Country Manager · Medical Devices · 9 years European MedTech B2B
I built this directory because the existing resources for evaluating European medical device distributors were either out-of-date, paid-only, or surface-level. Here's the experience and approach behind it.
In nine years running medical device distribution for a Portuguese affiliate of a Swiss precision-device manufacturer, I've sat on both sides of the table the directory is built for. As a Country Manager evaluating European partner candidates for adjacent territories. As a distributor being approached by manufacturers from outside Europe wanting Iberian or Nordic-adjacent representation. The same gap kept appearing: there was no good way to scan the European MedTech distribution landscape from outside.
Industry directories like Europages and Kompass are generalist B2B — they don't separate medical devices from any other industrial product. Medical-specific paid databases (MedTech Europe membership rosters, niche subscription services) are gated behind hefty annual fees that don't make sense for a manufacturer doing one market scan. LinkedIn search returns thousands of irrelevant results. Trade association lists are country-specific and rarely updated. None of them give you the sub-vertical × country lens that the work actually requires.
So I started building one. It's free to browse, organized by sub-vertical (orthopedic, surgical, IVD, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular, dental, capital equipment, consumables) and by country (16 European markets currently indexed, with Nordic markets covered by my sister site NordicDistributors.com). Each profile and country page includes the operational context — regulatory framework, hospital procurement model, tender calendar — that actually matters when you're deciding whether to approach a distributor or look elsewhere.
Country Manager — EMS Dental & Medical (Portuguese Affiliate). EMS is a Swiss precision medical device manufacturer focused on dental prophylaxis, urology, and dermatology equipment. I run the Portuguese commercial organization — a 13-person team across direct sales, indirect distribution management, marketing, technical service, customer care, and invoicing. Full P&L responsibility.
I joined as a sales representative in 2017. By 2021 I was promoted to Country Manager. The operation grew roughly 20× in revenue over seven years — the strongest growth trajectory in the company's European portfolio. The Portugal playbook I built is now the internal case study EMS uses to train Country Managers in other affiliates. I've been sent to teach the model in South Korea (2023) and Greece (2024).
Eight years in B2B commercial roles before MedTech: SCA / Essity Group (Healthcare International, Madrid — TENA and Libero brand management), L'Oreal Professionnel (Salon Division — Série Expert and Mythic Oil), Procter & Gamble (Wella Professionals, Kadus and Nioxin Strategic Marketing — won Best EMEA Brand Launch for Nioxin), and Novabase (SAP MM and SD implementation in the Portuguese Ministry of Defense).
Most directory editors haven't actually run a distribution operation. They list companies as data points. When I add a distributor to this directory, I read their portfolio with the eye of someone who's negotiated similar contracts. When I write a country hub page, I draw on first-hand exposure to what European tendering, KOL programs, and hospital reimbursement actually look like operationally — not what an industry analyst writes about them.
What that means for you, the reader: the directory is opinionated where opinion adds value. Country pages note which procurement systems are tender-heavy versus relationship-driven. Sub-vertical pages reference what kind of clinical training capacity a distributor typically needs to be effective. Profile pages, where verified, indicate the call-point a distributor actually covers — hospital purchasing department, private clinic chain, dental network, lab consumables buyer — rather than just "healthcare".
Languages: Portuguese (native), English (C1), Spanish (C1), French (B1), Swedish (A1, currently studying).
If you're a manufacturer evaluating European market entry — particularly in the Iberian-to-Nordic corridor or in the dental, surgical and capital-equipment sub-verticals — I run Fractio as a strategic advisory practice. Fractio specializes in Nordic and Iberian go-to-market for B2B companies that don't want to set up local subsidiaries. The directory is a free public resource; Fractio is the paid engagement for companies that need the work done, not just researched.
If you're a distributor already operating in any of our 12 indexed European markets and you want your company listed (or want to update or claim an existing profile), reach out via the form on the homepage or email me directly: miguel@fractio.se.
The directory works on its own. Where deeper European partner-selection work is needed, I lead those engagements through Fractio.