by
Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | September 05, 2017
The liquid metal bearing tube
on GE Healthcare's Revolution EVO.
From the September 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
With Dunlee relocating its business to Germany, Varex Imaging Corporation spinning out of Varian Medical Systems and Richardson Healthcare entering the manufacturing space, it can seem like the X-ray tube sector has recently been involved in a game of musical chairs.
Dunlee, the X-ray and CT components company acquired by Philips in 2001, announced in June that it will be shutting down its Generators, Tubes and Components (GTC) facility in Aurora, Ill. The operations will be moved to an existing Philips site in Hamburg, Germany, that serves the OEM market for X-segment products.
This transition is driven by a significant decline in the generators, tubes and components replacement market in recent years, according to Philips.
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“Lower prices by OEMs and introduction of secondary brands, along with competitors becoming more aggressive in their offerings, have contributed to this response from Dunlee,” says Fedor von Balluseck, global head of marketing and service for generators, tubes and components at Philips.
In July, Dunlee announced that its call centers will be combined with AllParts Medical, a parts vendor also owned by Philips. Its sales and service representation in the U.S. for the replacement business will continue on through AllParts, which will be in the forefront of continuing Dunlee’s leadership and offerings in this segment.
“AllParts is now a single point of contact for all Philips North America third-party parts processes across all imaging modalities, including ultrasound,” says Jim Salmons, senior director of multivendor services at Philips. “With one call to AllParts, our customers have access to high-quality parts, tubes, probes and training resources.”
What will it mean for customers?
The relocation of Dunlee will impact approximately 200 Aurora-based employees, but Balluseck is optimistic that it will not change anything for customers – meaning no gaps in delivery and service will result from the transition.
“[It’s] primarily an adjustment of our internal organization,” he says. “For all intents and purposes, the transfer should appear seamless from the customer perspective.”
Over the last three years, Dunlee has worked with AllParts as a shared channel. As sales representatives and key staff become AllParts employees, those synergies are expected to increase.
In addition, inventory remains ready to ship from Dunlee’s current structure, which includes multiple forward stock locations, in order to ensure parts are delivered to facilities within hours instead of days.
