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The huge success of Dr Brown ’ s cough syrup led to him establishing BCB Brown ’ s Cough Bottle , a company that Andrew ’ s father purchased after WWII to use as a medical wholesaler for his chain of drug stores throughout Cardiff , Wales .
“ I took the name when I started my own company in 1979 ,” he continues , “ and utilized the brand ’ s medical background to start producing first aid and survival kits for a local life raft manufacturer in South Wales . That first item set the tone for BCB ’ s offering , as to this day , we still specialize in support and survival equipment primarily for the military , commercial marine , camping and retail , and aid and humanitarian markets ; four sectors that operate in slightly different ways .”
Andrew aims to bring six new products to market each year , on the ideology that businesses should not just be about profit but should focus on bringing ideas to life , especially during times of war , pandemic , or natural catastrophe , where the world currently finds itself .
“ One of my philosophies has always been that there ’ s no point in having a good idea , if you don ’ t do anything with it . Britain has long suffered from developing great inventions then not exploiting and sharing them effectively . What ’ s the point if you don ’ t offer your products to as many people as possible ? You ’ ll never know how many lives you can save or make a significant difference to . We don ’ t necessarily come up with our own ideas organically ; they may require a prompt from say the Ministry of Defense ( MOD ) or the marine industry , who usually present us with an issue that our team of engineers then work to innovate a solution for .” In some instances , the company reaches out to collaborate with Cardiff University during its product development stages .
Life-saving solutions
Among BCB ’ s pioneering offerings are products such as its ballistic underwear , an ‘ invisibility cloak ’ to protect soldiers and vehicles from thermal imaging drones on the battlefield , and Fire Dragon , an innovative ethanol-based fire lighter .
“ I ’ m very proud of our ballistic underwear ,” Andrew states . “ It was designed as a solution to the horrific injuries that British soldiers were sustaining from land mines in Afghanistan . As the blast from this weaponry travels upwards , it risks rupturing the victim ’ s femoral artery , causing them to bleed out and will , at the very least , inflict serious and life-changing damage
Our idea was to develop a form of underwear that balances comfort with full protection , and we succeeded
◀ Blast Bo Underwea
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