Passage 2Donegal is located in the windswept wilderness. It might seem an odd place to find one of Europe’s most dynamic companies. But a small assembly unit making a muscular stimulation product for leisure and healthcare is blazing a trail. BMR Teoranta—the company title in Irish—has quietly established a market for itself, making products for muscular therapy and body toning using the brand name Slendertone which it bought in 1989.Mr. Kevin McDonnell, the chairman, chief executive and owner of 95 per cent of the company, is a little vague about the source of his success. Part of it, he says, must be the p work ethic in the area. He points out that half his employees are from Galswegian families with their Scottish attitudes of thrift and industry. Mr. McDonnell bought the company for $300,000 and BMR sales are now growing at around 50-60 per cent a year.The medical products business, where growth is less dramatic, but margins are attractive, is seen as the source of the company’s future earnings. In the US alone, the market for muscular stimulation products has jumped from $88m to more than $200m this year.Many BMR products are not available over the counter but through catalogues. The company is looking at special advertising on video shopping channels. In the US companies like BMR are prohibited from selling medical products over the counter. In Europe this situation is slightly different. BMR, for example, is starting to sell its consumer range in Carrefour superstores in France and its range is available in pharmacies. However, under a European Union ruling similar to US laws, companies that sell such products will have to reequip their factories to meet new health standards. “I know it sounds a bit smart, but our products have always been seen as industry standard,” says Mr. Kevin McDonnell.The company spends ￡1,000,000 a year on research and development, quite a large sum for a company of its size.
A big company would normally set its manufacturing site in a more prosperous area than Donegal. ( )
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