This year, Medux celebrates its fifteenth anniversary. What started as a Dutch provider of healthcare assistive devices has grown into the market leader in the Netherlands. In recent years, a new chapter has been added to that story. With the launch of Medux International, the company took its first steps into Europe. “Our ambition was never simply to become bigger,” says Jop Pollmann, CEO of Medux. “Our main goal is to continue improving the quality of our services and our assistive devices.”
Looking Beyond the Netherlands
Jop Pollmann joined Medux as CEO in early 2021. At the time, expanding internationally was not yet a concrete objective. “Our organisation was performing well. We were the market leader in the Netherlands and served virtually every segment of the healthcare assistive devices market.” However, a strategic question emerged within the leadership team: how large is Medux in a European context? Research was carried out to answer that question. “We knew we were a major player in the Netherlands, but we had never really examined how we compared with organisations in other European countries.”
The findings were surprising. “Medux in the Netherlands turned out to be the largest healthcare assistive devices company in Europe. Comparable companies in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom and France were smaller, while in several European countries the government still organised a large part of assistive device services itself.”
Addressing Societal Challenges
There was another important reason why international growth could offer advantages. “The population is ageing rapidly, while at the same time the labour market is shrinking. More people require assistive devices, but fewer people are available to organise and deliver those services.” According to Pollmann, this is exactly why scale matters. “Larger organisations can work more efficiently and implement innovations more quickly.”
One example is the assistive device vending machine, which makes healthcare aids available 24/7 in locations such as hospitals. Another is the implementation of an AI voicebot within the customer contact centre. “When innovations like these are implemented on a larger scale, they can make a real difference to the accessibility of healthcare.”
The Launch of Medux International
An opportunity arose to further strengthen Medux’s position as a market leader. “We became an international organisation and took our first step into the United Kingdom in 2022. There, we acquired Medequip, a leading supplier of healthcare assistive devices to local authorities.”
A year later, Medux expanded further with the acquisition of Rosscare, a company specialising in wheelchair services. Together, these two organisations enable Medux International to offer almost the full range of durable healthcare assistive devices across the United Kingdom. “In essence, we do exactly the same there as we do in the Netherlands. Someone is prescribed a wheelchair, we deliver it, collect it when it is no longer needed, clean it and prepare it for its next user. The core processes are the same everywhere.”
Collaboration Without Full Integration
Rather than creating one fully integrated European organisation, Medux International has chosen a model in which each country continues to operate largely independently. “Healthcare systems simply differ too much from one country to another. That is why we do not believe in having one central European HR department or one central IT department.”
At the same time, the different organisations work closely together on strategic themes such as procurement, innovation, cybersecurity and sustainability. “No single country automatically takes the lead. Sometimes the Netherlands is ahead, sometimes the United Kingdom. That creates valuable cross-fertilisation. We learn from one another and become stronger as an organisation.”
Germany as the Next Step
Following its expansion into the United Kingdom, Medux International is now focusing on Germany. The company aims to apply a growth strategy similar to the one that proved successful in the Netherlands. “The reason we became so large in the Netherlands is that, between 2006 and 2015, we brought a number of companies together. We believe that same model can also work in Germany.” A dedicated team is already active in Germany, working on the next phase of expansion.
Growth with Quality at Its Core
Although international growth is an important part of Medux’s strategy, increasing scale is not an objective in itself. “Ambition is not just about becoming bigger. Above all, it is about continuing to improve the quality of our services and our assistive devices.”
Collaboration between the different countries plays a key role in achieving that ambition. “By forming a larger organisation together, we are able to invest more and take on larger projects.” With further expansion in Germany—and potentially other European countries in the future—Medux International aims to strengthen that collaboration in the years ahead. “Not simply to grow, but above all to ensure that healthcare assistive services are ready for the future.”
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