From the August 2013 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


While developing markets are a boon for parts providers, companies say they generally stay away from the sometimes-complicated European market.

“I’ve done it and it can be done of course,” says Glas. “However with the non-favorable exchange rate and the additional costs, coupled with the difficulty of quality inspection capabilities and logistics challenges, I, as well as many colleagues I speak with on the subject, do tend to shy away from acquiring European equipment.”


Tim DiCarro, COO at Classic Diagnostic Imaging, says his company focuses on sales in the U.S. and does limited international sales. DiCarro cites language barriers, time restraints and currency fluctuations as significant challenges when dealing in the international parts market.

Parting with parts
Quality customer service also kicks in when end users want to get rid of parts or equipment. If there’s an older machine a facility thinks isn’t worth fixing, parts providers are happy to share the value of its parts, purchase the parts if they want them or direct the customer to someone else who might buy them.

“It is all about communication and connecting the end user with the best opportunity available,” says DiCarro. “Our customer service department is always available to discuss different options, and depending on the type of equipment, can help navigate our customers through the process.”

A reputable parts provider should be able to provide the end user with an honest bid for the system. If the company happens to have a large inventory of parts from a specific system and can’t offer market value for the system, it may provide contact information for a reputable medical imaging broker, according to Daniel Gasparovich, CTO of Universal Medical Resources, Inc.

“In either case, the end user needs to be made aware of the cost to remove the system, the cost to ship to its final destination, and the time necessary to test each part to be sold in the market,” says Gasparovich.

If the parts provider isn’t interested in the unit in question, there may be a market for it internationally. Many pieces of equipment considered end-of-life in the U.S. are still in use in developing countries.

“For example, as the older Picker equipment diminishes in the US, there’s still a demand offshore,” says Rich Greb, parts director at Image Technology Consulting. “Those items are kind of past end of life, and you think for a lot of reasons they’d be going away, but they’re not going away as fast as I would have expected.”

For example, Technical Prospects has found a strong demand for CT and mammography equipment in international markets.

August 2013 Magazine

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