Medical equipment rental business acquired

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A Houston-based business with plans to grow has acquired a Lancaster County company that rents medical equipment.

Medical Support Products in Manheim Township closed in early April on a deal to be acquired by US Med-Equip a national medical equipment supplier at the beginning of the month. Medical Support’s Lancaster County office will serve as Med-Equip’s headquarters for the northeastern U.S., said  Gurmit Singh Bhatia, US Med-Equip‘s CEO.

“It gives us a launching pad into the Northeast and it brings us the opportunity to access Philadelphia, Washington and the surrounding areas,” Bhatia said.

Medical Support Products also has an office in Virginia. US Med-Equip already has branches throughout the South and Southeast U.S.

The Lancaster company did not enter the deal from a position of weakness, according to Matt Musser, former president of Medical Support Products. Musser said the acquisition will provide Medical Support Products’ customers with a streamlined rental process.

“We are only going to find success if our customers find success with our services and we just got a whole bunch of tools to help achieve that,” Musser said.

Medical Support Products previously sold, rented and repaired respiratory devices for hospitals and medical practices. With the merger, the company will add equipment like defibrillators and infusion pumps, which deliver medication into a patient’s blood.

Med-Equip offers its customers an online ordering service that allows them to view their rental history. The company also puts RFID chips in equipment, which it easier to track down in hospitals.

Customers of Medical Support Products will like the addition of the RFID technology, according to Bhatia. He said equipment can often be lost in a hospital setting as it is shared among various providers.

“We can walk the hospital, ping for the equipment and find it,” he said. “It’s been very beneficial and something that our partners have asked us to bring into the Northeast.”

Medical Support Products employed 24 people in its two offices. Med-Equip plans to increase the workforce in both.

Med-Equip employs 250 people and had $46.8 million in revenue in 2018. Bhatia said it expects to do close to $60 million this year.