A former miner turned inventor who set up a business to sell dissolvable products he created has cracked one of the world’s biggest markets.
Brian McCormack, founder of Fife-based McCormack Innovation, is celebrating after his main distributor launched a suite of his products in the US.
Conserving Beauty, the Melbourne-based company which has Elle Macpherson on the board of directors, earlier gave the products a gala unveiling at Space NK's flagship store in London.
Now the New York-based company Fig 1 Beauty has taken the dissolving wipes and dissolving face masks into the US. Fig 1 supplies US giant CVS Health, the country’s biggest pharmacist with nearly 10,000 stores.
Mr McCormack, who claims to have invented the world's first soluble wipe, said: "It’s huge. Conserving Beauty based in Australia and who are my main manufacturer and distributor of my dissolving wipes have launched into the USA."
McCormack Innovation has also worked alongside strategic partners including the University of Dundee to develop medical dressings that will dissolve in seconds when immersed in water, and has seen its soluble bandages praised by experts.
The pioneering Scottish company's link with Salts Healthcare of Birmingham, one of the oldest family-run healthcare firms in the UK, has also led to the creation of the Salts FlushAway Wipe, an adhesive remover wipe, which dissolves in water in two minutes, for people who are living with stoma.
He added: "It’s been seven years of self-funded hard work but first winning the contract to supply leading medical healthcare company Salts Healthcare Birmingham with a medical wipe then move onto distribution into the USA with friendly cosmetics products was the ultimate."
Starting his inventing aged 60, Mr McCormack set up near his Kirkcaldy home after twice blasting off the microwave door in his kitchen in early tests, to form McCormack Innovation and to forward his ideas.
Seven years down the line he is now giving talks to packed rooms of students including at Fife College.
Mr McCormack, also said: "What I always like to do with this story is inspire young Scots and let them know, yes your dreams can come true, some of the best innovation in the world has come out of Scotland," he said.
He added that the success "gives me and my wife a good secure retirement and it gives my family security".
Read more on this story in tomorrow's print edition.
Edinburgh investment giant abrdn to slash 500 jobs
A Scottish financial services heavyweight is to cut around 500 jobs as it bids to restore its flagging investment business to an "acceptable level of profitability".
The cuts would amount to a 10% reduction in the Edinburgh-based firm’s headcount and are aimed at saving costs by £150 million a year. The move comes as abrdn continues to stem the tide of outflows from its investment funds, which have dogged the company since the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017.
Development gets go-ahead for Glasgow city centre
Plans for a "first of its kind" development in the heart of Glasgow’s city centre have been given the go-ahead.
A seven-floor property containing "luxury serviced apartments" has been granted planning permission for a currently derelict site on West Regent Street. The building, which will include a ground-floor restaurant, gymnasium, lounge area and rooftop terrace bar, will be made up of 70 "serviced apartments" - which will be available for short and long-term stays.
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