A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
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At their best, business-to-business publications do more than disseminate relevant information to a targeted readership—they initiate a dialogue between interested parties. The fruit of that exchange may be a purchase order for a component or material, or it may lead to a long-range collaborative venture. Anecdotal evidence tells me that the latter dynamic is not uncommon, but I don’t often have the opportunity to see the process unfold in real time.
I didn’t know it at the time, but my meeting with Emil Hamerník, CEO of Silroc CZ, would give me a glimpse.
I visited Silroc in the mountain hamlet of Smrzovka in January. It was one of several companies that I toured in the Czech Republic as research for an article on outsourcing opportunities for medical device OEMs. Among other things, Silroc is one of the world’s leading makers of silicone nose pads for eyeglasses. It won’t be long, though, until almost all of those nose pads carry the made-in-China label, lamented Hamerník. As a hedge against the inevitable offshoring of this activity, he wants to diversify and expand Silroc’s activities in the med-tech supply chain. But that is a story for another time (the May/June issue of EMDM, to be precise, which will include my report on outsourcing in the Czech Republic).
My second meeting of the day was with professor Oldrich Jirsák, vice rector at the nearby Technical University of Liberec. Hamerník had arranged to tag along. “We rarely get an opportunity to meet with researchers in the academic community,” he explained, “and I am very interested in the work that Jirsák is doing.”
In recent years, Jirsák’s work has focused on the production of nanofibres on an industrial scale. His curiosity was piqued by a growing number of articles on the technology in scientific and technical journals starting in the late 1990s. “We tried to duplicate the experiments, but they involved the use of syringes to produce the fibres. At the university, we are focused on industrial methods, so our research led to the development of a system that could produce the fibres in large quantities,” explained Jirsák. The university granted an exclusive license to start-up company Elmarco, also in Liberec, to commercialize the technology. (Go to www.devicelink.com/emdm/archive/05/09/19.html to view an article on the firm and its Nanospider technology.)
Following my interview, a lively exchange ensued between Jirsák and Hamerník. The conversation was in Czech, and Hamerník was kind enough
to summarize its tenor as we trudged through the snow back to our cars.
Jirsák had expressed interest in learning more about the properties of silicone, and the discussion turned to a possible collaboration between university researchers and Silroc. Jirsák and Hamerník had decided to meet again, Hamerník told me. Then in mid-February, I received an e-mail from him.
“Professor Jirsák was very interested in the silicone that we use, and so I arranged a meeting between him and a representative from our raw materials supplier Wacker GmbH,” wrote Hamerník. “Afterwards, Professor Jirsák visited Silroc, and we initiated a research project aimed at producing silicone nanofibres.” This is a long-term venture that may or may not yield results, he noted in his letter. “But we have also begun a joint short-term project that looks very promising.” It involves a silicone base incorporating nanofibre filters. The first products will be designed for air filtration applications; filters for liquid media are under development. Hamerník intends to introduce the concept at the BIO 2006 event to be held in Chicago, IL, USA, on 9–12 April.
In his e-mail, Hamerník offered his thanks for facilitating this encounter. I’m delighted to have played a role, however minor, in bringing together Hamerník and Jirsák, but I certainly don’t deserve any credit. One of the ambitions of EMDM, its Web site, and associated trade shows and conferences is to enable suppliers, researchers, and med-tech companies to exchange ideas and develop next-generation products. As I noted at the top of this column, it’s a process that we editors rarely get to witness firsthand. Being privy to that initial exchange, and seeing its outcome, is especially gratifying.
