hello@vernacare.com +44 (0)1204 529 494 History Home • History Vernacare has an established reputation as one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of healthcare products, providing medical professionals, pharmacists, retailers and consumers with products they can trust. Our diverse and long history has been mapped out below using Vernacare's key milestones. 1961 Our story began back in 1961, when Vernon & Co began to develop disposable hospital products. We were based at The Egyptian Mill in Bolton which originally dated back to 1851. All of our medical pulp moulding took place in The Egyptian Mill throughout the early 1960s. We made urine bottles, bedpans, and bedpan covers. 1964 Vernon & Co were innovators. They had developed a product that ticked all of the boxes of a 21st-century healthcare facility, with their products being environmentally friendly, cost-effective, preventing cross-infection in hospitals, saving time and improving staff morale. Ken Mills, with the backing of Vernon Carus, bought the moulding plant, and began producing products under the Vernaid brand name (a Vernon Carus trademark). 1979 We developed and launched a larger 900ml male urine bottle. 1986 - 1989 We launched the V750 macerator, named due to its 750 watt motor. This macerator quickly became a firm favourite with hospitals, with some still in operation today! The factory moved to Folds Road in Bolton and then the office staff moved across in 1991. A new factory was built with raw materials stored at one end and finished products at the other. We also had a brand new in-house production process designed and installed. Our bottle pressure moulding machines were replaced with more efficient vacuum moulding machines. Vernaid set up an office in Toronto to cater to North America. 1991 The company changed its trading name from Vernaid to its current name, Vernacare. 2000 We entered the Australian market and began our long standing relationship with healthcare facilities in this market, through our distributor partnership with EBOS Healthcare. 2002 Vernacare launched the V2020 macerator. 2005 We released our first commode chair, allowing patients to make the transition from their bed in a safe manner. 2006 We firmly established ourselves as a truly multinational company selling a wide range of medical products and services with more than 1,400 employees. 2007 We launched the first ever detergent-proof washbowl, allowing patients to be bathed without the risk of cross-contamination. 2008 Following extensive research and development, working together with clinicians, we a launched the Vortex macerator with its unique SmartFlow™ technology. 2010 The Tuffie 5 Flexi can was launched, using innovative flexible packaging which reduced packaging by up to 70%. 2011 Our detergent-proof Washbowl received the Queen's Award for Enterprise, and the award still proudly hangs on the wall at Vernacare Headquarters in Bolton. 2012 We developed and launched a new ergonomic bedpan and fully disposable support, furthering our commitment to improve standards of patient and staff safety. 2013 VernaFem, an innovative new female urinal, was released to the market and was well-received by healthcare professionals and patients alike. 2014 Vortex+ was launched with a capacity for 4 pulp products, and a cycle time of just 2 minutes. It continued to feature SmartFlow™ technology and included new contactless technology to minimise cross-infection. 2015 We released a more ergonomic and improved VernaFem following patient and clinician feedback. We introduced a new maxi washbowl to the market, as well as a new VernaChair Commode, now incorporating a shower seat. 2017 The Vernacare Compact was unvailed, our smallest machine which can either be integrated, floor-standing or wall-mounted depending on the amount of space available. Synergy Healthcare Solutions - Synergy's product division was acquired. 2020 In 2020, Vernacare acquired Frontier Plastics and Frontier NX. Frontier Plastics, founded in 1966, put the world’s first purposefully designed disposable sharps container into the market in 1979. In 1982 Frontier Medical Products was presented with the Design Council Award to mark the selection of Sharpsafe for its excellence in design and in recognition of an outstanding product from British industry. Sharpsafe has remained a market leader by innovating in line with healthcare and legislative infection control requirements. Frontier NX was established in response to the growing need for suitable and appropriate needle exchange and harm reduction products, and since its inception the brand has grown from the provision of sharps containers and needle exchange packs to a wide range of products supplying hundreds of bespoke products to thousands of services across the UK and Rest of the World. 2021 Robinson Healthcare, a manufacturer of professional and personal healthcare products, was acquired. Founded in 1839, Robinson Healthcare supplied surgical dressings during the Crimean War and today is home to market-leading brands such as Instrapac® single-use instruments and Gamgee® absorbent tissue. Want to join the Vernacare family? Take a look at our latest career opportunities. We're always looking for talent here at Vernacare. 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