(Yicai) April 15 -- Germany's Drager intends to further localize its production of ventilators, anesthesia machines, and monitors for medical devices in China this year, according to an executive.

China has become the third-largest market for Drager, Shen Lixin, head of the Lubeck-based firm's medical division, told Yicai during the latest China International Medical Equipment Fair that ended yesterday. The German company that focuses on medical and safety technologies has a plant in Shanghai.

The firm's factory has resumed operations after geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions, and longer logistics routes adversely affected the output of ventilators and components from 2022 to 2023, Shen said, adding that originally, all Drager ventilators were exported from Germany to China.

Opting for made-in-China products pays off. Hospitals are more inclined to purchase locally-produced medical devices considering the maturity of the Chinese market and policy support, Shen said, adding that his team has been working to convince the board to move more production to China.

"In the future, Drager’s Shanghai factory will become international and provide products for the global market," the head of the medical division said. “We are still hiring people and expanding the factory while many companies in the industry are shrinking due to various factors. In addition to enlarging the range of our products, we will continue to upgrade our local research and development, as well as construct industry chains.”

Drager already uses a significant portion of locally produced components and next, the aim is to reduce costs, Shen said. However, it takes time to move supply chains due to several layers of verification to ensure product quality.

"China will hopefully overtake Germany as Drager’s largest market in seven or eight years if its proportion rises by 10 percent each year," Shen said. In the future, the Chinese plant may cover sales of the Asia-Pacific region while the German factory will be responsible for the European and American markets, he added.

Editor: Emmi Laine