The health care industry is one of the few sectors in which Britain can claim a competitive advantage. Widely recognized as one of the most successful British manufacturing companies of the early 1990s, Smith & Nephew is the ideal example from which to isolate the sources of competitiveness.

Smith & Nephew, a Hull based firm, was founded in 1856 and later linked up with Lancashire's cotton mills and the small workshops of Birmingham and London. During the 1980s Smith & Nephew grew from essentially a British company, with subsidiaries in Commonwealth countries and part ownership of some continental European firms, into a global health care business firmly established in Europe, North America and other key markets around the world. By the 1990s Smith & Nephew had become one of the select band of world class British manufacturing companies.

This authoritative book provides an invaluable description of the origins and rise of one of Britain's most successful manufacturing companies. As the first comprehensive assessment of this significant company's history, the book will be welcomed by all those with an interest in corporate success, the evolution of health care and business history.