Oxair Manufacturing Collaboration Targets Sub-Continent
Oxair, a leading manufacturer of gas process systems, is setting up a manufacturing base in India in a joint venture that is hoped will give the Australian company a competitive edge supplying medical oxygen generators to hospitals on the Sub-Continent.
By teaming up with Chennai-based specialist Agastya Aeroworks PVT Ltd, an Oxair agent that had successfully supplied nitrogen generators and High Pressure 300 Bar Desiccant Dryers to the Indian Navy, as well as Medical Oxygen PSA units to some of the country’s hospitals and medical market, Oxair believes it can gain an advantage in one of the fastest growing healthcare sectors in the world.
Known as Oxair Gas Systems India, the company has targeted the end of June 2018 to have its Indian manufacturing plant fully operational and help the country’s vast number of hospitals meet new regulatory requirements, that every hospital must have an alternative supply of oxygen to help prevent the tragedies that have occurred recently where people have died on wards due to a lack of the life-saving gas.
Oxair’s generating system delivers constant oxygen of 94-95% purity through PSA filtration, a unique process that separates oxygen from compressed air. The gas is then conditioned and filtered before being stored in a buffer tank to be piped directly into to the hospital on demand.
Instead of the removal and reliance of transporting in and handling of dangerous conventional cylinders, except as a back-up supply, India’s hospitals will have the opportunity for oxygen on tap, enabling them to be self-sufficient by generating the purest of oxygen for years to come.
James Newell, Oxair’s CEO, said: “We have had a highly successful association with Agastya for eight years and look forward to continuing our relationship with them to realise our future growth plans. India is a massive healthcare market and the country’s hospitals will need the best and most affordable life-saving equipment that money can buy.
“Manufacturing our oxygen generators for the Indian market in India will eliminate the import duty making our prices hugely competitive. India’s hospitals need a reliable source of oxygen to treat an increasing flow of people, Oxair’s PSA units can safeguard against events like extreme weather and late deliveries where patients could be vulnerable to failing supplies.”
A healthcare facility in India that is already benefitting from an Oxair oxygen generating system – and is planning to order another one – is the Aarvy Hospital in Gurgaon, which is regarded as being at the forefront of bringing affordable and improved healthcare to the people of that region.
Aarvy Hospital’s Proprietor, Dr Vikram Singh, described the commissioning of the oxygen plant as a major milestone in the hospital’s history that is helping to deliver improved health care for patients. He said: “Commissioning this oxygen plant gives the hospital a more robust, reliable and economical means of providing life-saving treatment to our patients.”
As well as India, Oxair’s PSA units have also been installed in the Philippines, Tonga, Indonesia and Africa, providing a reliable and sustainable supply of oxygen, compared to the expense of shipping in traditional cylinders. The PSA system has helped deliver an increased level of good quality healthcare to patients in all these regions.
Oxair’s PSAs are registered medical devices under ISO 13485, which makes them fully compliant for use in all hospitals and healthcare facilities. Patients’ lives are dependent on safe and consistent delivery of the highest quality oxygen and it is imperative that hospitals can find a cost-effective and independent solution for producing this life-saving gas.
