Pieces fall into place for O2 Concepts

OKLAHOMA CITY - It's turning out to be a banner year for O2 Concepts.

The manufacturer has been around for five years, but it pocketed its first outside investment in July and plans to launch a new POC by 2016.

“We're in the middle of launching DNA Technology right now,” said CEO Rob Kent of the software platform that allows HME providers to access usage and other data from a Verizon modem in the company's POC.

Currently, O2 Concepts has one flagship product: the Oxlife Independence, a POC with both pulse dose and continuous flow. It's a feature that allows the OxLife to be used 24/7, eliminating the need for a stationary oxygen concentrator, Kent says.

O2 Concepts will use the investment from the Bank of Oklahoma to support new product development, as well as enhance its manufacturing facility in Newtown, Conn., and expand its presence overseas. The company recently received CE certification for the Oxlife, clearing it for use in Europe and other foreign countries, Kent says.

“Now we're lining up key partners,” he said. “For that kind of growth, you need a healthy amount of capital.”

Also by year's end, O2 Concepts plans to double its sales force in a calculated move to ramp up sales of Oxlife, which has been on the market for about three years, as well as the new POC coming down the pike, Kent says.

“We really want to coach the business model of non-delivery,” he said.

In a busy POC market, O2 Concepts is staking a claim not only for its smart and dual-mode POC but also for its five-year warranty. The company shifted to a five-year warranty in 2014 after learning the biggest concerns providers have with POCs are reliability and out-of-warranty repair costs, Kent says.

“Even though our cost to manufacture may not be the lowest, we have the lowest long-term service costs,” he said. “If your business is going to be around for the next five years, we're the product you should buy.”