CHICAGO - A new company is debuting at this week's RSNA meeting with a number of faces that might be familiar to veterans of the x-ray market. The company, Quantum Medical Imaging, was started by former employees of the Bennett division of Trex Medical with the goal of re-establishing x-ray's entrepreneurial spirit.
Quantum's roots go back to Bennett X-Ray, a Copiague, NY-based radiography and mammography systems developer that was acquired by Trex Medical in 1995. Bennett operated from its Long Island headquarters as a division of Trex until late 1999, when Trex announced that it was shutting down the facility.
After the plant closure, a small group of former Bennett executives decided to make a go of it on their own. They saw opportunity in the growing void of independent x-ray firms, according to Quantum president Scott Matovich. Matovich had been vice president of sales and marketing at Bennett.
Quantum assembled a team of former Bennett engineers and sales and marketing personnel, as well as radiologists, to develop a line of products with a modern look and advanced features not found on older radiography systems, Matovich said. The company set up shop in a 30,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in Ronkonkoma, NY, and currently has about 25 employees.
There are two lines in Quantum's product family. Q-Rad is a high-end line of ceiling-mounted radiography systems for trauma applications. Q-Rad units feature an elevating floating table top, as well as a wall stand, and the system is also available in a freestanding version. Rad-X is Quantum's economy system, targeted at private clinics, orthopedic practices, and international markets. Both systems use Quantum's 100-KHz high-frequency generator technology.
While Q-Rad and Rad-X are currently being sold as analog systems, Quantum plans to give its customers an upgrade path to the digital future. This week the company announced an agreement with a developer of digital flat panels to integrate them into new Q-Rad and Rad-X products. The companies are displaying products in each others' RSNA booths, Matovich said.
"Someone will be able to buy a fully digital system from the ground up," Matovich said.
Early signs point to a good start for Quantum. The company began shipping systems in October, and has already booked $500,000 in sales, Matovich said. The firm hopes to hit revenues of $6 million to $8 million in 2001.
That said, Quantum still has challenges ahead. It is entering a market that has seen dramatic changes in recent years. Gone are many of the independent vendors that were radiology mainstays, replaced by multimodality conglomerates that often focus on more glamorous modalities such as MRI and CT rather than bread-and-butter x-ray.
Matovich believes that recent changes in the industry work to the company's benefit. Quantum plans to rely heavily on a network of distributors and dealers, many of which are clamoring for new products to offer customers, he said.
"There are a great wealth of dealers out there that we will work with that have a great need for quality manufacturers," Matovich said. "There haven't been many new manufacturers out there for a long time. There is a big opportunity."
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 26, 2000
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