Eakin Surgical are excited to announce that we will be returning to Dubai at the end of January for this year’s Arab Health Exhibition, where we will be showcasing our range of high-quality, sustainable single-use surgical solutions for operating teams.

Our Head of Sales, Alana Rodgers, will be based on Stand H30 (Hall 2) throughout all 4 days of the event to offer customers support in product training, after sales support and objective handling. Joining the Welsh Government trade mission, we’ll be demonstrating how our solutions can be used to help operating rooms worldwide tackle modern healthcare challenges such as infection control.

Ahead of this year’s exhibition, we’re excited to share a special Q&A with Alana, who tells us a bit more about her impressive experience in international sales, and what she’s looking forward to the most as the Middle East’s leading healthcare business platform returns to Dubai in January.

Can you give tell us a bit about your role at Eakin Surgical?

I manage our domestic and international sales teams, and our customer service team, along with working with our international distributors. I also work alongside our marketing, product and training teams to ensure we are offering the best service and support to our customers. In conjunction with this, I work with quality assurance and regulatory to guarantee that our products are safe for use, and ready to be sold both domestically and globally. Part of my role is also to work with our Commercial Director, Jon Blastland, to devise and implement various strategies to ensure the continued growth of our sales channels.

What does your past experience entail?

I have worked in sales for around 20 years, with the last 12 focused more towards international sales. My experience has been mainly in manufacturing sales, although the end user sector has varied. I have worked extensively in medical devices which has served me well in this role.

What do you like most about your role?       

Every day is different, and I get to work alongside various departments, which serves to increase my knowledge. I have a great team, and I enjoy making sure that we all have a common goal to work towards – and that people are confident and happy within their respective roles.

How do you spend your spare time?

I have a (very tiny) rescue dog, who has been the centre of my attention for the last 5 years! I enjoy getting out for walks in the country with him – although I end up carrying him a lot – and as I live in Northern Ireland, we have lots of beautiful natural spaces to choose from. As befits my job, I also love travelling – getting to know new cultures, cities and cuisines.

If you could live anywhere, where would you choose & why?

Probably Spain, as I speak Spanish and love the chance to use it – plus the beautiful weather and fabulous food are added bonuses.

If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Without a doubt – Asian food. It is so varied and spectacular.

What do you admire most about Eakin Surgical?

That we are a large company with a family-led feel. Nobody is just a number; everyone is a person, and the culture is fantastic. From a work perspective, we have a lot of plans over the next few years, and I am thrilled to see these being put into action. Excited to see where we can go!

Lastly, what are you looking forward to the most at this year’s Arab Health?

To leverage our recent investments in our International Marketing and Sales teams, reinforce our relationships with our current distributor, and to forge new partnerships in markets where we are not yet active. We have made great connections and partnerships which were initiated from Arab Health in the past year, and we look forward to strengthening those connections and building new relationships with distributors from the region, furthering our mission to expand in the Middle East.

Meet Alana and the team at Arab Health 2023

Arab Health is taking place from 30 January – 2 February 2023 in Dubai, and throughout the show, Eakin Surgical will be located on the UK Pavilion – Hall 2 Stand H30.

Eakin Surgical is a manufacturer of high-quality single use surgical instruments that are sold worldwide. Our solutions have been designed in response to the growing concerns over the cleaning of reusable fine lumen instruments – which are associated with high risks of patient-to-patient cross-infection.

We work closely with healthcare professionals to identify where products can be improved and bring to market innovative solutions that offer surgical teams the reliable, practical and flexible tools that they rely on – without compromising on the high quality, ease of use and functionality of the reusable equivalent, and while still delivering optimal value and safety for patients.