A medical systems company that introduced the first real-time intra-operative imaging to American operating rooms would be expected to have a lot of history, and OEC Medical Systems Inc. lives up to that expectation.
Today, OEC Medical Systems develops, manufactures and services computer-based X-ray fluoroscopic imaging systems.Making real-time imaging available right in the operating room helps surgeons improve outcomes, shortens procedures, reduces the trauma to the patients and speeds recovery time.
The firm, begun in Indiana in 1946 as a manufacturer of orthopedic products for orthopedic surgeons, has been through many changes over the years. After a falling out between the founder and one of the firm's California subsidiaries, the founder asked Benno P. Lotz to leave the plant he was managing in Germany and come to the United States.
Among other things, Lotz, who began as a mechanical engineer, was part of the design team that came up with a mobile X-ray C-arm. This is the predecessor to one of the firm's current products -- one that produced a substantial growth spurt for the company in 1987.
Lotz, who now is the former president and CEO of the company, still serves on its board of directors.
Another key player in the success of OEC Medical Systems is Ruediger Naumann-Etienne, who was a leader responsible for keeping a small firm going in the midst of giant corporations and who steered the company through financial waters ensuring that OEC remained profitable.
Naumann-Etienne is past president of the firm and the current chairman of the board.
Joseph W. Pepper took the helm as president and chief executive officer in 1997 and promptly began enticing investors, selling the OEC story, increasing the organization and discipline in the company's new product development process and trying to nurture enhanced interaction early in the development process among engineers, marketing and people in manufacturing.