Orlando diagnostics firm inks
$16M African deal

Amber Diagnostics landed a contract worth $16 million to provide new General Electric Healthcare diagnostic equipment to a hospital chain in the Republic of Cameroon — a deal that will result in 15 new local jobs and 25 in Africa.

The contract for that new distributorship is the largest overseas deal the Orlando firm has gotten in its 16-year history, roughly equivalent to this year’s total anticipated revenue of $15 million. The contract will be fulfilled by second-quarter 2009.

Before that, the largest overseas contract the company had gotten was $2.5 million from a group practice in India. Its largest contract ever was $22 million three years ago from Tenet Healthcare Corp.

“This is the fruit of a lot of years of work,” said Bobby Serros, founder, president and CEO of Amber Diagnostics, which primarily refurbishes used medical equipment.

The distributorship with GE and the contract with the hospital chain were both granted in July, but Serros did not release the information until now due to competitive reasons.

Because of the contract, Amber Diagnostics will add 15 people to its staff of 30 in Orlando by the end of the second quarter. The technical and production jobs, such CT engineers and MRI engineers, will pay between $50,000 and $65,000 a year. The company also expects to hire 25 people for its African operations by first-quarter of 2009.

“This contract is a turning point, because it puts us on everyone’s radar,” said Serros. In fact, the company already has been contacted by neighbors of Cameroon about possible equipment sales, and Serros expects his firm’s sales to reach $35 million in 2009.

It’s common for the floodgates to open for small companies after getting their first major contract, because they can use it as leverage when talking to other potential customers, said Mark Johnston, professor of marketing at Rollins College.

Africa is a relatively small market for Florida exports, but it’s a growing one, increasing from $460 million in 2005 to more than $1 billion in 2007, said Enterprise Florida, an Orlando-based, public-private partnership devoted to statewide economic development.

“I’m convinced sub-Saharan Africa has vast potential for Florida in the future,” said Manny Mencia, Enterprise Florida’s vice president of international business development. “There are challenges with financing and infrastructure, but companies that know how to do business in third-world countries can be successful.”

The GE Healthcare dealership, which was granted by GE in France, includes Cameroon and surrounding countries. During the past four years, Amber also established African offices in Niger, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Senegal.

Under the deal with GE Healthcare, Amber can sell new equipment and acquire G.E.’s trade-ins, which it can refurbish and/or resell.