Talley Group’s review of 2006
Posted: Wednesday, December 13th, 2006
The Talley Group has seen a year in its history like no other, moving from the UK’s largest privately owned specialist in pressure ulcer prevention and therapy, to a comprehensive group embracing new products, services, technology, and a range of other functions.
And its profile has matched this pace, with page leads in national newspapers, features on ITN and Radio 4, a robust presence in the healthcare professional press, and a crisp new website, all underpinning the company’s new presence and authority. Today, the Talley Group works with journalists and opinion-formers weekly, and support groups including MRSA Action.
Even 12 months ago the group’s core business already had full sales, rental and maintenance facilities, serving customers in 40 countries.
…But then things really began to take off.
First came a new division called Talley Environmental Care, offering a new specialist sanitising service for hospital wards, nursing homes, GP surgeries and home care.
This division protects patients from the risk of Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs) including Clostridium difficile and MRSA. It uses a highly effective and ultra safe antimicrobial product called TECare, which is harmless to man, but kills a broad spectrum of bacteria and – uniquely – prevents further colonisation for up to four weeks.
Tests in hospitals, GP surgeries and in Government laboratories, have proven its success, and international attention is already following.
Then came an investment in state-of-the-art plastics processing equipment at the Talley Group’s Romsey headquarters, to speed the making of air mattresses and related equipment.
This cuts individual design and production to just a few days, and lengthy jobs to just a few minutes, or even seconds, giving Talley a further lead over competitors, and underlining its commitment to manufacturing at home, for total quality control.
Then the company’s fleet of 25 service vehicles were equipped with a leading navigation system, Tom Tom Web Fleet under a new national contract. This speeded up the group’s prestigious support network even further, in an environment where products can be serviced and maintained on-site by trained engineers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Further growth came for the Talley Group when it extended its pressure ulcer “prevention and therapy” role into wound management, by launching one of the world’s leading portable wound suction products into the UK market.
The Versatile 1 and Vista Wound Vacuum Systems, from America’s Blue Sky Medical, has a global reputation for faster healing and a higher level of comfort.
Negative pressure wound therapy is a treatment where controlled localised negative pressure is delivered to a wide variety of acute, sub-acute and chronic wounds. The Chariker-Jeter® wound sealing kits, Versatile1 and Vista pumps helps drain the wound and aids faster healing.
Just as this range is becoming established, the Talley Group has announced a further strategic development, with a move into wipe-clean bedding.
This comes through the purchase of the Sylvan Corporation of Rochdale, with a market-leading range including pillows and duvets for hospitals and carehomes.
The Sylvan products have been proven to slash hospital laundry costs, and will perfectly complement the Talley Group’s existing pressure-relieving mattress range. Sylvan’s technology produces duvets and pillows which are totally sealed, with no stitching, thus preventing any contamination from bacteria, viruses and soiled liquids.
Production of Sylvan products has been moved to Romsey, ready for anticipated strong growth into this sector.
Chris Evans C.E.O of the Talley Group, said:
In more than 50 years, we have focussed on quality, value, and innovation, and have built a loyal following in more than 40 countries.
…And yet at the core, we retain our total commitment to the customer – listening to them, and responding to their needs – which is what has always given us our character, and made us stand out from the pack.
Operations Manager Kevin Mearns added:
This last year has truly seen a step change, with the most exciting time in our development, today, the Talley Group is larger, with a broader range of high quality products and services.
It is more confident, as it keeps pace with the growing needs of the marketplace…
But it does not stop there, and we look forward to further exciting announcements shortly.