CORAL GABLES, Fla. (June 13, 2018) – Hospitalar 2018 proved to be another successful trade show for the small and medium-sized Florida healthcare businesses that exhibited. Florida Pavilion exhibitors reported more than $18 million in actual and projected export sales. The annual trade show, held May 22-25 in Sao Paolo Brazil, is the third-largest medical trade show in the world.
“Enterprise Florida has organized and hosted small and medium-size Florida businesses at the Hospitalar trade show for more than a decade, and we again had an impressive presence in the Florida Pavilion,” said Manny Mencia, senior vice president of international trade and development at EFI. “Congratulations to the companies that attended with us for a successful show. Hospitalar provides great opportunities to healthcare companies not only in the South American market but worldwide and we look forward to bringing even more companies with us next year.”
The Hospitalar medical trade show occurs every May in Brazil, and draws an estimated 92,000 attendees and more than 1,250 exhibitors from 54 nations. Brazil is the largest economy in South America with the highest potential in the healthcare market. The country has over 6,400 hospitals, and 15,000 clinics and healthcare establishments. The Brazilian healthcare market is over $125 billion with imports accounting for approximately 25 percent of the market.
EFI’s sponsored nine Florida small businesses to cost-effectively exhibit their products at the trade show. Without the assistance of EFI’s International Trade and Development efforts, many of the companies would not be able to attend or be as successful and efficient in reaching such a large target audience.
“Our mission is to register our portfolio with wholesale distributors in different states of Brazil,” said Rafael Celli, president of Advanced Instrumentations in Miami. “Enterprise Florida’s team helped us to explore and develop new alternatives of business in the region.” Advanced Instrumentations manufactures medical equipment and advanced medical supplies such as patient monitors, incubators, defibrillators, surgical tables and other related products.
Infinium Medical exhibited at the trade show for the first time. The Largo company is a manufacturer of patient monitors and operating room equipment. “The Hospitalar show in Brazil is a first for Infinium,” said Aydin Bilguaty, sales manager for Infinium. “A great thing was to first meet distributors face-to-face that we have sold to for many years. Additionally, we learned much about product registrations and found new partners in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. We think this show helped us reach out further to Latin America and with the support from Enterprise Florida, presented our company as a professional long-term partner for new distributors.”
“The event again exposed our simulators to the possible end user and large institutions,” said Mario de las Cuevas, sales manager for Gaumard® Scientific. “The other attending countries got to see what is new to our company and what we may be working on.” Miami-based Gaumard® Scientific Company has designed, manufactured and marketed simulators for health care education for more than 60 years.
The following companies exhibited with EFI at Hospitalar this year:
- Advanced Instruments, Inc. – Miami
- Atlas Specialty Lighting Inc. – Hialeah
- Awareness Technology, Incorporated – Palm City
- Bulbtronics– Miami
- Demetech Corporation – Miami Lakes
- Gaumard® Scientific Company, Inc.– Miami
- Infinium Medical – Largo
- Medas, Inc. – Miami
- Phoenix Healthcare Solutions, LLC – Fort Lauderdale
Florida has a number of strengths to leverage to foreign companies and investors, including ranking 2nd in the U.S. for both medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing businesses, and is home to one in five U.S. exporters. Additionally, Florida is one of the fastest growing international economies with strong air and seaport infrastructure, and a large, multicultural workforce.
Florida-based companies looking to expand internationally can take advantage of the comprehensive exporting assistance – from counseling and advice to overseas trade missions – provided by Enterprise Florida and its economic development partners. Last year, merchandise trade valued at $147.7 billion flowed through Florida’s ports with Florida-origin exports reaching $55 billion. Florida exported more goods than 190 countries in 2017, making the state a world leader in international trade.
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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI launched “Florida | The Future is Here” to promote the state as the nation’s premier business destination.