Search
Language
Language
02. September 2022
// Trade Fairs & Events

Strong, innovative, transparent – Burmeier remains a reliable partner in every situation

Managing Director Reiner Rekemeier on forward-looking planning and interesting new products at REHACARE

Anticipation permeates the rooms of the new, modern Burmeier headquarters in Hiddenhausen. For the first time since 2019, Germany's leading manufacturer of homecare beds will be back live at REHACARE in Düsseldorf in September. There are exciting new products to discover there. Our customers and suppliers can also visit our stand with the good feeling that Burmeier is always a reliable and fair partner, even in times of political and economic crisis. Managing Director Reiner Rekemeier explains the reasons for this success in this interview.

Many companies are currently struggling with rising material prices and endangered supply chains. How does Burmeier manage to always remain strong and reliable even in this situation?

In our procurement management, we pay close attention to signals from the market and set the course at an early stage to acquire important components at the best possible price in sufficient quantities. To this end, we regularly exchange information with our strategic purchasing department, our production plants and our suppliers. In this way, we avoid unpleasant surprises in terms of delivery capability and pricing. For example, our production plants have always stocked drive components for our beds at a very early stage. Bottlenecks in springwood slats due to the political situation in Europe could be compensated by new suppliers, for example from Lithuania. In the case of steel, the Stiegelmeyer Group has made such good provisions that our ability to supply is already secured until the end of 2022.

What are Burmeier's strengths when it comes to pricing?

We have adjusted our prices as of 1 January 2022. This was unavoidable given the difficult situation in the areas of material procurement, supply chains and logistics. The new prices were communicated at an early stage, were transparent and, above all, very fair: we did not make a blanket increase of a certain percentage, but oriented ourselves to the specific materials for the individual products. Our customers were able to comprehend the prices and had understanding.

And most importantly, prices remain stable over the course of the current year, despite the significantly aggravated situation caused by the war in Ukraine.

Yes, we are proud of that. The increase in safety stocks and the early stockpiling of important production components make this reliability possible. Here, Burmeier also offers strong advantages compared to some competitors, who have increased their prices sometimes later, but then repeatedly. With us, there is a high degree of planning reliability and, overall, an optimal price-performance ratio.

Can we already look ahead to 2023 in terms of prices?

No, that would be purely speculative. The economic situation next year cannot yet be predicted. But one thing is certain: we will again prepare ourselves well and transparently and communicate possible changes early on.

An important foundation for Burmeier's success is the Dali care bed, which is highly regarded in Germany and many other countries. What can be said about the status of this model shortly before REHACARE?

The Dali range offers almost limitless application possibilities internationally in classic prescription care and in the area of facilities. With its wireless handset, the Dali was the first digital standard bed in homecare. We have continued to refine BLE technology, creating more freedom of movement and quality of life for residents and relatives. Now we are going one step further: soon the Dali will also be available with an open interface for environmental controls. Users with limited abilities will then be able to adjust the bed by voice command or eye movement, for example. This interface is MDR-compliant, i.e. it implements all the requirements of the new European Medical Devices Regulation. We are looking forward to presenting this innovation to the visitors of REHACARE. The Dali has already been sold well over a million times and will continue to build on its position as the most successful and reliable bed. There is no doubt that our Dali is perceived in the market as the truly best homecare bed.

And of course, Burmeier also offers many other first-class bed models – especially the Regia, our comfortable bed for private buyers.

Yes, the self-pay market offers retailers and their customers many opportunities for attractive offers and a new homelike lifestyle. The Regia has established itself strongly in this area and inspires users with its individual design options and its modern fall prophylaxis as a low-height bed. Annual increases in sales figures confirm the upswing in private sales. In general, Burmeier has many interesting offers in the area of private sales: helpful accessories, modern marketing material and professional sales training. At REHACARE, we will present an intuitive online configurator for the Regia, which makes selection and ordering much easier for dealers and users.

Burmeier is back at REHACARE for the first time since 2019. What are you looking forward to, what are you hoping for?

We very much look forward to personal contact with our customers and partners. As helpful as video conferences are – they cannot replace relaxed sales in a "live format". We are very interested in what our customers, suppliers or other medical device manufacturers have experienced in the past three years and how they will master the future. Perhaps this will result in opportunities to define common goals and grow even closer together.

What news can visitors of our stand look forward to?

Low-height beds make a valuable contribution to fall prevention because they protect residents from injuries without restricting their mobility. With an entry height of only 15 cm, our new low-height bed Lenus lies almost on the floor and is ideal, for example, for people with dementia and a pronounced urge to move.

For many years, our Relax bed surround has been a classic and is particularly popular as a frame for our Lippe bed inserts. We have now modernised the Relax and developed it into an inspiringly homelike bed with clear lines and an elegant wooden look.

I have already mentioned the interface for environment control on the Dali: it will once again prove that Burmeier is a pioneer in new trends in homecare and creates real added value for customers with its projects from the connectivity sector.

Rehacare 2022 will take place from 14 to 17 September at Messe Düsseldorf. We look forward to seeing you in Hall 5 at Stand J20.

Other articles which may interest you:
26. October 2017
Big stage for Puro and Evario: The modern hospital beds by Stiegelmeyer will once againtake centre stage at MEDICA from the 13th to 16th of November. At our stand in Düsseldorf…
more
22. February 2018
Multi-resistant hospital germs are a global problem, but some countries are achieving particular success in addressing this challenge.
more
21. December 2020
December is usually the time for good-humoured advice in the media: what to give for Christmas, what to cook, what clothes are in fashion? But this year everything is different.…
more
16. November 2023
Marketing product manager Tabea Lanzke explains how Stiegelmeyer can support healthcare centres.
more