Second-generation family company, wins Small Business of the Year at the Maidstone Business Awards
Formed as a partnership between Equilibrium PR and Best Business
Events, the Maidstone Business Awards debuted this year, giving
businesses across Maidstone the chance to be recognised for their
strengths and strides in the following categories: Start-up, Small
Business, Creative/Digital, Customer Service, Entrepreneurship,
Innovation and Hospitality.
Bedfont®, who is a second-generation family company that has
specialised in the design and manufacture of breath analysis medical
devices for over 40 years, is pleased to announce it has been awarded
Small Business of the Year.
Jason Smith, managing director, comments, “The
Bedfont® family are humbled to have won Small Business of the year at
the Maidstone Business Awards. It is really an achievement, to know that
the hard work, dedication and passion of our company is witnessed by
others. Earlier this year, we had a rebrand and our new slogan, “Our
family, innovating health, for yours” is Bedfont in a nutshell; we are
the Bedfont® family, every employee makes us the company we are today;
each individual member plays a crucial role in the business and so I
would like to thank them all. We take great pride in what we do and will
continue to innovate and improve health, worldwide.”
Jason receives the Small Business of the Year 2017 award from his Worship the Mayor of Maidstone
Second-generation family business, Bedfont®, has made it through to the final round of the Maidstone Business Awards 2017
Formed as a partnership between Equilibrium PR and Best Business
Events, the Maidstone Business Awards is debuting this year, giving
businesses across Maidstone the opportunity to shout about their
achievements with the shortlisted finalists attending an Awards Ceremony
on 14th June. The awards available give Maidstone businesses the chance
to be recognised for their strengths and strides in the following
categories: Start-up, Small Business, Creative/Digital, Customer
Service, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Hospitality.
Bedfont®, who is a second-generation family company that has
specialised in the design and manufacture of breath analysis medical
devices for over 40 years, is pleased to announce it has been
shortlisted as a finalist for Small Business of the Year.
Jason Smith, managing director, commented, “There
are many reasons why we entered the Small Business of the Year category
for the Maidstone Business Awards. It is a great accolade that will give
our existing and future customers confidence in us because we have
achieved so much; despite there only being 38 employees, we have over 10
very niche medical products, each of which we export to over 70
countries worldwide. But moreover, it will be an honour for our
passionate and dedicated employees; they make the Bedfont® family and
are the reason we are where we are today, innovating health, one breath
at a time. We look forward to attending the Awards Ceremony on the 14th
June and would like to wish all 26 finalists good luck.”
Marcus Chrysostomou, owner of Equilibrium PR and the co-founder of the Maidstone Business Award, said,
“We are really pleased that Bedfont® Scientific entered the first ever
Maidstone Business Awards. Our independent judges have shortlisted 5
companies, including Bedfont®, for the Small Business award. We wish
them and the other businesses the best of luck.”
Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. who have produced the Smokerlyzer® to help people quit smoking, gives smoking cessation clinics worldwide the chance to win a new Smokerlyzer® for World No Tobacco Day
Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), World No Tobacco
Day falls annually on 31st May and 2017 marks its 30th anniversary. A
day dedicated to tobacco abstinence as well as the awareness of the
negative side effects of tobacco use and smoking, Bedfont®, who
manufacture the Smokerlyzer® used to help people quit smoking are
hosting a competition. The second generation family company, who export
their products globally, are encouraging stop smoking services across
the world to share their Smokerlyzer® photos on social media for the
chance to win a brand new Smokerlyzer® CO monitor for their practice.
All they need to do is tag Bedfont® in their photos (@Bedfontltd) on
Facebook, Twitter Instagram, using the hashtags #Smokeryzer
#Worldnotobaccoday #knowyourCO.
The Smokerlyzer® is a carbon monoxide (CO) monitor that measures
the harmful amount of CO that is inhaled from smoking, which can show
how much a patient has been smoking, giving smoking cessation advisors
an idea on the level of dependency that the smoker has. The Smokerlyzer®
is quick, non-invasive and also acts as a motivational visual aid to
encourage the user to quit smoking and to measure their progress whilst
doing so.
Last year in 2016, the Smokerlyzer® also celebrated 30 years of
helping people quit smoking and saving lives in over 70 countries. A
recent study by Grant et al. (2015) looked at CO testing within Stop
Smoking Services (SSS). In their findings, one client highlighted that
CO monitoring was one of the most useful elements of the SSS he
received, “one of the most useful things I found about it was the CO
readings every week…you know, you can’t fool a machine, so it’s
difficult to fool yourself then”1.
Jason Smith, managing director at Bedfont Scientific, says,
“The Smokerlyzer® is world renown; it has been demonstrated by the
likes of Princess Diana, Sir Alex Ferguson and it has contributed to
several clinical papers and has saved countless lives in the past 30
years. By running the competition it will hopefully help boost awareness
of World No Tobacco day, encouraging people to quit smoking, but also
give stop smoking clinics across the world a chance to win another
Smokerlyzer® for their practice.”
Second generation family business, Bedfont®, named as one of the top 25 companies in Kent set to change the way we live and do business
Based
in Harrietsham, Bedfont® is a small family business who has specialised
in the design and manufacture of breath and gas analysis monitors for
medical application for over 40 years. The Future List, created by the
KM Group, asked a team of judges to name the top 25 Kent companies who
are set to change the way we live and do business; among the top
influencers was Bedfont®, and here’s exactly why:
· The iCO™ Smokerlyzer®
The Smokerlyzer® range is a range of breath carbon monoxide (CO)
monitors used in stop smoking clinics to help people quit smoking. The
technology celebrated its 30th birthday on 2016 but through constant
innovation, Bedfont® has managed to keep on top of competition and its
latest in the range, the iCO™, is set to make waves. The iCO™
Smokerlyzer® is the world’s first Smokerlyzer® CO monitor for your
smartphone, allowing people to quit smoking and track their progress
anytime, anywhere. With a free downloadable app, users can still have
the familiar motivational traffic light system whilst also be able to
send their progress to friends, family and their smoking advisor.
· The GastroCH4ECK®
The GastroCH4ECK® uses breath analysis to help
detect gastrointestinal disorders such as lactose intolerance, IBS and
SIBO. The GastroCH4ECK® works by measuring the levels of hydrogen and
methane on a person’s breath that is a result of the gut breaking down
food, offering professionals and patients alike a quick, easy and
completely non-invasive way to investigate gut function; especially
compared to more conventional methods which require a blood or stool
sample and can take up to 2 weeks.
· The NObreath®
Recommended by NICE, the NObreath® FeNO monitor
is used to help improve asthma management, one breath at a time. Using
FeNO measurements to evaluate airway inflammation in asthma represents a
significant advance in respiratory medicine, but until now it has been
an expensive test to deliver in every day practice. Measuring FeNO can
help determine the type of asthma (allergic or non-allergic) Measuring
FeNO can help determine the type of asthma (allergic or non-allergic)
and help differentiate between asthma and other respiratory conditions.
It can also help to determine the level of medication a patient needs.
With recent heightened concerns over the number of people being
misdiagnosed with asthma, Bedfont® has been working with NICE and local
GP’s to help implement FeNO monitoring into general asthma care.
Jason Smith, managing director, comments, “We are
honoured to have been named as one of the top 25 on the Future List.
Bedfont® takes great pride in saving peoples’ lives; it something we
have done for over 40 years now and something we will continue to do by
constantly innovating health.”
Second generation family business, Bedfont® goes through to the final round of the KEiBA for 2 categories
The Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA) is an annual awards
ceremony organised by Kent County Council and KM Media Group. Now in its
9th year, the awards were established to recognise and reward
excellence and achievements by companies across Kent. Out of 16
categories, this year saw 312 entries for KEiBA. Based in Harrietsham,
Kent, Bedfont® has specialised in the design and manufacture of breath
and gas analysis monitors for medical application for over 40 years. As
the finalists were announced at KENT Vision Live yesterday, Bedfont® was
pleased to be named as a finalist in 2 of the categories it applied
for; Medium Business of the Year and Exporter of the Year.
Jason Smith, managing director, comments,
“With Kent being rich in companies who are paving
the way into the future, and with there being more KEiBA entries this
year than ever before, Bedfont® is humbled to have been chosen as
finalists for Medium Business of the Year and Exporter of the Year. We
look forward to the gala dinner in June to see who will win – good luck
to all finalists in all 16 categories”.
Second generation family business, Bedfont®, shows it has family values at its core with their progressive kids club for employees
Bedfont®, based in Harrietsham, is a small family-run business that
specialises in the design and manufacture of breath and gas analysis
monitors for medical application. For 3 years now, Bedfont® has provided
employees with a ‘kids club’ that has been helping their staff to
maintain a healthy work-life balance; a factor which makes the small
company of 39 a very progressive and desirable company to work for.
Bedfont’s latest statistics show that 73% of the workforce consists
of members aged 35 and under, meaning a high majority of staff are
parents with young children.
Jason Smith, managing director, says, “On a few
occasions half the business needed time off to look after their children
during the holidays, meaning holiday was being used solely to take care
of children instead of being used for other leisure. This meant that at
times business would be an operational nightmare but so would people’s
work life-balance; parents had to alternate weeks off from work and
therefore the time allocated for them to spend together as a family is
seriously diminished, additionally the added pressure of trying to
balance work duties whilst trying to find the time to look after your
children during the holidays is something I know all too well as a
parent of 2 myself. We decided to allocate an annual budget for the kids
club, whereby staff can bring their children to work for one week in
each of the school holidays and then Bedfont® funds the requisite number
of professional DBS checked nannies required. To start, my own home was
used as their operating base but now we have part of the Bedfont®
premises converted for these weeks, however they actually spend much of
their time in the locality at various low-cost attractions such as Leeds
Castle, Kent Life, Adventure Kids, Whitstable and much more.”
Claire Dadswell adds, “All the children are cared
for by DBS checked nannies with myself in charge; I am NNEB trained with
paediatric first aid and have over 23 years of experience as a nanny.
We try and do one trip out alongside lots of arts and crafts which all
the children love. The youngest child is 1.5 years old and the eldest is
12, so we find activities that are fun, educative and suit all ages. We
also provide all children with healthy snacks and lunches, plus we are
lucky enough to have a gymnastics coach on our team who will
occasionally teach a session with kids to keep them active.”
Student study in America verifies the effectiveness of the Smokerlyzer® motivational traffic-light system when encouraging smokers to quit.
Barren
County High School seniors Taryn Kerley and Becca Calvert recently
conducted a study with a Smokerlyzer® carbon monoxide (CO) monitor and
found that smokers are more likely to want to quit after seeing their CO
levels.
The study called “Effects of Education and Exhaled Carbon Monoxide
Testing on Smoking Cessation in a Rural Kentucky Community” looked at 30
people ranging in age from 16 to 50+ and found “there was a significant
difference in the desire to quit smoking from before they saw their
(carbon monoxide) level to after they saw their carbon monoxide level”
said Calvert.
The Smokerlyzer® measures the harmful amount of CO that is inhaled
from smoking, which can show how much a patient has been smoking, giving
smoking cessation advisors an idea on the level of dependency that the
smoker has. The Smokerlyzer® is quick, non-invasive and the traffic
light system also acts as a motivational visual aid to encourage the
user to quit smoking and to measure their progress whilst doing so. Red
indicates a regular smoker with higher levels of CO in their blood,
amber would indicate a light smoker, whilst green is the reading of a
non-smoker and the ultimate aim.
The carbon monoxide from smoking damages the lining of your
arteries, which can lead to angina, a heart attack, a stroke and
Buerger’s disease[1,2]. It is also the biggest contributable factor to
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), thought to be responsible
for around 90% of cases[3]. Additionally smoking can cause up to 14
types of cancer[4], most significantly lung cancer, of which deaths are
the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with cigarette smoking
accounting for 80% of lung cancer deaths in men and 50% in women[5].
Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year
in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from
second-hand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually,
or 1,300 deaths every day[6].
Jason Smith, managing director at Bedfont®, the UK-based company
who manufactures the Smokerlyzer®, comments, “It’s really great to see
the Smokerlyzer® getting noticed overseas – 80% of our sales are from
exporting and the Smokerlyzer®, which is one of our core breath analysis
products, has helped thousands of people quit smoking worldwide for
over 30 years now. Hopefully the benefits of the Smokerlyzer® will
continue to be recognised so that it can help people quit smoking, one
breath at a time.”
Second generation family company, Bedfont®, based in Harrietsham, picks up trophy for Exporter of the year 2017 at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Awards
On Thursday 30th March 2017, the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce
hosted its prestigious awards evening at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge,
where Bedfont®, a small family business of less than 40 people, picked
up the sought after Exporter of the year 2017 award.
Established in 1976, Bedfont® is a second generation family company
that specialises in the design and manufacture of breath and gas
analysis equipment, with its wide range of products now found in over 70
countries worldwide.
Andy Smith, sales manager, explains, “Bedfont®
operates through a network of distributors, of which the first ever
distributor was appointed in 1988 by our father Trevor Smith. In fact,
that relationship continues still today between myself and the
distributor’s daughter. It is more than a business arrangement; we see
our distributors as an extension of the Bedfont® family and it this
great relationship that enables us to continue expanding our reach
globally.”
Jason Smith, managing director, adds, “We are very
proud and grateful to accept the accolade Exporter of the year 2017
from the KICC. I’d like to dedicate this award to the Bedfont® family,
who is not only my biological family, but the hardworking staff at
Bedfont® and our distributors, without whom we would not be here today.”
Second generation family company, Bedfont®, based in Harrietsham, picks up trophy for Exporter of the year 2017 at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Awards
New year, new face and new brand for Bedfont® as Jason Smith, new managing director, is shaking things up for the 40 year old company.
Bedfont®, established in 1976, has specialised in the design and
manufacture of exhaled breath and gas analysis products since before
Jason was born. However, now he has succeeded his father, Trevor, as
managing director, Jason feels that it’s the ideal time to update the
brand, to reflect recent changes and Bedfont’s future .
The reason for the rebrand is that 2016 was a big year for Bedfont®
which led to a lot of developments within the business and we sold our
NOxBOX range of intensive care units to focus on our core business of
breath analysis as well as celebrating 40 years of business.
Jason comments, “As we focus more on breath
analysis, having sold the intensive care range, we have changed a bubble
from green to purple to represent our NObreath® FeNO monitor which is
helping to improve asthma management. We have also included our
establishment date because even though we want the world to see how new
and innovative our ideas are, we still want them to know that we’ve been
a long-standing established company, since 1976.
More significant than the logo with this rebrand is the new slogan, “Our family, innovating health, for yours.”
Again, we feel that it is crucial that the rebrand reflects our core
values and purpose as a company and we feel this slogan does exactly
that. What is important about this new slogan is that we are still
innovating health, that is not changing, but we are expanding. The
Bedfont® family is not just the Smith family, but all of our dedicated
employees and distributors and we all share the same goal of providing
the best service and products to improve healthcare worldwide.”
The piCObaby™ Smokerlyzer® from Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. offers a quick and non-invasive method of measuring the CO levels of both the mums-to-be and their babies to help them quit smoking.
Figures released from the Women’s Smoking Status at Time of Delivery:
England, published by the Health & Social Care Information Centre
(HSCIC), showed that although the number of women smoking whilst
pregnant fell between 2014/15 and 2015/16, the 2015/16 figures still
show that 10.6% of mothers were recorded as still smoking at the time of
delivery. Bedfont®, who manufacture the renowned Smokerlyzer® used for
smoking cessation, manufacture a version called the piCObaby™
Smokerlyzer® which is specifically designed to help pregnant smokers
quit, and also shows the foetal CO calculation.
With the new year being the perfect time to quit smoking, concerns
about smoking whilst pregnant have been highlighted significantly. Even
Chief Executive of Public Health England, Duncan Selbie, recently
recommended that all pregnant mums be CO screened when they book a
hospital appointment and amidst fears that mothers don’t truly recognise
the harm smoking whilst pregnant has to their unborn child 1.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is inhaled from smoking and replaces the
oxygen in your blood, effectively starving your organs of oxygen which
can lead to several health complications 2. Smoking whilst pregnant can
pass on these detrimental effects to your unborn child and cause serious
pregnancy-related health problems, such as complications during labour,
an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still birth, low
birth-weight and sudden unexpected death in infancy 3.
Jason Smith, managing director at Bedfont®, explains, “The
Smokerlyzer® is effective because when people blow into the monitor,
the traffic light system provides a visual motivational aid as to the
amount of CO in a smoker’s body and therefore provides a warning about
the harm they are doing to themselves by continuing to smoke. The
piCObaby™ not only does this, but also shows the foetal calculation and
therefore the potential harm that a pregnant smoker could be having on
her unborn child too.”
“CO breath testing with the Smokerlyzer® has been used by stop
smoking clinics worldwide for over 30 years now. What makes it so
popular with patients and stop smoking clinics is that it is much
quicker than more conventional methods of CO testing, such as a blood
test, but also it is more patient-friendly because it is completely
non-invasive. We hope that if more mums-to-be know about this easier way
of CO screening or if they need a little extra help to quit smoking
whilst pregnant, they will opt to have a CO breath test with the
piCObaby™ to help them quit, for their health and their unborn baby’s.”
