Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1478518
18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | September 12, 2022 Peter Leonidas is the founder and CEO of Soma Tech International, which has seen significant demand for its refurbished medical equipment. HBJ PHOTO | ROBERT STORACE Healthy Niche As hospitals look to control costs, Soma Tech's refurbished medical equipment business booms By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com A s hospitals, doctor's offices and other healthcare providers continue to face pressure to control or even reduce costs, many are increasingly turning to the refurbished medical equipment market to save on some of their most costly purchases. That's been a boon for Bloom- field-based Soma Tech International, which sells refurbished medical equipment to healthcare facilities worldwide, including the largest health systems in Connecticut like Yale New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health of New England. Demand has been so intense in recent years — amid the pandemic and cries in Connecticut and nation- ally for the healthcare system to better control costs, including via medical equipment purchases that can carry multimillion-dollar price tags — that Soma Tech's revenues have increased nearly 2,000% over the last three years, placing the company No. 283 on Inc. magazine's recently-pub- lished list of the 5,000 fastest-growing U.S. private companies. The $40-million business with about 100 employees spread across four locations (Bloomfield, New Britain, East Hartford and Cheshire) has also grown its workforce and is constructing a new 60,000-square- foot building next to its headquarters that will debut next year and be used for engineering, sales, operations and warehouse storage. Peter Leonidas, who founded the company in 1992 and still leads it as president and CEO, said he's seen an increase in business because of recent partnerships with top hospital chains and growth in the international market. By purchasing refurbished medical equipment (that meets strict safety and quality standards), individual hospitals can save millions of dollars annually on items ranging from defibrillators to anesthesia machines, incubators and even surgical tables, Leonidas said. And he's tapped into a market that's expected to grow at an annual rate of 12% to reach $18 billion by 2026, according to Medi-Tech Insights, a business research firm. "The demand for this equipment is at a very high level," Leonidas said. "We have and continue to grow beyond physician's offices and ambu- latory surgical centers and expand into hospital chains because we offer something of value at an affordable price that is in high demand." BIO BOX Peter Leonidas Age: 55 Lives: West Hartford Company: Soma Tech International Title: President & CEO Revenue: $40 million Education: Electrical engi- neering degree, UConn; MBA, international business, Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute