Raphael Smith
Co-founder & Director
BSc Aeronautical Engineering · MSc Biomedical Engineering
LinkedIn →About BMEC
Bespoke means you talk to the people doing the work.
We are a small team of highly capable, professionally trained engineers with a reputation for rigorous, well-respected work. Clients trust us because we know what we're doing - and because we're honest about it.
Who we help
Founders, MDs and technical teams with a real engineering problem.
From a single design task to a full product development programme - any stage, any discipline. What ties our clients together is a real problem and a need for someone who can think clearly about it, give honest advice, and deliver.
A founder with a prototype that needs to go somewhere. A company let down by a vendor, unsure who owns their IP. A non-technical CEO needing fractional CTO support. A medical-device developer navigating regulation. An established company with a specific build to get right.
- Decade-long relationships. Clients return for follow-on work across industrial, medical, software and agritech.
- First-time CE certification on a 1,000+ component system - no material revisions before production.
- Concept to clinical medical devices across multiple disciplines, with PCT patents filed.
- R10M+ programmes delivered across multiple production phases.
Why BMEC
Why clients win with us.
Honest, direct advice
We tell you what we actually think, including when an approach won't work or when someone is taking you for a ride.
Multidisciplinary in-house
Mechanical, electronic, firmware, software, medical. One team, no hand-offs. When the job needs one discipline, that's all you pay for.
First-time quality
We model and simulate before we build, and run tolerance analysis. A strong track record of getting complex things right without costly re-iterations.
Regulatory and IP experience
CE certification, clinical trials, patent preparation, ISO 13485 - across many devices, structured to protect your IP from day one.
Founders in the room
Raphael and Heidi are directly involved on projects, not account managers.
Commercial sense
Engineering has to make business sense. We make cost-conscious decisions and build roadmaps that match budgets and timelines.
Proof, not promises
A decade of complex things, built right.
0years of continuous delivery
0statements of work delivered
0largest development programme
0components in a single system
"A jack of all trades is a master of none - but oftentimes better than a master of one."
One client relationship has spanned 26 statements of work over more than a decade. Another has been in continuous production with us since 2017. Software and physical products we designed are still running in the field, unchanged in their fundamentals, ten years on. PCT patents filed; clients' full IP stack always their own.
The founders
The people doing the work.
The founders are directly involved on every project - and would rather meet you over a video call than send a brochure.
Where we have delivered
Industries.
- Water Treatment
- Industrial Equipment
- AgriTech
- HealthTech
- Medical Devices
- Hospitality
- Consumer Electronics
- Software
- Manufacturing
- Marine Engineering
- Infrastructure
- Mining
Client milestones
Our clients go on to do big things.
We are proud to be the engineering team behind products that raise capital, clear regulators and reach the world. A few recent milestones from the companies we work with.
LIQID Medical
Backed to bring sight-saving implants to market
Raised R28m from the SAB Foundation and ~$1.75m to advance its glaucoma drainage implants - the device family BMEC engineers.
Read more ↗ Strait Access TechnologiesFDA 510(k) clearance for CenterFlow
US clearance (K243184, June 2025) and a first-in-human milestone following TEVAR - South African cardiovascular innovation reaching the United States.
Read more ↗ Maltento$3.3m to scale insect-based feed
Secured $3.3m from Sand River Venture Capital and opened a world-class black soldier fly bio-technology laboratory in Cape Town.
Read more ↗ ArcAquaOzone sanitation sparks global interest
Backed by Remgro's venture arm Invenfin, ArcAqua's chlorine-free food-safety system - built on BMEC engineering - is drawing international demand.
Read more ↗ DISA MedinotecListed on the OTCQX in the US
Medinotec began trading on the OTCQX (MDNC), opening a path for US manufacturing and distribution of its niche medical devices.
Read more ↗ WyrmwoodOne of tabletop's biggest crowdfunds
The Modular Gaming Table raised roughly $8.8m from thousands of backers - hardware that has to be as precise as it is beautiful.
Read more ↗Trusted by founders, MDs and technical teams across four continents
Latest
Follow the work as it happens.
Raphael posts regularly on LinkedIn - engineering notes, project milestones and the occasional honest opinion. Behind the scenes lives on Instagram.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you're trying to build.
Honest advice on what it actually takes - and we'll tell you if it won't work. The founders take the first call themselves.