Manufacturing Technology Solutions Entrepreneur Leon Gurevich, chief executive officer and president Rapid Development Services, Inc. When asked what his greatest accomplishment has been, Leon Gurevich simply says, “I haven’t reached it yet—I’m still climbing!” One of the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, RDS provides the knowledge of custom machine building with standardized robotics—automation for the 21st century. They are an industrial automation equipment builder, providing design, engineering, integration, and fabrication of manufacturing production machinery. Some of the industries they serve are: medical/pharmaceutical, electronics, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, food, beverage, cosmetics, chemical and agriculture, among others. Their local clients include Tyco/Healthcare/Mallinckrodt, Anheuser-Busch, Monsanto, bioMerieux and Willert Home Products. Gurevich says his company is comprised of a fabulous group of entrepreneurial spirits, whom he defines as “business people who are visionaries with a different view of an application, a plan to produce that application, and the ability to execute that plan for the customer.” He likens himself to Edison and Ford in the sense that they conceived an idea, developed the idea to include practical useful applications, and then manufactured the product, taking it all the way through to market delivery. Using this approach, RDS has uniquely positioned itself by conducting all project phases in house, from concept and design, to fabrication, assembly and test. With more than 45 patents, RDS understands how to work with clients to develop customized automation systems and still meet accelerated time-to-market schedules. Coupled with highly standardized modules, additional benefits of their technologies are the increased reliability, minimal ongoing maintenance, shorter installation times, and faster delivery of equipment to customers, as well as flexibility to easily adapt equipment to meet changing customer needs in the future. RDS’ annual average growth is about 30 percent and last year sales were just under $5 billion. To accommodate significant growth, Rapid Development Systems has broken ground for a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that will house the headquarters, engineering and fabrication groups. The company continues to grow and provide excellent value to its customers. Scheduled completion of the 117,000-square-foot facility in Chesterfield is September 2002. RDS is also committed to improving the quality of life in the community and helping with financial assistance or personal contributions to many charitable causes. Gurevich has been involved in promoting the importance of manufacturing in our community and his past involvement has resulted in the passage of a tax cut bill and stimulus package.