Carl Hoffman, President of Blue Ridge Medical Imaging, Inc., Salem, VA, has been in imaging equipment sales and service since 1995. Hoffman had previously worked 20 years for Siemens as a field engineer. BRMI specializes in Siemens imaging equipment sales, refurbishing and relocating services: for cath, angio, RF and CT. BRMI has been ISO certified for many years, and is among the first companies to be ISO certified in refurbishing. BRMI has service trucks in the Roanoke area, and travels and ships nationwide and globally to Europe and Africa.

BRMI has a serious inventory of hundreds of thousands of equipment parts, and is spinning off a secondary company--First Call parts. The ISO certification carries over to First Call. In parts and equipment, Hoffman says BRMI stands out because "We have many systems prestaged. Most companies don't go to that length." A part comes out of the prestage area fully tested and ready for use. The systems and parts are located in an 80,000-foot, climate-controlled warehouse. The parts are mostly Siemens' but are now including Philips, Toshiba, and GE equipment. BRMI plans to run the gamut of the imaging business shortly by including ultrasound and MRI. BRMI obtains its parts from sources such as hospital brokers.


In relocating services (i.e. moving equipment to another building or another wing of a hospital), BRMI provides a complete turnkey operation with blueprints; trained mechanical and imaging specialists check out the site beforehand to ensure all is according to blueprint plans, and enable a smooth transition for the customer. The engineers will de-install, install and calibrate the equipment to Siemens' specs.

BRMI bases its reputation on the knowledge and training of company engineers. In addition, the company invested significantly in buying the proper equipment to prestage the parts, to design a barcode system for sales and inventory, and to create the climate-controlled warehouse. The company has a full-time quality control manager and the parts are tested according to written instructions and properly packaged. The warehouse floors are EST protected from static.

From Hoffman's years in the business he knows how vital it is to have a working part. Hoffman goes the extra step to consider the patient's perspective--serving the customer is serving the customer's patient. A patient who may have driven three hours to undergo a CT or heart cath scan should not have to bear the inconvenience of having the equipment break down. Hoffman says, "I tell our people, you calibrate this as if your mother was on that table tomorrow morning....we try to prove our dedication every day to our customers and their patients and have our name synonymous with quality." BRMI's customers are OEMs, hospitals and clinics. BRMI can also offer technical support, and help a technician from ISOs and biomed companies troubleshoot a system over the phone.

BRMI is a growing business due to its diversity in parts and devotion to service and expertise. The company is utilizing internet possibilities with its own website and through services such as DOTmed. To Hoffman, being DOTmed Certified means that he is in the good company of other dealers and service providers who have ethics and can be trusted.

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