Sanyo to give biomedical equipment operations a shot in the arm

Sanyo plans to boost sales of biomedical equipment to Y50 billion in the fiscal year to March 2016, up 140% from the last fiscal year ended March 2010.  The biomedical division plans to raise the overseas sales ratio to 55% by March 2016 from 40% in the last fiscal year.  Sanyo will spend a few hundred million yen on a commercial refrigerator plant in Tijuana, Mexico, to produce ultralow-temperature freezers used for cells and microorganisms from September.  These freezers will be sold to universities and research institutions in the U.S.  In China and Europe, Sanyo will bolster sales of its pharmaceutical-packaging machines and other products.  It will also continue its partnership with Panasonic in developing and marketing research equipment, sharing sales channels and combining Panasonic's image analysis technology and Sanyo's sterilization expertise.