Invacare 2005 Annual Report Download - page 3

2฀3
opportunities
seize
The฀U.S.฀home฀medical฀equipment฀(HME)฀industry฀
has฀entered฀a฀challenging฀period฀as฀a฀result฀of฀
reimbursement฀pressures฀and฀low-cost฀imports.฀
However,฀this฀is฀still฀a฀growth฀market฀with฀good฀
opportunities฀for฀companies฀positioned฀to฀seize฀them.
A฀key฀market฀driver฀is฀the฀aging฀population.฀฀
By฀2020,฀more฀than฀one฀in฀six฀Americans฀will฀be฀฀
65฀and฀older.฀The฀same฀trend฀is฀occurring฀through-
out฀the฀world.฀This฀segment฀of฀the฀population฀is฀
going฀to฀need฀more฀of฀the฀types฀of฀products฀that฀฀
Invacare฀offers.฀Meanwhile,฀disposable฀incomes฀
are฀rising฀fast฀in฀East฀Asia฀and฀Eastern฀Europe.฀
People฀there฀are฀increasingly฀able฀to฀afford฀฀
well-designed฀home฀medical฀products.฀
Along฀with฀these฀demographic฀trends,฀changing฀
social฀values฀are฀prompting฀people฀to฀maintain฀an฀
active฀lifestyle฀despite฀the฀impediments฀of฀age,฀
injury฀or฀disability.฀In฀addition,฀there฀are฀significant฀
untapped฀needs฀for฀home฀medical฀products฀that฀
better฀meet฀the฀needs฀of฀millions฀of฀people฀living฀
with฀disease฀states฀such฀as฀diabetes,฀obesity฀฀
and฀emphysema.฀All฀these฀factors฀support฀a฀฀
long-term฀annual฀growth฀rate฀for฀HME฀of฀5-7%.
฀ Issue
Invacare฀is฀increasing฀its฀focus฀on฀seizing฀
opportunities฀for฀profitable฀growth.฀Two฀฀
of฀the฀most฀attractive฀are฀home฀oxygen฀฀
and฀bariatrics.฀
The฀Invacare®฀HomeFill™฀II฀Oxygen฀฀
System฀has฀been฀embraced฀by฀many฀U.S.฀
HME฀providers.฀This฀lightweight฀and฀฀
portable฀device฀provides฀oxygen฀patients฀฀
an฀unlimited฀source฀of฀oxygen฀to฀encourage฀
compliance฀and฀ambulation฀while฀eliminat-
ing฀the฀non-value-added฀costs฀of฀delivering฀฀
oxygen.฀We฀are฀working฀with฀oxygen฀฀
providers฀in฀Europe฀to฀spur฀demand฀for฀฀
the฀HomeFill฀II฀system฀there.฀In฀addition,฀฀
we฀are฀developing฀modified฀versions฀of฀฀
our฀oxygen฀concentrators฀for฀Japan฀and฀
China,฀both฀very฀large฀markets.
According฀to฀the฀latest฀statistics,฀some฀฀
40฀million฀Americans฀are฀obese.฀In฀fact,฀฀
the฀adult฀obesity฀rate฀has฀doubled฀over฀฀
the฀past฀two฀decades.฀Many฀of฀these฀people฀
need฀specialized฀home฀medical฀equipment฀
for฀assistance฀in฀walking฀and฀other฀daily฀
activities.฀Invacare฀offers฀a฀complete฀line฀฀
of฀bariatric฀products,฀including฀manual฀฀
and฀power฀wheelchairs,฀beds,฀walkers฀
and฀rollators.
฀ Action
Invacare฀is฀increasing฀its฀focus฀on฀seizing฀
opportunities฀for฀profitable฀growth.฀Two฀฀
of฀the฀most฀attractive฀are฀home฀oxygen฀฀
and฀bariatrics.฀
The฀Invacare®฀HomeFill™฀II฀Oxygen฀฀
System฀has฀been฀embraced฀by฀many฀U.S.฀
HME฀providers.฀This฀lightweight฀and฀฀
portable฀device฀provides฀oxygen฀patients฀฀
an฀unlimited฀source฀of฀oxygen฀to฀encourage฀
compliance฀and฀ambulation฀while฀eliminat-
ing฀the฀non-value-added฀costs฀of฀delivering฀฀
oxygen.฀We฀are฀working฀with฀oxygen฀฀
providers฀in฀Europe฀to฀spur฀demand฀for฀฀
the฀HomeFill฀II฀system฀there.฀In฀addition,฀฀
we฀are฀developing฀modified฀versions฀of฀฀
our฀oxygen฀concentrators฀for฀Japan฀and฀
China,฀both฀very฀large฀markets.
According฀to฀the฀latest฀statistics,฀some฀฀
40฀million฀Americans฀are฀obese.฀In฀fact,฀฀
the฀adult฀obesity฀rate฀has฀doubled฀over฀฀
the฀past฀two฀decades.฀Many฀of฀these฀people฀
need฀specialized฀home฀medical฀equipment฀
for฀assistance฀in฀walking฀and฀other฀daily฀
activities.฀Invacare฀offers฀a฀complete฀line฀฀
of฀bariatric฀products,฀including฀manual฀฀
and฀power฀wheelchairs,฀beds,฀walkers฀
and฀rollators.
Photos,฀top฀to฀bottom:฀Invacare฀HomeFill™฀II฀Oxygen฀฀
System฀and฀Platinum™฀5L฀Concentrator;฀HomeFill฀II฀฀
Patient฀Convenience฀Pack฀with฀ML6฀cylinder;฀bariatric฀฀
market;฀1,000-lb.฀capacity฀bariatric฀homecare฀bed
฀ H O M E F I L L™฀ I I ฀ O X Y G E N ฀ S Y S T E M ฀