The Board of EFCLIN and the EFCLIN Secretariat are pleased to announce yet another resounding success in the form of the Annual Congress & Exhibition held two weeks ago at the Valamar Lacroma Hotel in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
When it comes to congress destinations there are few that can match Dubrovnik for the breadth of the cultural experience on offer. However, such was the interest in the 2018 EFCLIN lecture program alongside what is now regarded as the industry leading trade show, it’s no surprise some delegates were running out of time to combine business with pleasure!
With nearly 300 participants, numbers of last year were touched again on the first day. By the close of the event many exhibitors were also reporting record amounts of business having been done. With a congress theme of “Exploring New Horizons”, the EFCLIN Congress hoped to capture some of the modern and historical connection Dubrovnik has with trade and commerce – most delegates seem to report that objective was well and truly achieved.
An opening session with keynotes form Kristina Mihic, Prof. James Wolffsohn and Andreas Beeck warmed up everybody to want to know more about contact lenses and IOLs. The Contact Lens Lecture program featured important offerings from Bo Lauenborg, Dr Michael Lipson and Dr Giancarlo Montani to mention just a few names from the high quality line up of speakers. However, delegates from the ocular surgery side of the industry were not disappointed where a bespoke program of lectures headed by Dr Suzana Matic, Prof. James Wolffsohn and Prof. Achim Langenbucher caused the organisers to go looking for more chairs such was the demand from delegates wishing to see this part of the program!
A workshop program on Medical Devices Regulation MDR given by Antoineta Lucas – chair of Euromcontact RAF-Group and Colm O’Rourke – NSAI filled up the room again the other day. Questions out of these workshops could be discussed furtherly in an afternoon round table on quality and regulations.
Those who wanted to know more how to convert activity into productivity joined in the interactive workshop “Gold of the Desert Kings” from Brad Waldron, friendly sponsored by Contamac Ltd.
The trade exhibition at the EFCLIN Congress has always been well attended with this year some 21 exhibitors crammed into every sq. cm. of available space. The organisers reported that such was the demand for space that two exhibitors had to be turned down as there was just no more room. Not something the organisers like to do it must be said so the message is clear – if you want space at the foremost trade show in the industry get your request in early! Some images from the event can be found here.
Somebody famous once wrote about the effects of “all work and no play” and fortunately the organisers of the EFCLIN Congress are familiar with the sentiment. Thanks to the major sponsors of Contamac Ltd, Boston Materials Bausch & Lomb, Contour Fine Tooling and Gobal Contact all participants were treated to an evening of good Croatian barbeque food in the lovely place of Valamar La Presidente hotel directly at the seaside on Thursday evening. Saturday evening saw the climax of the event marked with the Congress Dinner in the Valamar Lacroma Hotel. The tables were set for 140 places and all seats were taken. Executive Director, Mrs Marion Beeler welcomed the EFCLIN community and thanked all exhibitors and visitors to make such a great event happen. After an excellent meal, EFCLIN President Armin Duddek was pleased that he and the EFCLIN Board were able to welcome 9 new EEFCLIN members in this circle. All were warmly welcomed by the assembled members and invited guests. An EFCLIN Award was dedicated for the first time in EFCLIN’s history to a female awardee, to Dr Lynette K. Johns.
With arrangements already well advanced for the 2019 event the EFCLIN President and Board urge all those interested in attending to make a note in their schedule for the 46th EFCLIN Congress & Exhibition which will take place from the 25th – 27th April 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. Further details will be featured in the “Congress” section of the EFCLIN website over the coming weeks and months.