4th November 2013
Pharmaco (NZ) Ltd takes on a new frontier
Healthcare sales, marketing and distribution specialist Pharmaco (NZ) Limited has announced today it has acquired
Frontier Medical New Zealand Limited a sales and distribution company specialising in the emergency medical care and
equipment sector.
The acquisition of Frontier Medical will open up an entirely new business sector for Pharmaco in the area of providing
critical products to pre-hospital emergency services such as fire, ambulance, Coastguard, Police and the Defence force,
as well as hospital emergency services.
Under the agreement Pharmaco will sell, market and distribute over 1,000 products currently managed by Frontier from
well-known companies such as Composite Resources, Ferno, Vidacare, American Diagnostic Corporation and North American
Rescue. Products in the range include those for emergency care, resuscitation and oxygen, patient transport and
emergency medical training, and cover items such as stethoscopes, many different types of stretchers and oxygen masks.
Following the acquisition Frontier’s sales, marketing and customer service team of five will move to Pharmaco’s head
office in Mount Wellington, Auckland, and will operate as a separate business unit within Pharmaco (NZ) Limited.
Chandra Selvadurai, CEO of Pharmaco, says the acquisition has been a meeting of minds between two very successful
home-grown healthcare companies who both understand the New Zealand market very well:
“This is a great fit for Pharmaco and offers us a new avenue for growth in both the pre-hospital market in emergency
care, rescue, resuscitation and trauma, and the hospital sector.
“The products distributed by Frontier are critical for any emergency situation, which means efficient supply and
distribution to emergency personnel is an incredibly important task. Combining the expertise of the Frontier team with
Pharmaco’s almost 50 years of experience in medical product distribution means emergency personnel, and the New
Zealanders or visitors they serve, will have the best access to the best equipment when they need it the most.”
“It makes me even more delighted that the entire Frontier team will be joining us bringing their vital skills and
knowledge with them. This includes the founders, Warwick Manning, a former emergency professional, and Karen Angove, who
will join us as consultants during the transition,” he says.
Frontier’s range of products are used across New Zealand by personnel including around 4,000 paid and volunteer people
from St John Ambulance and Wellington Free Ambulance, and over 10,000 career and volunteer fire fighters from the NZ
Fire Service, District and City Councils and the Department of Conservation. They are also used in hospitals and health
centres nationwide.
Both companies have successfully carved a niche in the New Zealand market by representing international companies.
Pharmaco was established in 1967 and has built up a reputation as a highly professional operator in the pharmaceutical,
diagnostic, scientific and medical product sector. It will now manage the sales, marketing and distribution for over
2500 products and represents over twenty international pharmaceutical and medical technology companies from around the
world.
Frontier Medical was established in 1999 and is at the forefront of supplying quality emergency care, resuscitation and
training equipment. The business has developed a reputation for having the most comprehensive range of emergency
equipment in this sector.
Chandra Selvadurai continues by explaining the importance of the healthcare sales, marketing and distribution sector:
“New Zealand is reliant on international healthcare products to serve its population and visitors. But this wouldn’t be
possible without companies like Pharmaco and Frontier who represent international companies, and their products, without
the need for them to have a local presence.
“This is where highly skilled sales, marketing and distribution, along with administration and regulatory support,
becomes such an important service and where being a New Zealand company makes all the difference, simply because we
understand the market better.”
Ends