Precision equipment maker Shimadzu Corp. announced it has won ¥1.5 billion worth of contracts from the Iraqi government for a total of 133 medical X-ray units.
The machines — 106 for stomach X-rays and 27 for chest examinations — will be installed at public hospitals in Iraq from February. With the country expected to build new hospitals and renew medical equipment, Shimadzu said Tuesday it aims to further expand its sales to Iraq.
At the request of the Iraqi government, Shimadzu set up an office in Baghdad in 1978, becoming the first Japanese medical equipment maker to establish a presence in the country. The Kyoto-based company had to pull out of Iraq in 1990 as the Gulf War started to loom, but it resumed business in the country in 2003 through a local agency.