director of Marketing and Sales
Opinion
Since the company was founded in Barcelona in 1962, the spirit of Antonio Matachana has always been commercial. This is and will continue to be the backbone of our business development. Now run by the second generation, this modest company has become a small multinational corporation with offices in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Argentina, Algeria and Malaysia.
Our main activity is manufacturing sterilizers for hospitals, laboratories, research centers and pharmaceutical companies. However, in Catalonia and Spain, we also market a complete range of products through our online sales network, as well as providing technical support.
After this brief introduction, I'll move on to the Medica fair, which is not only a showcase to promote products the company manufactures and a gathering of the majority of the companies in this sector from around the world. It is also a unique opportunity to observe the latest trends and innovations in the global healthcare market. For healthcare product manufacturers, no matter what type of product they produce, Medica is the perfect place to judge whether or not the equipment will receive positive feedback on the real market.
The origins of the Medica fair, which is organized by Messe of Düsseldorf, go back to one exposition that focused solely on the German market and the competing German fair, Interhospital, which focused more on the international distribution market. Ten years ago, the two events joined forces and ever since this trade fair has become a must-attend event for manufactures and suppliers of healthcare products.
Antonio Matachana, SA has attended this fair every year since 1980. Over these 29 years, they have made a huge effort to present their innovations, improvements to their products and open new markets. In Catalonia, and Spain in general, we are unfortunate to have a medical industry that is not as important as that of the countries around us. Approximately 90% of the healthcare products sold in Catalonia and Spain are imported from other countries. Therefore, we are lacking a national, much less international, organization that can defend our presence and our national brand name. The made in Germany, made in USA or made in France brands are still an excellent passport to open foreign markets and products from this country don't have a similar advantage.
However, we must say that there is a trend towards national manufacturing that is growing slowly. Statistics on Catalan and Spanish participation in the Medica fair clearly reflect this trend. This both forces and encourages us to continue developing and improving our products, to maintain the industry in our country, and to hold on to our niche market in this highly competitive sector.
With this editorial we hope to encourage all these companies to believe in their manufacturers and apply their commercial strategy on a European level to launch products. We must look toward Europe, not only our regions. We must forget our complexes, be enthusiastic and promote our national brand around the world with pride and imagination!