MCS - HISTORY
Foundation with future
In 2012, the first cornerstones were laid for today’s MCS medical concept solutions GmbH At that time, the first main location was still in Schwerte and only the branch office was at the current location in Wetzlar. The idea for the foundation of the company arose from the thought to develop new systems, which should meet the constantly growing requirements in the rescue service. The goal was to be able to guarantee the removal and insertion of medical equipment before, during and after an operation, even in stressful situations. his idea gradually gave rise to today’s product portfolio. The resulting products, however, do not only focus on functionality and safety, but should also convince with an appealing design as well as functional user-friendliness in every respect.
Among the first products in the year of the foundation were mainly mounting systems and cable solutions. In addition, the MDD (93/42/EWG) as well as the DIN EN ISO 13485 standards were developed in conformity right at the beginning in order to meet any country-specific standards within and outside Europe. Especially due to the experience and know-how of the founder and today’s managing director Markus Schaub, great importance was attached to quality and safety from the very beginning – which has been continuously expanded and extended until today.
Already in 2013, the company ZOLL medical could be won as the first major customer. At that time, the company expanded the product range to include the ZOLL X series, which is still part of the product portfolio today. This was also the first step towards internationalization, because in cooperation with ZOLL medical, the Austrian market and accordingly a non-German market was tackled for the first time – with success! The mount series could be further developed and the first patent for the X-series was registered. In addition, the demand for cable solutions also increased, so that the first large order for this product area could be achieved. Thus another product area was successfully taken up – cable solutions! The enthusiasm and motivation for the work could hardly be surpassed and so the work on building up the brand „MCS medical concept solutions“ continued.
Internationalization - Market entry USA
Already two years after the foundation it quickly became clear – the German or European market is no longer enough; it was not only necessary to cross the inner-European borders, but also beyond. Therefore, in 2014 MCS achieved entry to the American market for the first time – a great success!
In order to meet its own quality requirements and beyond, MCS also decided to be certified according to the DIN EN 13485 standard of the notified body DQS. Thus one could secure further quality and safety characteristics. The success story continued. With the product extensions by the AED pro as well as the AED plus, MCS could also convince with a market revolution, because these products were not yet available on the market in this quality and user-friendliness.
The market is fast moving and especially in medical technology it is important to meet the different quality and safety requirements. Thus, MCS already managed to qualify for the standards of the USA in 2015 in the form of SAE J 3043 (up to 26g). At that time we were able to convince with the lightest as well as safest mounting systems and could therefore fulfill the latest requirements. In addition to the American and European markets, we were now able to gain access to the Asian market through Malaysia. The customer network was thereby further and further expanded internationally.
In addition to opening up new markets, the company grew internally by hiring new employees in the assembly area. The company managed to build up more and more recognition outside the organization and – above all – through customer contact and visits to trade fairs. In the following, the functional areas military, sea as well as land and air rescue were also included for the first time. These have successfully proven themselves to this day and are continuously being expanded.
Opening of the branch office in Wetzlar and rapid growth
In addition to the already existing product areas of mounting systems and cable solutions, MCS was able to impress in a new product area in 2016: special solutions, which are specifically designed for the individual customer.
After the business had been managed mainly by the two founders Markus Schaub and Volker Lange up to that point, the first permanent employee for the design area was also hired in 2016.
In addition to external growth through entering new markets, the foundation for internal growth in the form of team expansions had now also been laid. Accordingly, the valuable medical technology know-how could now also be developed and utilized internally – another value advantage had been created! A larger team and a steadily growing company also means the need for more work space at the same time. Therefore, a second move took place in 2016 – but this time within Wetzlar – to the new office complex in Wetzlar-Nauborn.
After a new employee had already been hired in 2016, it was possible, thanks to the rapid growth, to directly hire another employee in the area of construction in 2017. As a result, the company, which was initially quite small, had expanded into an ever larger team that continues to grow together. In order to continue meeting the innovative needs of customers, the design of the various products was developed accordingly and still features a simple but modern look. Additionally, MCS was able to secure at least two patents per year, so that we are able to continue to provide individual and high-quality products.
MCS as a training company and relaunch of the corporate design
After numerous cooperations and an ever-growing portfolio of partners, we now also succeeded in acquiring B.Braun as a new major customer in 2018. Additionally, the focus was increasingly placed on consistent public relations work, so that above all, the popularity level of MCS medical concept solutions became greater. A new trade show booth including the presentation of the new product designs of the mounts and special solutions could attract many customers!
After the company was initially managed and founded by two managing directors, the sole takeover of the business by Mr. Markus Schaub followed in 2018, who has since then focused on market presence and gaining through the acquisition of new partners and sales channels. In addition to this, MCS has since stood out through its new role as a training company, as Jannik Lanz joins the team as the first trainee. From now on, he will be primarily involved in design and will continue to drive MCS forward in terms of design and functionality.
The recognition value of a company is important and therefore we also decided to create a new corporate design in terms of logo and public relations. Thus also the visualization and the entire public appearance of MCS medical concept solutions was adapted and since then the new corporate colors are red, grey and blue. In addition, the product areas of the mounting systems, special solutions and cable solutions as well as the accessories and the functional areas in the military, and the sea, land and air rescue were adapted.
A special year – in every aspect
Despite the special circumstances in 2020, MCS continuously expanded its team. In addition to management, sales and construction, the team is now also complemented by its own small marketing department, which is primarily responsible for marketing the products and the company. So that, above all, the corporate design, which was only newly created in 2019, can be practically processed and implemented.
The marketing department also works closely with the innovation management department, which has also been newly formed and is primarily responsible for ensuring that both the medical technology products and the internal company structures and areas are innovatively advanced and expanded.
The company’s first apprentice, who was only hired in 2018, was able to successfully complete his training early on and has since been supporting the design department with specially designed mount systems for medical technology. Further large projects for the coming year are already in the planning stage and one can be curious to see what else MCS has to offer in the coming years.