We sat down with our former CEO and co-founder, later Business Development Director, Tass Adorján to look back on how it all began — and how a small team of young engineers grew into a global CDMO partner shaping the future of minimally invasive medical technology.

How did Medres get started back in 2005?

The idea took shape in Silicon Valley around 1999, when my co-founder and I saw how hard and costly it was for local startups to find skilled engineers. Hungary had the talent and drive we needed, so we decided to build a team there.

In 2005 we launched Medres with just four engineers, focusing on mechanical design — drawing parts in CAD, solving technical challenges, and learning as we went. We worked long nights, often side by side. It was an intense period of joint learning and discovery.

How did the company grow from there?

As our projects became more complex, we brought in new expertise — first an electrical engineer, then technicians to build prototypes, and we even invested in equipment. Within a year we went from four to nearly ten people, and in a few years we were already several dozen. Around 2020 the team had grown to about 80, and today it’s over 150. With the new disciplines came the need for proper infrastructure: cleanrooms, assembly areas, labs, logistics. This steady growth of both our people and our capabilities has never really stopped.

How did you move from engineering work into developing full medical devices?

It happened step by step, as we gained experience and confidence. We started in women’s health — developing surgical tools for treating fibroids and polyps. Then came orthopedics, tackling disc injuries and arthritis, followed by urology, airway management, cardiovascular devices, and finally gastroenterology. Each new clinical area was like entering a new world, but our accumulated experience helped us overcome the challenges faster each time.

What marked the next milestones in Medres’s story?

In 2021, an American investor group became the new owner of Medres, taking over the entire operation smoothly and without losing any colleagues. A strong collaboration formed with the new owners, who built on the company’s existing strengths with the new owners.

Since then, Medres has opened the Nitinol Technology Center in Carlsbad, California— a global hub for Nitinol-enabled medical device development. This year the company launched a new large-scale manufacturing site in Hungary.These milestones have greatly expanded Medres’s global capabilities and production capacity, showing how the foundations we laid have supported further growth on a global scale.

Looking back after 20 years, do you feel the original vision has been fulfilled?

Absolutely — and it has also grown beyond what we imagined. From the start, our goal was to build a company where engineering excellence serves a higher purpose: improving patients’ lives. Over the years this became part of our culture. Everyone here knows that the devices we help create are not just products — they are tools that can give patients back their quality of life.

Finally, what is it that you’re most proud of?

I’m proud to have been part of the work that laid the foundations of Medres Group — and to know that the devices we have helped design and manufacture now contribute to the recovery of nearly a million patients every year. Today the company operates on a global scale, with greater resources and a broader vision than ever, yet the mission remains the same: to give doctors better tools so they can heal patents more safely and effectively. As I often say:
“Innovation empowers doctors with new possibilities — and with them, greater effectiveness and success in healing. We are proud to be an innovative tool in their hands.”