The breaking storm

Our parent firm, Medtronic, announced today that, as part of a worldwide re-organization, they will transfer all product responsibilities back to Minneapolis, closing our facility in the Netherlands.

Our product, the Reveal monitor, has done well in the market this year, with new product introductions increasing sales 70% worldwide and bringing us close to profitability in our second year of operations. However, the strong euro and the logistical distance to the Netherlands has increased our costs, and US senior management believes that their investment in the product will be more efficient if managed locally. We told everyone here in Arnhem today (just over 200 people); it's a very difficult thing to have to do and a great disappointment to everyone who worked hard on the business.

I'm also proud of our team's accomplishments over the past 14 months: we succeeded in defining a significant new business, completed a design prototype, and established technical feasibility. Our core project team achieved a solid entrepreneurial success, moving from concept through to clinical trials in a remarkably short period. More generally, living in the Netherlands has been a great opportunity for me personally: as all the Flickr pictures and blog postings show, I've had fun exploring the country, learning Dutch, and becoming part of the local community.

For the moment, my focus is for people here: since the decision was handed down only last Friday, a lot of planning remains to be done. I'll continue working with the rest of the management team here as we begin to wind things down. Beyond that, I'll move on to a new opportunity, hopefully in the Netherlands or Europe.

I'll regularly let you know how things progress over the coming months.