November 2009

Marathon is a question of doing the impossible

By CEO Jesper Sjögren

On September 20th I ran my very first Marathon in Berlin in 4 hours and 6 minutes. It was one of the last summer days when we had 25˚ C and sunny weather with a clear blue sky this year. Actually, it was far too hot. However, can you imagine the feeling of victory after 4 hours? You might ask yourselves: Why should one do such a crazy thing? The answer is simple - to test whether you can do something you would not believe possible before you try it.

Due to the drop in the economy worldwide, the year of 2009 has been challenging for Oxymat. The sales of on-site systems are an investment on behalf of our customers. However, when revenues and earnings are falling, investments are not your common activity. Therefore, our sales have declined as it is the case of other business worldwide.

If you read newspapers, you can see that politicians and economists are constantly speaking about small signs showing that the recession is over but no one believes that we will come back to the happy days of 2006 or 2007 within a short time. Actually, the development we believe in consists of very small growth rates in 2010 and in the years afterwards. However, we do also believe that there is a risk of another economic downturn.
Therefore, running a business, we need to think differently than just 18 months ago. The measures like cost cutting, focus on efficiency and development of stronger products sound like a mixture of instruments that will allow us to gain a much bigger part of the future smaller market.
We have already taken the above mentioned measures and although it is a never ending process, we are getting closer to our goals.

Nowadays, we have a production series of generators with significantly lower prices in comparison with our main competitors in Western Europe and the USA. Not only have we lowered the price, but also due to the intelligent development of new processes our generators perform up to 50 % more than before. However, we do not stop here as we do not want to rest on our laurels. Only very few manufacturers of PSA systems can match us in power consumption as we want to be an energy-friendly company and such one we really are.

We have managed to lower energy levels on PSA oxygen generators by more than 20 % on traditional 2-column systems this year. We also have by far the best performing nitrogen systems, while our prices are up to 40 % lower than the prices of most competitors. We also have a plenty of new interesting products that we will bring to the market in the years to come.

We know that some competitors say that we are an East European manufacturer and that is true. We have production facilities both in Denmark and Slovakia. However, you should not forget for even a second that our quality control systems work and during last 2 years we have managed to significantly improve our quality. Nowadays, our R&D department is situated in Denmark, while our production is in Slovakia and this set-up seems to make sense.

So actually, it is possible to do the impossible - better quality, higher performance and lower prices at the same time. No doubt that the economic crisis is the best driver to achieve our very best performance. Otherwise I would have to tell you that it makes sense to do business with our competitors. However, analysing them, it becomes harder and harder to make such a statement.

Jesper Sjögren running with a team of one of our customers, sending a clear signal, that we do – almost – anything for our customers.

Surveillance Audit in Oxymat

By Marek Kučeravý, Quality Responsible

In Oxymat the Quality Management System is certified according to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 concerning medical devices. Our products are manufactured according to the European directives PED 97/23/EC (Pressure Equipment Directive) and MDD (Medical Devices Directive). The company was certified in 2007 when the first level of the system was set up and adjusted. As we all know, time and progress in the technical field run very fast. Therefore, our quality system and products cannot stay at the same level. Besides the internal improvements on everyday basis, there are also independent external audits performed in Oxymat annually. An audit by an experienced and independent third party shows the complex picture of the organization. Furthermore, not only can we see the improvements compared to the last audit results but also the things that still needs further improvements. It also shows whether the organization has the right direction to produce quality products and achieve customer sastisfaction.

Last surveillance audit took place on 14 - 16 October. We were audited by the well-known European Notified Body of Apragaz from Brussels. At first, the quality system was examined according to the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO 13 485. The surveyor found the system functioning well and meeting the audit criteria. The Oxymat quality system and employees demonstrated a high ability to assure and provide products that fulfill both standard and customer requirements.

The second part of the audit was the examination of compliance with PED and MDD directives regarding manufacturing quality, materials, quality control, quality assurance techniques, tests during and after production, and quality records.

The conclusion and the final report based on the audit show that with its quality management system and products Oxymat fulfilled both the regulatory and standard requirements. It means that the validity of the certificates is extended and we are ready to provide you with our high quality products and services.