Steve has a background in electronics and physics, and has a love of all things mechanical and electrical including: motorbikes, cars, boats, mobile phones, widgets and gadgets. He started working as an apprentice at British Telecom where he gained many practical skills, and then completed an Electronics and Physics degree at Loughborough University. After a spell on the oil rigs as a seismic surveyor, Steve returned to telecoms. He has been involved in the mobile phone industry from the first days of Rabbit telepoint, through to the latest smartphones. He has worked for Hutchinson 3G, Orange, Nokia and Microsoft in roles involving design, production and quality. He is a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology as well as the Institute of Physics. Alongside his engineering career, Steve has had many outside interests, and has always owned and maintained his own motorbikes, cars and boats. The combination of his work and hobbies has made running 4QD an ideal occupation. He has the chance to use theoretical circuit design skills to get 4QD motor controllers performing at a high level, and uses his practical skills to make sure they can be used in a wide variety of applications. He is always keen to talk to customers about their projects, and the best part of the job is the satisfaction when customers get their miniature loco, electric car, electric motorbike, industrial application or special effect working as they want. Steve is responsible for product design, production, purchasing and technical support.
Erica has a background in mathematics and computing, and outside work loves motorcycling, sailing and skydiving. After gaining her degree at Loughborough University, she has worked in IT consultancies developing commercial software for a wide variety of applications including industrial, travel, banking, and mobile phones. She has also worked as a business analyst for many years, and this has given her a good understanding of the skills required to run a successful business. Erica is responsible for IT, sales, finance and customer service.
Steve and Erica have been a team for many years, and have had many adventures including sailing the Atlantic, skydiving in the US, and exploring Europe on motorbikes. The 4QD Ltd adventure started in November 2014 when they took over the business.
4QD was founded in 1991 by Richard and Mary Torrens.
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4QD Limited
