|
|
Vitalograph
2 . Background
2.1 Company Information
Based in Ennis, Co. Clare, Vitalograph designs, manufactures and markets
respiratory diagnostic products and is recognised world wide for its simple
and effective lung function test equipment. These products are widely used
in primary care, occupational health, sports medicine, asthma management
and hospitals.
Founded 40 years ago in the UK, the company was one of the first manufacturers
in the world to design and manufacture a portable spirometer (lung function
tester). Prior to this, the tests were done in very complex labs using big
bulky machinery. The new spirometer from Vitalograph revolutionised this
complex area of testing.
It wasn’t until the late 1970s that a small facility was set up in
Ennis to undertake production of some of the company’s product lines.
In the early 1980s Vitalograph’s current facility was built and this
was doubled to its present capacity in 1987. Throughout that ongoing expansion,
more and more of the manufacturing capacity was moved to Ennis from Buckingham
in the UK until eventually, all manufacturing for Vitalograph worldwide
was moved to Ireland.
In 1990, the UK based Research and Development centre was also relocated
to Ireland creating a one-stop shop for design and manufacture. The main
driver behind this move from the UK was to create closer links between R&D
and manufacturing.
Once R&D and manufacturing moved to Ireland, the Buckingham office became
one of three sales and marketing offices with the other two offices situated
in Kansas, USA and Hamburg, Germany. This geographic spread plus an active
distributor network gave Vitalograph a presence in almost every country
around the world.
Although its product focus is on spirometry equipment, Vitalograph also
produces products in other areas:
- Asthma
Management
- Resuscitation
Equipment
Vitalograph
has a staff of around 70 in Ennis and had worldwide revenues of €10m
in 2001.
2.2 Market Information
Vitalograph is one of the best known manufacturers of spirometry equipment
in the world.
Rather than selling direct to customers, the company chose to adopt a distributed
sales strategy with distributors looking after the key geographies worldwide.
At time of writing, the company had approximately 110 distributors. This
strategy allowed them to quickly build a widely distributed sales force
without the associated costs of doing so.
Although there are only two or three large competitors worldwide, Vitalograph
faces ever increasing competition from smaller, more local, organisations
in each of the geographies is serves.
Vitalograph’s main end-user customers would be:
- Pharmaceutical
companies - Pharmaceutical have to put in place
stringent testing when designing new drugs. Drugs
or applicators that affect lung performance (e.g.
inhalers) would use Vitalograph’s equipment
to prove that the drugs didn’t impair lung
function in any way.
- Hospitals
- Hospitals buy Vitalograph’s products for
use in both wards and research (particularly hospitals
with lung function laboratories).
- General
Practitioners
- Occupational
Health
|
|
