Page 9 - BHTA 100 years

Our two oldest members...
Taking the title of the oldest member company is Salts Healthcare. The company joined SIMA in 1934 and so have clocked up an amazing 80+ years of continual membership.
Founded in Wolverhampton 1701
by brothers John and William Salt,
the manufacturing range has spanned weapons, ironmongery and surgical appliances. Its best known product is the colostomy bag – developed in 1948 in conjunction with Professor Brian Brooke from Birmingham General Hospital.
Hot on the heels of Salts and just a year behind, becoming a member in 1935, is Chas A Blatchford & Sons Ltd. Founded in 1890, the company developed a prosthetic knee that allowed for stabilized weight bearing and exion when walking for World War II amputees. Known as the Blatchford Stabilised Knee, it became popular worldwide and established Blatchford as an industry leader in prosthetic innovation.
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