A century of Sialkot instrument-making. Fifty years as Instrumed.

The trade began in 1916, when a small group of skilled Sialkot craftsmen — our forefathers — started producing surgical instruments from samples brought back from the United Kingdom by a local businessman who was also a member of the British Privy Council. Growth was slow at first: for almost three decades the market barely extended beyond Punjab and the rest of India.

Exports began in the 1940s and accelerated during the Second World War, when the interruption of British instrument supply to the Eastern theatre opened new demand. British technicians helped the young industry through this period, introducing processes — including heat treatment — that remain central to the craft today.

In 1946, three brothers formed a partnership company, selling into India and making one of Sialkot’s first exports, to Turkey, that same year. A larger production facility followed in 1954, the same year a Pakistani company exported surgical instruments to the United States for the first time. In 1961, that company merged with a second family business, soon joined by two younger brothers — among them Ejaz Ahmed Chatha, whose leadership brought a marked step up in quality and profitability.

As demand kept growing, the combined company moved to a larger facility in Sialkot’s Small Industrial Estate. Then, in 1974, Ejaz Ahmed Chatha struck out on his own and founded Instrumed (Pvt.) Ltd. — building the reputation for quality that the company continues to carry worldwide today.