Salts History

When two brothers took jobs as apprentice locksmiths in Wolverhampton in the early 1700s, little did they know they were laying the foundations of what is thought to be one of the oldest family businesses in the country - one that has survived and thrived for more than 300 years.

These brothers were John and William Salt, the first of 10 generations of the same family to be involved in a business which today has its feet firmly placed in the global healthcare market. With only 25 per cent of family run businesses making it to the next generation today, that is some achievement.

The way things were

It's an even greater accomplishment when you think that in the early days of the business, the Industrial Revolution had yet to begin. Unlike today, there were no factories manufacturing mass produced goods and no rapid transport network to distribute them. Most products were produced by hand in people's own homes and transported by horse drawn vehicles.

The region was tiny in comparison to today. Birmingham had a population of only 23,000 in 1731 - less than three per cent of today's figure, but it was growing and the manufacturing business was prosperous.

In particular, the region had emerged with a strong reputation as a metal working centre after supplying the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War (1642-46) with swords, pikes and armour, and John and William followed this growing trend.

At the cutting edge

By the time of his death in 1755, John Salt was firmly established as a 'surgeons instrument maker' and cutler. The business was taken over by his son William who had been learning the family trade in London as a journeyman to a Mr La Roche in Silver Street near Golden Square.

Making surgeons' instruments remained Salts' main business but, because these instruments were infrequently replaced, they also traded in other wares. However, taking advantage of advances in medicine, Salts soon generated a steady trade in the development of new instruments.

William Salt appears to have been a typical Midland metal worker of the period, appearing in the Wolverhampton directory of 1770 as a cutler and, ten years later in the Birmingham directory as a 'toyman'.

Moving onwards and upwards

After William's death in 1793, the family firm passed to Richard Salt who, in the early 1800s, moved the firm to larger premises in Dale End, Birmingham. As the business was booming, Richard opened a second site, in Coleshill Street, still majoring on surgeons' instrument making.

The subsequent death of Richard saw quite a remarkable episode in the company's history when a woman took over the running of the business! While relatively unheard of at the time Richard's wife Sarah stepped in, taking the helm for a brief period before the business was passed to their son, Thomas Partridge Salt.

TP, as he had become known, died at the age of 45 during the cholera epidemic of 1840-41 and in 1845, his wife Mary, with their son, Thomas Partridge II, moved the business to bigger and more prestigious premises in Bull Street, Birmingham, in a period which saw even more changes for Salts. In 1863, they moved again to nearby Cherry Street.

Royal Seal of approval

The third quarter of the nineteenth century saw trade in Birmingham improve, bringing greater prosperity for Salts. Achieving the royal seal of approval also played a part in the company's success at this time. In 1854, Salts became 'Cutlers to Her Majesty' as well as surgical instrument makers and truss manufacturers. They were granted a Royal Warrant in 1863 and became Cutlers to the Emperor of the French in 1867.

Also in 1867, as one of 57 exhibitors at the Paris Universal Exhibition, Salts was awarded an 'Honourable Mention'. A key figure in Salts' success at this time would seem to have been Thomas Partridge II. The firm had changed from Salt M & Son in 1865 to Salt & Son in 1867.

The work of Thomas Partridge II

A case book of the period, revealed that TP II, along with Ashton T Salt, the great, great grandfather of the current head of the firm Philip Salt, attended to a diverse range of conditions from amputations to back complaints.

At the forefront of his field, TP II also published a couple of books: 'On Rupture: Its Causes, Management and Cure, and Various Mechanical Contrivances Employed for its Relief' (1865), and

'A Treatise on Deformities and Debilities of the Lower Extremities' (1866) - a book which was described as a 'valuable contribution to Science'. In addition, he subscribed to the production of J A Langford's 'A Century of Birmingham Life 1741-1841' published in 1868.

Cutlery making gets the chop

Now 'surgical instrument makers and anatomical mechanicians to the Prince of Wales, Salts were relatively unaffected by the economic depression of 1866-68 and, during this time, they patented the desirable 'Orthonemic' Truss. Keen Europeans even then, Salts exhibited at the 1876 Brussels International Exhibition, particularly stressing their 'trusses and other new inventions in aid of medicine and surgery'. They finally ceased cutlery making in the last quarter of the 19th to concentrate on medical products.

Wars lead to manufacture of artificial limbs

Demand for medical products continued to grow along with advancements in medical science during the early part of the 20th Century. But it was the two World Wars and the millions of injuries sustained by servicemen which was the biggest spur to development in many areas of healthcare.

1941 found the Salts concentrating on artificial limb production though the focus changed again in 1945 when contracts for artificial limb makers were reassessed in the run up to the National Health Service.

The early days of ostomy care

Three years later, in 1948, a Professor Brian Brooke from Birmingham General Hospital returned from the US full of enthusiasm for the work the Americans were doing with colostomy patients and asked Salts if they could make collection devices similar to those being produced in the US.

When an approach to the American manufacturer by Ted Salt (father of the current generation) for a supply or licensing arrangement proved fruitless, Salts did some basic development work and produced a limited range of 'handmade' bags.

Although not a profitable side of the business, Salts continued to improve the bags for several years, delighted to be able to radically improve the lifestyle of stoma patients. A wide range of stoma care products followed.

Bigger and better

In 1996, Salt & Son Ltd acquired the business of Eurocare and their factory based in Horsham, West Sussex - an acquisition that further strengthened Salts' position in the UK and overseas ostomy market - and at this time the Company began trading as Salts Healthcare. A highly specialised team is now based at Horsham designing, developing and producing our innovative range of ostomy products.

Here and now

Today, Salts Healthcare has its Head Office in Birmingham, with three members of the family playing active parts in the business:

Philip Salt, Chief Executive; Peter Salt, Managing Director; and Robert Salt, Export Director. They are joined by Ian Taylor as Finance Director.

As a leading manufacturer and supplier of health care products, Salts Healthcare now provides a truly international service for a global market place, while retaining the traditional values that only a highly personalised service can offer. Salts Healthcare has acquired skills and in depth knowledge in a number of fields and specialises in:

• Ostomy product manufacture and supply
• Orthotic medical device manufacture
• Hydrocolloid wound care production

Some interesting Facts

• During 300 years of Salts' history, Britain has been ruled by 13 different monarchs and governed by 52 Prime Ministers - 51 of them men!
• When Salts was first established, Australia hadn't yet been discovered, steam power still hadn't been developed, and oxygen had not been identified.
• It was a century after Salts was established that the first steam locomotives were designed.
• Salts' business is older than the British Museum, and was established before the battle of Trafalgar.