LDC Top 50 2024
Russ Mably
CEO
Medtrade
It is impossible to know just how many lives have been saved by Medtrade, admits CEO Russ Mably. The Crewe-based medical devices company has developed a ground-breaking product, made from shrimp shells, that is used by paramedics, police and militaries worldwide.
“Celox is designed to stop bleeding from gunshots and stabbings in 60 seconds,” explains Mably, an industry veteran who joined the business four years ago and has grown revenues to £45m. Mably has now launched a product to tackle postpartum haemorrhage. “This has the potential to save tens of thousands of mums lives a year,” he says. “I’m ambitious, driven and unbelievably proud of our impact in the world.”
I’m ambitious, driven and unbelievably proud of our impact in the world.”
Q&A
Tell me about your international ambition?
Around 80% of revenues come from outside the UK but all our manufacturing and supply chain is UK-based. When the war broke out in Ukraine, I took a call from its Ministry of Defence, and we have since shipped 1.3m devices to help save lives over there. Our new product, for postpartum haemorrhage is registered in over 30 countries now, so we are moving at quite a clip.
What impact have you made on this business?
Our founder, Craig Hardy, started this business 25 years ago. When he retired, he brought me in because of my experience in surgical orthopaedics. This is a very slow-moving industry, but I have grown Medtrade by 18pc in three years, and we’ll continue with a similar trajectory into the future. I’m taking our knowhow in wound care and applying it to multiple areas to save more lives.
Tell me about the new product you have created?
My mother was a midwife, and my father was a mechanical engineer, so it feels like Celox PPH is a testament to their influence on me. Last Christmas, I received texts from several surgeons saying their patients would have died without the product. What greater calling is there? Obstetricians around the world are crying out for this product and I can’t implement it quickly enough. I’m talking to the World Health Organisation about getting this product into Africa, where more mothers die after childbirth than in any other country.
How do you spend your spare time?
I work in Crewe Monday to Friday then go home and see my family on the weekend. I just celebrated my 25-year anniversary with my wife. We have four children so it’s full on here and then full-on at home, but I love it.
