Through the public procurement service of ProCórdoba Agency, Leistung Ingeniería keeps strengthening its position in the international market and has achieved a major export to Bolivia.
International Public Procurement encompasses the procurement processes undertaken by a country's public authorities or international organizations to adjudicate construction, supplies and service contracts. ProCórdoba's Cooperation and International Relations Department offers the public procurement service, being aware that this modality represents an important export opportunity for Cordobese companies.
With the professional advisory of the Agency, Leistung was able, at the beginning of the year, to register in a call by the Agency of Health Infrastructure and Medical Equipment of Bolivia (in Spanish, AISEM) to prepare a list of providers for both goods and services. This was the first step to register in an international public bidding, which led to a major export to this market, which holds a great potential for the healthcare sector.
Leistung General Manager Silvina Grasso highlighted how important it is for companies to have the support of the Agency during the preparatory phase for entering the international procurement market. She said, "ProCórdoba's collaboration is extremely valuable. It is difficult for us to handle all the information about different markets. In this respect, the public procurement market service boosts our potential and offers great possibilities."
Participating in this call for bids resulted in the sale of 30 intensive care unit ventilators and some anesthesia machines, and the chance to expand the business in the Bolivian market. Leistung was thus able to place its product in a potential market, which is in great need of infrastructure and equipment in the healthcare sector, but lacks the technological capacity to meet said need.
In addition, ProCórdoba Agency assisted them in participating in Feria TecnoSalud 2019 (which took place in Lima, Peru), where they shared a pavilion with other Cordobese firms and succeeded in establishing contacts with eight potential distributors. The firm is currently in talks with one of them given that, similarly to what happened with Bolivia, the registered as providers on EsSalud Perú, and were awarded a contract by said agency.
Grasso continued, "Our products require maintenance and repair services; therefore, the international trade strategy involves having a local distributor in the destination country. It really is noteworthy that an SME like ours is able have a local distributor, because the competition is fierce."
In this regard, Leistung's proposal is more than suitable for the situation of Latin American countries like Bolivia and Peru. In the words of Grasso, "It is very useful for us to count on an agency which has access to information and is able to correctly communicate it, so that we can then do our job and be competitive in terms of prices and offer."
The Company
Leistung Ingeniería has developed and manufactured medical devices for 35 years, focusing mainly on ventilation and anesthesia devices, and transport ventilators. The company, born in Córdoba, now has a second factory in Brazil, and it set up an office in Miami three years ago. In Córdoba, it has 70 employees, half of which consists of professionals who are strongly focused on R&D (research and development) and standard certification: biomedical, mechanical, electronic and industrial engineers, among others.
Grasso explained, "We work with agile methods and a horizontal organizational structure, so that solutions really spring from teamwork. In order not to lose collaborators in these sectors, it is important to be competitive, and youth are attracted to our projects because there aren't many companies generating R&D, such as software and original electronic boards."
A product takes about three years in development before coming out to the market, and in striving to generate added value, it is crucial for companies to expand internationally in order to support those fixed costs. That is why Leistung is going through an international expansion process, and they are seeking to increase the export volume, which at present accounts for 20% of the turnover, to 30% or 50%. As pointed out by the firm's representative, "To depend on the domestic market is quite complicated. Besides, a large part of the supplies used in manufacturing processes are not made in Argentina and the devaluation has a high impact on our costs. If you don't sell in American dollars, the situation gets very complex."
Future Prospects in the Public Procurement Market
Last September, Leistung participated in the Conference on Humanitarian Assistance and the Private Sector, organized by ProCórdoba's Cooperation and International Relations Department. The event offered them the chance to showcase before potential international clients a transport ventilator, of which they are the only national manufacturer. The ventilator is also the first in Latin America to use turbine technology. It is a very versatile product because it can be attached to a stretcher, used in an ambulance or standing on its own in a hospital room.
Stefano Guagliardo, Project Manager at the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi (Italy) was one of the presenters at the Conference. During an interview, he expressed that the "portable medical devices" offered by Leistung were extremely interesting, because they fit perfectly in various types of vehicles, and this versatility is of the utmost importance.
Leistung will participate, on November 19-20, in a meeting with 11 UN agencies, which will take place in Buenos Aires City. The event is organized by the Argentine Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (AAICI) with the collaboration of ProCórdoba, a trailblazer in the training of companies on how to become UN vendors and in disseminating information about international calls for bids.
