Design Pro Technology was established in 2016 in Białystok. The goal was to create a science and technology park focused on modern solutions for medicine. The company designs and manufactures custom orthopedic equipment using the latest technologies available. It is a leader in the innovative prosthetics market in Poland. The interdisciplinary research team at Design Pro Technology includes engineers, orthopedic technicians, doctors, and designers.
INVEST IN PODLASKIE: Medicine, rehabilitation, and 3D printing. These are the keywords describing Design Pro Technology. How did the company’s story begin?
Marcin Dziemianowicz, founder and CEO of Design Pro Technology: It started with my father, a doctor, instilling in me a passion for medicine and helping others. Since I started my career, I’ve been fascinated by limb prosthetics. I graduated in biomedical engineering and then became a certified orthopedic technician. I practiced in orthopedic companies and was the manager of the only Polish company producing simple, mechanical limb prostheses. I also participated in designing the first hip joint endoprosthesis solution in Poland with a regional company in Podlaskie Region. I then completed a scientific internship at Florida Atlantic University in the US. Also, I led a bionic joint project at one of the world’s largest prosthetic companies, Ossur in Iceland. My accumulated knowledge and experience have led me to develop products for the domestic Polish market. This is how the story of Design Pro Technology began.
Currently, after eight years, the interdisciplinary research team at Design Pro Technology consists of engineers, orthopedic technicians, physicians, and designers. The company designs and manufactures customized orthopedic equipment, using the latest technologies available. The main areas of the company’s activity are prosthetics, orthopedics, and rehabilitation engineering – for humans and animals. The solutions we create include prosthetic limbs, orthoses, orthotics, and cosmetic coverings.
The process of producing a prosthesis or orthosis is quite complex and requires not only specialized knowledge but also extensive consultation with experts from various fields, for example, medical or veterinary consultation at every stage of product development. How is it done in your company?
Our mission is to implement modern elements of technology into medical equipment in an innovative, but above all responsible manner. A medical or veterinary consultation is fundamental. We see the client during a single visit, while the attending physicians observe the patient over a long time and base their assessments on years of experience – they become an invaluable source of information.
We cooperate with specialized orthopedic centers across Poland. We also sell custom-made products for individual customers, also under the supervision of a professional orthopedic center. In addition, we ensure the highest level of detail in our products. We actively cooperate with academia and national research institutions, which reliably support our solutions with science. We use components from the world’s leading manufacturers.
Our machinery park provides the necessary technological support for creating innovative and safe solutions in prosthetics, orthotics, and rehabilitation engineering. And ultimately – I test the prostheses we create on myself!
You emphasize that lateral thinking, thinking out of the box, is your guiding principle. In the field of 3D prosthesis creation, this is probably an absolute necessity.
Lateral thinking is looking at a situation from a new perspective, creativity, seeing new possibilities, and reframing the problem to give it a chance to be solved with new methods. When you work with new technologies, you have to come up with new solutions; they are not to be found in books or on the Internet, no one has done it this way before. In Poland, in the various industries we enter, sometimes we have one competitor nationwide, and sometimes we have no competition at all. In the Podlaskie region, we are doing things for the first time, and systemized creativity is essential here.
It is said that in medicine no two cases are the same. Each prosthesis, orthosis needs an individual approach, and is probably also a challenge.
Exactly, we are even known for our individual products and customer approach. We believe that every case deserves our attention, and serial solutions do not always work, especially if we are dealing with a diverse, living organism. Prosthetics is the art of observation and adaptation while maintaining the intended functions. A great example of a challenge is handling animals, which is even more of a problem, because a dog, cat, horse, or skunk – yes, we had a skunk as a patient – will not tell you where it hurts or if it is uncomfortable. But we are not afraid of any challenge if it can help our clients get back on their feet or paws.
If you had to name the most important element in the development of a company in Podlaskie Region, what would it be? People? Know-how? Business idea? Business environment?
In the business of technology development, people with the right skills are the most important, because it takes years to build such competencies and they cannot be replaced in any way. We always emphasize that core competencies should remain within the company.
However, aside from the product aspect, a very important factor for the development of the company is the ability to acquire new customers and convince the market of the usefulness of the products you offer. You can have the best product, but in the end, you always have to know how to sell it.
Let’s talk about Podlaskie Region. It has been consistently changing its image in recent years – it is supposed to be a place where entrepreneurs feel good. It is supposed to be a business-friendly region. Is it?
Changing the business climate is a long and difficult process, requiring a change in investor attitudes and large foreign capital. However, the city of Białystok, as well as the entire Podlaskie region, is moving in the right direction to achieve this. There are more and more innovative projects that we can carry out based solely on Podlaskie manufacturers. Recently, one of the first procedures in Poland was performed to implant an intramedullary implant in a cat after limb amputation. The implant and instruments were made by IWET, the prosthesis was made by Design Pro Technology, and the procedure was carried out at the Boliłapka veterinary clinic – all of this happened in Białystok, and as local patriots, we can be proud of that.
You are looking for an investor and want to grow – what are your plans for the future?
Currently, we are capturing the market for animal prosthetics and orthoses, orthotics, and cosmetic coverings. We also undertake projects for individual orthopedic supplies. We plan to expand these products throughout Poland, build a strong brand position for Design Pro Technology, and then go beyond the borders. These are rapidly growing markets based on innovative technology. However, to achieve the right pace of development, an injection of cash is needed to spread our wings: acquiring customers, developing technology, conducting training, and actively participating in industry events. We would be very happy to welcome an investor on board who is proficient in acquiring new markets and developing the brand.
We are also seeking funds for the development of technology and the implementation of bionic products that have been developed in our company. These include the D-Ankle bionic ankle joint, the P-Knee bionic knee joint, and the T-Hand prosthetic hand controlled by our proprietary EMG signal acquisition system. The multi-year and multi-faceted process of developing these complex, human-body-mimicking products calls for the budget to be increased. The results so far are very promising, and the solutions are innovative on a global scale. The launch of these products will take the company to another level and allow us to join the small group of worldwide companies offering advanced bionic systems.
What would you say to people who want to invest in the Podlaskie Region or are considering it? Is it worth it?
I believe it is worth investing in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. I invite ambitious entrepreneurs to invest in our promising region. The world has become a global, technological village these days, which means there are no barriers – we can access resources anywhere on earth. Moreover, Podlaskie Region is well-connected to Warsaw (it takes 2 hours by car or train to get there from Białystok), which is the largest technological hub as well as one of the largest sales markets in Poland. The cost of living, as well as of doing business in Podlaskie Region is much lower, regional competition is smaller, and people are friendly. Additionally, the region is constantly developing and is therefore appropriately subsidized by the state and EU institutions. Furthermore, time seems to flow more slowly here, so fresh ideas for future product and business development come to mind!
Thank you for the interview.
Marcin Dziemianowicz (33 years old). He is a biomedical engineer with a medical engineering background. In 2016, he founded Design Pro Technology in Bialystok.