Andoni Goitiz, 26

If a stretcher breaks, a medical center typically has to wait for the manufacturer or a biomedical company rep to come out and make repairs, according to Andoni Goitiz.

In Florida, “I know of nobody that does stretcher repairs completely,” says Goitiz, who in December 2023 founded Medical Stretcher Solutions in Parrish, after working as a technician in the industry and seeing the demand for service.

Photo by Mark Wemple

A brand-new stretcher can run $20,000, with repairs costing “an arm and a leg,” Goitiz says. Companies that make stretchers can take “months to get minor stuff done," he adds, "and for me, it’s days.”

So far, most Medical Stretcher Solutions clients are surgery and endoscopy centers, and Goitiz says he is in the process of trying to do business with some hospitals. About 60% of the time, he says, he finds medical centers have been waiting for someone to fix their stretchers, but “there’s just nobody that does it” or it is “very expensive," Goitiz says.

While the business concept itself is "super niche," Goitiz says his approach comes from his grandfather, Ron Cayer, who started his own electrical business in Wisconsin and did many things himself.

“He built cars from the ground up,” Goitiz says. “He built his houses, he built his shops…All of that was able to be done because he put in the time and the effort.”

Goitiz, who notes he does not come from a sales and marketing background, has been going out to surgery and endoscopy centers in person to let them know of his service.

“The more that you're out there, the more people are going to know your name,” Goitiz says. “And the more people that know your name, the more sales you're going to get — the more business.”

So far, he says, business is steadily growing. He’s expanded from Manatee and Sarasota counties into Orlando and Kissimmee.

“There is a lot of demand,” Goitiz says. “I am growing faster than anticipated” and will soon need to hire a stretcher mechanic to help. His short-term goal is to serve all of Florida, with potentially additional locations around the United States.

“I’ve got really big plans,” Goitiz says. “I just need time and help.”