TOUCHING tributes have been paid to the "remarkable" founder of one of Southend's biggest companies which he set up from scratch.

Albert Reddihough, founder of medical and industrial equipment and services company KeyMed, now Olympus KeyMed, died aged 89 following a long-term illness.

Julian Reddihough, his son who still lives in Southend, said his father helped hundreds of families throughout his life and was a "wonderful dad".

He said: “Our dad truly was a man of outstanding qualities, outstanding achievements and tremendous character, whose life literally helped, and affected hundreds of families, and thousands of lives for the good, not just in Southend, but around the world.

“We are very proud of our wonderful dad and we are so sad at his going. We will miss him so much.”

Mr Reddihough help to train now award-winning businessman Michael Woodford, and eventually appointed him as chief executive as his replacement at KeyMed, now in Stock Road, Southend, when he retired.

Mr Woodford, who was a young man when he joined KeyMed, worked his way up the ranks to eventually become president of Olympus in Japan but was later ousted after blowing the whistle on a £1.1billion accounting scandal, the largest in Japanese corporate history.

Mr Woodford said Mr Reddihough made a the serious world of business a much brighter place.

He said: “I worked with Albert since I joined KeyMed to when he retired. He was an incredible man. I kept in contact with him. He had such a cheeky mischievous smile and so much energy.

“He did so much for me and my family and I learnt so much from him, people called me his prodigy. His ethos, his work ethic, the way he dramatised the work place. He was like a second father to me. He was a remarkable man."

Mr Woodford said he had been inspired and learned a lot from Mr Reddihough.

He added: “He also understood the importance of getting the little things right, the detail and that’s what he did with KeyMed. That obsessive attention to detail which I learnt from him.”

Ron Woodley, leader of Southend Council, had nothing but praise for what Mr Reddihough achieved in Southend.

He said: “As a local person that developed that business, it’s gone from strength to strength. It’s now a major employer in the town and we have a lot to thank him for.”

Mr Reddihough died on Easter Monday at his home in Surrey, where he moved after his retirement.

His funeral service will be at at Surrey and Sussex Crematorium, Crawley on Wednesday April 13 at 11.15 am.