No Time to Stand Still

Fast-thinking, innovation and investing in people are the solutions to an unpredictable economic and business environment, CEO and Managing Director of Owen Mumford, Jarl Severn, told a roundtable of B4 PLATINUM members at our monthly leaders’ lunch in September. 

Jarl spoke about how the medical device design and manufacturing business is experiencing key challenges of high energy, material and production costs, reduced sales margins and increased wages caused by the post-COVID 19 climate, the war in Ukraine and inflation.

He told the group that adapting quickly to this evolving landscape was key to driving growth which for Owen Mumford meant prioritising and accelerating new product development. “Winning business is harder than ever due to the competition which is why we must innovate,” he said. “New product development has been at the forefront of our business for the past 70 years and it will be our way out of the challenges we are facing now for the next 70 years.”

Owen Mumford has a strong history of innovation. It was founded in 1952 by Ivan Owen and John Mumford, who pioneered the first automatic finger-pricker, revolutionising diabetes care, and later the first plastic auto-injector. It employs 800 people and has a team of 70 working within its research and development arm. The company has also won four Queen’s Awards for enterprise, export and innovation and is the first medical device company to be B-Corp accredited thanks to its sustainability programme and goals.

Jarl also described how having a company vision and mission statement was key to bringing its employees on this journey, ensuring that they were clear about its aspirations and what they were jointly working towards.

He added: “It is critical that we have the right people in our organisation so we can meet our challenges head on. We have to invest in people who add value to our business – ‘radiators’ who bring a sense of enthusiasm and energy to the workplace. They are rare but they make a real difference.”

B4 CEO and leaders’ discussion lunches are open to PLATINUM members. If you would like to know more about PLATINUM membership please contact B4 CEO Richard Rosser via email at richard@b4-business.com.