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LINET strengthens position on Spanish market
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LINET, one of the world's leading manufacturers of healthcare equipment, has strengthened its brand's position in Southern Europe, acquiring an enormous contract there in the process. It will supply 1 300 adjustable beds for nearly EUR 1.6 million to the urban area of Spain's capital, Madrid. The Spanish company Desan Flex, in which LINET has a 25 % share, has been representing the Czech manufacturer on the Iberian Peninsula and the neighbouring islands for seven years now. At the end of last year the company changed its name to Desan Flex-LINET, expressing its tighter connection with the Czech corporation whose products it sells throughout Spain.
"Spain is one of our most dynamic markets in Europe. Thanks to this strategic alliance we have placed more than 25 thousand beds in local hospitals and seniors' homes, and we are counting on further growth," said Zbyněk Frolík, LINET's managing director. His words are backed up by this current contract, with 1 300 Altura beds worth EUR 1.6 million set to travel to seniors' homes in the autonomous community of Madrid. This contract is one of the biggest since 2004, when LINET came to the Spanish market. The tender was announced by Madrid's regional government, which is gradually investing in modernising the equipment of all the seniors' homes under its care. Winning the tender was by no means easy, with the Czech beds coming up against those of a prominent local manufacturer in the final round. Three factors led to victory for the Czech-made products. "First off was the quality and advanced technology of our beds, also our ability to manufacture and deliver a large volume of beds in a very short time, and last but not least was our excellent maintenance and logistics qualifications," Zbyněk Frolík elaborates. For both central and local governments, public health and social care are a top priority. They are investing millions into healthcare in reaction to the critical situation in Spanish hospitals at the turn of the millennium with a severe shortage of beds and long waiting times. Following the construction of eight new hospitals in the interior, which was hastened by the terrorist train attacks in Madrid, the local government is continuing to build further facilities, not just for healthcare, but also for social care, and all around the country. "Thanks to the active approach of our acquisition, Desan Flex-LINET, we've started delivering beds to nearly all parts of Spain, including the Canary and Balearic Islands, and even to the Spanish enclaves on the north coast of Africa, the cities Ceuta and Melilla. We hope that we'll continue to be successful in both the public and the private sector," says Zbyněk Frolík.
Direct involvement in various markets has paid off for LINET in the long-term. Deliveries to subsidiaries or directly managed companies now make up about 30 percent of LINET's overall turnover. Aside from Desan Flex-LINET in Spain, LINET has subsidiaries in other important European markets as well – in France, in Italy, in Great Britain, and in Sweden. In the Far East there is also the company LINET Far East, with its head office in Beijing. In the coming years LINET plans to continue building its direct sales network and continue expanding in promising areas, including those outside Europe – in the Middle East, Asia and America.
(17.2.2010)