Sought-after expertise in digital X-ray technology
Mayor Gabriele Zull visits EXAMION in Fellbach
Fellbach, July 15, 2019 – They began as a start-up and are now a globally sought-after partner in digital X-ray technology – EXAMION. Since 2013, the medical technology company has been at home in a new building in the industrial area on Fellbach's Hoehenstrasse. “They occupy a niche with quite some demand,” Mayor Gabriele Zull noted during her July 2019 visit.
“We have been sneaking in via a market niche,” EXAMION Managing Director Bernd Schleicher confirmed with a grin. He, together with Andreas Oppermann, had founded the company – then still called Arzt & Praxis – already in 1989 in Stuttgart. While the initial focus was on software solutions for the management of medical practices, the two partners soon discovered the field of diagnostic imaging and took interest in the task of generating and utilizing readable images. But, at the end of the 1990s, the technology was still too bulky and too expensive. “We were ahead of our time,” says Andreas Oppermann, Technical Managing Director. At that time, the digitizing devices were used by hospitals but not yet by medical practices.
The breakthrough for the two founders came at the beginning of the new millennium. Cooperation agreements with the large corporations Kodak, Konica or Agfa provided operational “legroom” and the advancing technology made the devices attractive even for independent medical practices. In addition to the technology, which is becoming increasingly simple thanks to intuitive user interfaces, the company offers a high-level customer service and its own distribution system. A new software platform developed in-house laid the foundation for further expansion into the field of veterinary medicine.
EXAMION is instrumental in the revolution of X-ray imaging technology – that is, from traditional film cassettes to small pixels that can be quickly transferred to the computer. Today, physician assistants receive guidance in X-ray imaging, so that the completed image is transferred to the computer in seconds. At the same time, the devices are getting smaller and smaller so that they can be used directly during surgery. In addition, the toxic film chemistry is replaced by electrics contributing to environmental protection and to a more appropriate disposal. EXAMION has a well-established distribution network, especially in Europe but also beyond, and cooperates with major medical technology companies. “There is a large number of devices using our technology,” says Andreas Oppermann.
“They have shown stamina and are well positioned in an exciting subject area,” Mayor Zull stated. With the new building in Ernst-Herion-Strasse, the entrepreneurs have made a clear commitment to Fellbach. “Right from the start, everything was designed for further expansion”.