UKTI Paves the Way to Europe for South Yorkshire Based Company

Company Name: Inditherm

Global warming

When Inditherm decided to develop medical applications for its patented heating and warming technology, it was confident of finding a global market

South Yorkshire based company Inditherm designs and manufactures warming systems used in a variety of applications. Founded in 1998, Inditherm bases its products on a patented conductive polymer technology. Rather than using a heating element running through a material, a whole sheet of the polymer is warmed, to give consistent and even heating over a large, flexible surface area.

The technology is used in a range of ways, be it around pipes, pumps and valves in a chocolate factory to ensure that the liquid chocolate flows smoothly, or in construction to heat concrete so that it sets faster and stronger. In 1999, Inditherm came up with a new application, and began to produce heated mattresses to keep patients warm during surgery.

“Our heated mattresses are more effective than the traditional disposable air warming blankets that are widely used in hospitals,” says Nick Bettles, Chief Executive of Inditherm. “They also represent a very significant cost saving. A recent NICE Guideline recommends that many more patients should be warmed during surgery, making Inditherm systems an even more compelling solution.”

CosyTherm baby

Medical markets

In 2004, Inditherm employed Nick Bettles, who has extensive experience in engineering, medical devices and business development, to help market the new product and develop the company’s Medical business. Recognising that the UK health service was not large enough to sustain such a niche product, and that the company would get better value by expanding into overseas markets, he embarked on a new global strategy for the business.

“We commissioned an OMIS report and that gave us the really good contacts, which led to our identifying five key suppliers in China. One of these is now our partner and the project has moved quickly, with a June 2 opening date for the new facility in a high-technology business park in Jinqiao. It’s part of a customs bonded area, which simplifies taxation requirements for us.”

The main initial target markets for the company were Europe, where medical practices and standards of clinical care are similar to those found in the UK, and the Asia Pacific region, where the size of the market gives the potential for large volumes of sales. Product registration in the US was also initiated, with the goal of entering that market a little later, having the benefit of export experience in other regions to draw on.

“We were confident that our product was suitable for export, and decided to take the route of using local distributors,” says Nick Bettles. “We updated our company website to increase the chance of international customers finding us, and did some advertising in international trade journals. But the key to getting ourselves and our products known in the market was to attend Medica 2004 in Düsseldorf, as this is known to be the place that overseas distributors come to find new products.”

Lucky mistake

There was a mix up in Inditherm’s initial booking, and when it turned out there was no space available the organisers suggested that the company join the British area of the exhibition. So, Inditherm got in touch with UK Trade & Investment and discovered that if it joined the Passport to Export programme not only would it benefit from the expertise of UK Trade & Investment’s advisers, but it would be eligible for a stand at Medica and funding to help cover the cost of attending.

Inditherm found that many participants were attracted to the British area of the exhibition, interested to see what UK companies were producing. The company made over 30 new contacts at Medica in the first year alone and secured eight new distributors. Since then, overseas sales

have grown dramatically, helped by the introduction of an additional product range for neonatal warming. In 2007-08 Inditherm’s exports increased by over 300 per cent on the previous year, largely due to a new distribution deal in the US. In recognition of this achievement, the company was recently awarded the UK Trade & Investment Export Achievement Award.

“We’ve attended Medica every year since 2004, and have found many of our global distributors there,” says Nick Bettles. “The work of UK Trade & Investment and Association of British Healthcare Industries in organising the exhibition has been critical to our success. We’re proud to have received the Export Achievement Award and are now looking forward to extending our success into new niches in the medical market, including further neonatal products and a device for oncology used in chemotherapy treatment.”

The US and the UK

The US is the UK’s largest single export market, taking US$57 billion of UK goods in 2007. The US is also the leading overseas destination for British investment. The UK is the sixth largest exporter to the US, after Canada, Mexico, Japan, China and Germany.

The sheer size of the US market means it should be treated as a series of regional markets with varying characteristics. The US economy is integrated and largely self-contained, with every major industry represented. US manufacturers often source components overseas and UK goods have traditionally enjoyed a good reputation for quality in the US.

Fast facts:

Company: Inditherm
Country: UK
Industry: Healthcare
Website: www.inditherm.com

UK Trade & Investment Contact: matt.newman@uktibiotech.org.uk
Publication date: 2009-06-08 00:00:00.0