HOSPITALAR 2008 sets a new record in business deals



HOSPITALAR 2008, held from June 10th to 13th in São Paulo (Brazil), has closed with a result of R$ 4.4 billion (US$ 2.7 billion) in sales and orders, around 78,000 professional visits, from 70 countries, and the expectation of a 20% growth for the next year.

The 15th edition of the International Fair of Products, Equipment, Services and Technology for Hospitals, Laboratories, Pharmacies, Health Clinics and Medical Offices has convened 1,114 exhibiting companies, from 33 countries. That was the largest edition of the fair, which presented, in 75,000 square meters of exhibition, the most important worldwide launches in terms of products, equipment and services for hospitals, health clinics and medical offices.

Waleska Santos, M.D., founder and president of the fair, highlighted that this edition’s success was determined by a group of positive facts: the size of the fair has grown in 20%; there was a larger international participation (440 foreign companies); the number of visits has grown almost 3% and the public was clearly more qualified. The fact that the healthcare supplying sector has assumed a strategic position, being inserted into the industrial policy of the federal government, has also influenced this result. “In this edition, we have convened the most important players of healthcare’s productive chain, from reference hospitals to the most diversified industrial suppliers, including medical doctors, nurses, laboratories, distributors and sector leaders. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was with us in person, during the opening ceremony of the fair, and has assured that there will be no lack in support for healthcare expansion”. The president of the fair has also announced an increase of 20% for Hospitalar 2009, aiming to accommodate new exhibitors and to offer more exhibition area for the current participating companies.

Business deals have grown
The fair is traditionally responsible for 25% of the annual sales turnover of the medical-hospital industry. “The companies program their launches for this date and the buyers program their purchases for the period of HOSPITALAR or for right after the fair”, highlights Dr. Waleska Santos. A survey carried out with the exhibitors indicates that the business deals made and stimulated during the fair sum up to R$ 4.4 billion, about 10% more than the 2007 edition.

An example of a good sales performance was the International Business Roundtable, an event carried out during the fair by the Brazilian Association of the Medical-Dental Industry (ABIMO) in partnership with APEX Brasil. According to ABIMO’s partial data, the roundtable has generated R$ 7.6 million in sales this year, surpassing the initial estimative in 15%. 540 business meetings were held between Brazilian companies and buyers from 17 countries.

Satisfied exhibitors
The exhibitors of the fair have reported equally positive results. The entrepreneur Franco Pallamolla, president of Lifemed, producer of a large line of medical-hospital products, estimates a 15% increase in business deals in this fair. As for José Henrique Camargo, sales director of Baumer, company specialized in solutions for sterilizing and orthopedics, the highlight was the increase of 30% in the number of international visitors. “It has attracted our attention the fact that the clients came very determined and purchase-oriented, with very specific goals and negotiation power”, he said.

Fanem, neonatology equipment supplier, received around 1,100 clients in their exhibition booth, closing deals of approximately US$ 2.5 million. The company currently exports for over 90 countries.

Bionexo, the largest hospitals-oriented e-commerce community of Latin America, used the fair to promote an approach between hospitals from Brazil, Argentina and Spain. “The knowledge of the Brazilian experience accelerates the platform implementation in these countries”, emphasizes Maurício De Lazzari Barbosa, President of Bionexo Brasil.