Danaher acquired Radiometer in February 2004 in a strategic transaction aimed at increasing our exposure to the attractive growth trends in the medical technology market where Radiometer is a recognized leader in critical care diagnostics. Our experience to date has exceeded all expectations and along the way we have developed a deep admiration for our Danish colleagues.

Jack Welch once said that having your employer acquired can be one of the more anxious times in a career. As an experienced acquirer for over 20 years, Danaher has witnessed virtually every possible reaction to such news in every major economy in the world. We did not know what to expect from Radio meter given our limited exposure to the Danish business culture. Radiometer’s history as a publicly listed company with a strong founding family equity position paralleled our own structure but we knew from experience that this could add complications.

So we have been understandably pleased from the first day with the spirited professionalism we found in Copenhagen. Most impressive to me is the daily blend of deserved pride and independence on the one hand and the open-minded desire to learn from us on the other. Danaher has a unique operating model that we call the Danaher Business System (DBS) operating in all of our businesses. We introduce new businesses to DBS early in the integration process so as to begin to establish a common vocabulary and culture.

The Radiometer team was proud of their strengths and accomplishments and let us know that. But rather than tell us that DBS did not apply in Denmark or in the diagnostics fi eld (a common initial reaction), they were quite keen to understand DBS and determine how they could use it to improve their business.

And the results speak for themselves. Annual core sales growth has been 7 per cent per year since acquisition, signifi cantly above overall industry growth. The important US market has accelerated to 10 per cent per year sales growth, productivity has increased about 10 per cent annually and operating profit has increased 600 basis points over the same two years, just to mention a few key performance indicators.
      In addition, Radiometer has made significant inroads to the important Chinese growth market and has accelerated its product development cycle significantly.
      We are so proud of the Radiometer story that we invited our investors to a “Radiometer Day” on September 7-8, 2005 to showcase our Danish success story. They left favourably impressed. Danaher got the credit but the Radiometer team members were the ones responsible.
      From the senior team led by Peter Kurstein to the associates on the production floor, we hear smart, pointed questions and thoughtful suggestions whenever we engage them. Those exchanges impact Danaher and Radiometer in equal measure and both are better enterprises as a result. I am not sure if that balance between questions and suggestions is uniquely Danish behaviour but it does define the dynamic we enjoy at Radiometer today.

So “managing a Danish subsidiary” is in fact straightforward and frankly enjoyable (Radiometer has reported directly to me since the acquisition so I speak from personal experience). The Danes are proud of their successes and do not accept suggestions on blind faith. But there is no prickly “not invented here” syndrome as we find in some countries, at least not at Radiometer. The Radiometer team is smart, committed and driven to win. The Danish and Danaher business cultures fit well together which is the foundation for any successful parent/subsidiary relationship. The key for us is to be clear about expect ations and to keep an open dialogue at all times.

We have a regular cycle of visits where we focus on long-term strategy, organizational development, DBS and financial results. The team in Copenhagen ultimately runs the business and does so quite well. Perhaps we’re not really managing a Danish subsidiary. Perhaps they are managing an American parent.

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