Jenx celebrates 40 years of changing children’s lives with postural support products
Family-run children’s postural support products manufacturer, Jenx, is celebrating a special milestone – 40 years of helping children with special needs live a better life and a brighter future.
The Sheffield-based business was founded by husband-and-wife team, Clive and Catherine Jenkins, in the midst of the recession in the early 1980s. Clive had just graduated in engineering from Sheffield University and Catherine was working as a paediatric physiotherapist in schools for children with special needs across Sheffield.
At the time, Catherine was working with a child who was struggling to stand and could not find any suitable standing frames for him.
Catherine explained to Clive what the young man needed, and Clive went away and created what was to become Jenx’s first standing frame, with a variant of this original product still in production today. To date, thousands of Prone Standers have been manufactured and delivered globally.
Over the years, the company has gone from strength-to-strength and currently boasts a product portfolio that spans in excess of 20 seating, standing, sleeping and therapy products, as well as a 150-strong workforce overseen by Directors, Daniel Limb, and Holly Jenkins (Clive and Catherine’s daughter).
“We are incredibly proud to have celebrated our 40th anniversary. We’ve continuously evolved by developing new products that are more innovative than the last, and all in response to clinical and end user feedback,” explains Holly.
“At the same time, we’ve continued to review and refine our processes, which has enabled us to also lead the way in areas, such as our five-day despatch promise, offered via the UK distribution division of the business, Jiraffe.
“It is grounded in our values that we don’t only provide the best possible products and customer service, but that we can get our products out to those who urgently need them as soon as we possibly can.”
The milestone has been marked with a series of ‘celebrations’, including an evening with co-founders, Clive and Catherine, for Jenx’s global network of distribution partners.
The celebration was also marked with Jenx Fest, an employee celebration event, and the creation of a dedicated series of 40 blog stories on the company website. These stories include highlights from customers and partnerships and provide a hub of knowledge and support for the many children and families Jenx works with.
Although Clive and Catherine officially took a step back from the day-to-day running of the business back in 2021, they are both still involved with the company as active Board members.
“Jenx products are not just a piece of furniture. They aren’t just a safe place to put a child – they’re a therapeutic device. Our products are made in such a way that they are used to help the child develop their postural skills.
“This will, in turn, help them in school, in their relationships with people, and therefore in their cognitive development, because they don’t have to concentrate on how uncomfortable or unstable they are,” explains Catherine.
Clive adds: “Our product design is very much around giving the child opportunities and skills that nature hasn’t given them naturally. The children and their needs are essential to Jenx. But I also see our products as tools that enable therapists to treat and work easier with children. We’ve always aimed to make products that will last.”
Holly concludes: “We will always stay true to our vision of helping as many children and families as possible. Tens of thousands of children and families have benefitted from what we do and it is their journeys that are the real success story here. We’re looking forward to the next 40 years and changing the lives of another generation of children.”
