• Laboratory service provider to present its portfolio at Miele booth at forthcoming IDS show

• Company exploits synergies in medical technology

Since the Miele takeover last November, SMP GmbH has continued to expand its range of services in the field of medical technology and is set to present its portfolio for the first time at the Miele booth at the forthcoming IDS trade show in Cologne. The Tübingen-based hygiene specialist is beefing up its laboratory capacities in particular and is taking on additional staff. As an independent and accredited laboratory, SMP specialises in the validation of reprocessing and the provision of process challenge devices and their evaluation. These services are rendered on behalf of Miele, but are also open to a broad range of other international users and manufacturers of medical devices.

As Miele Group Member, SMP GmbH remains an independent company. Cooperation with the Professional business unit, which brings together Miele's business in providing machines and services in the fields of laundry technology, commercial dishwashing and medical technology, creates synergistic benefits for both companies. SMP profits from additional order volumes generated by the international Miele Group. Dr. Christian Kluge, Senior Vice President of the Professional business unit, adds: 'With the acquisition of SMP, we have taken a further big step towards becoming a full-line supplier of hygiene solutions in the marketplace'. These include own-brand process chemicals formulated for a broad range of products used in hospitals, practices, laboratories and dental surgeries, a worldwide network of 1,200 expertly trained service technicians and now laboratory services. Correspondingly, the Miele trade show motto for the IDS is 'Your practice. Your patients. Your instruments. Our 360PRO solutions.'

For SMP, business with process challenge devices is one of their mainstays. The company produces and markets process challenge devices contaminated according to a standardised process. After processing in clients' machines, the SMP laboratory assesses these devices for traces of residual contamination in order to evaluate cleaning performance. SMP is one of only a handful of players selling and evaluating PCDs on the German market. The requisite laboratory capacities for device evaluation are being expanded by SMP and premises have been extended accordingly. 'We will continue to provide these services to our clients in the usual quality. Confidentiality and neutrality is of utmost importance in this respect', says Dr. Ludger Schnieder, explaining this move. Ludger Schnieder is one of the two SMP Executive Directors to continue in their key roles since the Miele takeover. His partner Klaus Roth adds: 'Selling out to Miele was the right decision. With such a strong partner, the prospects of further growth are strongest'.

So, too, the workforce is also set to grow. Since November, new employees have joined the SMP team; further additions to the workforce are planned. In future, the Tübingen laboratory will also offer water analyses and leak testing of heat-seal welds. SMP is also engaged in developing client-specific test processes, issuing reprocessing recommendations and offering technical product tests (type testing).

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2022 business year amounted to around € 5.43 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 23,300, of which approx. 11,900 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.