BCB International has been innovating and creating lifesaving products since 1854, when Dr Brown developed a cough medicine that was distributed to the British troops in the Crimean War, suffering in the trenches.
BCB International is a family-owned business and in 1949 Dr Browns Cough Bottle, or BCB Ltd was bought by Deryck Howell. In 1979, Andrew Howell developed the company further and set up BCB International which focused on designing and manufacturing survival equipment.
The company’s driving force, CANEI: Continuous and Never-Ending Innovation, sparked an array of unique survival products including shark repellent, first aid kits, ballistic protective underwear, dubbed ‘Blast Boxers’, camouflage cream and floating body armour.
FireDragon was created in 2015 by Andrew Howell to replace the toxic Hexamine blocks after two soldiers passed away from the fumes. FireDragon is a toxin free, eco-friendly, gel fuel which was taken on by the UK MOD in 2016 and is now used as their primary fuel source in the field.
The newest product in the range, the Patrol Ration Cooking system is an ultralight weight (20grams) cooker which will use varying sizes of the FireDragon, that are now available from 9 gram to 14 to the 28-gram fuel blocks.
The new cooking system is bespoke to the individuals requirements as needed by the user. Each set can include all non-food items such as water purification tablets, spork, waste bag, cooking handle, and toothpicks etc.
Due to the non-toxicity of FireDragon, the fuel can be packed within the ration kit, alongside food with no harmful effects.
As well as being eco-friendly and toxin free, FireDragon burns cleanly and can light even when wet to ensure it can be used in even the most extreme of conditions.
This year, BCB International’s primary focus shifted to develop lifesaving equipment in the battle against the Coronavirus, including an anti-bacterial and anti-viral hand sanitiser, among other protective equipment. Dr Browne’s has come out of retirement and is now the leading product in their Anti-COVID range as 80% proof hand sanitiser. BCB has been working 24/7 since March 2020, working closely with the NHS, police and, with governments around the world, suppling them with their essential PPE needs as well as donating PPE supplies around the world.
Today, BCB International supplies to mainly government departments (including the MoD, police and MoJ) and blue-chip companies in the defence and marine markets in 52 countries worldwide, with 40% exports. BCB’s retail and humanitarian sectors also continue to grow, building relationships directly with consumers and countries who need to survive in the extremes and when affected by natural disasters.
BCB International will be exhibiting a range of their products at DSEI, including but not limited to; camouflage nets, Blast Boxers, Floating Armour Torso System (otherwise known as FATS) and the boat stopping system. FireDragon demonstrations and samples of our Hand Sanitiser can be found by visiting the BCB International stand H2-600.
Source: BCB International news release
