Bentley celebrates employee contribution on its 10th anniversary

HECHINGEN - Bentley, a global leader in the development of innovative treatments for vascular diseases, celebrated its tenth anniversary on June, 29th 2019.

It is a story of remarkable global expansion driven by a dedicated workforce and an innovative product base that has seen core endovascular staples, like the widely-used BeGraft peripheral stent, sit alongside niche products, notably the investigational BeGrow for treating newborns with pulmonary artery stenosis.

Started in 2009 by Lars Sunnanväder and Miko Obradovic, the company now has over 150 employees, and an enviable track record of product development and manufacture with five devices for endovascular intervention commercially available in over 70 countries.

Sunnanväder and Obradovic stepped away from operational roles last year, and now, together with other members, form the advisory board for Bentley InnoMed GmbH. Since this time, Sebastian Büchert, has been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bentley.

“Employees are the lifeblood of this company, and the growth we have witnessed is down to their commitment,” Büchert said. “In the past couple of months, the company has hired three to seven new people every month reflecting the exceptional growth of the company in recent years.”

In fact, 33% of the total workforce works in product development, quality assurance and market access. “This is extraordinarily high and nearly double what is seen in other medical device companies. This is the reason for our rapid product development and speed at which we bring products to market,” emphasised the CEO.

Asked what he believed had contributed to Bentley’s rapid and robust growth, Büchert highlighted, “Bentley managed to attract highly qualified and talented staff to quickly develop, reliably manufacture, and successfully market a broad and innovative line of covered stents for various vascular afflictions.”

“I’ve been in the medical device industry for 25 years, but I have never experienced the level of team spirit seen here at Bentley, he remarked, adding that, “It’s never about blame, it’s about finding solutions and improving things.”

BeGraft coronary was the first product, launched in 2012, and this was followed by BeGraft peripheral in November 2013.  It was at this point that revenues really started to build and the company took off. “Even today, BeGraft peripheral remains our core product,” explained Büchert.

Since then, Bentley has launched three further products, totaling five on the market: BeSmooth peripheral (2014); BeGraft aortic (2016); and BeGraft PLUS (2017).

Bentley is the only company worldwide that offers a covered balloon expandable stent in a size range from 2.5 mm to 30 mm in diameter. “We are very successful in the development of covered stents for peripheral vessels and this is where we see the core focus of our company in the future and where we wish to expand on a global scale,” said Büchert.

Increasingly, clinics are becoming technically competent in performing endovascular surgery, explained the CEO, and with an ageing population living with multiple co-morbidities, such patients are better suited to endovascular surgery as opposed to open surgery in terms of recovery and survival. “This, together with the outstanding clinical evidence for covered stents, are the main drivers for the market growth,” noted Büchert.

In April 2018, Bentley opened new state-of-the-art headquarters marking a major milestone in Bentley’s young history and reflect its rapid growth and success. The new base houses all of Bentley’s operations, from research and development (R&D), quality assurance and manufacturing, to administration, customer service and training.

The company also has a reputation for launching products in fast sequence and in the future, it wishes to continue to stay agile and efficient in its development process. “We will continue to launch new products and this will continue to drive growth of the company,” said Büchert.

Contact:  Kerstin Stotz, Communication & Event Coordinator, K.Stotz@bentley.global, +49 7471 984 995 59