A Legacy of Education and Quality: Celebrating 35 Years of Surgical Holdings

Surgical Holdings isn’t just a business; it’s a family where knowledge is passed down through generations. Today, as we celebrate our 35th year under the banner of Surgical Holdings, we proudly reflect on the remarkable journey that brought us here. We invite you to take a little trip down memory lane with us as we mark this impressive milestone in style.

We’re delighted to be celebrating our 35^th year as Surgical Holdings this year. Like many remarkable businesses, our journey began with very humble origins. Back in 1988, Surgical Holdings officially embarked on its journey as a surgical instrument manufacturer, primarily catering to other businesses. However, our foundation was laid on a bedrock of unwavering dedication to excellence and education that stretches back over a century.

As time has passed, it’s been a privilege to see the company grow and make remarkable strides. Today Surgical Holdings is incredibly proud to be a credible and well-established family-run business, with a reputation for the highest standard of craftsmanship and lasting value. Those values have formed an instrumental part of our company from the very beginning and will continue to form the backbone of our company for generations to come.

A little less known fact, our story actually goes way back to around 1910 – when George Poole laid the foundation for his own successful business crafting high-quality surgical instruments. George educated his two nephews in the fine art of surgical instrument making, and this was a passion that filtered its way through the family.

Just as George Poole had done years before him, Fred Coole passed his intricate skills on to his son Philip, and in 1988 he officially founded Surgical Holdings. Philip Coole proudly remains Chairman, with his son Daniel now at the helm as Managing Director – a role he took in 1995 following a gruelling apprenticeship!

From its humble beginnings as a multi skilled trade manufacturer, we’re proud to be CE accredited for the manufacture and supply of instruments and orthopaedic implants. Our tight-knit team comprises exceptionally skilled surgical instrument technicians who take immense pride in creating finely-crafted instruments, and today our customer base includes NHS and Private Hospitals in the UK, as well as our Export Distributors around the world.

Our investment in skill development has been instrumental in our transition from manufacturing for other businesses to offering high-quality products and services directly to the NHS. We are incredibly proud to have over 50 years of knowledge and experience in our workshop. Our team of technicians all undertake a minimum apprenticeship of 5 years and are trained to manufacture instruments, not just repair them – something that gives us a unique 360 degree understanding of the challenge and the importance of correctly functioning medical devices, and the critical role they play in patient care at every step.

As a family business, each one of our close-knit team is treated as a valued family member, which we believe remains a magnet for attracting not only the best people, but also why our team members choose to stay with us for many years, learning new skills and building lasting careers amongst friendly and encouraging people.

In turn, our clients benefit from exceptional service, long lasting relationships, along with four generations of finely-honed expertise. We proudly sell our products to corners of the world as far-reaching as New Zealand.

Growth, progress, and an exciting future

Our journey started off in a shed, then graduated to a garage, and from there, we’ve been on a steady path of growth. We settled into our current premises back in the early ’90s, and now we proudly occupy a total of six units. It’s been equally rewarding to see the amazing ways our team has flourished. We’ve gone from a small crew to over 50 talented individuals. In the last three years alone, we’ve experienced remarkable growth, doubling in size. It’s an exciting phase of rapid expansion, and we’re actively investing in training more people, including apprentices. There are incredible opportunities for newcomers to join our team, learn valuable skills, and grow alongside us.

As we celebrate 35 valuable years at Surgical Holdings, we are extremely excited about the future, and we look forward to seeing what the next 35 years have in store. Thank you for being a part of our journey, and here’s to the incredible journey ahead!