New MD for 141-year-old Liverpool business

Family-run Algeos was founded as a leather-dealing business by John Algeo in Liverpool in 1881 and now it is a manufacturer and supplier of orthopaedic products. Tony McDonough reports

Algeos
Algeos management team, from left, Neil Smith, Jennifer Jackson, Max Sheridan and Marc Cameron

 

A Liverpool manufacturer and supplier of orthopaedic products is looking for further growth after appointing a new managing director.

Max Sheridan, who has been with the company for a decade, will head up the business alongside product director Marc Cameron, operations manager Neil Smith and financial controller Jennifer Jackson.

Algeos was founded in Liverpool in 1881 by John Algeo as a leather dealing business based at 97 Brownlow Hill. It later moved to 104 Brownlow Hill, close to the University, on a site that has since been demolished to allow for the building of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

By the end of the 19th century it was based in Upper Parliament Street in Toxteth and was a wholesaler to the shoe repair industry, a thriving sector in the days when people were more likely to get their shoes repaired rather than buy a new pair.

The business moved into the orthopaedic market in the early 1990s. Originally concentrating on two or three main products the company expanded its range as demand grew.

In 1997 Algeos expanded into a larger 6,000 square foot factory in Speke, employing eight new staff and investing in new manufacturing machinery. A factory manager was also employed to run the ever-growing logistics operation. It withdrew from the shoe repair trade to focus on markets such as podiatry and physiotherapy.

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Today, the company has grown both organically and through acquisition and in January 2005, Algeos gained an extra 10,000 square foot through the acquisition of the adjacent building at their current warehouse location in Speke. In March 2008 it went global with the opening of its first satellite operation in Melbourne, Australia.

Employing 62 people, it offers a wide range of products across the four pillars – consumables and appliances, foot orthotics, diagnostics, assessment and clinical equipment and materials and manufacturing.

Marc Cameron joined the Algeos team as a marketing executive in 2000, and has since gone on to work on the management of the company’s purchasing department and existing product portfolio management.

Jennifer Jackson has five years of experience already under her belt at Algeos and almost 15 years experience in finance while Neil Smith brings more than 30 year’s worth of operations experience with expertise in management, general merchandise, logistics, utilities, and e-commerce.

Mr Sheridan said: “Our leadership team has bought into our long-term vision and after working collaboratively throughout the pandemic, we are now looking to go from strength to strength as a family-run business.

“Personally, Algeos has been in my family since 1990 and to now be managing director, is an incredibly proud moment for me – with Marc, Neil and Jennifer, alongside the rest of our team, working towards a bright future.”

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