30 Minute Interview

'India is Identified as One of the Top Emerging Markets for Growth'

3M was founded in 1902 in Minnesota, USA and is today a $23-billion company. 3M has a global presence in more than 200 countries with a product portfolio comprising approximately 55,000 products spread across seven distinct business areas. The core strength in the extensive line of healthcare are products in the areas of skin and wound care, IV therapy, dressing and device secural, and skin closures. The key brands from the 3M medical division include Tegaderm, Steri-strip, Red dot, Littmann, Micropore, attest and Ioban. 3M India has manufacturing facilities at Bangalore and Ahmedabad with more than 700 employees. In 2006, 3M India had a turnover of Rs 5,103 million with profits of over Rs 504.2 million. Gautam Khanna, Vice President, Healthcare Business, 3M India Ltd, spoke to Jayata Sharma about the companies varied profile and future plans. Excerpts:

Gautam Khanna Vice President, Healthcare Business, 3M India Ltd

Why the stress on products related to infection control?

Today, hospitals are much more focused on prevention and control of infections and infectious organisms. Increasing infection rates lead to more usage of antibiotics and longer stay in the hospitals. This also increases the chances of nosocomial infections. Hence, this is one of the
biggest challenges faced by the hospitals. 3M Medical is a pioneer and a global leader in the range of products in the infection prevention portfolio.

Which are the innovative products by 3M?

3M Medical is a leader in providing solutions that are focused on simplifying and improving healthcare standards. A few innovative products in the medical division are 3M Littmann Electronic Model 3000, 3M Steri-strips Wound Closure System, 3M ScotchcastTM Plus Casting Tape, 3M Ioban2 Antimicrobial Incise Drape and 3M Coldhot Pack.

Which latest technology is 3M focusing on?

3M is a leader in various technology platforms in the world. We develop products which leverage technologies from different areas to develop a superior product. Some examples are Rapid Attest Technology and 3M Steri-strips Wound Closure System, which combines the cosmetic benefits of Steri-Strip skin closures with the barrier protection of 3M Tegaderm Transparent Dressing into one convenient product.

What is the per annum growth of 3M?

The healthcare business of 3M Worldwide was more than $4 billion in 2006. The growth of 3M Health Care in India has been more than 25 per cent on an annual basis. 3M Health Care clocked a turnover of approximately Rs 71 crore in 2006 compared to Rs 55 crore in 2005. However, given the aggressive outlook projections made by CII for the healthcare industry, we see immense growth opportunities in India.

Which marketing strategies are adopted by 3M?

We put a lot of emphasis on workshops, speaker programmes etc. For example, to be in line with the processes and protocols, CME programmes are conducted in the hospitals to educate the customers. The cornerstone of our marketing strategy is to spread brand awareness and increase availability of our product range through marketing campaigns. Over 60,000 customers were directly contacted through the marketing programmes in the year 2006. We have adequate distribution in place to ensure that the customers are able to have easy access to 3M products in any part of the country.

Which quality standards are strictly followed at 3M?

3M manufacturing takes place in world class facilities, meeting various quality systems such as ISO, CE Marking, US FDA standards and GMP.

How do you plan to increase your penetration in the OR/ICU and CSSD?

We have a strong presence in the OR/ICU and CSSD and going forward we intend to have a broader footprint in the Indian market, by increasing our coverage and launch of a wider range of products in the year 2007. This focus would increase our penetration levels in this segment. We believe that we can offer products that result in better patient care and improve nursing efficiency. Thus, the benefits of cost saving that accrue to the hospital will be passed on to patients in a competitive hospital business environment.

3M claims to launch 15 new products/adaptation during 2007. Kindly elaborate.

India has been identified as one of the top emerging markets for growth. The year 2007 will be a year of new product launches and lot of work is underway. We will be introducing many new products in the skin and wound care and the asepsis portfolio during the course of the year. Some of them will be locally developed to adapt to the Indian customer needs, in terms of ambient weather conditions, cost expectations and current application.

Whom do you consider your competitors in the market? How do you tackle competition?

We are positioned against a number of competitors because of our wide product range. In fact, there is not a single competitor who has a similar portfolio. Lately, we have been facing competition from some local manufacturers who due to sub-optimal manufacturing and different quality standards are able to provide some products at a different price point. However, our competitive strength are as follows:

• Superior quality products that is recognised and used by top hospitals across the country.
• We have a trained field sales force of more than 110 members; this is possibly the highest among companies in the surgical field.
• Reach of distribution - have over 250 channel partners across 110 cities.
• We have a strong technical team of 10 members who educate the customer on clinical aspects of usage and provide technical support to the sales team. In fact, we have contacted more than 60,000 end users last year through our marketing and technical programmes.

Tell us about 3M's role outside manufacturing of products.

3M in India has been working with individual hospital infection control committees to help develop customised protocols and help in implementing and compliance monitoring. 3M has worked with various Indian professional organisations in formulating and publishing national guidelines for prevention of infections in various segments of healthcare settings. The educational platform of 3M Health Care 'Center for Excellence' organises courses for medical and nursing professionals in infection prevention area. We have successfully conducted these programmes in Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata.

How do you plan to penetrate the Indian market further?

We envisage strong growth in IV management and asepsis portfolio. Enhancement of the product portfolio and localisation of some products coupled with increased coverage and initiatives in hospitals will drive the growth. Currently, we are selling to over 300 large hospitals and 1,500 small hospitals covering 110 locations. We intend to increase our coverage to 140 locations with a total hospital base of 2,500 by 2007.

jayata.sharma@expressindia.com