"There isn't any money. We have university labs whose funding and grants are gone. That was money for service contracts or repairs," said Frank Grubaugh, President, Tom Black Service Center. "However, being a third party company and not an OEM, we do see an increase in service when the economy is low; customers can't afford to pay the manufacturer their rate per hour or markup on parts. So we are able to see a little pickup there."

Several lab equipment specialists reported that December and January are typically very slow sales months since lab upgrades and equipment installation projects are planned well in advance to avoid bad weather. So it's hard to know exactly what the economic impact is yet.


"Everyone is holding tight. Some are looking for refurbished equipment to keep within their budget. Those who have money can afford to buy new and will. But we hope the economy will pick up," said Elaine Henkin, Proprietor, Med/Tech. "Things are not great but they are getting better with a bit of loosening of money across the board. Everyone is extremely budget-conscious, even my large university clinics -even the zoos." She noted that innovative start-up companies in biomedical research continue to pursue financing.




On the clinical side, DOTmed industry insiders have reported that physicians are reluctant to invest in start-up pathology labs in today's bad economy and continue to use large reference labs instead. In addition, sales calls to hospitals by equipment companies, which used to be made directly to end user clinicians and researchers, today, are made to "the carpet." In other words, instead of visiting the lab, equipment sales people call on hospital administrators.

Individual pieces of equipment may still enjoy a high level of demand in any event. "With the economy struggling, we have found that our business is thriving since we can provide a necessary product. Autoclaves are not a luxury they are a necessity and they're available at an economic price," noted Gregory Drinkwater, Owner, RemanufacturedSterilizers.net.

"This past year has been one of our best years. I don't know if the economy is driving the business more to refurbishing and upgrading existing equipment rather than buying new. But so far, remanufactured equipment seems to be on an uptick despite the economy," said Herman Dennington, President, Medequip Engineering Service, Inc., a sterilizer supplier in Central Point, Oregon.

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