Milivoje Tomašević, owner of "Medical System" - Serbia saved over 2.5m EUR by purchasing our incubators and sterilizers

By purchasing incubators and sterilizers produced by Belgrade-based company "Medical System", Republic of Serbia saved over 2.5m EUR because these instruments are much cheaper than the imported products of the same quality.

Milivoje Tomašević, the owner of "Medical System", the only company that produces steam sterilizers and neonatal incubators in East Europe, told "eKapija" that the price of their incubators was about 7,000 EUR, while such such medical equipment in foreign countries cost over 12,000 EUR.

- The price of domestic sterilizer is about 50,000 EUR, while imported sterilizers of the same quality and capacities cost over 100,000 EUR – he says.

"Medical System" exports its products to the region and to the markets of European Union and Russia, and its products are registered in Munich, Moscow and Ljubljana.

Total of 26 engineers of various specialties worked on the prototype of the first incubator in 1997. That product is today used in all maternity wards in Serbia, in medical institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Russia, and one sterilizer has even been sold to Switzerland.

That was the reason why "Medical System" had won the "Best Export Product of Serbia in 2006" award from SIEPA.

"Medical System" manufactures products according to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 standards and CE marking, and it uses potentials and collaborators in Serbia in its production. Semi-finished products of domestic origin and work represent about 85% of the price. This manufacturer also owns a laboratory that is authorized for quality checks and certification of incubators and sterilizers.

- So far, we have sold 65 sterilizers and 300 incubators in Serbia, we have exported over 200,000 EUR worth of products to Russia, while the export to Switzerland has reached the value of 48,000 EUR. We have great chances for development and the possibility of export of goods, but our biggest problem is the fact that we don't have capital funds in order to appear in various markets in the right way - says Mr. Tomašević.

In search for strategic partner

The plan of company "Medical System" is to find strategic partner who will help them take better position in local market and start more intensive conquering of local and foreign markets.

- We are interested in all forms of partnership: investments in production, additional capitalization, purchase of certain share of capital or the whole company. The market potentials are big - says Mr. Tomašević and points out that the medical institutions in Serbia urgently need large number of sterilizers and incubators worth between 5 and 10m EUR because many of the instruments in use are older than 15, even 20.

- Demand will be even higher in the next few years because new clinical centers are being built in Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad and Kragujevac. Surrounding countries need over 200 sterilizers and more than 500 incubators, while Russia, Ukraine and Belarus require over 100m EUR worth of that equipment – says Tomašević.

According to him, the risk involved in the investments in this field is minimal because the market exists, but the know-how, experience and tradition of the Belgrade-based manufacturer are also important.

"Medical System" can produce about 100 sterilizers and between 300 and 400 incubators per year, and it is also able to organize production of several other medical instruments.

- Our aim is to cover as much as possible all the medical fields we are specialized for, primarily, neonatology and sterilization. Next year we plan to launch the neonatal incubator that, we can proudly say, is the best in the world because it will have options that none incubator has ever had – says Mr. Tomašević.

According to Tomašević, it will be a shame if the realization of this development project is discontinued because it is rare that a Serbian manufacturer has the assortment of products in accordance with European standards and of the same quality as anywhere in the world, and yet has the possibility of export to the CEFTA countries, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Various companies express interest in investments in "Medical System", and Mr. Tomašević points out that the global financial crisis prevented them from signing contracts for much larger businesses in both Europe and Russia.