Mectron S.P.A, based in Italy, has revolutionised the dental surgery world with the development of piezoelectric bone surgery equipment. At the IDS show in Cologne, Germany, the company presented a new generation of prophylaxis devices. Dental Tribune Middle East and Africa representative Petar Mollov spoke with Dr. Massimo Lemetti, CEO at Mectron S.P.A., about the new products launched at IDS and the company plans for the Middle East region.
First of all, Happy Birthday to Mectron and congratulations on this milestone, 40 years!
During your anniversary speech you highlighted the importance of technology an innovation to Mectron and how this has evolved over the years. How has this statement evolved and kept over the years represented by the products that Mectron offers?
Thank you for the birthday wishes. There were no big changes to what we do. Technology and innovation are the drivers of our activities. The goal in simple words is to exploit the existing technologies in order to facilitate the life of the doctors by proposing solutions to the problems they face in their daily activities and this is for the ultimate benefit of the patients. This has been the main driver of our activities in the past and the future, so no big changes to what and how we do. The big change is related to the way technology evolved, by moving from single visionary inventors towards the structured work of engineers grouped in teams.
You have just mentioned the R&D which is in the DNA of Mectron. How do you sustain and motivate the over 200 employees to wake up every morning with the thought of innovation? What is your spending on R&D and how does it compare to the dental industry average?
In general we are spending approximately 20% of our turnover in R&D on yearly basis, which is about 2 to 3 times the industry’s average. This is a good representation of how important R&D is for us. Motivation of the people, all people involved in the new technologies and in bringing new technologies to the market is something that is mainly coming from inside Mectron. R&D and innovation are rough and tough roads which means a lot of days, months, years of effort, of commitment, of dedication, of passion and only then comes the satisfaction of launching a new product. This satisfaction is lasting only for very few moments because then you have to start with a new project from the beginning. This is the destiny of the people committed to innovation but it is what we like and what we enjoy doing. This is what motivates everyone in Mectron.
Tell us a little bit about how Mectron was formed and the philosophy of its founders.
The history of Mectron is, I would say, the usual way a business is started but still very interesting. Normally, such companies start with an idea shared between friends. That’s what has happened to Mectron, there were two young engineers, Fernando Bianchetti and Domenico Vercellotti who are two friends knowing each other since primary school days, spent in a tiny fisherman village located in the Ligurian Riviera. One day they were discussing the possibilities of what to do in their lives. They had an idea in doing something in the dental and the medical business for benefiting the people. They started a small company the same village where they used to go to school. From there until now, the company has developed and grown day by day, continuously, until reaching what Mectron is today - 210 employees, spread in Italy, US and Germany which are the countries where we have our main offices. We became quite big considering from where we started. We are very thankful to all our clients, doctors, dealers, friends and all the contributors to our voyage.
The Mectron Team on IDS 2019. From left to right: Dr. Massimo Lemetti (CEO), Paola Minoia (Marketing), Hossam Ghaly (Area Sales Manager MEA) and Andre Reinhold (Marketing Manager)
Mectron celebrated their 40 year anniversary on a boat cruise on the Rhine river in Cologne, Germany
Mectron has been working on new projects that are being presented at IDS. Could you tell us which projects are these and how would they benefit the dental professionals using them but most importantly the patients? How they impact the dental professionals and the patients?
In general, our mission is to provide useful innovation to our clients, in order to make their lives easier and ultimately benefiting the patient. This is also what is happening with the latest products Mectron has launched. Prophylaxis line, we are launching COMBI touch and the starjet which are two devices dedicated to air-polishing and scaling. The second line of products is related to the surgical line, we are launching REX PiezoImplant which is the first implant system based on piezoelectric technology. The Prophylaxis line in general is aiming at preventing problems, the medical and dental world are moving towards prevention and of course our effort with Prophylaxis is just to prevent patients from having problems with their oral health. With regards to how the dentists benefit from our new product lines, our customers can spot the problems that need intervention and like this strengthen the patient-dentist relation. With regards to the REX PiezoImplant, this is an implant dedicated to solve a specific problem, which is placement in narrow ridges.
How important is the Middle East market for Mectron and what are your expectations for it for the near future?
For Mectron, the Middle East is an important market, and that’s is why we have developed specific organisation for the Middle East. Our regional representative Hossam Ghaly has been appointed specifically to develop the Middle East area. Additionally, we are developing a lot of educational courses in the area in order to promote our technologies and this shows our commitment to stay close to our clients. We are attending many regional events such as the Dental Facial Cosmetic Conference & Exhibition in Dubai which we will be participating in on 08 and 09 November of this year.
Mectron is involved in a lot of educational programmes thoughtout the globe. What is your strategy when it comes to dental education in the short term?
Education is something that goes with Mectron’s vision and mission parallelly because when you do innovation, you also have to take care of education, so in a certain way education is going along with our philosophy. We run a lot of educational courses around the world, especially related to our new product lines.
Could you tell us a bit more about yourself and your journey in the medical and dental field?
I joined Mectron four years ago and it has been an amazing and exciting journey. It is an honor for me to be the Head of this organisation which is composed out of many passionate people.
Thank you very much for this informative and interesting interview.
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