The article was originally published on the iTradeNews portal. You can read it here.

“In our sector, I see great potential between the Czech Republic and India, and cooperation in the form of a joint venture could significantly contribute to its development,” says Shashidhar Singh, CEO and Managing Director of DINA-HITEX, a leader in the production and distribution of disposable medical devices and one of the founders of the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Even the fundamental transformation of the global economy after 1989 did not erase the good reputation of Czechoslovak products and services in India. Czech companies building on an industrial tradition have long maintained respect here thanks to quality, technical sophistication, and competitiveness. According to Shashidhar Singh, this is precisely one of the reasons why Czech companies still have much to build on in the Indian market.

The drawing board came in handy in the company too

DINA-HITEX established itself in India in 2015, twenty years after stabilising on the domestic market and in a number of European countries. However, the beginnings of doing business in medical devices in the 1990s were not easy.

“The most challenging part was maintaining financial stability at a time of weak payment discipline while simultaneously building high-quality technical facilities,” recalls Shashidhar Singh. High-performance machines were available, but very expensive. Thanks to technical education and engineering experience, the company therefore designed its first semi-automatic machines itself in cooperation with a local partner. The weaker point of business at that time was mainly finances. In its first years, the company supplied products only to state healthcare facilities, where payment delays of months and even years were common.

In the last decade, according to him, the financial environment has improved, but at the same time other challenges have increased significantly. The market has become more professional; legislative requirements related to quality, safety, ecology, and employee care are rising; and customers have ever higher expectations. DINA-HITEX’s production portfolio includes, among other things, disposable surgical sets manufactured according to individual customer requirements. With long-term partners, the company prepares outlook plans for the structure and parameters of supplies even before orders themselves, so that both sides can realistically set their further strategy and prepare for its implementation.

Demanding legislation and limited supplier capacities

A considerable burden for manufacturers of medical materials and devices, especially in the European Union, is represented by the costs of certification, verification of product safety, and specialised staff. At DINA-HITEX, a team of qualified experts is dedicated to this area, because without high expertise it is no longer possible to succeed in the sector today.

According to Shashidhar Singh, costs in this area run into tens of millions of Czech crowns. In addition, due to the high pace of innovation and the limited number of certification authorities in the EU, approval of a new product can take up to two years. Significant additional resources are required for testing new materials and training employees and distributors. Such conditions can be sustained long-term mainly by companies with stronger capital.

Manufacturers also have to cope with hard-to-predict disruptions in the supply chain. As an example, the company mentions viscose, which is in high demand in the sector, while production capacities in Europe are limited. Materials must therefore be ordered well in advance, and if an approved supplier cannot meet commitments for technical or other reasons, the manufacturer finds itself in a very difficult situation in the strictly regulated European market. DINA-HITEX therefore long prioritises proven suppliers from the Czech Republic and Europe with regard to quality, logistics, speed, and legislative requirements.

We can be flexible and fast. Quality is a given

Exporting to three continents brings a number of specifics. According to Shashidhar Singh, the biggest differences are not between Europe and developing economies, but rather between the Czech and Western European markets. While in the Czech Republic price is negotiated very hard and the environment is more exposed to pressure from cheap competition, Western European customers place greater emphasis on demanding European standards and requirements for hygiene, quality, and ecology.

He considers flexibility to be DINA-HITEX’s key competitive advantage. The company can develop, manufacture, and deliver the required goods in a short time, which is a significant difference in international competition. Quality is, at the same time, a natural standard on which the company has built for the long term. At its plant in Hodějice, DINA-HITEX also offers Indian companies a business incubator for an easier start.

We benefit from regionality and globalisation

DINA-HITEX currently operates two production plants in India. One serves the local market in the north of the country, while the other is located in the south in the state of Gujarat, in a special trade zone on the western coast. The company also has another joint plant in Tunisia, and two production plants operate in the Czech Republic. All of them meet high requirements for the environment for manufacturing and handling sterile surgical devices.

A few years ago, the company put into operation a modern hall in Hodějice in South Moravia, where it provides not only manufacturing but also ETO sterilisation of final products. A new fully automated high-frequency line makes it possible to carry out even high-volume orders. However, part of the programme still remains in manual production, which is important for atypical products and specific customer requirements. As the company emphasises, no customer is too small.

Let us not miss a unique opportunity

“The path to the Indian market was not easy for any of us, the founding members of the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce, but it was very educational. At a time when the shape of international trade is changing fundamentally, we would like to offer domestic companies our experience and make it easier for them to enter a customer territory of nearly two billion. I believe they will not lack interesting partners,” says Shashidhar Singh.

DINA-HITEX sees the Indian market not only as a space for its own development, but also as an opportunity for broader Czech-Indian cooperation. It wants to offer the experience gained during years of operation in India to other companies that are seeking a path to one of today’s largest and most dynamic markets.

DINA-HITEX, spol. s r.o.

DINA-HITEX was founded in 1992 in Bučovice, South Moravia. It is one of the major manufacturers and distributors of medical materials in the Czech Republic. From the beginning, it has focused primarily on the development and production of disposable consumables made of nonwoven textiles. The portfolio consists of approximately 45,000 items, and the core programme is the design and production of sophisticated surgical drapes and the assembly of sterile surgical sets according to individual customer requirements.

The company also manufactures disposable garments for operating theatres and healthcare facilities, for example surgical gowns, surgical clothing, surgical masks, head covers, sheets, and bedding. It exports approximately 90% of its production, operates in 35 countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa, employs around 790 workers, and its annual turnover is around half a billion Czech crowns.

The original interview was published on the iTradeNews portal.