Welsh prosthetics boss eyes 15% export boom after HSBC spotlight

Nation Cymru staff

A Welsh entrepreneur chosen as the face of HSBC’s national small business campaign is preparing for a major export boom in new international markets.

Dr Mark Williams OBE, who runs LIMB-art from a converted farm at Bylchau near Denbigh where he creates personalised prosthetic leg covers, is targeting growth of up to 15% as he expands into Malta, Italy, France and Canada.

He will be sharing the story behind his success at the Wrexham Business Professionals Christmas dinner at the city’s Ramada Hotel on Thursday, November 19.

The 55-year-old’s innovative prosthetic covers are already sold in 14 countries with images of the businessman now appearing on giant digital HSBC displays in cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as online.

The national spotlight comes after LIMB-art won the HSBC small business growth award earlier this year.

It earned Dr Williams, who launched the company with his wife Rachael in 2018, an invitation to feature in the banking giant’s autumn campaign celebrating small business across the UK.

The businessman, a former Paralympian swimmer and medallist who lost his left leg following a car accident in Rhyl at the age of 10 while he was riding his bike, said: “It is kind of funny and kind of surreal that a little plastic leg company from Bylchau, which nobody has ever heard of, in the heart of Snowdonia, ends up being one of the poster boys for small businesses in a national HSBC campaign.

“I think people would have laughed at us eight years ago for saying that.

“One of my friends works in Canary Wharf in London and sent me a picture of me on one of the big HSBC display boards there.

“The photos are on HSBC’s social media and featured in the national media too.

“It came about after we won a HSBC award for small business growth at the start of the year, with the awards being held in The Savoy in London.

“We went to Canary Wharf to the big HSBC building there and they had hired a film studio for the day to take photos and social media content.

“About three weeks before they had asked me to send some samples so they could build a bit of plinth.

“They asked me to send 50 legs down there and they built a two-metre high plinth out of prosthetic legs with steps at the back so I stand on top of the plinth for the photos.”

Dr Williams, 55, is LIMB-art’s only full-time member of staff, with wife Rachael doing the accounts while Sean Mason creates the firm’s graphic design and Dawn Wilkes takes care of social media.

He’s looking forward to speaking at the Wrexham Business Professionals Christmas dinner to talk about his business and how setting targets was key to success.

He said: “We started in 2018 and our first export was in 2020 and that was to Queensland Prosthetics in Australia.

“We still export to them, we export at least one cover a week, so that’s about £20,000 of sales in Australia alone.

“The next country we exported to was the Netherlands and that was followed by exports to the USA, which provides us with about 10 per cent of our turnover.

“The UK is working really well for us, so what we are doing now is focusing on what we do in the UK and taking it out to the rest of the world.

“We went to Leipzig in May to a four-day global amputee show and picked up a distributor from Malta who supply the health board there.

“We are already sending out covers to them, we’ve sent out 14 covers since May, and that’s about £6,000 in export sales.

“We have just started to get going with a distributor in Italy and we are now in discussions with a big distributor in France, while we are also talking to a distributor in Canada.”

Dr Williams, who won silver and bronze medals in swimming for Team GB at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics and won gold at the 1989 Miami World Youth Games, said LIMB-art’s domestic sales are continuing to be boosted through a contract with the NHS.

The businessman, who has two children of his own and two step-children with Rachael, said: “We have a contract directly with NHS Wales so any amputee in Wales can go into their limb centre and say they want a LIMB-art cover and they can get it for free.

“And we have an indirect contract in England via the Leeds-based prosthetic leg company Steeper to provide our products there to the NHS.”

Wrexham Business Professionals committee member Ian Edwards said the story of Dr Williams’s business success would be fascinating to hear at the group’s Christmas dinner.

He said: “The continuing growth of LIMB-art is a great North Wales success story, and the reason why it was established in the first place is particularly interesting and inspiring.

“LIMB-art is leading the way in its field and it will be a pleasure to hear more about how Mark has grown his company at our Christmas dinner.”

Fellow Wrexham Business Professional committee member Louise Harper said: “Our region is full of talented business leaders and Mark is certainly among them.

“His personal story and how that led to him establishing LIMB-art is truly inspiring.”

To book a place at the Wrexham Business Christmas Professionals dinner at Wrexham’s Ramada Hotel on November 19 email [email protected]

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