Survey finds Canadian dentists continue to buy Canadian
The vast majority of Canadian dental offices remain loyal to their “local sources” of sundry/consumable products and dental laboratory prostheses despite the current recession, according to results from the DIAC (Dental Industry Association of Canada) 13th Annual Future of Dentistry Survey.
DIAC’s latest survey shows that the full-service dealer continues to dominate the sundry/consumable marketplace, representing more than 90% of all purchase decisions in the most recent 2008-2009 study period. In fact, this percentage has actually steadily increased from 85% of purchase decisions in 1998.
As dental offices can, and do, utilize multiple sources for their overall purchases, the total responses added up to well over 100%. However, no other alternative source (such as mail order, buying group, co-operative, grey market dealer, or direct from manufacturer) accounted for more than a 10-20% overall reading. Dental offices’ rationale for selecting their preferred source revolved almost exclusively around personal care and attention with “Good service” (30%) the top response followed by “Convenience/save time” (11%), “Sales representative” (9%), “Good relationship” (6%) and “Product availability” (6%). “Price” was the lone exception for 19% of respondents.
More than 1,000 practicing Canadian dentists responded to this year’s survey (similar to the response achieved over each of the previous years) with a good proportional distribution across all regions of the country.
Anaheim hosts Bien-Air’s national sales meeting
Bien Air held their recent annual national sales meeting locally in Anaheim, Calif. Switzerland showed their support through the attendance of Daniel Dietz, Stephan Schopp, and Nicolas Genoud. The focus of this year’s meeting was the introduction of new products soon to come to the United States market including the Chiropro L — an oral surgery/implant machine — and the new “Blackline” carbon-fiber series of highspeed handpieces.
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Dental Health Products holds first national sales meeting
Dental Health Products, Inc., recently held its first national sales meeting in downtown Green Bay, Wisc. The meeting spanned four days with training, seminars, breakout sessions, team-building exercises, and a whole lot of fun. In attendance were most of the 186 Dental Health Products employees, from California to New York. There were more than 20 vendor booths with product demonstrations, along with renowned speakers from industries including dental, sales, and life coaching.
“Internally, DHPI is raising the bar in respect to salesperson development. This will have an immediate payoff in terms of greater customer satisfaction as we help dentists grow their practices profitably,” says Steve Desautel, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our sessions were spot on and received top marks by all attendees.”
Dental Health Products, Inc. is a full-service distributor of dental supplies and equipment with two distribution warehouses and six branch locations.
Agreement inked between ProDrive Systems, Patterson Dental Canada
ProDrive Systems has launched ProDrive products nationwide in Canada with an exclusive multimillion-dollar agreement through Patterson Dental Canada.
ProDrive products include the upgrade turbine for leading brand handpieces, the patented triangular shank burs, and the ProDrive handpieces. The unique product offering revolutionizes dental handpieces improving instrument cut speed, control, and precision.
“On the heels of a successful American launch in Q1 & Q2 2009, we saw a great opportunity to introduce our products to the Canadian market,” Richard St-Pierre, president and chief executive officer of ProDrive Systems. “We’re proud to be working with the Patterson team to bring these products to Canadian dentists.”
Andre Desjardins, CEO of Patterson Canada adds, “Our ProDrive field trials demonstrated valuable clinical benefits to the dentist and we are proud to be ProDrive’s exclusive reseller partner in Canada.”
Visit www.prodrivesystems.com for more information.
Darby Dental hosts Darby-Q
Darby Dental Supply recently held its first annual Darby-Q at Tom Lee Park in Memphis, along the banks of the Mississippi River. Darby hosted the event as a way to thank and support the Memphis dental community.
“It was a fun time where we lay our everyday business concerns by the riverbanks and enjoyed three days of great food and drink with our customers, suppliers, and their families,” explained Darby Dental Supply president Gary Rosenberg.
The event had plenty of barbeque chefs on hand, such as Darby’s very own Michael Cobb (pictured at left with his wife, Shelly), who placed 4th out of 111 entries in the annual Darby-Q cook-off. Cobb works as a full-time telesales representative, and has been competing on for the past eight years. This year, he cooked over 500 pounds of ribs, 300 pounds of pork butts, and 50 pounds of chicken. He’s well-known on the competitive barbeque circuit, and also markets his own line of rubs and sauces (www.porkscriptionsbbq.com).
More than 600 dentists, hygienists, assistants, and office managers took part in the festivities, with some dentists driving more than six hours to attend.
According to Darby’s vice president of sales and marketing, Michael Bocian, “Although Darby organizes and hosts the Darby-Q; we would not have been able to pull it off without the help of some of our valued supplier partners for support. For example, this year, Crosstex, Kerr, and 3M supplied T-shirts, BBQ aprons, tote bags … and perhaps the most important item of all — moist terry cloth towels from the White Towel company!”
DIAC changing its address, logo
The Dental Industry Association of Canada (DIAC) has a new address: DIAC, Suite 407, 18b – 3200 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, M6A 0A1. The phone number is (905) 417-7462 and the Web site is www.diac.ca.
Also, the association unveiled a new logo. “The four swirls represent our four types of members — manufacturers, dealers, dental laboratories and service providers,” said Bernie Teitelbaum, executive director of the DIAC.
Patterson Logistics completes Jacksonville expansion project
Patterson Logistics Services, Inc. (PLSI) recently announced the completion of its Southeast Distribution Center expansion project in Jacksonville, Fla.
The expanded facility features more than 140,000 square feet and stocks more than 75,000 products to enhance service and support to customers served by Patterson Companies businesses in the dental, veterinary, and rehabilitation supply industries.
PracticeWorks donates to Mercy Ships
PracticeWorks Systems, LLC, recently donated 20 KODAK RVG Digital Radiography Systems to Mercy Ships, a global charity that operates ships providing medical and dental care to residents of developing nations. The intraoral sensors are already in use at mobile clinics and onboard the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest charity hospital ship, to provide digital X-rays for patients receiving dental care during the ship’s nine-month deployment to Benin, West Africa.
The Africa Mercy contains six operating rooms, an intensive care unit, and ward space for up to 78 patients. Volunteer dentists, physicians, surgeons, and medical staff from more than 30 nations serve onboard, delivering much-needed health services by mobilizing people and resources worldwide.
“One of our challenges here at the field set-up is how can we perform X-rays,” said Dr. Dag Tvedt, Mercy Ships Chief Dental Officer. “We had some self-developing X-rays, but it was inconvenient and took a long time. Then PracticeWorks graciously donated their RVG digital sensors so we have X-rays within a few seconds. And, of course, whenever we are more efficient, we can see more patients.”
German manufacturer seeks North American partner
Roughly 30 years ago, GIRARDELLI began manufacturing automatic dental X-ray processors and accessories. The GIRARDELLI processors are based on the immersion (dipping) technique, and are known for their simple operation, minimal maintenance, exceptional durability, and their attractive price-performance ratio. The company has also expanded its portfolio and has just recently added a dental treatment-unit line, which is manufactured in Europe.
For its outstanding and reliable product line, the privately owned company is looking for a solid and enthusiastic partner in the United States and Canada. A long-term partnership and an understanding and appreciation for European products are important.
For more information, drop an email to [email protected] or click on www.girardelli-dental.de.
Media members pay a visit to 3M ESPE
3M ESPE recently hosted more than three dozen representatives from leading industry media outlets to participate in a two-day event at the 3M Innovation Center, located in St. Paul, Minn. Members of the media, including Proofs editor Kevin Henry, participated in a series of workshops and seminars featuring the latest in innovative research, leading new products and technologies, and a commitment to educational resources for the dental industry.
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BriteSources.com launches
BriteSources.com, an online supplier of dental instruments, dental lab equipment, dental picks, crown removers, and orthodontic instruments, is now up and running. The site offers free shipping and provides dental instrument catalogs in addition to its array of supplies.
Patterson acquires Hawaiian dealer
Patterson Dental has acquired the assets of Global Medical & Dental, a full-service dental supplier based in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii. Global served dental professionals on the island of Oahu, as well as the neighboring islands of Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, and Lanai.
“This addition gives Patterson Dental a new branch presence and bolsters our service to dental professionals in Hawaii — providing a solid platform for growing our market share,” said Scott Anderson, president of Patterson Dental.
Over the past eight years, Global had grown into a dominant dental dealer serving the Hawaiian Islands, and is known throughout the Hawaii dental community for delivering high-quality service.
Tokuyama holds sales meeting
Tokuyama Dental recently held its third annual sales meeting in August at The Dental Advisor facility in Ann Arbor, Mich. The entire sales force from the U.S. and Canada were in attendance and was introduced to Tokuyama’s new composite Estelite Sigma Quick as well as reviewing other Tokuyama products.
Annette Frederick provided an overview of The Dental Advisor, then Dr. John Powers then gave insight into the world of composites and bonding agents. Following a tour of The Dental Advisor, there was a Q&A period with Dr. Farah, a founder of The Dental Advisor along with Dr. Powers and other dentists and assistants.
The annual sales awards were also handed out, with the winners receiving a custom blown glass bowl. All pictures have vice presidents Koji Sakade and Ichi Yamada, as well as Doug Wills, national sales manager for Tokuyama Dental.
Above, Wendy Combs and Sue Case were the winners of the Highest Total Sales, Highest Estelite Sigma sales, and also winners of a trip to Japan.
Above (#1) are the winners of the most improved territory — Troy and Randy Steinbach (first place), Frank Baldassaro (second place), Chuck Mertz (third place), and Gordon Jennings (fourth place). All won a trip to Hawaii for the ADA Annual Session.
Above (#2), Gordon Jenning, winner of the most new Estelite Sigma users.
Above (#3), Chuck Mertz, winner of the most Bond Force sales.
Above (#4), Frank Baldassaro, winner of the highest acheivement to sales goal.
Above (#5), C.A. Bowman winner of the Highest Dollar Volume per Dentist.
Masuda honored by IDM
Jiro Masuda from J. Morita Corporation has been honored with a lifetime achievement award by the International Dental Manufacturers (IDM) for his decade-long contribution to IDM and other organizations. The award was presented to Masuda by IDM immediate past president Milly Goldstein at a joint IDM/FDI executive meeting during the FDI Annual World Dental Congress in Singapore.
The Tokyo-born Masuda, who currently holds a consultant position at J. Morita, has been with the company for almost 50 years. In 1960, he joined the Japanese dental manufacturer to establish an export section overseas and became the first manager of J. Morita’s U.S. Liaison Office in Los Angeles. From 1988 to 1998, he served as executive director for the International Division and the Consumables Division in Japan.
HemCon, Zimmer ink distribution pact
HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of advanced medical products, has signed an exclusive global distribution agreement with Zimmer Dental Inc. Through this agreement, Zimmer Dental will supply HemCon’s line of oral wound care dressings for all dental applications throughout the globe.
“HemCon is excited to aggressively pursue these markets with a strong partner like Zimmer Dental whose hundreds of global sales representatives will assist in penetrating key markets around the world,” said John W. Morgan, HemCon’s chief executive officer.
HemCon is headquartered in Portland, Ore., with additional commercial operations in Ireland, England, Germany, and the Czech Republic.
ClearCorrect, Inc., expands
ClearCorrect, Inc. recently completed a major expansion of its corporate headquarters in Houston due to the increased demand for its FDA-cleared transparent orthodontic aligners, commonly known as clear braces or invisible braces.The company doubled its our overall size and tripled its manufacturing footage.
With the additional space, ClearCorrect chief executive officer Dr. Willis Pumphrey estimates that his company will be able to increase the production of its transparent orthodontic aligners by 600% and increase its staff across all departments by 30%.
“We’ve already increased our staff by 20% in the last six months,“ he explained. “It was getting a bit tight.”
Zirc hosts Schein reps
Zirc recently played host to the Minnesota branch of Henry Schein representatives. After refreshments and a company tour, Zirc continued the meeting with training sessions on their unique color code system and products along with an indepth look at the Crystal HD mouth mirror line.
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New Shofu president visits U.S.
Shofu Dental Corporation recently welcomed Noriyuki Negoro, the new president of Shofu worldwide, to its North American headquarters in San Marcos, Calif.
Since assuming the presidency of Shofu, an international dental manufacturing company based in Kyoto, Japan, Negoro has embarked on a worldwide tour, visiting Shofu locations and meeting with customers and distribution partners throughout Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and across Asia and the Pacific Rim.
Negoro was accompanied by Yoshi Wakino, vice president and senior managing director of Shofu. Negoro and Wakino’s visit to Shofu’s San Marcos office included a tour of the facility, a dedication ceremony, a lunch reception, and dinner held in honor of the visit.
Benco acquires Holliday Dental
Benco Dental has acquired Holliday Dental Company. Headquartered in McLouth, Kansas, Holliday Dental specializes in equipment sales, installation, and service. The employees of Holliday Dental will join the existing Benco team in serving the Kansas and Missouri markets in their entirety.
“The acquisition of Holliday Dental Supply fits perfectly with our business development strategy of seeking out like-minded companies who are intensely customer focused, and combining their strengths with our wide breadth of services and inherent efficiencies,” said Chuck Cohen, president of Benco.
Holliday Dental and its president, James A. (Doc) Holliday, have been servicing the Kansas area for 20 years. Benco will retain Holliday as part of its service team, while his employees, with more than 50 years combined experience, will remain in their positions with Benco.
Holliday Dental marks the seventh such acquisition by Benco in the past year.
Danaher set to acquire PaloDEx
Danaher Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PaloDEx Holding Oy, a leading manufacturer of dental imaging products with revenues of more than $100 million that goes to market under the Instrumentarium Dental and SOREDEX brands.
Instrumentarium Dental and SOREDEX will join Gendex, DEXIS, ISI, KaVo, and Pelton & Crane as part of Danaher’s group of market-leading dental equipment companies.
PaloDEx’s product range includes 3D CBCT, panoramic X-ray (including the OP200), PSP (including the Optime IO PSP), and other intraoral and extraoral X-ray imaging systems.
“We believe this acquisition will be a game-changer for both of our companies and we are excited about the opportunity to acquire two of the leading imaging brands. Instrumentarium Dental and Soredex’s excellent digital imaging products and technology will be a great fit with our existing Gendex, DEXIS, and i-CAT business. PaloDEx has a very experienced team and we look forward to working with Henrik Roos, president of PaloDEx, and his team as we continue to build the business,” said Henk van Duijnhoven, group executive of Danaher’s KaVo Group.
Anderson to lead Patterson Companies
The Patterson Companies, Inc., have announced that James W. Wiltz, president and chief executive officer, will retire on April 24, 2010. He will be succeeded by Scott P. Anderson, currently president of Patterson Dental Supply.
Anderson has worked with Patterson since 1993 and served as vice president of sales and vice president of marketing. Anderson started his career as a territory sales representative in the dental business before becoming national equipment manager, manager of the San Francisco branch and manager of the Minnesota branch, two of Patterson’s largest dental branch offices.
Patterson expects to name a new president of its dental business within the next few months.
Medicom holds sales meeting
Medicom Inc., recently held its annual sales meeting in Montreal. At the meeting, Ouriel Levy, vice president of sales (pictured in all photos), presented Donna Long, based with Pennsylvania, with the Salesperson of the Year Award for the United States
photo 1) and Ross Hunter, based in British Columbia, with Salesperson of the Year for Canada. Reyna Velez was awarded the International Salesperson of the Year for her hard work and achievement in growing Medicom sales outside of the U.S. and Canada.
(photo 2) In addition, Rita Paré from the Quebec Region
(photo 3), was presented with the Stewart Gardner Award which recognizes achievement, initiative, effort, and commitment.
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