Chondrometrics HOLDS ITS 2025 TRAINING RETREAT AT FRAUENCHIEMSEE

This year, the annual company retreat and training camp took place on the magical, traffic-free island of Frauenchiemsee (Chiemgau, Bavaria) from Sept 12–14, 2025. Crossing Lake Chiemsee by ferry, our team stepped back from daily routines to reflect on how we work together, and what transforms a company into a brand.

One of the sessionds focused on “Quality Management” and “Good-Clinical-Practice (GCP)- compliance”, the standards that guide our daily operations, such as ISO 13485, EU MDR, etc. These are the rigorous structures and processes required in clinical research that ensure that our work remains accurate, traceable, and trustworthy.

A next session opened another path, exploring: “From Idea to Brand”
• In 1991, a scientific idea emerged during Felix’s civil service at the Department of Radiology at LMU Munich
• In 1998, a research group was formed through support of a grant by the German Research Society (DFG), and a first PhD student embarked on the topic: Jan Hohe, who still is part time with the company
• In 2003: a company, Chondrometrics GmbH, was founded, and the first bid on an industry project was successfully made. Over the years: a brand has emerged that is more than just products and services

A brand carries reputation, trust, values, and emotional identity. With a “recognizable” voice, it contributes to a broader context through meaningful storytelling.  A famous local example is Red Bull (Salzburg) – showing how branding can extend far beyond a product line (“the can”), adding extreme sports, art, adventure and media to the “story”.

For a scientific company, the parallels are different but equally important:
 • Excellence and reliability in image analysis as our reference standard
 • Transparency and integrity in collaboration
 • A community of clients, collaborators, advisors – including our strong SAB – and long-term partners
 • Clear, recognizable communication that contributes to the understanding of the “structural pathology of articular tissues and their potential response to treatment”, across scientific publications, reviews, infographics, LinkedIn posts, and our website.

Discussing these topics in the inspiring setting of an active monastery reminded us that building a brand is also about shared experience and team identity. It is not only what we do, but how we live and communicate it consistently, and how we place it in a broader scientific context. This weekend reinforced that Chondrometrics is built on trust, excellence, and people — and that every colleague contributes to carrying it forward.