Engineering Compan Seizes Market Opportunity

Q: Why did Arroba Ingeniería decide to direct its efforts to neonatal care technologies?
A: Arroba Ingeniería was created in the early 1990s by a group of biomedical engineering graduates from Universidad Iberoamericana who thought the health sector would be greatly improved by technological advances in medical devices. Most medical devices in Mexico are provided by foreign manufacturers, mostly American and European. Designing and manufacturing these devices in Mexico seemed promising for Arroba Ingeniería.
In 1992, the company identified an opportunity to provide incubator maintenance services to various IMSS hospitals, but the original parts needed were no longer available because American producers had discontinued them. Arroba Ingeniería developed and manufactured its first digital controllers to serve these clients. These controllers allowed maintenance of a broad infant incubator base at a low cost. Our growing expertise in this sector led us to our current focus on neonatal care devices.
Q: How can Arroba Ingeniería provide an added value to its clients, when compared to its competitors?
A: Arroba Ingeniería offers two lines of incubators, radiant warmers and phototherapy lamps. The first line is based on progressive technological development and has diverse functions, options and accessories to cover the requirements of highly specialized hospitals with neonatal intensive-care units (NICU). In these units, devices must be able to control temperature, oxygen and humidity and monitor physiological variables such as oxygen saturation and pulse rate. Due to their complexity, incubators are also operated by highly specialized personnel. Considering that between 5 and 15 percent of births in Mexico are premature, Arroba Ingeniería developed a specialized and affordable line for this segment. This line can be used by 90 percent of the babies born between weeks 32 and 37.
Medical care is growing in sophistication, complexity and cost. Hospital investment in technology is extremely high and in the long term, access to healthcare could become simply unaffordable. Arroba Ingeniería, therefore, decided to develop and manufacture technology for most premature babies at affordable prices. The company’s goal is to democratize healthcare and to make access to quality medical attention a right for everyone.
Q: Which export markets could be attractive for your products and why?
A: Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are the most attractive markets to begin with. However, we believe our products are perfect for any country, especially in the emerging segment. Latin American countries have a lot in common with one another and we think targeting this region first is the most appropriate strategy.  
Exporting is always a challenge because we need to understand the commercial and regulatory differences between Mexico and other markets. We are looking for commercial partners in different Latin American locations. We predict we will be exporting our devices by 4Q19 or 1Q20.
Q: How will the development of the global incubator market impact Mexico?
A: Mexico has an open economy that allows us to trade with several international markets, which gives us the opportunity to, on the one hand, access supplies and components from different developed countries, such as the US, the EU and even China. On the other hand, it opens the door to offer our products to a wide range of countries with similar characteristics to ours. Additionally, we have a young population, with many talented engineers and technicians. With the right focus, they can create technologically outstanding and high-quality products that may give us the chance to participate in the international market.