"I decided to risk starting a company, manufacturing products for health service laboratories. At that time, the main issue concerning myself was the decision I had just made to leave a secure job in the Pathology Department of Aintree and Fazakerley Hospital, Liverpool to set up a new, exciting but very risky business venture, manufacturing antibiotic susceptibility test discs.

The early years were all about disc manufacturing fuelled by the explosion of new antibiotics coming onto the market with different mechanisms of action. Gradually though we moved into other product areas. We have always had a major commitment to research and product development and in 1980 we pioneered a succession of products for antibiotic breakpoint susceptibility testing using the inherent benefits of multipoint technology, the most successful being MAST^® ADATAB^®. To assist exchange of information on multipoint technology issues we financially supported the formation and early running of an independent scientific society called The British Society for Multipoint Technology (BSMT). Still functioning today as the broader based British Society for Microbial Technology.Involvement in multipoint technology led us into Instrumentation with the launch in 1983 of the original MASTASCAN^® system followed by a series of improved models. Provision of microtitre plates filled with various agar media for use on was possible once we had set up a completely new manufacturing suite.

Quite rightly the Mast name is synonymous with antibiotic susceptibility testing, but as you can see the Mast Group is now much more than that. Seriously, I’m sure one of the things I’ve done right is to select the most appropriate teams to provide the service I know our customers deserve. I’m confident they will continue to deliver this service.”