SUPPLIERS TARGET INDOCHINA VIA MEDICAL FAIR THAILAND

       Foreign medical equipment makers have joined the 4th Medical Fair Thailand to boost sales and seek local distributors to help them penetrate the Indochina market.
       More than 250 exhibitors from 20 countries exhibited their products at the fair, which was organised by Messe Dusseldorf Asia and ran from Wednesday until today.
       Thomas Missine, representative of Cypress Diagnostics, a Belgium-based laboratory equipment manufacturer, said the firm was interested in the Thai market, mainly because the government was aiming to turn the country into a regional medical hub. Cypress Diagnostics has already entered Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
       The company's target is to sell medical products to small and medium-sized laboratories and also win local distributors at the fair.
       Sandeep Kumar, general manager of Rehab Asia, a leading rehabilitation product provider in Singapore, said this was the first time the company has tried entering Thailand. The company is well established in Singapore and Malaysia.
       Kumar said Rehab Asia had not done well during the first quarter due to the global recession, though business is starting to pick up in the third quarter.
       "We hope the fair will help us get new orders and clients," he said.
       Rehab Asia expects its revenue this year to grow by 20 per cent from US$1.5 million (Bt50.67 million) last year.
       Michael Pang, managing director of Winner SG, a Singapore-based wheelchair manufacturer which invented the world's first wireless wheelchair, said the product was introduced in the Singapore market a few months ago and this is the first time this innovation has been exhibited in the region.
       "After this, we will introduce the wheelchair in Japan and the US," he said.
       Like Cypress Diagnostics and Rehab Asia, Winner SG too is seeking distributors and new business opportunities in Indochina and Europe.
       The Singaporean government spent 20 million Singapore dollars (Bt477.53 million) to fund the development of Winner SG's wheelchair.
       Udom Hongchatikul, managing director of Thai 3B Scientific, a Thai-German joint venture, said the company is looking for new opportunities at the fair.
       The company, which was set up in Bangkok by its German parent 3B Scientific two years ago, produces anatomical models for use in medical schools.