About Us BACKGROUND Bolton Bros. Ltd are an established family firm now in its 4th generation and became a limited company in 1952. We have been manufacturing orthoses and supplying an orthotic service to clinics in the North East of England since the beginning of the National Health Service. Our workshops also manufacture orthoses for many companies, NHS Trusts and private customers throughout the UK. Our head office and workshops are situated in Newcastle upon Tyne. We have a workforce of 38 and were awarded the Quality Standard BS5750/ISO9002 in 1992 and in April 1997 we attained the European Standard EN 46002(1994). Our manufactured stock orthoses now carry the European CE mark. We have offices, showrooms for the retail of rehabilitation equipment and fitting rooms in the Henleaze area of Bristol and have been servicing clinics in the South West of England for over 20 years. The company presently employs 4 orthotists and 2 limited function fitters ( both male and female). We also have an associate company in Glasgow ( Munro Bolton Orthotics) with 4 orthotists who service clinics in the Glasgow and surrounding district. MANAGEMENT During the past 2 years Bolton Bros. have reorganised the management structure to include key members of staff to form a management team. The management team consists of the company accountant, clinic/orthotic manager, production manager and sales and marketing consultant, thus giving a wider and more balanced overview of the company. We have recently updated our computer with the latest technology enabling us to provide the most up to date statistics and management reports and figures. PURCHASING POLICY Bolton Bros. manufacture all bespoke orthoses such as calipers, plastic or leather splints, lumbar supports and of course orthopaedic footwear in our workshops in Newcastle. No job is considered too big or too small. We do, however, encourage all our orthotists to order ready made orthoses from whichever source they feel is appropriate with due regard to price, quality and delivery. TRAINING As members of associated professional bodies we are constantly being updated on new products and practise and are able to use this information to the benefit of patients. Our personnel are encouraged to attend educational courses and exhibitions. William Munro, a director of Munro Bolton, also lectures at Strathclyde University and organises in-house training for the staff of both companies. We are also involved in the training of students on orthopaedic footwear at Strathclyde University. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT We are currently working on the development of insoles and footwear (both stock and bespoke) for the "at risk" diabetic patient. PUBLIC RELATIONS To promote a better working relationship with our customers we encourage visits to our premises so that they can meet the people with whom they are dealing and see how the various orthoses are manufactured. A video showing our footwear capabilities is also available as an aid to training.