Estonia is home to many tech wonders, and not all of them involve snazzy software—sometimes, they’re medical-grade devices made with precision down to the micrometre scale. Raumedic Estonia AS specialises in these, among many other things.
As a subsidiary of the REHAU Group, the company does manual assembly under cleanroom conditions, producing a wide range of medical components, including spirometry tubes, water traps, and gas sampling lines. With approximately 80 employees and 1,350 m² of ISO class 7 cleanroom production facilities, Raumedic Estonia is a serious player in this field.
Invest Estonia spoke with Emöke Sogenbits, Managing Director and Member of the Management Board at Raumedic Estonia, who shared insights into the company’s operations, future plans, and Estonia’s role in the global medical manufacturing landscape.
Could you describe what Raumedic does for those who might be unfamiliar with your field?
We primarily produce medical applications connected with tubing and tubing assembly. You can imagine those tubes used in hospitals for patient care or for machinery—many of those are produced by Raumedic in Germany and Estonia.
Can you briefly explain the history of Raumedic Estonia and touch on future plans?
Raumedic Estonia, formerly known as A&G, was acquired by Raumedic in 2021. Following the acquisition, Raumedic decided to expand production by building a new cleanroom.
This cleanroom is Class 7, which means the demand for bioburden or contamination-free environments is very high. People work in special clothing and in a controlled environment. The new cleanroom is over 600 square meters, adding to our existing production area of over 5,000 square meters. We still have space for further expansion, potentially doubling our cleanroom capacity.
Emöke Sogenbits
Why was Estonia chosen for this expansion?
A&G was already a supplier for Raumedic before the acquisition. Raumedic, having factories in Germany and the US, decided to expand outside Germany. Estonia was found to be the most suitable place for this expansion, given the existing supplier relationship.
What strengths does Estonia offer for this kind of high-precision production?
Estonia offers very good labour potential and a high-quality workforce, making it a good place for smart and very precise manufacturing. Considering Estonia’s history in smart manufacturing, I believe this is an excellent location for our industry.
What are your future expansion plans, in more detail, perhaps?
Currently, we’re focused on filling up the new cleanroom. We have over 5,000 square meters of production space, with the cleanroom working in two shifts. Theoretically, we could expand both physically and implement another shift, potentially tripling or quadrupling our manufacturing capability. However, the timeline for this depends on how quickly end customers are ready to qualify our products for transfer to Estonia.
Are you optimistic about the future from a business perspective?
Absolutely. I’ve been in this business for more than 20 years, and if I wasn’t optimistic, I wouldn’t have joined the company. I left a 100 million euro business to start a new operation on a completely different scale, and in a much more challenging industry. That should tell you how much I believe in the future of Raumedic Estonia.
What are your company’s main export markets?
For our company, it’s mainly Europe. However, we’re selling through many big pharma companies whose export market is global. So even if we’re shipping to Germany or the Netherlands, our products could end up anywhere in the world.
How do you see the future of the medical manufacturing industry?
The world is changing rapidly. The overall population is ageing, which means more people need medical care. The pharma industry is also evolving, with medications becoming more personalized and complex. There’s a shift towards single-use components in many devices. From that point of view, I think this is an extremely promising area. The challenge lies in the conservative nature of the industry, where changes and qualifications can take years rather than months.
What opportunities do you see for Estonia in high-precision manufacturing?
Estonia is competitive when producing high value-add products. We need to focus on complexity and aim for products where at least 50% of the total manufacturing cost is value-added labour. This is where we can be very competitive. We need to work together in Estonia to bring in more complex and smarter products. Despite our geographical challenges, with our brain power, language skills, and precision capabilities, I believe we can truly stand out in the global market.
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