Indonesia Hospital Expo 2023: What QL Biotek Showcased and Why Uncut Sheets Matter for Distributors
From 18 to 21 October 2023, QL Biotek took part in Indonesia Hospital Expo, a four-day trade event covering medical, pharmaceutical, clinical and laboratory equipment and medicines. For buyers walking the halls, exhibitions like this are less about product launches and more about one practical question: can this supplier support my business beyond a single order?
That question shaped how we structured our booth this year. Below is a straightforward account of what we displayed, the conversations that dominated the floor, and the considerations importers should weigh when sourcing rapid test components from a manufacturer.
What the expo covers — and who visits
Indonesia Hospital Expo brings together hospital procurement teams, laboratory managers, clinical distributors, pharmacy chains and government-adjacent buyers alongside manufacturers and wholesalers of medical devices and diagnostics. The breadth of the show means a single aisle can hold imaging equipment next to point-of-care consumables next to reagent suppliers.
For an IVD rapid-test manufacturer, that mix is useful. Visitors are not a homogeneous audience: some arrive with a tender specification already written, others are comparing unbranded supply options for private-label distribution, and a smaller group is looking for OEM or uncut-sheet partners to run under their own brand locally.
What QL Biotek displayed
Our focus at the 2023 edition was deliberately component-level rather than finished-kit marketing. The core of the display was uncut sheets for three product families:
- Drug of Abuse (DOA) series — panels covering common abused substances, presented as uncut membrane sheets suitable for local conversion.
- Infectious disease series — rapid immunoassay formats for a range of infectious disease targets used in hospital and clinic settings.
- Fertility series — hormone-detection cassettes and strips that are staples of retail pharmacy and gynecology distribution channels.
Displaying uncut sheets rather than only assembled kits sends a specific signal: we work with converters, packagers and regional manufacturers who have their own cassette housings, foil pouches, printers and regulatory registrations. Uncut sheets let a partner control pack size, artwork, language and brand while relying on the diagnostic membrane we produce.
Conversations at the booth
Over the four days, medical device exhibitors and buyers from a wide range of markets gathered at the QL booth, and the response was enthusiastic. Recurring themes in those discussions included:
1. Consistency of the membrane across batches
Distributors converting uncut sheets locally care about lot-to-lot uniformity: strip width, adhesive quality, migration speed and line intensity all affect the final user experience. Buyers asked how sheets are controlled before they leave the factory, and how a converter can validate a new lot without requalifying the whole finished product.
2. Documentation for registration
Several visitors were preparing dossiers for national registration and wanted to know what supporting material accompanies a sheet shipment — analytical performance data, inserts, labels and packaging artwork templates. The answer we gave: tell us the target market and registration route early, and we align the document set accordingly.
3. Panel composition and local demand
DOA panel configuration is rarely one-size-fits-all. A distributor serving workplace screening programmes has a different panel requirement from one supplying community clinics. Booth discussions frequently turned into panel-by-panel comparisons against the substances actually screened in the visitor's region.
4. Shelf life, storage and shipping
Tropical climates make storage conditions a standing topic. Buyers asked about recommended temperature ranges, humidity sensitivity and how long a sheet remains usable in transit and in warehouse conditions before conversion.
Why uncut sheets attract interest
The appeal of uncut sheets is commercial as much as technical. For a distributor or IVD manufacturer, buying sheets instead of finished cassettes typically means:
- Lower landed cost per test by handling conversion, pouching and cartoning locally.
- Flexibility on brand, language and pack configuration without waiting for a supplier's print run.
- Control over registration timing, since the finished product is registered under the local partner's name.
- Better responsiveness to tender cycles, where pack size and labelling requirements change between bids.
The trade-off is responsibility: the converter must control the housing, desiccant, pouch seal and labelling that surround our membrane. That is why supplier conversations, like the ones held at Indonesia Hospital Expo, tend to focus on process compatibility rather than unit price alone.
Takeaways for buyers evaluating a rapid-test supplier
If you missed the booth, these are the questions we recommend putting to any manufacturer — us included:
- Which series can be supplied as uncut sheets, and in what sheet dimensions?
- What is the minimum order structure for sheets versus finished kits?
- What analytical documentation ships with each lot?
- How are DOA panels configured, and can panels be adapted to regional screening requirements?
- What are the storage and shelf-life conditions, and how is product protected during sea or air freight?
- Can packaging artwork, inserts and labels be produced in the target market's language?
QL Biotek remains available to answer these questions after the event. Buyers who visited the booth, as well as those who did not, can request product documentation and sheet specifications directly through our contact channels.
FAQ
What did QL Biotek exhibit at Indonesia Hospital Expo 2023?
The expo ran from 18 to 21 October 2023 and covered medical, pharmaceutical, clinical and laboratory equipment. QL Biotek focused its display on uncut sheets from the Drug of Abuse series, the infectious disease series and the fertility series, drawing enquiries from medical device exhibitors and buyers attending the show.
What are uncut sheets, and who should buy them?
Uncut sheets are the membrane webs used to produce lateral flow test strips, supplied before cutting into individual tests. They suit converters, packagers and IVD manufacturers who already hold cassette housings, pouching lines and local product registrations, and who want to control branding, language and pack configuration themselves.
How do I request specifications for the DOA, infectious disease or fertility series?
Contact QL Biotek through the website's contact channel and state the series, the target market and whether you require sheets or finished kits. We will provide the relevant sheet dimensions, panel options and documentation available for that product family.