CAPITAL MEDICAL
EQUIPMENT
Since its founding
in 1981, Chindex has invested in its operations in the marketing
and sales of capital medical instrumentation. Chindex is now the
largest independent U.S. distributor of healthcare equipment in
China.
On the basis
of exclusive distribution agreements, Chindex offers manufacturers
of top-quality capital healthcare equipment and healthcare consumable
products access to the greater Chinese marketplace through a wide
range of marketing, sales, technical, and distribution services
for their products. Through a matrix of dedicated marketing and
technical service departments, local area product and technical
specialists, and local area territory representatives, the Company
provides comprehensive marketing coverage on behalf of its clients
and suppliers on a nationwide basis. Marketing efforts are based
on annual marketing plans developed by each marketing department
within Chindex for each product, and normally include attendance
at a variety of trade shows throughout China, advertisement in leading
Chinese industrial, trade, and clinical journals, production of
Chinese language product literature for dissemination to the potential
customer base, direct mail and telemarketing campaigns, and other
product promotions.
The
capital medical instrumentation business is managed by the Medical
Department, which focuses on exporting top quality Western capital
medical equipment to the China market. These export sales are denominated
in U.S. dollars and are made to Chinas larger hospitals. The
Medical Department is organized both by clinical or therapeutic
product specialty and by region. Sales representatives are responsible
for one or two related product lines, and are assigned to one of
six regional Territory Teams. Each Team is headed by a Territory
Manager, and is made up of 6-7 sales representatives. The Teams
functions are to establish, maintain, and develop Chindexs
presence in the market on a local level within a region; tap the
existing customer base to identify business opportunities; and ensure
a high level of support to existing customers.
Product Managers
are responsible for determining and implementing the overall market
and sales strategies for a product or group of related products.
They manage a Product Team, comprised of clinical, marketing, technical,
and sales staff. The Product Manager works with the Territory Teams
to set goals for each region for their product line(s). The Product
Teams then work closely with the sales representatives in the field
to follow up with prospects, provide marketing and sales support,
and increase business activities.
Product Managers
and Territory Managers report to the Department Manager and Assistant
Department Manager, as do a small team of administrative and logistical
support staff. The Department Managers coordinate the efforts of
the Product and Territory Teams, and interface with Chindexs
other business divisions to streamline the internal coordination
process and to maximize sales opportunities nationwide. They also
work closely with luminaries and cultivate relationships with important
leaders in the healthcare field, building strategic alliances which
will positively impact business development.
The Medical
Department markets its products directly to hospitals, through hospital
administrators and the doctors who are the ultimate users of the
products. There is virtually no private practice of medicine in
China and all physicians are affiliated with hospitals or similar
institutions. The Companys marketing is addressed to all relevant
participants in the purchasing decision, including the doctors and
hospital administrators. Chindex has sold products to approximately
2000 hospitals in China, many of which have been repeat customers.
The work of
the Technical Service unit of the Company is closely tied to that
of the Medical Department. Chindex is responsible for the technical
support of virtually all the medical equipment it sells. To support
its capital healthcare equipment business, the Company owns and
operates a full-service technical service center. This service center
supports spare parts inventories and factory-trained service engineers
on a nationwide basis. It also makes use of a joint venture organization,
the Chindex Meheco Technical Service Center, which provides access
to bonded warehousing facilities.
Chindexs
Hong Kong subsidiary was opened in 1996 to address the local Hong
Kong market. In this market, Chindex offers marketing and distribution
services similar to what it provides in the mainland, but tailored
to the specific characteristics of the Hong Kong marketplace. On
behalf of and in conjunction with its clients, Chindex Hong Kong
participates in the tendering process for the sale of equipment
to public hospitals. In addition, Chindex Hong Kong also markets
separately to the private hospital system in that territory.
Since 1995,
Chindex has been utilizing loans and loan guarantees from the Export-Import
Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to help hospitals in China
finance their purchases of medical equipment from Chindex. While
these transactions are primarily used to promote purchases of the
products that Chindex exclusively distributes in China, equipment
manufactured by non-client suppliers has also been incorporated.
Some of the manufacturers who have participated in Chindex's Ex-Im
Bank-supported projects include Siemens, Marconi Medical Systems,
Spacelabs Medical, Draeger Medical, ADAC Laboratories, Alcon Laboratories,
Stryker Corporation, and PerkinElmer.
Among its many
clients, the Chindex Medical Department is proud to represent the
following manufacturers of premier healthcare instrumentation and
systems:
Acuson Corporation is a leading American manufacturer of diagnostic
ultrasound imaging devices. Chindex has been the exclusive Acuson
distributor in China since Acuson entered the China market in 1987,
and in Hong Kong since 1996. When Siemens acquired Acuson in late
2000, Chindex was retained as the exclusive distributor for the
entire color doppler ultrasound platform, including the existing
Siemens systems. Chindex believes that Acusons high-end color
doppler scanners have maintained a dominant market position in China
since the early 1990s, due in large part to Acusons constant
innovation and introduction of new technologies including those
utilized in the Sequoia® and Aspen product platforms.
Acuson is also the market leader for high-end ultrasound in Hong
Kong.
Bard
Electrophysiology is the global technology leader in the manufacture
of products which aid in the diagnosis and treatment of electrophysiology
disorders. Chindex assumed the exclusive distributorship of Bard's
Computerized Labsystems for China in 2000. The Labsystems are used
in cardiac cath labs and complement Chindex's other cardiology product
offerings.
Hologic,
Inc., is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of bone
densitometers, mammography and breast biopsy devices, and direct-to-digital
X-ray systems. Chindex became the exclusive representative for Hologic's
bone densitometry and mammography product lines in 2001.
Nova Biomedical, Inc. is a leading American manufacturer of medical
laboratory analysis equipment used in critical care as well as central
laboratory environments in the hospital. Chindex has represented
Nova Biomedical in the China market since 1986.
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is the worlds
leading manufacturer of the Vitros (formerly Ektachem, a Kodak trademark)
dry slide chemistry analyzer system developed originally by the
Eastman Kodak Company. This product line was first introduced in
China by Chindex in late 1994 and has seen growing acceptance throughout
China. The dry slide reagents used in all of these analyzers are
supplied to Chinese customers through the domestic logistics distribution
network of the Chindex Products Distribution Department.
PLC Medical Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLC Systems,
manufactures The Heart LaserÔ System, a patented and innovative technology for
Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR), a new cardiosurgical procedure
with the potential to provide patients suffering from coronary artery
disease with a third alternative to angioplasty and cardiac bypass
surgery. Chindex began to represent PLC in China in early 1998.
Steris Corporation is a leading provider of infection prevention,
contamination prevention, microbial reduction, and surgical support
systems, products, services, and technologies. Since 1996, Chindex
has marketed the Steris lines of surgical equipment in China. In
addition, Chindex markets Steris line of Amsco sterilizers
the established leader in infection control and surgical
equipment, services, and consumable products for the healthcare
and scientific markets.
In its ongoing
pursuit of new products and technologies to introduce in the China
and Hong Kong marketplaces, Chindex management, sales, and marketing
teams are constantly reviewing and evaluating new top-quality products
and technologies to complement the existing product portfolio. As
the traditional core business of the Company, the Medical Department
plays a primary role in furthering the reputation that Chindex has
built as an American healthcare company in China.
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