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Thursday, September 8, 2011

US medical devices-maker Welch Allyn plans big India expansion

Welch Allyn, manufacturer of diagnostic products and medical devices, plans to ramp up its presence in India.

The US-based company has a range of products such as stethoscope, ophthalmoscope, BP monitors, cardio-pulmonary and thermometry devices.

Though the company's products have been distributed in India for the last 30 years, its business from India is less than $3 million.

“Welch Allyn has drawn up an “aggressive” five-year strategy to focus on the Indian market, as we target revenues of $5 million by 2015,” says Mr Con Hickey, Senior V-P, Japan, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Marketing partner

Welch Allyn has chosen Garuda Med Equipments as its exclusive marketing and distribution partner in India.
Garuda is in the process of setting up 40 regional dealers across the country; each State will have at least one service point. The aim is to focus on customers in primary healthcare centres and B&C class cities and rural markets.

ECG clubs

Garuda Med Equipments will also work with doctors in India to set up ‘ECG clubs', which will promote Welch Allyn's PC-based ECG device. “The device connects to a computer and doctors in any part of the world can record the patient's ECG images and sent them to a cardiologist via the Internet. This is especially useful for patients in small towns who don't have to travel to the city to get his reports examined by the cardiologist,” said Mr L. Muthukrishnan, Director, Garuda Med Equipments.

In 2009, Welch Allyn had entered into a tie-up with BPL Healthcare. This collaboration is working on formulating a concept for e-clinics, said Mr Francis Sim, Director, Regional Sales, Welch Allyn.
The world-wide revenues of Welch Allyn, a privately-held family business, is around $700 million.