A global perspective at eye level
They came all the way from Russia and Canada, from Taiwan and Spain; even from Australia and Brazil. In all, 40 traders from 30 different countries came together when the Samsø company ExamVision held an international trade exhibition.
ExamVision is a prize-winning producer of medical loupes (head-mounted optical devices) for dentists, surgeons and vets. The business was established as an opticians in Tranebjerg in 2001 and it is still situated and firmly anchored on Samsø, with c. 35 employees. All of ExamVision’s products are designed and handmade on Samsø and the affiliation with the island is an important aspect of the company’s identity. CEO Kim Jensen, says “When our people meet folk around the world, they are proud to tell them that our company is based on a small island in Denmark. We value being on Samsø and indirectly use the island’s name as a mark of quality, so Samsø is an essential part of our DNA and will definitely remain so.”
A suitcase full of professionalism
It was clear then that the exhibition, which is held biennially, should take place on Samsø. The traders were collected from Copenhagen and they had before them two very intensive days in the lovely September sun. Kim tells us, “The traders were happy to travel here because they knew that they’d be going home with plenty of professional input and exchanges of ideas with their colleagues, something which doesn’t happen every day of the week! Also, we’re very good at partying!”
Each day started early and finished late and offered everything from cocktails on the beach in Ballen to the InnovationLab at the company’s base in Tranebjerg. “On Samsø we have a wide range of possibilities to enable an arrangement such as ours to provide real value – both socially and professionally – and that is something the participants noticed. It worked well logistically and the local contacts with whom we worked were very professional and prepared to go the extra mile,” explains Kim, about to highlight one of the features that made this impression.
Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup
Kim says, ‘During lunch at Ballen Badehotel, our participants experienced quite disgraceful behaviour by the hotel’s waiters. One of them went around casually dressed, talking on his phone and showing private photos to the group. Another was quite arrogant and not interested in answering questions about the food. The whole thing was, of course, pre-arranged to demonstrate how much poor service and a ‘couldn’t-care-less’ attitude can affect the recipient.”
After some intense, inspiring and fun days, the participants were taken back to Copenhagen and from there to all corners of the world – all the richer for their experiences – and “that’s definitely not the last time Samsø plays host to our international trade exhibitions”, Kim says reassuringly.
ExamVision
• ExamVision has been awarded four Red Dot design awards for interaction between sublime technical and aesthetic focus.
• ExamVision has also received Børsens Gazelle-pris in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011.
• It takes about five weeks to make loupes, from the first measurements to final fitting.
• More at www.examvision.com
Last updated: 11/08/2020 14:08
