Hossein Mozafari, Varid Medical Production Group

From its inception, Varid Medical Production Group targeted the global syringe market.

Demanding, high-quality injection molded medical devices that can compete in tough, hotly contested European markets are perhaps not yet the kind of products usually associated with Middle Eastern processors. But not only does this molder produce innovative gadgets like single-use syringes, it also builds the tools for such products. That, says Hossein Mozafari, managing director of Varid Medical Production Group (Tehran, Iran), is a company strong point-everything under one roof.

The combined molder, tool designer, and mold builder is proud that its products are all based on Germany''s DIN quality standards, that the company is ISO9001 accredited, and that it has won international trophies for its products at exhibitions in Paris and Geneva.

Operations started in 1980, concentrating solely on production of disposable medical items, says Mozafari. From the beginning, Varid decided it had to target the high-quality sector if it wanted to be successful exporting molds and finished injection molded products. Its export markets range from other Middle Eastern countries to Africa, former CIS countries, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Western Europe, and China. Exports, which fluctuate from year to year, represent 50%-70% of Varid''s output. Annual sales were $3 million for 2005, but the company expects this to figure to jump to $4 million this year.

Varid''s Die and Moldmaking Manager, Amir Jahangiri, says that European countries are now interested in the company''s two- and three-piece single-use syringes, and the tools to produce them, as a precautionary tool in preventing drug users from spreading AIDS via used needles.

For Mozafari, the most important part of production is the quality of the syringe mold. Few, if any, competing Iranian moldmakers can match this, says M. Sodody, head of the Iranian Society of Tool Makers. The company cuts its tools on seven German, American, and Japanese CNC machines and produces up to 20 molds for sale each year that it doesn''t use in its own operations.

The country''s Ministry of Health contracted with the company to build an 8-cavity tool and mold 40 million single-use, Auto Disable syringes for a nationwide vaccination program in 2003. The mold, with 400 component parts, was featured during the Iran Plast 2005 show in December. Mozafari says Varid medical molds match European quality but are sold at Asian prices. Jahangiri says delivery times match the best of comparable European medical moldmakers.

Unlike many other moldmakers in the country, which are often operated on a shoestring budget, the 120-man Varid shop boasts its own design center with CAD/CAM, staffed by college-trained specialists. Varid also trains its own apprentices. This, says Mozafari, is an investment in its own future, as is Varid''s membership in the Iranian Society of Tool Makers.

The company''s molding operation, which includes a variety of Iranian, Korean, and German-made presses with clamping forces of 450-650 tonnes, is all executed in cleanroom conditions. Varid has just invested in a Krauss-Maffei 150/700/C2+ machine.

Mozafari, who is a trained architect and previously worked as a consulting engineer designing hospitals and clinics, says he has little free time. "Due to the fact that managing a production company in Iran is generally termed as `managing a crisis,'' in practice most of my time and energy is absorbed by the company, and the remainder spent with my family," he says.

Amir Jahangiri, who took first place in the country''s Machining Olympics on behalf of Varid, fills his time away from the shopfloor with swimming, kung fu, and running after his six-year-old son.

Robert Colvin [email protected]