Talking Business with Stephen Falder
In the latest Talking Business interview, Stephen Falder, inventor and deputy chairman of AIM-listed Byotrol chats to Chris Barry and Grant Thornton’s James Hadfield
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From Eureka moment to market via the ‘valley of death’ SUCCESS stories in the life science and biotech sector follow a classic plot. It starts with a character like Stephen Falder having a eureka moment where they identify a product that could be a game-changer. James Hadfield, director Grant Thornton, North West
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TO describe Stephen Falder as passionate about life, from his business interests to his family, football, fireworks and even Roman coins, just doesn’t quite do justice to this effervescent and engaging individual. The 51, year-old Cheshire-based executive and inventor of Byotrol, a highly effective and long-lasting anti-microbial cleaning product, has just returned from a As deputy chairman of the AIM-listed, Daresbury-based company, which was spun-out of the family’s Manchester paint manufacturing business, HMG Paints, Mr Falder is the global ambassador for the product, which he describes as “the biggest breakthrough in hygeine in 50 years.” After relaying a fairly terrifying tale about turbulence on board a flight he took on the recent trip, Mr Falder, says he is “excited” and “optimistic” about Byotrol’s prospects. His bullishness would appear to be justified given the progress the business is making with its commercial partners, including industrial cleaning giant Rentokil Initial, and an un-named Fortune 150 Company, with whom it is partnering. “The next 12 months is a key time for the business with our global partners. I passionately believe Byotrol is going to succeed,” he says. Although still a very small business – revenues for the year to the end of March are expected to be around £2m – Byotrol’s strategy of aligning itself with major partners would appear to be bearing fruit. In January Rentokil Initial launched its UltraProtect range of products, which contains Byotrol. UltraProtect is a range of hand and surface sanitising products for commercial and public use, featuring a gel hand sanitiser, a foam hand sanitiser, and handy packs of hand and surface wipes. Plans are underway to introduce the range across Europe this year, beginning with the UK then France and Germany and will target a number of key markets including the commercial, medical, hospitality & leisure and education sectors. From a consumer perspective, Byotrol is used in a number of household Regardless of commercial success though, Mr Falder is most proud of the practical impact his product has had – a clinic in Sudan used it and say it helped eradicate disease and save 40 babies’ lives. One customer – the Monroe Hospital in Indiana in the US – where Byotrol is used as part of the hospital’s disease control program – has seen no hospital-acquired infection from super bugs like MRSA and C. difficilefor several years. The scientists combined paint technology with the anti-microbial ingredients used in shampoo and skincare products. Mr Falder relates: “We sent the product off for testing to see if it would kill microbes, the data came back and showed it had not just done this, but done so in seconds. “I remember thinking three things at that stage. The first that the test was wrong, the second was that we had created a very nasty poison, and finally that we may have discovered a revolutionary biocide.” Realising that the fledgling product had massive potential beyond the coatings industry, he soon decided that he would need to set up a separate company to exploit the opportunity. Byotrol spent seven years undergoing independent and in-house testing and patenting and debuted on AIM in 2005. It was important during this time not to reveal what the company had discovered, until the product’s IP was protected. Mr Falder says: “If you think you have got something special, don’t tell a lot of people about it, keep it really close.” He describes the AIM listing as a major step forward: “For any small business with growth potential I believe AIM is a remarkably good and powerful tool, I don’t think it’s considered by enough people as a tool for growth. “if someone puts money into your business, they have a right to know how that money is being spent, and where it’s going. The accountability of having external investors can be difficult for some people, but I have no issue with it at all.” He adds: “A lot of businesses don’t spend enough time time considering what their business could be. I am a great believer in small and medium-sized businesses – I think they are phenomenal things.” Byotrol’s uniqueness is that unlike many other products, its does not harm humans, plants or animals, and is long-lasting. Mr Falder says: “Once it has killed the microbes, it provides active residual protection, almost like an invisible forcefield on a surface, or a bed of nails for microbes.” A lifelong Cheshire resident, Knutsford-based Mr Falder, who is also an avid collector of Roman coins, is fierce in his pride for this region. “As a location for a science-based business, it is fantastic. We have a good talent pool in terms of applied chemistry in the North West. Our move to Daresbury has helped this too. “There are big business as well as small businesses and some very creative and innovative minds,” he says. A passionate Manchester City supporter, who also has an interesting sideline in pyro-technics – he is a partner in a small fireworks business in Cheshire, Mr Falder, a married father of three, exudes confidence in the future, but also has perspective. He says: “All businesses can succeed and fail and I genuinely think Byotrol is going to succeed. If it does, some of the rewards of the business are incalculable – such as knowing that the product has saved lives, and could have a massive impact on early post-natal mortality rates. “I have a huge belief in Byotrol and its potential to change lives, I am super-passionate about it.”
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products, ranging from a Boots’ anti-viral hand foam to Tesco’s own-label anti-bacterial multi-surface cleaner, to products aimed at the baby market for the Tommee Tippee brand.