My journey has been diverse. In In 1992 I opened a branch of the dental laboratory Themodent in Mechelen. In 1994 I ventured into the sale of dental consumables with my own company DDP bvba - De Romagnoli Dental Products.
In 1996 I transferred my customers to ADH [Antwerp Dental Handel] and made my entry into the sales of dental equipment, where I, together with my former colleague Willy Crab, putting the brands Ultradent Gmbh, Ancar, Mectron and Instrumentarium on the Belgian market.
My career.
When ADH abruptly stopped at the end of 2003, I transferred my colleagues, customers and brands to Denta nv. After successfully setting up the dental laboratory for CDC Complete Tandzorg in Best [Nl] in 2000 and 2002, we converted an industrial building for them into a dental practice in 2004 with 15 treatment rooms, 2 operating rooms and a second dental laboratory.
Unique for that time in Belgium in terms of size and size.
This experience strengthened my determination to concentrate entirely on setting up dental practices.
Until 2013, my focus was mainly on sales, pricing, supplier contacts and site inspections. After Willy's unexpected death, my role changed abruptly. Suddenly I also had to make technical plans, coordinate the technical service, find a solution for persistent technical problems, resolve conflicts within the technical team, etc.
At the age of 55 [2018] I consciously said goodbye to sales and started working as a Project Manager at Kerckaert Dental Equipement. Carl & Hilde are super friendly people as well as the entire team they managed to surround themselves with. I really experienced a hell of a time there.
This did not make my decision any easier when I had the opportunity was offered to work as COO in a dental clinic that would open in 2023. With the wisdom of hindsight that I was secretly starting to miss the social interactions that come with sales, I made the decision. I started to work for them as freelancer at the end of 2022, but due to struggles between both partners, this story took an unexpected turn.
But don't worry, my story continues.
Who are you dealing with?
A communicative person with the necessary empathy and perseverance who is reliable and has the ability to convince others. Someone with the ability to inspire a team, who is able to act quickly and efficiently. A problem-solving thinker with the necessary coaching skills to guide and develop people. Moreover, I am stress-resistant, flexible, can communicate clearly and prefer integrity, diplomacy and modesty over dishonesty, bluntness or self-righteousness.
And of course I have built up quite a network with people who share the same values.
After all this positive news, some negative points! 😜
Sometimes a bit impulsive, but where is the fun without unpredictability? Indecisiveness? Let's just say that I sometimes have some doubts about my Netflix choice. Oh, and don't forget excessive perfectionism. Apparently my humor is somewhat vintage because my children don't always understand my jokes. In other words I am a cocktail of impulsiveness, mild indecisiveness, excessive perfectionism and humor that has yet to be appreciated.
Cheers to the unpredictable symphony of life!
The value of an extensive network cannot be emphasized enough.
In October 2021 I received a call from Dental Bauer.
They were planning to expand their activities to Belgium and came to me through Martin Slavik, former Export Manager at Ultradent GMBH.
After a thorough introduction, I put them in touch with Carl and Hilde.
This resulted in the acquisition of Kerckaert Dental Equipment nv. and Codema nv. by Aurelius/Dental Bauer, beginning October 2023.