Medtek Norge and Lab Norge are merging to create a new medical technological association representing 150 companies.
Together, Melanor’s members have a joint turnover of around 12 billion NOK (€1.24 billion). Employing 3,000 people in Norway alone, member companies cover supplies, medical technology, laboratory equipment, welfare technology, and aids for people with disabilities.
Our members’ customer based includes public and private health institutions, universities, research institutes, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, the Norwegian Health Economics Administration and other public authorities.
So, to the big questions: why merge and why do it now?
Medtek Norge and Lab Norge have repeatedly discussed the possibility of a merger over many years. Finally, in 2018, the two organisations decided to merge and become Melanor. On 1 January, 2019, our two organisations completed this major milestone in our history, formally becoming a single entity.
Of course, we have been close collaborators for some time. Medtek Norway and Lab Norge worked together on joint projects, attended meetings with members customers, and engaged together with other stakeholders.
Several members of Melanor were previously affiliated to both organisations and some of these were strong supporters of a merger. This encouraged our work and reinforced our ambitions to succeed. When our two general assemblies voted for the merger, the decision was unanimous.
Key to success
In my opinion, one of the keys to a successful merger is the engagement and involvement of members. Beforehand the merger, we invited members to workshop to outline the new organisation’s values, vision and purpose. A group of representatives participated actively in the work of defining the new identity and name of the new organisation.
Another key to success, when two equal organisations want to merge, is to undergo a rebranding which marks a clear a break from the past. It is of course quite demanding to build a brand from scratch, but it also brings some opportunities.
Our goal is to combine our power in the effort to highlight the valuable contributions of our well-established Norwegian and foreign member companies. One of Melanor’s main tasks is to create more visibility, dialogue and meeting forums for member companies, customers, partners, authorities, politicians and other organisations. This will give us a platform to communicate the value our members bring to the health system.
Why Melanor?
The name Melanor is formed by combining the first two letters of the two organizations ‘me’ and ‘la’ to Mela and ‘nor’, signalling our geographical origin. The word mela in Sanskrit, means “when you meet” or “meeting place”, which clearly describes the role Melanor wants to have in the future. When this name came up, I felt it was just right for us. We would like to be an important meeting place for dialogue and knowledge for the industry and for all our stakeholders.
I look forward to working with members and others as we embark together on this new chapter in our shared history.
