Although Romania has been a member of the European Union for over 10 years, only in recent years has the local government embarked on significant reforms to help the country to significantly reduce the corruption and thus create a healthier economic environment. The steps taken so far are quite presumptuous and, in addition to the undisputed progress in reducing the corruption, they often harm even reliable and respected companies. But it seems that society is more inclined to change than to reject it. A side-effect of the reforms being carried out is a significant pressure on the prices of equipment/devices purchased by the state for the public sector, including healthcare. In order not to be accused of actual bias, many hospital officials are trying to list technical requirements for new devices as broadly as possible, without detailed requirements, that might indicate their side to a particular brand. In the field of sterilization, most manufacturers meet the technical requirements and so the price is the decisive factor in the selection of the supplier.
In spite of this, our business partner Tehnoplus Medical Srl manages to keep up with the competitors, and every year we supply several large steam sterilizers to Romania. There are several reasons for this success. When we started working with Tehnoplus in 1999, the company had only a few employees, minimal experience and no references. Currently, with around 140 loyal employees, Tehnoplus is represented throughout Romania and, besides selling merchandise, the company has its own production of medical furniture and medical media distribution equipment in hospitals. In addition, the owner of the company Tehnoplus has established a subsidiary and simulation centre that provides training for healthcare professionals in several different fields at the level comparable to the leading simulation centres in Germany. The opportunity for the following years is the plan of gradual replacement of steam sterilizers, which were delivered as a part of the World Bank tender in 2001.
The year 2019 is exceptional for BMT's cooperation with Tehnoplus for two reasons. The first reason are the excellent sales results in this year. Aside from delivering equipment for the big tenders of the World Bank and the Romanian Ministry of Health in 2008 and 2009, this is the most successful year in the history of our cooperation. The number of units sold this year is close to 30 pieces of Sterivap® and Unisteri® steam sterilizers.
The second reason for celebrations in 2019 is the anniversary of 20 years of cooperation with Tehnoplus. The company is one of our most loyal and stable business partners, as evidenced by the fact that many employees of both companies remember the beginning of our cooperation 20 years ago. Over the course of our cooperation, over 300 large Sterivap® and Unisteri® steam sterilizers have been delivered to Romania, making Romania one of our most important territories worldwide.
With the growth of the company Tehnoplus Medical Srl and the growth of number of BMT devices installed in Romania, of course, there is a growing demand for service and spare parts needed to keep our sterilizers running. To make the profitability between production, trade and service more transparent, Mr. Niculescu, owner of Tehnoplus, decided to establish a new subsidiary Tehnoplus Medical Service Srl, which now provides all service work for Tehnoplus Medical Srl, from delivery and installation through validation up to arrangement of warranty and post-warranty customer service.