A MEDICAL devices company in Chineham has done itself proud by getting on to a list of the top 50 workplaces.

Guidant Limited came 28th in last week's Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces UK.

The company manufactures and sells medical gadgets such as pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, stents - small devices for repairing arteries - and balloons that are inserted into veins to keep them open.

The products are used for managing cardiac diseases.

Guidant's UK headquarters are at Chineham business Park.

Tim Berkley, the company's UK human resources manager, said: "Getting on to the list is a statement of our cultural organisation.

"We are recognised by our customers, who are physicians and hospitals, as being a good company to do business with.

"We are strongly ethical and save people's lives every day through our products.

"We regularly survey employees about how they feel about the company, and we work with them to improve specific areas."

Al Gorsett, Guidant's vice-president, said: "Recognition like this draws attention to the importance that culture has to our business.

"For some time our customers have recognised this difference when they work with us and our people have a strong reputation in the market we work in.

"We are proud to be recognised more widely with this award."