New Product Innovations (NPI) has been doing business in China for years. Now, it wants to help American medical device manufacturers do more business there, too.
On July 19, the Chinese Medical Device Trade Association (MDTA) announced it had chosen NPI as its official U.S. branch. The association between NPI and MDTA is seen as a way to provide easier access to Chinese markets, particularly Shanghai, where MDTA is based.
NPI designs, develops, engineers and manufacturers new products for client companies. It also helps customers bring those products to market. While the Columbus-based firm serves consumer, industrial and medical clients, it has begun to put more focus on the medical device marketplace, says Mike Billman, managing director for the new MDTA branch and NPI's development manager for new product innovation. As an MDTA branch, NPI will concentrate on medical devices used in non-invasive procedures, he says.
"We've been doing business in terms of manufacturing in China for a long period of time," explains Billman, "A couple of years ago, we realized that since we already have assets in China with three offices," as well as an intimate knowledge of the banking and legal infrastructure, "that we can help U.S.-based medical device companies tap into the growing market in China."
The July 19 announcement piggybacks onto a four-phase process that NPI has been using to assist companies interested in doing business in China, Billman says. The process includes early market analysis, formal due diligence, distribution channel development and, finally, assistance bringing the product to the marketplace..
NPI was established in 1989 as a joint venture of GE Plastics and Fitch, a global design firm. The company has 40 employees in the U.S.
Source: Mike Billman, NPI
Writer: Gene Monteith