Your AGA Support Team

At Traditional Range Services, we believe the people behind the business are just as important as the engineering skills they bring. Every member of our team has their own journey, but we all share the same commitment to treating every customer with honesty, respect and genuine care.

Get to know the team

David Mees
Founder & Senior Engineer

📍 Based: Mid Wales

🛠 Speciality: Traditional Oil, Gas & Electric Range Cookers

⭐ Favourite Part of the Job: Bringing cookers back to life that others thought couldn't be repaired.

Meet David Mees

My name is David Mees, and for as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by traditional range cookers.

I grew up in rural Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where life was very different from today. Our home had no mains electricity, and our water came from a local well. Cooking and heating weren't things you took for granted—they were an essential part of everyday life. I believe that's where my appreciation for traditional engineering first began.

My engineering career started with an apprenticeship at Border Timbers, one of Zimbabwe's largest timber manufacturers. It was a demanding apprenticeship covering both mechanical and electrical engineering, giving me experience well beyond domestic appliances. I worked on enormous wood-chip-fired boilers that generated electricity and steam for plywood and chipboard production, learning first-hand how reliable engineering keeps entire communities and businesses running.

After qualifying, I was offered the opportunity to move to South Africa, where I worked at Western Deep Levels Gold Mine, specialising in high-voltage furnaces and heavy industrial engineering. Later I joined E.C. Lenning Ltd in Johannesburg, becoming Assistant Senior Engineer in the railway maintenance division, responsible for maintaining critical engineering systems.

When I returned to the United Kingdom in 1986, I joined a casting company as its electrical engineer before later becoming Technical Director.

It was during this time that something happened which changed the direction of my career.

I began volunteering with the National Trust, helping to rebuild cast-iron cookers in historic country houses. Working alongside these remarkable appliances rekindled my fascination with traditional range cookers. I was fortunate to receive specialist training from several of the leading traditional range cooker manufacturers of the day, building on my background in boilers, furnaces and electrical engineering.

I realised I had found the type of engineering I truly loved.

In 2005, I took a leap of faith and founded RC Services Group, specialising in the servicing and repair of AGA, Rayburn and other traditional range cookers.

A year later I qualified to work on gas appliances, allowing the business to support oil, gas and solid fuel cookers.

As electric traditional range cookers became more common, my background in electrical engineering and electronics meant I was able to support these systems from the very beginning. I was fortunate to work with some of the earliest full-control AGA systems, including independently controlled ovens and hotplates.

Although I've embraced modern technology throughout my career, I'm still a traditional AGA enthusiast at heart.

Today, more than 25 years after starting RC Services Group, I remain just as passionate about helping people keep these wonderful cookers working as I was when I first started.

Over the years I've learnt that repairing a traditional range cooker isn't just about engineering. It's about looking after the people who depend on it. That's the philosophy behind RC Services Group today, and it's the standard I expect every member of our team to uphold.

I still enjoy nothing more than seeing a traditional range cooker that someone thought was beyond repair returned to the heart of a family's home. After all these years, that feeling has never changed."

Amie
Accounts Manager

☎ Customer Support & Office Management

⭐ Favourite Part of the Job: Helping customers from their first phone call.

Meet Amie

My name is Amie, and I joined RC Services Group when I was 18 years old.

I'm now a proud mum of three and have been part of the RC Services family for many years.

When I first joined the company, I had no previous experience in the industry and very little support outside of work. From my very first day, I was welcomed into a team that treated me with kindness, patience and respect. They gave me the opportunity to learn, grow and build both my confidence and my future.

I began by learning the day-to-day running of the office, helping customers over the telephone, booking engineers, managing enquiries and supporting the team with general administration.

One thing that makes RC Services different is that everyone is encouraged to understand the whole business, not just their own role.

After several months in the office, I was invited to spend time working alongside the engineers in the field. I learnt how traditional range cookers work, how to service them safely and how to identify many of the components used in AGA, Rayburn and other traditional cookers.

That experience completely changed the way I support our customers. Understanding the engineering side of the business means I can answer many customer questions with confidence and make sure our engineers have the information they need before they arrive.

As my experience grew, I also learnt the accounting side of the business and became increasingly involved in improving the way the company operates.

During the Covid pandemic, I suggested several improvements to our customer management system (CRM). Those changes helped us continue supporting our customers during an incredibly challenging period and showed me that every member of the team has the opportunity to contribute ideas that make the business stronger.

Today, I manage the office and customer support team, helping to ensure every customer receives the same friendly, caring service that I experienced when I first joined RC Services Group.

Working here has never felt like simply having a job.

It has always felt like being part of a family.

"I believe every customer deserves to feel listened to, supported and valued from the moment they first contact us."

Malachi Kennedy
Trainee Engineer

🎓 Mechanical Engineering NVQ

⭐ Favourite Part of the Job: Learning something new every day.

Meet Malachi Kennedy

My name is Malachi Kennedy, and I'm proud to be one of the next generation of engineers at RC Services Group.

I was born and bred in Mid Wales, and my journey into traditional range cookers began when I was just ten years old.

During weekends and school holidays, I used to spend time with my great-uncle and the engineers, earning a little pocket money by cleaning the vans, fetching tools and helping out wherever I could. At the time, I probably thought I was just lending a hand, but those early days taught me the importance of teamwork, customer care and taking pride in every job.

As the years passed, the engineers began treating me as part of the team. By the age of thirteen, I'd gained a real understanding of how the business worked and started helping in the workshop, rebuilding cookers and assisting with installations and repairs at customers' homes.

By fourteen, I had taken responsibility for keeping the engineers' vans fully stocked each weekend and had also developed a keen interest in the company's website and online presence.

At sixteen, I was carrying out basic servicing on oil-fired and solid fuel appliances under the guidance of our experienced engineers. When I finished my GCSEs, I decided that university wasn't the right path for me. Instead, I joined RC Services Group as a trainee engineer while studying Mechanical Engineering at college through the NVQ route.

I have now successfully completed my first year and look forward to continuing my studies in the autumn.

My ambition is to continue my training by moving into electrical engineering, as I've quickly learnt that servicing and repairing traditional range cookers requires knowledge across several engineering disciplines. Every day presents something different, and that's one of the things I enjoy most about the job.

I have recently completed my oil-fired competency training, allowing me to service oil-fired equipment, and I am currently completing my HETAS assessment, which will qualify me to work independently on solid fuel cookers.

What I enjoy most about working at RC Services Group is being surrounded by a team of experienced engineers who genuinely enjoy what they do. From the day I first climbed into one of the vans as a ten-year-old, they've encouraged me, taught me and made me feel like part of the family.

I know I still have a great deal to learn, but I'm excited to continue building my skills and helping to keep traditional range cookers working for future generations.

"I hope to spend my career learning from some of the best engineers in the industry and helping preserve the knowledge needed to keep traditional range cookers working for future generations."

Looking to the Future

"Traditional range cookers have been part of British homes for generations, and I hope to help ensure they continue to be enjoyed for many years to come. I'm proud to be learning from engineers with decades of experience, and my goal is to carry that knowledge forward for the next generation."

James Evans
Senior Engineer

📍 Covers: Northern England

🛠 Speciality: Fault finding and servicing

⭐ Favourite Part of the Job: Solving difficult faults and helping customers.

Meet James Evans

My name is James Evans, and I'm one of the Senior Engineers at Traditional Range Services.

I first joined the company when I was just 13 years old after David gave me a Saturday job cleaning the vans and helping the engineers wherever I could. At the time, I never imagined that those weekends would lead to a career that I genuinely love.

Over the past 17 years, I've grown with the company, progressing from labourer and engineering assistant to apprentice, and eventually qualifying as a Senior Engineer. Looking back, it's been an incredible journey, and I've enjoyed every stage of it.

Throughout my career, David and the team have always encouraged me to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities. As the business developed, I became involved in customer support and helped introduce some of our first digital marketing, including our Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram pages, helping the business connect with even more customers.

Today, I'm responsible for looking after many of our customers across the north of England, carrying out servicing, repairs and fault diagnosis on a wide range of traditional range cookers.

What I enjoy most about my job is solving difficult faults and helping customers keep their cookers working safely and reliably. Every day is different, and that's one of the reasons I still enjoy the job as much today as when I first started.

After more than 17 years with the company, I'm proud to be part of a team that genuinely cares about its customers and takes pride in doing the job properly.

"Some of my best memories have been watching customers smile when a cooker they've been told can't be repaired is back working again. That's what makes this job so rewarding."