Swann-Morton Ltd.

Founded in 1932 by Walter Swann, J. Albert Morton and Doris Fairweather, Swann-Morton is still run following these four guiding socialist principles:
• Claims of individuals producing in an industry came first, before anything else, and must always remain first. They are the human beings on which everything is built.
• If the industry cannot pay the rightful reward of labour (while they are producing for profit for the owners) then a new policy is required on the part of the management to make it do so.
• If the management can’t do the job, then a new management is required, as well as a new policy.
• Individuals in any industry have a perfect right to demand and see that this objective is reached, because they produce the goods.
Walter Swann wanted to set up his own company because he was a ‘thorough-going revolutionary Socialist’ and an active Trade Union member, and had effectively been black-listed by many companies in Sheffield. As well as being able to enact his four guiding principles, Swann-Morton was reportedly the first to introduce a 40 hour working week, and paid bonuses to their workers. They also owned their own farm and orchard in Wisbech, which allowed them to distribute fresh fruit to their workers.

In 1964 the company created a trust, which administers the company, of which a 50% share is held by the employees and the remaining 50% is in a charitable holding.
Originally manufacturing safety razor blades, Swann-Morton is now known for making surgical blades. At the Millennium it was using 600 tonnes of steel to make 1.5 million surgical and craft blades per day.