A domestic company manufacturing body implants used in sports, brain and spine surgery, products that Turkey has been dependent on for years, has started exporting to 45 countries.

Operating from Ankara’s industrial suburb of OSTIM, Doratek Medikal draws attention with the body implants it manufactures in the field of neurosurgery and orthopedics.

"The company produces plates and screws for neurosurgery patients with scoliosis and spinal problems," Selin Ariç, a board member of Doratek Medikal, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Stating that their products are used in the field of sports surgery in the orthopedics group, Ariç said, "We have implant production for the resuturing of tendons in patients with shoulder and knee injuries and tendon ruptures. We produce plates and screws used in orthopedics for facial and head fractures. We also have plates and screws that heal broken foot bones in patients."

"Unfortunately, these products were not produced in Turkey and the market needed these products. We said: 'Why don't we make them in Turkey? Why don't we nationalize them and offer them to the Turkish market with our brand? We don't even export them?' Then we established our company and have made breakthroughs on it. Currently, all of our products are produced domestically in our own factory," said Ariç, emphasizing that the implants they now manufacture were earlier imported.

Company aims to increase its export capacity in 2022

Ariç stated that the medical products they produce have the CE certificate valid in Turkey, Europe and many countries, and that they also have the "ISO 13485" certificate, which is required for the production of medical devices. CE marking indicates that a product has been assessed by the manufacturer and deemed to meet European Union safety, health and environmental protection requirements.

Expressing that they have two different patented products used in shoulder stabilization and veterinary medicine, Ariç said, "We also make continuous improvements in our products that are not patented but included in our own product range. We have our own product designs."

"We are spread over many regions from Asia to South America. We export to approximately 45 countries from Pakistan to Chile. Among our 2022 plans is to increase our export capacity by including our target customers in our structure. There are currently five countries that are our target customers and we are in the agreement phase," said Ariç, noting that they are strong in exports as a company.

Ariç stated that the company has filled production capacity in the factory, therefore they have started to take steps to expand capacity. Pointing out that the cessation of surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected Doratek Medikal, as well as many other companies, Ariç said, "It was the exports that kept us floating during this process. Thanks to our exports, we survived the pandemic with less damage."

Stating that they benefited from the support of Turkey’s Ministry of Commerce, Ankara Development Agency and Turkish Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB), Ariç added that they also received support in business, foreign market research and fairs.