DRE, Inc. — a premier international medical and surgical equipment supplier — has been named by Business First of Louisville as the 17th fastest growing privately-owned company in Greater Louisville. DRE received the honor at the Fast 50 award ceremony on October 24. This is the second consecutive year DRE has received a Fast 50 award.

DRE’s continued growth can be attributed in part to the company’s commitment to providing medical facilities with affordable, dependable medical equipment, says Tim Jarm, DRE’s Chief Operating Officer.

“Surgery centers know DRE as a dependable source for economical medical equipment solutions,” said Jarm. “Surgery centers are choosing affordable DRE-brand equipment, such as the DRE Waveline Plus vital signs monitor and the DRE Integra AV-S anesthesia workstation, because our products have the same features as name-brand products but at a fraction of the cost.”

According to Jarm, DRE’s investment in its biomedical engineering facility has helped spur additional growth. “DRE has a full service refurbishing facility, making us uniquely equipped to provide surgery centers with professionally refurbished surgery tables, operating room lights and anesthesia machines, at prices as much as 50 percent less than new equipment from competing companies,” Jarm said.

In recent years, DRE has harnessed its professionally refurbished product lineup to expand its presence in markets throughout the United States, as well as in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. According to Chris Padgett, Division Manager of DRE International, medical facilities throughout the world buy from DRE for reason’s beyond the low prices of DRE’s refurbished products.

“Many new clients are drawn to DRE because of the affordability of our products,” said Padgett. “Customers continue purchasing from DRE because we provide a higher quality refurbished product, offer a variety of affordable USA-manufactured products, and have a responsive staff that adapts to the specific needs of each customer.”

In addition to success in medical markets, DRE is rapidly growing in its veterinary division. DRE Veterinary is tailoring its veterinary product mix to the many niches of the veterinary market. The recently released DRE Titan, a large animal anesthesia machine, helped DRE Veterinary delve into the equine and bovine surgery markets. Also, the DRE Vetrec PDM, an all-in-one touchscreen central station, expanded DRE Veterinary’s wireless monitoring product offering.

DRE’s growth in 2008 was furthered by the success of the remodeling of ORSupply.com, DRE’s medical supplies and accessories e-commerce website. DRE optimized ORSupply.com to allow customers to speedily search, find and purchase medical accessories. DRE also increased ORSupply.com’s online catalog to include more than 15,000 distinct products, including products from Sklar Instruments, Flexicare and Intersurgical.

As 2008 comes to a close, DRE continues to remind its customers that medical equipment purchased in 2008 may be eligible for tax deductions associated with Tax Code Section 179, in accordance with the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

“With Section 179, some medical facilities may be able to deduct the full purchase of as much as $250,000 in medical equipment from their taxable income,” said Jarm. “This is about twice the amount that could be deducted the previous year, and potentially makes 2008 an ideal year to invest in new and refurbished medical equipment.”

DRE acknowledges that filing for Section 179 deductions requires planning. DRE does not endorse any tax filing method and recommends that medical facilities consult a financial adviser to confirm that filing for Section 179 deductions is appropriate. This is the second consecutive year that DRE received a Fast 50 award. DRE’s 2008 placement as the 17th fastest growing business in Greater Louisville is up eight spots from 2007, when DRE placed 25th on the Fast 50 list.

About DRE Inc.

DRE is a premier medical and surgical equipment supplier that provides a combination of new and professionally refurbished or used medical equipment to industry professionals around the globe. DRE offers value to doctors by providing the features and reliability they need while still fitting within their budget.