Business
Re. Tristel Italia srl
Re. Tristel Italia srl.
About this update from Tristel Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Tristel PLC\n06 February 2008\n\n\n\n TRISTEL plc\n\n\n\n Establishment of Tristel Italia srl\n\n\n\nTristel plc ('Tristel'), the AIM listed provider of infection and contamination\ncontrol products, announces that it has taken a 20% interest in Tristel Italia\nsrl ('TI'), a company incorporated in Italy and established to commercialise\nTristel's product portfolio in the country. TI was incorporated on 9 October\n2007. Prior to Tristel becoming a shareholder TI was wholly-owned by Mr Michael\nDonaldson.\n\n\n\nMr Donaldson, aged 51, was Country Manager, Italy and Greece, for Fuji Hunt\nPhotographic Chemicals until June 2006. During the past eighteen months Mr\nDonaldson has been assessing the potential of the Italian market for Tristel. He\nis resident in Milan.\n\n\n\nTristel is providing a loan facility to TI to fund its early stage development\nand has an option to increase its shareholding in TI from 20% to 51%. Paul\nSwinney, Chief Executive of Tristel, assumes the position of President of TI and\nMichael Donaldson its Managing Director.\n\n\n\nCommenting on Tristel's involvement in TI and the Italian market, Paul Swinney\nexplains:\n\n\n\n 'The development of our export business is proceeding well. In all the export\nmarkets which we are currently penetrating we are working with distributors.\nWhilst this model is highly effective its limitations can be exposed as the\nTristel product portfolio continues to expand. We address specific niches within\nthe hospital market and it can be difficult to identify a distributor capable of\nexploiting them all successfully.\n\n\n\n'Michael has been known to us for many years and is well qualified to build the\nTristel business in Italy. The Italian hospital market has many similarities to\nthe United Kingdom's. We are very encouraged to have already secured TI's first\ncustomers in the Ear, Nose and Throat market, an area we dominate in our home\nmarket.\n\n\n\n'This investment for international expansion represents a departure from our\npresent export market development model. However, the investment is modest and\nwe believe that a direct presence in Italy will accelerate significantly our\npenetration of this major European market.'\n\n\n\nContacts:\n\n\nTristel plc\n\nPaul Swinney, Chief Executive Tel: 01638 721 500\n\nDaniel Stewart & Company Plc\nOliver Rigby Tel: 020 7...