Fuda Medical: Linen saver manufacturer par excellence

RESPONDING to government’s growth at home initiative, medical equipment manufacturer, Fuda Medical has embraced linen saver manufacturing which would significantly bring down Namibia’s costs for importing these medical products.

Established in 2019, Fuda Medical, which specialises in the production and sales of linen savers (Under pads and medicines plastic bottles), has established a 500 square metre manufacturing plant which has the capacity to produce up to 20 million linen saver units annually.

Linen savers are super absorbent pads that protect the mattress from urine damage. The pad is placed underneath or above the linens, depending on personal preference. They are important for absorbing the leaking liquid and to protect furniture and mattresses from urine damage, they are used by healthcare providers for pre-natal care, nursing homes, hospitals, and other health care facilities.

“We began to optimise production equipment in 2021 and improve staff skills. At present, automated production has been achieved. Our service team is more than 20 people and can serve medical institutions and pharmacies in more than seven countries such as Angola, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa. We also have our own logistics company to ensure that we provide customers with fast and preferential logistics services,” the company said.

Studies have revealed that on average, Namibia imports linen savers or related products to the value of N$350 million and the sector has been growing at an average of 15% per annum for the past five years. Essentially and given the various uses of the disposable linen savers, the market for these locally is estimated at 4 million units per year.

“Fuda Medical has been sourcing and supplying the linen savers or hospital bed under pads to the Ministry of Health and Social Services under tender for the past two years. The challenges faced in sourcing the product of an acceptable quality and quantity within a given time pushed Fuda Medical to consider setting up a manufacturing plant for linen savers in Namibia,” the company further said.

Going forward, the medical equipment manufacturer seeks to broaden its influence in Namibia and the region at large. The company has highlighted that it seeks to target clinical departments across most state and private hospitals, community health care centres, old people’s homes, hotels, schools and even patient’s homes.

“Surely, our product has a variety of uses meaning that many clinical staff use linen savers for a huge variety of reasons. The clinical settings are various and numerous. For this reason, we have a huge role to play in the health care industry and national growth agenda,” the company also said.

Last year, it was reported that Student Nurses are frustrated with the lack of medical supplies, including gloves, surgical masks, and linen savers at the Katutura Intermediate State Hospital. In the same year, media reports indicated that nurses at the Oshakati State Hospital in the Oshana region had been using their own protective gear.

“We want to encourage all our potential clients including government to engage us so that we can continue to provide active solutions and help to not only save money for government in the post-covid era but also contribute to the development of our health care industry,” concluded Fuda Medical.