DLS Medical

What DLS Medical does

DLS Medical Ltd is a privately held UK medical device manufacturer and supplier of sterile disposable plastic products, founded in 1973 (previously known as Direct Leisure Supplies Ltd) and headquartered in Peterborough with manufacturing operations across three sites in the East Midlands, including Grantham. The company designs, engineers, and produces plastic hollowware (bowls, trays, kidney dishes, gallipots, jugs) alongside assembled procedure packs covering general surgery, minor surgery, cosmetic surgery, ophthalmology, and patient care, plus single-use instruments and sterile supplementary consumables. Core technical capabilities include plastic injection moulding with in-house precision tool manufacturing, Class 7 clean room assembly and packing, and in-house ethylene oxide (ETO) sterilisation, supported by third-party 3D rapid prototyping, UV weather testing, and product strength testing facilities.

The business operates a vertically integrated contract-manufacturing model in which design, tooling, moulding, assembly, sterilisation, and distribution are consolidated under one roof, selling bespoke procedure packs and catalogue products to NHS hospitals and healthcare trusts, private healthcare providers (including cosmetic surgery clinics), GP surgeries, and outpatient clinics. Revenue is generated through one-time product sales of sterile and non-sterile medical components, bespoke product design and manufacturing services, and bulk commodity supplies, with quote-based unit pricing, volume discounts, KANBAN/call-off stock management, and an e-commerce-enabled catalogue website. Distribution combines the company's own UK transport fleet with specialist distribution partners, with free bulk carriage to England, Wales, and Scotland. The company holds ISO 13485:2016 (valid 2026), UKCA (valid 2028), and MDD 93/42/EEC certifications covering sterile procedure packs, supplementary packs, and single-use instruments across multiple clinical specialties.

Name

DLS Medical

Legal name

DLS Medical Ltd

Website

https://dlsmedical.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DLS Medical is a UK-based medical device manufacturer (founded 1973) producing sterile disposable plastic hollowware, procedure packs, and single-use instruments for NHS hospitals, private healthcare providers, GP surgeries, and outpatient clinics across three East Midlands sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Device Manufacturing

NAICS

Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113), Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112), Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (33911)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047), Plastics Products, Nec (3089)

akta.pro primary industry

Single-Use Medical Disposables & Procedure Kits (Drapes, Tubing, Catheters, Syringes, Custom Packs) (HLAHANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medical & Life Sciences Injection Molding (Devices, Diagnostics, Cleanroom) (IMANAFAC)

Keywords

• Medical device manufacturing
• Sterile procedure packs
• Plastic hollowware sterile
• Single-use instruments
• ETO sterilisation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Peterborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Product Sales: Sale of sterile and non-sterile plastic medical components including hollowware, procedure packs, instruments, and consumables
2. Bespoke Product Design and Manufacturing: Custom product design and manufacturing services for individual customer needs, including one-off bespoke products and custom tooling
3. Bulk Commodity Supplies: Bulk supply of standard commodity medical items alongside bespoke products

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DLS Medical manufactures and supplies a wide range of single-use disposable plastic medical devices — including sterile plastic hollowware, procedure packs, single-use instruments, sterile supplementaries, bowls sets, minor surgery packs and cosmetic surgery packs — produced in a Class 7 cleanroom and sterilised in-house via ETO (ethylene oxide). The company also offers bespoke product design, in-house tooling, contract manufacturing and own-branding for UK and international healthcare customers.

Product overview

DLS Medical operates as a medical device manufacturer offering a portfolio of disposable medical plastic products and sterile procedure packs. The core portfolio consists of plastic holloware (sterile and non-sterile polypropylene bowls, trays, kidney dishes, gallipots and jugs), supplemented by assembled procedure packs (procedure packs, minor surgery packs, cosmetic surgery packs, ophthalmic packs), single-use instruments, sterile supplementaries, patient care products (single-patient-use wash bowls, hygiene packs), and consumables. Products are manufactured in-house at UK facilities with clean room packing and in-house ethylene oxide (ETO) sterilisation. The company also offers bespoke product design and development services alongside bulk commodity supplies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DLS Group: Parent group encompassing DLS Medical and DLS Plastics operations.

Products and services

• Sterile Plastic Holloware Single-use ETO-sterilised disposable plastic hollowware items such as kidney dishes, bowls, gallipots, receivers and trays used in operating theatres, wards and procedure rooms by NHS hospitals, private hospitals, GP surgeries and clinics.
• Non-Sterile Plastic Holloware Single-use non-sterile disposable plastic hollowware (kidney dishes, bowls, gallipots, receivers, trays) for healthcare settings that do not require pre-sterilised devices, including hospital support areas and certain clinical environments.
• Procedure Packs Pre-assembled sterile procedure packs combining hollowware, instruments and consumables into convenient single-use kits for specific operations and minor procedures, supplied to NHS trusts, private hospitals, GP surgeries and clinics.
• Bowl Sets Pre-packed sterile sets of plastic bowls bundled for use in operating theatres, wards and procedure rooms, supplied to NHS and private healthcare customers.
• Minor Surgery Packs Pre-assembled sterile packs designed for minor surgical procedures carried out in GP surgeries, minor injury units and outpatient clinics, supplied to NHS primary care and private providers.
• Cosmetic Surgery Packs Sterile packs of disposable devices designed or assembled for cosmetic surgery procedures, supplied to private cosmetic surgery clinics, with bespoke and own-brand options.
• Instruments Single-use sterile and non-sterile disposable instruments such as forceps, scissors and similar devices for clinical and surgical use, supplied to hospitals, clinics and GP surgeries.
• Sterile Supplementaries Sterile supplementary items used alongside procedure packs in operating theatres and clinical environments, supplied as standalone devices or to complement procedure packs.
• Patient Care products Disposable single-use plastic products used for general patient care on wards and in clinical settings, supplied to NHS and private healthcare providers.
• Consumables General medical consumables sold alongside sterile devices and procedure packs to NHS hospitals, private healthcare providers, GP surgeries and clinics.
• Ophthalmic Packs Pre-assembled sterile procedure packs for ophthalmic (eye) procedures, supplied to NHS ophthalmology departments, private eye clinics and ophthalmic surgeons.
• Bespoke Product Design and Manufacturing Bespoke design, prototyping, tooling and contract manufacturing service for plastic medical devices, enabling customers (including NHS procurement partners, private clinics and international distributors) to develop custom sterile devices, own-branded packs or full private-label ranges.
• Contract Manufacturing and Own-Branding Contract manufacturing and own-branding service that produces sterile plastic medical devices and procedure packs under customer brands, leveraging DLS Medical's in-house moulding, cleanroom packing and ETO sterilisation capacity.
• ETO Sterilisation Services In-house ethylene oxide (ETO) sterilisation service supporting both DLS Medical's own sterile device range and contract sterilisation work for customer products requiring validated sterilisation.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Specialist Distribution CompaniescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution managed in collaboration with a number of specialist distribution companies and DLS's own transport where appropriate. This policy ensures that delivery of product is not confined to a routine logistics schedule based upon geographical location.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cardinal Health: US-headquartered global medical product manufacturer and distributor serving hospitals and healthcare systems. Comparable to DLS across the disposable medical supplies and procedure pack categories, though with a vastly broader portfolio and global reach.
• B. Braun: German-headquartered global medical device and pharmaceutical company with significant UK hospital supply operations. Comparable to DLS through overlapping sterile consumables, surgical instruments, and procedure pack offerings, though much larger and more diversified.
• Mölnlycke Health Care: Swedish-headquartered global leader in single-use surgical and wound care products including procedure packs and drapes. Comparable to DLS as it directly competes in sterile procedure pack categories supplied to UK hospitals, but at substantially larger scale.
• Medline Industries: One of the largest global manufacturers and distributors of medical supplies and procedure packs. Comparable to DLS as it competes across many of the same disposable product categories, though at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Smith+Nephew: UK-headquartered global medical technology company operating across wound care, orthopaedics, and sports medicine. Comparable to DLS through overlap in single-use surgical consumables and UK manufacturing base, though with a much broader device portfolio.

Regional players

• Multigate Medical Products: Australia-based manufacturer of single-use medical procedure packs and sterile consumables serving hospital systems. Comparable to DLS in product mix (custom procedure packs, sterile kit assembly) but operates primarily in Asia-Pacific rather than the UK.

Others

• Centenial Surgical Suture: Smaller UK/EU surgical suture and wound closure supplier with overlap to DLS's surgical consumables portfolio. Comparable as an adjacent participant in the NHS single-use surgical supply chain, though focused on a narrower product category.

Direct peers

• Robinson Healthcare: UK-based manufacturer of single-use medical consumables including sterile procedure packs and surgical instruments. Comparable to DLS as a direct domestic competitor with overlapping NHS customer base and similar mid-sized manufacturer profile.
• Pennine Healthcare: UK-based manufacturer of sterile single-use medical devices and custom procedure packs serving the NHS and private healthcare providers. Highly comparable to DLS in product mix (procedure packs, surgical instruments, bespoke design), UK customer base, and similar mid-market scale.
• Andra Medical: UK-based supplier of single-use medical devices and procedure packs with a focus on NHS supply. Closely comparable to DLS in target customers, product categories, and UK-only geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/y6uRCtm0YIU
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Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DLS Medical