Our Story
Who Are Algeos?
Algeos is proud to be the one of the UK's most diverse manufacturers and distributor of medical materials, technology and consumables to the podiatry, physiotherapy, footwear and orthopaedic markets. As a dynamic and innovative orthotic therapy company primarily, working in collaboration with clinicians and experts in the field, Algeos provide a range of cutting-edge products that improve patients lives and help our clinician customers serve their patients to a very high, world leading standard.
After decades of dedication, supplying customers with product solutions that make a real difference to lives, Algeos has built a renowned reputation for its outstanding value, quality and innovation. We pride ourselves also on providing exceptional customer service to our extensive customer base through regular consultations with clients, ensuring that we fully understand and meet our clients’ needs.
We design and develop many products under our own popular brands such as Aortha, Diaped, Slimflex, Physioworx & Podotech, but we also source and distribute world-leading brands for clinical use – always with the end user at the forefront of our decisions. We’re proud to be associated with such trusted brands as EMS, Poron, Interpod, Darco, Renia, Voxelcare, Proteor, and Silipos.
Our team of passionate people go out of their way to provide customers with the specific products they require and friendly support they deserve. It’s our people who make us great. We are proud of the rich history of our business and many of our team have been with us for a long time; evolving with the company. Team Algeos are passionate, knowledgeable and here to help.
The History of Algeos
1881 to 1990Â Family Foundations
Algeos is a family business in every sense of the term – from its current company ethos and sense of community to its very roots. Since its founding in 1881, Algeos has only ever been owned by three families and it’s this family spirit that remains at the heart of our company, that flows through our close-knit team and into our loyal customer base. Established by boot-maker John Algeo, in Liverpool, Algeos was then known as a leather and grindery merchants (a traditional term used by wholesalers to the shoe repair industry) and located on Upper Parliament Street where it remained until 1997. Â
Both John Algeo’s sons, William and Arthur, continued to run the business past their father’s death in the 1920s and in 1947 Arthur gave his initial to the present firm A.Algeo Ltd when it became incorporated in 1947. After Arthur’s death in the late 1950s, it was sold to the then Sales Manager, Henry Swanson, who continued to manage the business with his son Henry Junior and wife Betty until 1990. It was then bought by our chairman, Alan Sheridan, who has since taken the company from being leather shoe specialists into a leading healthcare and medical distribution company.Â
1990 to 2000Â Entrepreneurial Growth
From 1990, Algeos evolved under the strategic direction of entrepreneur Alan Sheridan. The Algeos’ sales team was expanded to build on the growing Orthopaedic market, continuing to develop strong working relationships with new customers across the UK. Our product range was expanded to include the Podotech brand and more materials and established us as the one-stop-shop for our customers and provider of expert advice that we still pride ourselves on today.
Exponential sales growth, an expanding product range and a vast customer base led to an inevitable move to larger premises in 1999 with increased capacity and bulk material handling machinery. The new manufacturing machinery in a larger factory enabled the business to move away from the ailing shoe repair trade to concentrate on new markets, such as Podiatry and Physiotherapy. These specialist markets complemented Algeos' supply of Orthotic & Prosthetic materials and in 1998 a specialist manager was recruited to consolidate and build sales in these areas. Algeos had begun the journey to being the leading manufacturer and distributor of medical materials and consumables it is today.
2000 to 2010Â Dynamic Expansion
During this period, Algeos expanded its product range and based on our reputation for exceeding expectations and market reach, an increasing number of companies partnered with us to represent their brands. We became the UK’s sole distributorship of PORON Urethanes – the world’s leading comfort material, this was followed by others such as Interpod and Renia. Alongside this we launched our own high-quality brands such as Diaped in response to the growing issue of diabetes, Slimflex an off the shelf orthoses solution, and Aortha the brand for all Orthotic and Prosthetic needs.Â
At this time, Algeos also made the strategic decision to invest in machinery which allowed us to manufacture and convert our wide range of materials to almost any specification. This move led the way to further expansion, not just in square footage or our range of services (Conversion and Lamination), but internationally as Algeos set up offices in Australia and the Middle East to support our burgeoning overseas customer base, including the Ministry of Health’s hospitals of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). It also contributed to us winning our first successful Podiatry NHS tender with more to follow.Â
2010 to present-day Technology & Teamwork
Since 2010, we have solidified our position as a valued asset to our partner brands and were delighted to welcome EMS Medical, Voxelcare, Darco, Proteor and Silipos to our growing portfolio. Through these partnerships, we have complemented our extensive product range with innovative and technological solutions such as gait analysis, pressure scanning, CAD-CAM, and shockwave therapy. This offering is supported by dedicated Product and Quality & Compliance teams to ensure our high standards of quality are maintained. Quality is a value on which Team Algeos prides itself highly, and in this period we were awarded ISO 13485: 2016 Medical Device Quality System. This means we have the processes in place to ensure consistent and high-quality products and services for our customers.
Teamwork is central to everything we do at Algeos and is a strong part of our ethos and culture. Team Algeos was thrilled to be awarded Investors in People: Gold during this period. Working with all at Algeos, we rebranded and committed to our vision of being the leading provider of innovative products and solutions that improve not only motion but mind.