Midmark Corporation was originally incorporated in 1915 as the Cummings Machine Company, where the first products manufactured were concrete mixers. The company name changed to The Industrial Equipment Co. in 1921 as the production line diversified to locomotives, hydrostatic trenchers, and molten metal handling equipment. In the late 1960's, The Industrial Equipment Co. acquired the product line of a medical equipment manufacturer and changed its name to IE Industries. With the new acquisition, the first production of the company's medical equipment division became a reality, and in 1978, IE Industries officially became Midmark Corporation.
Today, Midmark is a company solely dedicated to manufacturing the most user- and patient-friendly examination and procedure equipment for the medical and dental markets. We partner with distributors and clinicians to be a single-source supplier of a full line of products, including everything from exam tables, sterilizers and dental operatory systems to lighting, seating and casework, for the healthcare environment.
We made it our goal to be "a global market leader in the medical and dental examination and procedure environment by providing exceptional and innovative products and solutions that exceed our customers' expectations".
With this goal in mind, Midmark focused on the medical market and in 1986, purchased the Ritter line of medical tables, stools and sterilizers to expand our product offering. This venture led to a tremendous growth trend into the medical market. To meet our customers increasing needs, Midmark later designed and developed a unique line of modular casework and carts to provide storage solutions for all areas of healthcare offices and facilities.
In 1990, the acquisition of Chick Medical Products marked the beginning of Midmark's presence in the surgical equipment business and enhanced our product offering to our acute care customers. The introduction of our new line of orthopedic tables and surgical lights, combined with our existing line of stretchers, rapidly moved the company into the hospital market.
In 1997, Midmark acquired Knight Manufacturing Inc., a leading manufacturer of dental equipment. Knight has enabled Midmark to add dental casework, delivery systems, treatment chairs and lights to our existing line of dental products to become a virtual "one-stop shopping" source for dental distributors and customers. In October of 1999, Knight re-located from its Asheville, North Carolina location to Midmark's headquarters in Versailles, Ohio.
Throughout the 1990's, Midmark experienced rapid expansion internationally. To further our sales and marketing efforts overseas, Midmark acquired the French holding company, Artème, and its subsidiaries, Promotal and Beaumond, in November of 1998. The Artème companies manufacture a broad line of products for the healthcare and specialty environments including examination tables, stretchers, long-term care beds and veterinary products. Bringing these two companies together has created even greater opportunity for global expansion throughout Europe and other foreign countries. The Artème companies and all facilities have maintained their locations in Ernée, France.
Over the years, Midmark's key distribution strength has always been through dealers into an office setting in the medical and dental markets. For this reason, in August of 1999, Midmark made the decision to sell the hospital product line, which takes a completely different distribution pattern quite unlike that of the medical and dental divisions. This decision allows Midmark to be more tightly focused on our thriving distributor partnerships and better positioned in the new millennium.
In our quest to make integrated office solutions a reality for doctors, Midmark acquired Brentwood Medical Products, a leading provider of digital medical technology, in March of 2000. Brentwood's strong product development and ability to embed software for electronic document applications make it a viable addition to Midmark's successful and respected line of medical products. In January 2003, Brentwood Medical Products was renamed Midmark Diagnostics Group, reinforcing our commitment to the industry by adding this group to the Midmark family. The company will maintain its location in Torrance, California.
Midmark recognized that the rigors of dentistry demand a unique, high-performance product to meet the challenges of an ever-changing dental industry. In July of 2001, Midmark acquired the California-based Apollo Dental Products, a leading manufacturer of air compressors and evacuation systems for dental environments. Midmark will incorporate these products into its existing dental product line, which includes operatories, lighting, sterilizers and casework. The acquisition of Apollo Dental reaffirms Midmark's commitment to providing quality products to dental professionals and enables those professionals to offer better services to their patients.
In order to maintain this commitment and take it one step further, in October 2004, Midmark acquired the dental and veterinary divisions of Matrx, a major manufacturer and distributor of dental, veterinary and emergency medical equipment, located in Orchard Park, New York. This acquisition enables Midmark to bring conscious sedation products to more clinicians, become an even stronger player in the management of air and vacuum systems in the dental office and strengthen our own veterinary portfolio.
Over the years, as the market and our customers' needs have changed, so have the ways in which we meet them. But the common thread that enables us to grow and expand is the uncommon ability of our teammates to adapt to change and look toward the future.