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Hospital furniture on the mend

Sayeda Akter
Locally made hospital furniture is gradually getting on well in market, now meeting around 30-35 percent of the total demand of the mushrooming hospitals and clinics across the country.
Industry people said manufacturers arc now producing more than 50 types of hospital furniture ranging from waiting room chairs to mechanical beds, and saline stands to ICU (intensive care unit) beds.
The demand for local products is growing at 10 percent a year, they said.
There are around 20 small, medium and large furniture manufacturers in the market with Otobi the leader.
Now the market of locally produced hospital furniture is worth around Tk 40-Tk 50 crore, industry people said yesterday at the inauguration of a three-day international medical equipment and healthcare services exposition styled Medexpo-2009 at Dhaka Sheraton hotel.
A total of 42 companies, mainly hospital furniture makers and distributors of medical and rehabilita-
tion equipments, and health care providers from Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany and Japan are participating in the fair.
Mohammad Ismail Hossain, manager of hospital furniture unit of Otobi, said the market is developing gradually at 10-15 percent rate a year.
"Sales of local hospital furniture are growing gradually on the back of increasing number of new hospitals and clinics across the country. The main reasons behind the rise in sales are quality and affordable price," he said.
Otobi started making hospital furniture in 1992.
Hossain said hospitals now can buy furniture from the local makers at competitive prices, as imports cost them much and add other risk
expenses.
"Buyers get after-sales services for at least three years in case of local furniture, while imported products can hardly provide such services," he added.
Otobi’s medical furniture includes various types of bed, trolley, cot, bowl stand, kick-bucket,
wheel chair, over-bed table, saline stand, isolation screen, bedside locker, bedside cabinet, medicine cupboard and revolving stool.
The company sold hospital furniture worth Tk 15 crore in 2008, and its major clients are government hospitals and private clinics, said Hossain.
However, he said, high-end hospitals and clinics still prefer imported furniture, as a missive awareness of the quality of local furniture is yet to develop.
Otobi exports hospital furniture to different states of India, and plans to enter the Middle East.
Raqib Uddin Ahmed, marketing executive of Navana Furniture, said their sales are satisfactory across the year.
"Some hospitals and clinics established in recent years cannot afford imported furniture, and they are our major clients. Also, the quality and look of our furniture are better than Indian and Chinese products," he said.
Navana makes bed, trolley, isolation screen, cart, stretcher, locker, cabinet, medicine cupboard, saline
stand, waiting room chair and cot, and sold products worth around Tk 8 crore in 2008.
Apart from brands like Otobi and Navana, medium-scale manufacturers have joined the race to meet the growing demand for hospital and surgical equipments.
Ramjan Ali, manager of Hayat Medical Equipments Ltd, said they make products mainly for different pathological centres and low-cost clinics.
He said his company produces waiting room chairs, trolley, locker, beds and stools.
However, industry people have to struggle with high prices of necessary raw materials.
"The main problem of the industry is higher prices of raw materials -- steel and several other necessary' parts. Another big problem is unavailability of accessories like high-quality wheels and plastic covers in the local market," said Ali.
"If the government can provide us with raw materials at reasonable prices, we will be able to beat the Chinese products," he added. sayeda@thedailystar.net