New Management Structure
In May 2020 – for the first time in the company's history – non-family members have taken up executive responsibilities, now teaming up with Christian O. Erbe in running the enterprise.
Dr. H. Scherer, D. Zimmermann, C. O. Erbe, Prof. M. Enderle, M. Felstead
Dr. H. Scherer, D. Zimmermann, C. O. Erbe, Prof. M. Enderle, M. Felstead
Christian O. Erbe and Reiner Thede
From 2003 to 2020, Christian O. Erbe and his brother-in-law Reiner Thede headed the company as joint Managing Directors. Both had acted as company directors since 1996, leading the company into the new millenium together with Helmut Erbe. Since then, Erbe Elektromedizin has developed at an incredible pace. In 2017, the company had approximately 1,000 employees worldwide, with the workforce having almost doubled within a 15-year period. The company’s international sales network has seen rapid growth as well. The face of Erbe headquarters in Tübingen has changed a lot over the years: a research and development center was built in 2002, followed by a logistics center in 2008. Between 2011 and 2013, Erbe acquired additional properties in the immediate vicinity of company headquarters, and in Rangendingen, a city about 25 kilometers from Tübingen, a second industrial site was established. The construction project "Expansion West" constituted a quantum leap in the company’s history, with the Tübingen site doubling in size as a result. The Erbe Academy, a training center for customers and Erbe’s own employees, is the key element of this expansion, but a new company canteen, additional office space and large-scale refurbishment of the entire complex were also part of the largest construction project in the company's history to date. Whether in the context of an "industry-on-campus" concept, international research collaboration with renowned universities and scientific centers around the globe, or our traditionally close cooperation with German universities, Erbe employees constantly exchange information with physicians and scientists to identify the most recent trends in research and development and to tap into them for the benefit of patients.
In 2002, the electrosurgical system Erbe VIO was launched on the market. Using VIO, clinics and practice-based specialist physicians can combine instruments and additional components in a manner tailored to suit their individual needs, all in a single workstation. The VIO product range offers custom electrosurgery for a wide variety of applications, from general surgery to gynecology, and from gastroenterology to urology. The VIO workstations support compatibility and networking with OR systems and robotic systems from other manufacturers.
HybridKnife is the only instrument on the medical engineering market that combines electrosurgery with waterjet surgery. It enables, for example, fast, risk-free and inexpensive removal of changes and tumors in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract through endoscopic intervention. HybridKnife allows the essential steps to be carried out, from marking to elevation, and from dissection to staunching of bleeding, generally without any change of instrument.
The BiCision instrument developed by Erbe facilitates innovative surgical procedures that are gentler from the patient's perspective, and support more effective surgery. The instrument exposes tissue structures, staunches blood, seals blood vessels as a result of the effect of the heat, and performs cutting. With BiCision, surgeons can separate blood vessels and tissue bundles directly following electrosurgical sealing, without changing instruments.
Erbe offers extensive training and scientific lectures in its new training center. The target groups include the company's own employees and specialist dealers as well as external clinical operators and OR personnel. Training includes comprehensive knowledge of Erbe technologies and their application on patients.
The new milestone in electrosurgery allows intuitive operation on the large touch display, "navigates" through stepGUIDE. The ReMode function allows device settings and modes to be selected from the operating table. Electrosurgery as simple as never before: Plug and Operate.