Today was a historical day for the equine sector. Bosdreef and Equitom, two world-famous animal clinics, have entered into a partnership within the Equine Care Group. "This merger is unprecedented in the equestrian world and very positive for the health sector. This can only benefit equine medicine", says Tom Mariën, founder of Equitom and CEO of the Equine Care Group. Filip Vandenberghe, partner of De Bosdreef Group, is also very happy with this collaboration. "With this new partnership we can contribute even better to equine medicine. The fact that renowned and highly experienced vets are entering into this merger is unique."
"Many veterinary clinics are in competition with each other", Tom Mariën takes off. "This competition does not benefit the health of the horse and that is one of the reasons why this merger is so important. Thanks to this cooperation, two large clinics are no longer opposing each other, but instead stand side by side in order to provide even better and more targeted help. With this merger, the level of equine medicine will undoubtedly rise, not only in Belgium but also abroad."
Each clinic has its own specializations and technologies and a merger creates a unique dynamic. "It is truly unique that different specialists can now work together on the same case. In addition, the specialists can also move between the clinics, which is really an incredible thing for the medical sector", Dr Mariën proudly explains.
Filip Vandenberghe, partner of Bosdreef Group and world renown specialist in Equine Orthopaedics and Diagnostic Imaging is also extremely happy with this new collaboration. "Here we have a cooperation between vets who have already made their name and fame and are still doing so. We have a strong ambulatory group of vets and that's really unique."
Two world-famous clinics, one goal
Doctor Mariën and Doctor Vandenberghe are very proud of this collaboration, especially since they both share the same goal: to make horse medicine even better. "We are always trying to do our bit for the equine sector, and a merger like this creates enormous opportunities. We can make high quality veterinary medicine more accessible to everyone, from absolute top horses to recreational ones. The knowledge you gain from the absolute top, is knowledge that you can also perfectly apply to the recreational sector. In this way, you can even ensure that clients do not always need expensive examinations in order to benefit from the knowledge you have acquired over the years. Moreover, this knowledge ensures less invasive procedures and fewer large incisions, and in some cases we can even bypass operations by using other techniques. In short, with these years of knowledge, we do everything to keep the recovery and rehabilitation as short and practical as possible", says Filip enthusiastically.
Tom likes to pick up on this. "We do indeed want to raise the level of equine medicine as high as possible. We do this by bringing vets, specialists and professionals together in the Equine Care Group. On top of that, we also go to the regions where there is still a lack of good medical care. For example, we are working on a new horse clinic in Wallonië, which will be operational by the end of this year. As Filip said, we want to be able to do our bit for equine medicine every time and this merger is a huge step forward!"
Unprecedented figures
The fact that both Equitom and De Bosdreef are world-famous clinics is common knowledge. Their figures also speak for themselves: together they account for no less than 4000 operations, 30,000 consultations, 850 MRI scans and 600 CT scans. Moreover, horses from no fewer than 70 countries come to the clinics and about 200 horses are treated on a daily basis. Both gentlemen are therefore very happy with this merger, because it will only increase the range and more horses will be treated purposefully and with the best medical care. "We are very enthusiastic and ambitious to start this cooperation, it is the beginning of something great," says doctor Vandenberghe.
Tom Mariën, also CEO of Equine Care Group, is just as proud of this merger. "It really is a huge step forward and therefore I would like to thank a number of people. Of course I want to thank Filip, because a merger like this is certainly not an obvious thing to do and it involves a lot of work. We have had countless meetings, but they were always constructive. We never had any tensions or disagreements and we were able to start working together in a very pleasant way. I would also like to thank our partners, Frederik Bruyninx and Bencil Capital Partners, without whom the establishment of Equine Care Group would have never been possible. In particular, I would like to thank our partner Bencis. Apart from being a financial partner, they are also very actively involved and provide us with a lot of support in the area of management and further professionalization of Equine Care Group and the veterinary sector in general. Finally, I would also like to thank everyone at Equitom, and especially my wife. We have a great team for which I am extremely grateful."
After all the saying thanks, Dr Mariën concluded by saying: "This is a historic day and I think that with this group we can really take veterinary medicine to the next level. We are going to make something fantastic out of it!"
