Q&A with CEO John Baumann: 12 questions answered about Midmark’s future

As Midmark prepares to move its headquarters to Austin Landing in Miami Twp. later this year, Baumann said the company is driven by its ability to reinvent itself.

Baumann recently spoke to the Dayton Daily News about how the company’s presence will evolve in the region in coming years. Here’s what Baumann had to say about the future of Midmark:

With facility changes, how have employment numbers grown in recent years? 

We currently employ more than 1,850 teammates worldwide, about 980 of those teammates work out of the Dayton and Versailles locations. Our organization has grown from 700 teammates to more than 1,850 teammates in the last decade, across 12 locations. In the last two years, we have hired approximately 200 teammates at the Dayton and Versailles locations.

When do you anticipate employees will move into the new headquarters at Austin Landing? Why was it important for the company to move to this location?

We are scheduled to move our headquarters to Austin Landing this fall. This location will work well for us as we are consolidating our north Cincinnati office with the Dayton headquarters. Also, the Austin Landing development affords a good combination of geography and amenities that are important for our teammates. We will have approximately 20-30 teammates based there along with drop-in space to double that number when necessary. While our corporate offices will reside at Austin Landing, this facility will also provide a space for corporate training and offsite meetings that our teammates can enjoy. The building is now under construction and there will be a beam signing and raising ceremony sometime this spring.

How do you see the function of the Versailles location evolving in the coming years?

The Versailles campus will continue as one of our primary manufacturing, product development and customer experience locations. It is also the site of our largest core of engineers. These functions will continue and evolve as our strategy is executed.

We will continue to focus on plans for a technology center in Versailles, which will align with our strategy to bring together space, technology and workflow. This new workspace design will foster an environment of creativity, collaboration, communication and decision making, strengthening our agility to design innovative products and solutions so we can bring those to the market at a faster pace.

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The new tech center will complement other Midmark locations that have these capabilities now, such as Lincolnshire, Illinois and Torrance, California where we specialize in imaging, diagnostics and medical devices.

Midmark also has international locations. Can you explain the importance and functions of those sites? Are there any other cities Midmark would consider doing business in within the next five years?

Outside of North America, Midmark has manufacturing presence in India and Italy. Midmark’s Italy location manufactures autoclaves and other instrument processing products to serve the regional market in Europe as well as Africa.

Midmark’s India business has a leadership position in various point of care equipment and services including hospital beds, examination tables, stretchers among others. Additionally, Midmark India’s Training services, in partnership with the local state government, trains and prepares women in rural parts of India to obtain employment as General Duty Assistant post completion of training. It is truly aligned with our strategy to improve the experience between the patient and the caregiver as well as provide meaningful ways to generate income for the severely poor in rural India.

Our India business allows us to diversify and learn, in addition to maintaining presence in the fastest growing large economy in the world. We are always open to exploring additional growth avenues internationally.

» CONTINUED COVERAGE: Midmark to join forces with German manufacturer

Midmark’s business ranges from medical and dental products to animal health products and clinical efficiency programs. Where do you a see growth area for Midmark in the future? 

While our legacy has been the manufacturing of equipment and medical devices, in the foreseeable future we are moving more toward a solutions set and the design of the clinical workspace, developing new technologies that will enable a better care experience and optimize workflow. We will continue to focus on creating connected point-of-care ecosystems through a combination of products and services to reduce costs, improve outcomes and increase both patient and staff satisfaction. By investing in data driven technologies to improve decision making, advance care management and streamline workflows, providers will be better equipped to meet new requirements in a changing healthcare landscape.

We are also investing in acquisitions of highly respected organizations and formation of strategic partnerships.

What are some of those acquisitions? 

We will always have a primary focus on internal development of products and services, but the speed of changing customer needs will not always allow us to go on this journey alone. As the U.S. healthcare market places growing importance on improving patient outcomes, clinicians are rethinking the importance of early, accurate diagnosis and treatment. In December, we announced our partnership with HEINE, a global leader and German manufacturer of medical diagnostic instruments for early detection of diseases. Midmark works with HEINE to provide customers in the United States medical market high quality diagnostic instruments: otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes and sphygmomanometers.

We just signed a multi-million dollar equipment and installation deal with Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha, Nebraska. Installation is starting this week with planned completion by June 2018. Midmark will be supplying operatory equipment, cabinetry and dental simulators. Our equipment will be serving numerous areas throughout the school: faculty practice area, simulation clinic, pediatric/orthodontic, acute/oral surgery and the main clinic.

Would the company ever narrow its focus to one type of product line, whether that be medical products or animal health products?

One of the benefits of operating in three distinct but similar industries, is that we can apply knowledge learned in one area to benefit our partners and patients in another.

For example, we’re now seeing health clinics that provide both medical and dental care under one roof. The oral cavity is the gateway to the body, and research is showing that poor oral health is linked to poor outcomes in other parts of our body – diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and more.

» RELATED: Dayton-based Midmark to add multiple jobs in engineering department

Midmark is completely aligned around this concept of total body health and connected systems.

The caregivers of tomorrow must understand that our bodies are interconnected systems that depend on one another, and it starts with the mouth. For a more local example, the faculty at Sinclair Community College imparts that knowledge and understanding. At the Midmark Dental Health Clinic, which is part of their new health sciences center, dental hygiene students are learning that “dental” and “health” are forever linked. That’s why this dental health clinic is in the same building as the other healthcare disciplines.

How are technological advances in the health information industry changing the way you develop products? Do you see technological advances changing your business model?

One of our company values is agility. We know we must be forward-thinking, nimble and adaptable to help anticipate the needs of our customers and deliver the best solutions. New technologies are being introduced all the time, and it’s obviously good business for our development teams to be considering how new ways of doing things or implementing new technologies might help our customers.

We are deliberate in our course. We have a willingness to take considered risks and understand that there will be setbacks along the way, but this has allowed us to make decisions that will advance our vision of leading the best healthcare experience for all.

The company has recently gone through several leadership changes. What are you most proud of now and where do you see the company at in the next decade?

The changes we have made recently in leadership have allowed us to recognize the talent in our company and put more responsibility in the hands of our teammates. Creating the organization for our future and recognizing the talents we have in this company allows these individuals to optimize their impact within Midmark and the healthcare marketplace in general.

Can we expect to see more acquisitions in 2018?

We continue to be engaged in conversations about acquisitions and activities, but prefer not to speculate on particular acquisitions and activities.

What has been the company’s biggest achievement so far?

Our biggest achievement at Midmark is our people. The talented people we’ve been able to recruit, and their dedication to building the business, speaks to our success. We are grateful for that and thankful for the unique culture they have helped build that includes caring for others and making a positive difference professionally, in our communities and in the marketplace.

In addition, we celebrated our 100-year anniversary in 2015. We are a company that has been able to reinvent itself time and time again, shown willingness to do so and taken risks. We have continued to build a company through new product development, and innovation that provide benefits to our customers.

How would you describe your personal leadership philosophy? 

My philosophy is to place my confidence in a highly talented team, set a direction and strategy and to create and foster an environment of trust and collaboration. I provide enough direction for people to know where we are going, and create a culture that gives them autonomy to practice their talents and decision making.

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