The parents of a gifted young man called Steven Corcoran were special guests at the official launch of a company which develops and makes a range of independent living products.

Steven played a major role in originally initiating the design of a flagship product before his untimely death from cancer.

Peter and Christine Corcoran and their other son Paul said Steven would have been proud to see his work being developed by Cortech Healthcare on the Balthane Industrial Estate, Ballasalla.

Cortech Healthcare is continuing its expansion programme since establishing an Isle of Man presence last year.

Following initial investment from the Isle of Man Government Enterprise Development Scheme (EDS) in August 2017, Cortech now has a new 2,500sq-foot facility in Balthane, officially opened by Department of Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly MHK. As well as creating new jobs on-island and recruiting local employees, the business is working to relocate employees with specialist skills from the UK to live here, and aims to have a team of 12 in place within the next two years.

Using what the company describes as a ’unique’ patent-protected movement system, Cortech Healthcare is developing a range of independent living products designed to increase the independence, dignity and freedom of vulnerable people and to improve the working conditions of their care teams and will use the new premises as the hub for design, development and manufacturing.

The company is in advanced discussions with several UK distributors for the first line of products in the range - electronic commodes and electronic commode shower chairs, which use an intelligent electronics system to encourage body movement in and out of the chair that re-engages the correct muscles for each action.

Malcolm Cooke, chairman of Cortech, said: ’Taking Steven’s original idea and developing it to a commercial stage has been a privilege and I know that the product will greatly improve the lives of the people who use this, giving them independence, pri-

-vacy and dignity.’ Cortech has plans for the further implementation of the movement system in other independent living products - all to be designed, developed and manufactured in the Isle of Man.

Steven’s mother Christine, 67, a nurse, told Business News her son who was single and an engineer, put his thinking cap on when she raised with him some of the problems faced by patients in using commodes.

She said: ’He was looking for a project to get involved in.’

She explained Steven, who originally studied engineering design at Huddersfield University, ’had all kinds of ideas but this was the main one he was working on.

’He was a clever lad.

’Steven was 37 when he died. It will be five years this July since he died.’

’He had been diagnosed [with the cancer] for nine months, that’s all.’

Mrs Corcoran and her 68-year-old husband Peter and their other son Paul, 44, travelled from their home near York, for the launch ceremony.

Mrs Corcoran said: ’He did not want his ideas just to die. He did once say to me when he was ill: ’’I hope somebody will take it on and take it forward’’.

’And luckily for us Malcolm [Cooke] agreed to try and take it forward.’

Mr Corcoran said: ’Malcolm has been very good.

’We hope this venture will be a success.’

Yorkshire folk Mr and Mrs Corcoran firmly believe the commode, originally designed and initiated by Steven before his untimely death, will be of great benefit to help people who need to use them.

Mrs Corcoran said: ’The Isle of Man is the sort of place Steven would have been pleased with [as a location to develop the business]’.

Mr Corcoran said: ’It’s nice to see the Isle of Man believes in the ideas and the company and has helped invest in this project, and hopefully everyone will benefit from it.’

In addition to guests from the Department for Enterprise, local government and corporate supporters, attendees included a representative of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), of which Cortech is just one of a few Isle of Man-based members.

Chairman Malcolm Cooke said: ’The encouragement we received from SPARK, the Department for Enterprise and the Isle of Man community as a whole has been fantastic.

[SPARK Impact was appointed by the Department for Enteroprise to run elements of the Enterprise Development Scheme].

’The island is getting behind a revolutionary product, demonstrating it is a visionary and forward-thinking place to do business, which understands what it has to offer to companies like ours.

’We had a strong desire to establish immediately and grow quickly, and have found that is easier to achieve in the Isle of Man. We carried out extensive research and do not believe there is anywhere in the UK or Europe which could have offered us comparable access to the skills we needed, the experience we required and the support services we rely on so close to our base.

’As a new company with quick growth and expansion plans, hiring the right people for the right jobs was top of our agenda and we found a wealth of talent, experience and passion in the Isle of Man.

’The island is investing in engineering training and IT education, which are skills we need, and the dynamic and diverse Isle of Man BioMed and Aerospace Clusters, with the resources it represents, was a major attraction.’

Malcolm added: ’The support we have had from the DfE has been exceptional, helping to identify that everything we needed to grow this business quickly was available in the Isle of Man.

’We have ambitious recruitment plans and continue to look for new staff.

’The team at SPARK introduced us to a network of island contacts which has supported our growth, and everyone has been so welcoming and positive.

’There’s clearly a strong sense of community and partnership and we’re pleased to be part of it.’

Mr Skelly said: ’The Department is focused on investing and supporting businesses at all stages of growth and we’re delighted to see the development of Cortech through the investment of the EDS.

’The Isle of Man is an ideal base to operate businesses like Cortech, centrally placed within the British Isles and with prompt and easy access to highly professional support services, a reliable, resilient infrastructure and skilled employees.

’We extend the warmest of welcomes to the staff who are relocating to the island with Cortech and are confident they’ll find the island an amazing place to live and work.’

The late Steven Corcoran’s mother and father Peter and Christine and brother Paul attended the event at the Balthane, Ballasalla, base of Cortech Healthcare Picture : Dave Kneale

Steven Corcoran