Increasing demand prompts Flemish company to produce its own parts for radiotherapy table

Medical equipment manufacturer Orfit Industries has opened a new factory just outside Antwerp. There, the Flemish family-owned company will produce carbon table components for radiotherapy for cancer patients. "Some of our component suppliers were struggling to keep up with our growth," says Orfit CEO Steven Cuypers.

Orfit manufactures and exports immobilisation systems that ensure patients remain in the correct position during radiotherapy. The patient's limited mobility range ensures that the radiations hit the tumour(s) site and not the surrounding healthy tissue.

"Some of our component suppliers were struggling to keep up with our growth," says Orfit CEO Steven Cuypers, which necessitated a vertical integration. As a result, the Flemish family-owned company will produce its carbon materials at the new company site. In addition to carbon tables, Orfit also makes customised thermoplastic masks.

Orfit currently employs about 90 people worldwide and is growing by 10 per cent annually in terms of turnover. "We are also active in China," Cuypers adds. "When we saw the corona crisis and the major impact on global logistics, we quickly finalised our plans to start production as soon as possible."

Also present at the official opening Tuesday, Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon (N-VA) stressed the sector's importance in the region. "Flanders is at the European top regarding R&D, with 3.6 per cent of our GDP invested in it. So it is important that we maintain that pace of investment," he concluded.

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