How Pennine is keeping true to its roots

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate magazine we find out about Pennine Healthcare’s commitment to keep high-quality manufacturing local.

For around 60 years, the medical manufacturing business has continued to pioneer and engineer – while remaining fiercely proud of its Derbyshire identity.

For a number of those years, the business was led by Elizabeth Fothergill, who is now the county’s Lord Lieutenant.

And in 2021, ownership was transferred to an employee trust, in part, to ensure that the firm remains locally based.

Graeme Cameron, who was recently appointed as chief executive of Pennine, told Innovate magazine, said: “The sense of community and pride in Derby and Derbyshire is something I have not really felt elsewhere before.

“There’s a passion for the area, for its heritage and a real desire to ensure that innovation and high-quality manufacturing continues in the region for years to come.”

Graeme oversees a business that employees around 200 staff at a purpose-built site covering100,000 square feet at City Gate, off London Road, in Derby.

Around 50 per cent of Pennine’s products are exported to more than 60 countries around the world, with the other half supporting UK healthcare providers, including the NHS.

Pennine specialises in sterile items for urology, gastroenterology and surgical settings, assembles customised surgical packs for both medical and veterinary procedures, buys and sells medical devices, surgical supplies and personal protective equipment and provides contract manufacturing capacity for other companies.

Graeme said: “We are a bit different from our peers in the industry. A lot of them are big, multi-national manufacturers.

“We feel we have a really special part to play by having Derby and the community of Derby at the heart of what we do in developing medical technology that can help protect and improve people’s lives.”

To read the full article in the latest Innovate magazine click here.