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World class and made in Sheffield
B.BRAUN Medical is celebrating 10 years in Sheffield as one of the fastest growing healthcare companies in the country.
The UK arm of the global health care giant saw sales leap by 35 per cent to 83.1 million during 2007, and despite continued pressure on costs, is confident of continued expansion.
B.Braun Medical is still on course for consolidated sales in excess of 100m during the current financial year and also expects its workforce to reach 1,000.
The company was formed ten years ago with the amalgamation of all Braun businesses in the UK and the transfer of products, services and people to a purpose-built headquarters at Thorncliffe Park and manufacturing plant at Allen Street, Sheffield.
Hans Hux, Group Chief Executive, said: "World class and made in Sheffield – it's no coincidence that B.Braun Medical's headquarters are in Sheffield, a city long associated with excellence in business.
"Back in 1998 our business portfolio as a B. Braun group was very limited.
Strategically, we were in a weak position as we were dependent on just a few product groups.
"We were just moving into a new HQ building, aiming to form 'one true Company' having been fragmented over many years at various locations, various organisations in generally poor facilities."
Ten years later B.Braun Medical is reaping the rewards of a two-pronged growth strategy of targeted acquisitions and expanding its portfolio of health care products, therapies and services.
B.Braun Avitum UK was created last year with the acquisition of Baxter Healthcare's renal therapy services business which provides kidney dialysis treatment and services to hundreds of NHS patients.
The division has continued to expand and is on course to build and commission a further four renal units in the UK during 2008 bringing its portfolio to 11 units treating 800 dialysis patients.
The B.Braun Sterilog division has invested more than 20 million in building, equipping and opening state of the art decontamination centres in Birmingham and Leeds – the world's largest such facility - which sterilise surgical instruments used in hospitals throughout the West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
A focus on innovation and diversification has brought a range of highly successful new products lines and therapies to market which have significantly boosted the performance of B.Braun Medical.
These include the award-winning OrthoPilot surgical navigation system used in knee and hip replacements, which ensures patients have much better long term outcomes from their replacement surgery.
B.Braun Medical has also developed a market leading safety cannula which saves health care workers from the risk of needlestick injuries and a range of hygiene products designed to aid the fight against hospital acquired infections in UK hospitals.
Hans added: "Five or six years ago we started to change the company from one providing the market with two or three major product lines in surgical instruments and therapies, to focus on innovation and new business which is now driving our success.
"Growth, innovation and improvement are the driving forces of our activities and in 2007 everything came together. From being a stable generic business we are now a very attractive, innovative company. Two thirds of our business is new products introduced to the market over the last four or five years."
The company has also become firmly established with the Sheffield city region through its corporate social responsibility programme. This includes being a major supporter of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, providing ongoing financial and practical support to help the charity keep its two helicopters and highly trained paramedics in the air.
B. Braun Medical was also a sponsor of the British Transplant Games, one of the biggest annual multi-sports events in the UK which took place at venues across Sheffield from 7-11 August.
And, as part of the global 'B.
Braun for Children' programme the company supports numerous initiatives within the Sheffield community aimed at providing local children with as many opportunities in life as possible.
Looking ahead, work has started on a new, 2m state-of-the-art medical facility at its Thorncliffe Park site. The revolutionary Aseptic Unit will feature one of the most advanced drug preparation robots in Europe which can manipulate highly toxic and time sensitive drugs for people undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The unit will be able to prepare drugs with a very limited shelf life and distribute them to any destination in a two-hour radius of the facility, including 180 hospitals in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Leicester, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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