30 Minute Interview

'We Are Investing Rs 110 Crore To Expand in India'

B Braun a well-known European company is known for serving healthcare markets with their technologically advanced innovative quality surgical instruments, catering to therapeutic segments all over the world for the best care solutions for patients' benefit. Anand Apte, Country Head, B Braun India Limited shares their experience, achievements and plans for India with Manjusha Morgaonkar. Excerpts:

Anand Apte Country Head, B Braun India Limited

Please share the growth path of B Braun since its inception.

Since 1839, B Braun is serving the healthcare community through the introduction of technologically advanced innovative solutions for medicine and healthcare, at their corporate headquarters based in Melsungen, Germany. It is the first company in the world to produce industrially manufactured Sterile Catgut- a restorable suture in 1908. We have also committed to excellence in healthcare and strive to achieve the pinnacle of performance both in terms of products as well as services. In India, B Braun Medical (I) Private Limted came into existence in the year 1994 (as a subsidiary of B Braun Melsungen AG) in Mumbai with a core team of 25.

Since then, the company has made rapid strides in the Indian market.The team is now 350 strong, comprising personnel from its various divisions - hospital care, medtech, medical cardiology, aesculap surgery, orthopedics, sutures and specialties, Aesculap Akademie (our educational arm), finance, logistics, technical services.

What is the USP of your company?

We not only provide state-of-the- art products, but also to enhance their knowledge through continuous educational programs under our educational arm 'Aesculap Akademie.' We also support young medical professionals through B Braun medical trust foundation that promotes excellence in post-graduate medical education and scholarships are awarded to 50 post-graduate students every year in recognition of their achievements and potential. Since 2004 we had over 200 beneficiaries, who were awarded scholarships from disciplines of anaesthesia, medicine, cardiology, orthopaedic surgery, nephrology, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, general surgery and gastro-surgery.

How competitively are B Braun's products priced? Who are your competitors in India?

B Braun always believes in pricing products with concept of 'better value for money,' as advancement in features are oriented towards offering more safety to user and consumer, ie. medical as well as paramedical staff who support patients' needs. Other companies operating in the same segments are Baxter, BD, Arrow, Stryker, J&J (Ethicon), Fresenius Kabi, Suture India Centinel, Tyco, Edward, Portex, Terumo, GMS, E Medikit, Nirma (IV Fluids) Claris, Polymed, HMD, Romosons, and Sangam.

What is your projected growth for the next five years in India and what are your strategies to achieve this growth?

We believe strongly in sustainable growth. B Braun's overall growth is more than 20 per cent on a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) basis as it is growing rapidly at the rate of more than 25 per cent every year. This will be achieved through organic growth as well as through the launch of an innovative and advanced product range. B Braun has earmarked Rs 110 crore (16 million euros) for expanding its India operations and is targeting revenue of around Rs 250 crore by 2010.

Are the B Braun India manufactured in India or they are imported from B Braun’s Europe manufacturing unit?

B Braun India today plays a vital role in the field of healthcare in India, catering to therapeutic segments such as anaesthesia and surgery, interventional cardiology, orthopaedics, dialysis treatment, and home-care. B Braun India has a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant 'Mahindra world city,' Chengalpet, near Chennai, which has a set-up to provide to the Indian customer with cost-effective and technologically advanced products. B Braun has invested eight million euros (Rs 55 crores) for setting up a manufacturing plant in Chennai and will pump in another eight million euros in expanding its capacity in the next two years. We are also providing technological inputs and training for our staff to enhance their standards in manufacturing and production.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Indian healthcare industry, with context to your products?

The Indian healthcare industry is undergoing a phenomenal expansion and India is now looked upon as the leading country in the promotion of medical tourism, with an annual growth rate estimated at 30 per cent. While India's top-rated education system provides an estimated 30,000 doctors and nurses each year to meet this demand, the Indian governments' spend on the healthcare sector is expected to be around eight percent of its GDP by 2010.With a large pool of highly trained doctors and low treatment prices, healthcare aims to replicate the Indian software sector's success. A number of private hospitals also offer packages designed to attract wealthy foreign patients, with airport-to-hospital bed car service, in-room internet access and private chefs. Another trend is to combine surgery in India with a yoga holiday or a trip to the Taj Mahal. Major emerging strength of Indian healthcare industry is pioneering work in knowledge resources and JCI accreditation as well as NABH accreditation to standardise safety norms across hospital. All this earmarks significant impact on the medical tourism as well as medical devices market especially safety devices. B Braun will be a major beneficiary as we have done pioneering work on safety devices.

How different are the demands of the Indian healthcare market vis-à-vis European market?

'Mass versus class' phenomenon. One of the apparent differences is evolution of quality parameters. In European markets there is a demand for quality justifications with multiple level stringent parameters whereas in India, we ask for affordable costs (at times, number of norms can be scaled down to meet minimum expectations as each parameter evaluation adds cost to the product). This is obvious, as in the European markets healthcare insurance sector is a dominant player, whilst Indian healthcare insurance is an upcoming sector.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing in Indian healthcare market and how do you plan to overcome them?

Improving efficiencies in business that is improving productivities at reduced costs which means, improving product features either at the same cost or at reduced cost considering affordability of masses, remains a major challenge for us. Another challenge is to reach across various demographics, as this demand major investments in resources and skillful man-power.

Technology is a continuous process of innovation. So how do you ensure to adopt latest technologies to provide customers with best possible solutions?

At B Braun, we encourage and cultivate the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the company. This is clearly apparent in the products we develop, which are the only product of their kind in the industry- like the family of Shielded IV Catheters Introcan Safety, Vasocan Safety and Vasofix Safety. B Braun´s efficiency is exemplified at the Leading Infusion Factory Europe (LIFE) and Benchmark Factory in Germany, a worldwide unique example for innovative German engineering in the medical industry. At LIFE, 150 employees produce 500,000 Ecoflac plus IV containers per day.

manjusha.morgaonkar@expressindia.com