SEOUL: Local medical equipment manufacturers have been making good performances based on their increasing exports even though the growth slowed down last year due to the falling foreign exchange rates.
Samsung Medison is currently doing business in not only North America and Europe but also Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The company recorded 284.7 billion won in sales last year, showing a 13.6% growth from a year earlier, and 83% of the total sales came from overseas.
In addition, Samsung Medison released high-end ultrasound systems such as RS80A and WS80A last year to post a 35% growth in Europe, where global leaders like GE, Philips and Siemens have the lion’s share, while increasing its exports to Latin America by 115.8% and to Africa and the Middle East by 11.6%.
Vatech, which is the leading medical imaging system manufacturer having a market share of 80% in the domestic dental X-ray equipment segment, has raised its global market share up to 10% to rank fifth. It is currently running 95 sales agencies along with 12 foreign branches across the world, which account for approximately 70% of the total sales of the company.
Vatech is supplying a variety of 3D, eco-friendly and low-dose products to advanced markets while focusing on 2D equipment with price advantages in emerging countries. Between 2013 and 2014, Vatech’s sales jumped by 14% to 194.8 billion won. Its sales for the first quarter of this year increased 13% year on year to 46.8 billion won, too.
Ostem Implant, the No. 1 dental implant manufacturer in Korea, is increasing its presence in the Chinese market. In China, those aged 65 and over took up 9.7% of the total population two years ago and the ratio is likely to reach 20.9% in 2035.
At present, Ostem Implant is the largest implant manufacturer in China with a market share of 35%. It recorded 8.5 billion won and 9.7 billion won in sales in the first quarters of 2014 and 2015, respectively.
