Manufacturer taking pressure off patients with specialist mattresses on track for £3.5m turnover
Herida Healthcare, a Leeds-based manufacturer of static mattresses and cushions designed to relieve pressure and friction for bed-bound patients, is on course to achieve turnover of £3.5m in its third year of trading on the back of rapid growth.
The company, which was recently awarded the Innovative Product of the Year accolade at the National Association of Equipment Providers Awards 2018, has benefited from funding and practical support and guidance from AD:VENTURE, the ERDF funded Digital Enterprise Programme, the Manufacturing Growth Programme and the Business Growth Programme.
AD:VENTURE provided a match-funded grant of £11,000 to invest in manufacturing resource planning equipment, including bar coding and scanning items, along with practical support; the Digital Enterprise Programme awarded a £5,000 grant, while the Manufacturing Growth Programme supported the company’s consultancy costs.
Herida has expanded quickly which has led to the appointment of a quality control supervisor, and a dedicated customer service and telesales team.
Plans are now in place to recruit for a further seven jobs in sales and business development over the next 12 months.
Operations director for Herida, John Kay, said: “The board, supported financially by our principal investor and also programmes linked to Leeds Council and European funding, such as the Leeds City Region LEP, AD:VENTURE, Digital Enterprise and the Manufacturing Growth Programme have all been instrumental in taking the business forward so quickly. These parties have approved capital investment in 2017/ 2018 of around £300,000, primarily towards the purchase of leading edge manufacturing machinery and IT infrastructure.”
Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Roger Marsh, added: “Herida is a great example of how programmes across the region are benefiting businesses through a combined approach that delivers practical support as well as grant provision. Not only does this showcase how each initiative can complement the other but also how they can support young and innovative companies to overcome hurdles to growth.
“We would like to congratulate Herida on the recent award success and very much look forward to following their enterprise journey. We are sure that there will be much more to celebrate as the business continues to flourish and becomes an example of best practice for others across the region.”
