CEO Richard Smith brings German company Roding Technology to CU-ICAR
“Sprakloss.”
It’s the German term for “speechless” and it’s Richard Smith’s way to describe his unexpected evolution from Clemson University student to football star to CEO of a German company that’s just formed a strategic partnership with his alma mater. Even last week as he organized his office and prepared for a welcome reception to celebrate the deal, Smith said it sometimes felt like a dream.
The partnership between CU-ICAR and his company, precision tooling and carbon fiber specialist Roding Technology, is brand new, and U.S. production of Roding vehicles is a couple of years away. But the full story for Smith spans nearly three decades.
Playing Ball
Smith was no average football player while attending Clemson from 1985 to 1989. He won three all-conference championships in football, and one in track, among other honors. He later became a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, and then was a second-round draft pick for NFL Europe, then known as the World League.
“Football is the reason I’m sitting here now,” Smith said. “God first, then football. It took me around the world.” He sees the Roding position as a blessing, and credits the game for the discipline he uses in business. But he’s also had to learn that relentless, win-at-all-costs approach to football only goes so far in business.
“You’ve got to know when to stop. You can’t just go wide open,” Smith said. “Even today football is a more finesse sport than it is a real physical sport, because you can’t hit like we used to hit … you also have to finesse yourself around things like that in business.”
Playing His Cards
Roding has worked with companies such as BMW, Siemens and Intel and wanted to expand to the United States. Its executives met Smith as an athlete connected with the kinds of sports and entertainment figures they hoped would buy their cars, and brought him on as a marketing and site selection consultant. Roding named him CEO when he proved his ability to get things moving in South Carolina.
Smith was pleasantly surprised to find a home for his new company in the Upstate. He said the development of CU-ICAR in his time away, which allowed his return, is “too perfect.” But just selling the Southeast to the Germans had been his biggest initial challenge. They didn’t realize just how much the geography of the automotive industry had shifted in the United States.
The first person he called in South Carolina was Vance Hammond, an old Clemson teammate, Spartanburg community leader and brother of Secretary of State Mark Hammond. Mark Hammond liked the idea his younger brother had passed along and helped Smith start down the path that would bring Roding to Greenville.
Playing Boss
“Just strategically planning the next three to four months is filling up my days,” Smith said. That, and getting phone and Internet set up in the office. He and managing director Sonja Robinson will begin adding interns, additional engineers and a marketing person “in the next month or so.” Smith said CU-ICAR folks naturally would be the first stop as recruitment begins, but the search will be open beyond the campus.
Smith is tight-lipped about where Roding will open a manufacturing facility in the next two years, saying only that it will be somewhere in the Southeast. Although he can’t make any promises, he’ll no doubt find himself surrounded by people rooting persistently for the home team.
