Medtrade Spring preview: Vendors favor intimate venue

LAS VEGAS - Exhibiting at Medtrade Spring has a different dynamic than the big fall show, but vendors say they are attracted to the smaller, more intimate feel.

The slower-paced environment, they contend, allows for more engaging discussions, relationship building and the opportunity for meaningful outreach.

“Medtrade Spring is about quality interactions and relationship building with providers,” noted Mark E. Smith, general manager of public relations for Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility Products. “It allows not only product display, but concentrated time to discuss with providers their needs and how we can best meet them. We appreciate the time to discuss providers' needs in-depth and deliver proven solutions in the Medtrade Spring format.”

Specifically, Smith said he is anxious to hear from providers about how Pride can help them develop a strong retail platform.

“We hear a lot of excitement from providers about retail and their desire for even greater success,” he said. “Therefore, there's a lot of interest around learning more about revenue-generating retail products and successful retail business strategies.”

Ryan Moore, vice president of sales for Middleburg Heights, Ohio-based Compass Health Brands, says because Medtrade Spring is a smaller venue, the company looks forward to more face-to-face time with customers at the booth and around the various Las Vegas venues.

“Medtrade Spring has always been a fun show and we really enjoy spending quality time with our customers at the show and afterward,” he said.

Created through the merger of Roscoe Medical and Carex Health Brands, Compass Health has continued to expand with the recent acquisitions of ProBasics and Meridian Medical, as well as a partnership with Brightree for electronic data interchange. As a result, the company has a more diversified product offering to share with attendees, Moore said.

“We now have a greater selection and better value-added programs to help customers thrive in a competitive bidding and managed care world,” he said. “With HME providers taking hard looks at how they run their businesses and how to improve their bottom lines, Compass Health stands ready to drive that success.”

New-to-the-scene GCE Healthcare, based in Malmo, Sweden, wants to make a good impression with its oxygen product line, says General Manager Jim Clement. GCE Healthcare hit the North American market with a portable oxygen concentrator under the Zen-O brand in July. The company acquired the exclusive rights to market the Zen-O from Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Oxus America, a division of Korea-based Oxus, in 2014.

“Our goal for the show is to continue introducing the GCE brand to the USA market,” Clement said. “Since we are new to North America, we feel that exhibiting at Medtrade Spring is a good way to meet as many providers as possible.”