​"The 3 Peak Challenge consists of walking up and down the 3 highest mountain peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours – including driving between the three," explains Pete Smith, Senior Territory Manager, and one of the driving forces behind the venture.

Walking in the name of charity

Pete and his colleagues came together to raise money for Sue Ryder, an organisation that strives to help people with complex needs and conditions – much like Coloplast.

"Our original target was to raise £100 each to give a total of £1300, but instead we have raised to date £5,326 for Sue Ryder," says a happy Pete. "I feel this is another key demonstration of the passion and desire of Coloplast employees to go above and beyond, wanting to make a big difference for those who need our help and support. As a team we came together, supported each other and helped each other through every step of the challenge."

While the walk was certainly the hardest part, getting from one place to another was just as important and Coloplast sponsored the vehicles and all the fuel that was needed for the trip.

24 hours to complete

"We left Peterborough on Saturday July 1st at 07:00 and we made our way up to Fort William in Scotland. The journey went well and we arrived at 15:45. We started our stopwatches and began climbing at 16:30. Nine of our team of 11 completed the first mountain and we were all down in five hours and 10 minutes," explains Pete.

Despite being 10 minutes behind schedule, the group managed to make up time on the drive.

"Our amazing drivers John and Chris did a grand job and we managed to catch up and arrived in Wasdale, to begin climbing ahead of time. We started climbing Scaffell Pike, our second mountain, at 04:00 on Sunday July 2nd. Eight of the team completed this mountain and we were down in 3 hours 35 minutes, only 5 minutes behind our scheduled time again."

Faced with going over the time limit, Pete and his team decided that one group would continue immediately to Snowdon to give them a chance of completing the challenge in 24 hours, while the other group would follow once all the members were down. The first group left Wasdale at 08:00 and arrived in Snowdon at 12:45.

A race against the clock

"This gave us four hours to complete Snowdon. Our legs were burning with lactic acid, and cramping up, but somehow, five of us were able to get up and down in 3 hours and 30 minutes! We arrived back at the cars, and with 10 minutes to spare we stopped the clock having completed the challenge in 23 hours 50 minutes! We also had one final member of the team, who completed Snowdon a little later that same day. So in total six members of the team completed all three mountains."

"Each and every person gave their absolute utmost to this challenge, mentally and physically. Having been responsible for organizing and leading this group, I am so proud of each one of them for this tremendous result. Coloplast employees have once again, proven to the world, what an incredible and determined group of people we really are,"  Pete concludes.

Coloplast’s Wound Care product, Biatain® Silicone – has been awarded with the Red Dot award¹. The product is now available to the NHS and in pharmacies in the UK.

Since 1954, the Red Dot Award has been a global benchmark for design and innovation focusing on the user experience and aesthetics of a wide range of consumer products. This year, Red Dot received 5500 submissions from 54 countries and all of the products entered were assessed by an independent and international jury of experts.

Coloplast Wound Care’s entry of Biatain Silicone, was measured successfully against innovative design across various industries and awarded a Red Dot for outstanding product design in 2017. 

Biatain Silicone products are soft, flexible, absorbent foam dressings with a silicone adhesive used for treating acute & chronic wounds. Biatain Silicone sizes & shapes are an extension to the Biatain Silicone product range with eight new sizes and shapes designed to conform to the different areas of the body. 

“We are very proud and pleased to have won a Red Dot Award, which is an internationally recognised quality label for great design. Biatain Silicone products are designed according to the Coloplast Design DNA, meaning that our users will experience not only a product which provides superior absorption and faster healing, but also an intuitive and non-medical looking product with a lifestyle oriented design,” said Pernille Singer, Vice President, Research & Development, Wound & Skin Care at Coloplast.

Biatain Silicone wins with patients as well

In previous product evaluations of around 300 patients with healthcare professionals (HCPs) from across the UK, HCPs rated the silicone foam dressing as ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’ to apply (94%) and remove (97%)². They were favourable towards the absorption capabilities of Biatain products which results in rapid would healing. 93% mentioned they would use the dressing in future.

Pernille Singer added, “No wound is square and healthcare professionals told us they needed a wider portfolio that was able to suit the challenges with difficult-to-dress areas of the body. With Biatain Silicone sizes & shapes, we have developed an innovative product that provides both a secure and flexible fit to the different body areas. We believe that the full Biatain Silicone portfolio will make a positive change for many people around the world living with exuding, acute & chronic wounds.” 

Geraldine Harkins, Group Sales Director at Coloplast UK said “Coloplast’s commitment is to be the best wound care company at listening and responding to our customers and their patients. With strong input from them, we have developed high quality products that are aesthetically pleasing, comfortable and easy to use. Our Biatain range of wound dressings absorb readily while keeping bacteria out. The silicone adhesive is gentle and will appeal to those requiring frequent change. We are confident that increasing numbers of patients, healthcare professionals and the NHS will respond positively to Biatain”.

¹ Red Dot Design Award 2017

^2. Markey. P., Anderson. M. Product Evaluation of a new Silicone Foam dressing for the treatment of exuding wounds. Presented at Wounds UK 2015

The accreditation is based on employee feedback and recognises organisations which respect employee engagement and wellbeing, and credit these as part of the success and growth of their company.

Over 800 businesses took part in the surveys this year, with employees being asked questions which described the leadership, wellbeing, community engagement and personal growth opportunities at their workplace.

In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph, HR director Birgitte Brink Felding said, "At Coloplast, we believe in creating life-changing products and services for people living with difficult health conditions. We know when we do a good job, it can transform a customer’s life. This award recognises the hard work and commitment Coloplast employees put into making our products and services so successful."

If you are interested in joining a company that is recognised in The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For, has been recognised for investing in people development, cares for its customers and genuinely recognises and rewards success, visit our current vacancies page.