is Conquering the World

Medical Equipment Made by Czech Companies Is Conquering the World

One of the fastest growing export commodities in the Czech Republic is the export of a wide spectrum of medical supplies and devices for equipping hospitals. The presentation of Czech resulting in the products‘ reliability. producers abroad owes much to the fact that the Czech Republic A combination of all these criteria is a country with a strong healthcare system covering all the can be found, for instance, in medical instruments and traumatological fields of modern medicine. implants, rehabilitation and transport On the territory of the Czech Republic, distribution systems, stabilisers, cobalt radiators, anaesthesiologihealthcare offers a wide range of outpatient cal equipment, and adjustable hospital beds. facilities, hospitals, and medical institutions The value of the export of medical equipment abroad is estimated under the patronage of not just the state, at 25 billion crowns (approximately USD 1.3 bil.). The majority but various private entities as well. Czech of this is equipment for operating theatres and inpatient wards. companies rank among the best in the field of The world leader in this segment is the Linet Group, supplier of the manufacture and supply of medical ma- medical and nursing beds, furniture, anti-pressure-sore mattresses terials, devices, and equipment for hospitals. and more. The company has expanded its range of products with Every year, their products travel to a number birthing, gynaecological, and dialysis chairs. of countries worldwide. Outside of European Of course, Linet is not the only Czech company to find success Union countries, they find their way to the on foreign markets. The majority of such companies believe Russian Federation, the Commonwealth strongly in running their own development, indicating that of Independent States, territories in south- this is the way to beating the competition. eastern Asia, the USA, and recently also to Africa, among others. Czech companies are EMPHASIS ON QUALITY finding an increasingly solid foothold by Many successful Czech exporters are members of the Association supplying products and devices with added of Producers and Suppliers of Medical Devices (AVDZP). The Asvalue, meaning with a high contribution sociation unites over 100 leading Czech companies from the field from research, electronics, and information that achieve a turnover of approximately 17 billion crowns a year. technologies. Their share of export constitutes 35 %. Members of the AssociCzech exporters focusing on medical supplies ation cooperate with a number of research departments of uniof all kinds have experienced rapid growth versities, such as the Czech Technical University in Prague, Brno in the last ten years. They are successful in University of Technology, Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín, and acquiring lucrative contracts for providing Masaryk University in Brno. This serves as further evidence of not just individual goods and services, but the attention Czech producers pay to the quality, competitiveness, for equipping entire hospitals, health centres and technical advancement of their medical equipment. and healthcare chains, including the con- Some of the unique products they export abroad are, among struction of such facilities. Examples of these others, degradable stents for the digestive tract, a wide range of can be found in Ghana, Gabon, Laos, Algeria, steam, hot-air and chemical sterilisers, lab dryers, and incubators. Trinidad and Tobago, Papua-New Guinea, The companies are not only limited to those, however, as they also Columbia, and even Russia and Kazakhstan. supply a variety of physical therapy equipment, e.g. electrotheraFor instance, they had a hand in building py devices, sonography devices, lasers and devices for lymphatic three hospitals in Gabon and ten health cen- drainage therapy. They also export complex systems for biological tres in Ghana alone. protection, logistics, and decontamination systems and equipment ALL-ROUND EQUIPMENT The majority of Czech manufacturers of medical equipment export A number of Czech suppliers of medical most of their core production. This indicates that they are succeeding equipment have entrenched themselves in on the world market. Many Czech companies are following suit, highly competitive foreign markets in recent managing to develop and continuously successfully export unique years. These companies put emphasis prima- products and patented goods worldwide. rily on three key factors: Research, leading to equipment, medicinal and technical gas for urgent and long-term care medicine. reaching high technical parameters; Design, Source: Association of Producers and Suppliers aiding in selling the product; and Quality, of Medical Devices (AVDZP), Businessinfo.cz

ERILENS s.r.o.

Papírenská 114/5 160 00 Prague 6 CZECH REPUBLIC

Jana Dupalová

Export Manager e-mail: jdupalova@erilens.cz phone: +420 777 336 912

ERILENS s.r.o. Company has been assisting people with reduced mobility to integrate into normal life since 1992. We deal with the production of mobility aids such as forearm crutches, underarm crutches, walking sticks and other medical equipment. In our products, we emphasise quality, functional properties and design. Therefore, our experienced development and production team follows the current trends and the needs of our customers. Our company is the only producer of mobility aids in the Czech Republic and is currently one of the biggest distributors on the domestic market. A significant percentage of our sales also comes from export.

Mobility aids:

• forearm crutches • underarm crutches • child crutches • walking sticks • accessories (anti-skid extensions, overshoes, loops, holders...)

Other medical equipment:

• finger splints • irrigators • anti-decubitus pads