The CryoPen, developed by the Walloon company H&O Equipments and designed to treat benign skin lesions, has become the benchmark instrument in Brazil.

Since May 2016, the date on which H&O Equipments was given the green light from the official Brazilian certification body and its participation in the Annual Congress of Dermatologists from the Sao Paulo region in November 2016, the CryoPen has established its reputation and was recognised with the award for the best innovation at this Congress.

H&O Equipments' Brazilian venture began at the Hospitalar Trade Show in 2014. The Hennuyères-based company was one of ten exhibitors brought together on the stand set up by the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX). In addition to strengthening its relationship with a partner in order to market the CryoPen to clinics specialising in cosmetic dermatology in Sao Paulo, at this event, H&O Equipments developed a series of contacts with potential distributors in various South American countries, particularly Argentina and Chile.

"This enabled us to check our arguments for the sale of our products in these countries. And through the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency's commercial attachés, we were quickly able to find out about the rules relating to the required approvals", explains Maurice Smeets, the company's Marketing Director. "A huge advantage, in view of the fact that the registration procedures are lengthy and exhaustive, particularly in Brazil", he continues.

H&O Equipments' products are sold to medical equipment distributors in the fields of dermatology and cosmetic surgery. 97% of production is intended for export including 37% to Europe, 30% to Asia and 30% to the USA. H&O Equipments manufactures a range of innovative instruments for the treatment of skin lesions by cryotherapy. Founded in 1999, H&O Equipments is based in the Industrial Zone of Ghislenghien in Hainaut.