CAD/CAM - international magazine of digital dentistry

38 I I industry news _ Sirona Fig. 1_Thomas Scherer, Vice-President of Sales in Europe and Canada, and Lionel Phelipot, Area Sales Manager France, speaking to the audience about the innovation process at Sirona. Fig. 2_Guests at the Dental Academy reception on 6 September. Fig. 3_Innovative show: Attendees watching a 3-D presentation. Fig. 4_Guests at an exhibit in the Center of the Innovation’s foyer (inLab made of acrylic glass). CAD/CAM 3_2011 _Dental equipment dealersfromalloverEurope and Canada visited Sirona during the month of Sep- tember. The dental industry’s technology leader had inviteditsdistributionpartnerstoattendthreeInno- vationDaysinBensheim,Germany.Inthepresenceof around350guests,Sironainaugurateditsnewlybuilt CenterofInnovationandpresenteditsnewproducts. Each of these two-day events kicked off with a galaintheCenterofInnovation’sfoyer.Productpre- sentationsalternatedwithperformancesbyavariety of renowned artists. The second day was devoted to aseriesofinteractiveworkshops,atwhichtheatten- deeswereabletoexpandtheirknowledgeofSirona’s products and technologies. The Innovation Day for guests from UK, Ireland and Scandinavian countries took place on 12 Sep- tember. Terry Patuzzo, Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland and Iceland, demonstrated his talents as an entertainer as he guided the attendees through the gala programme. The German star chef Alexander Kunz impressed guests with an exquisite menu. In his speech, Thomas Scherer, Vice-President of SalesinEuropeandCanada,describedtheinnovation processatSirona:“Weexploitthesynergiesbetween different technologies in order to develop new ap- proaches—for example, integrated implantology, whichcombinesthebenefitsofdentalCAD/CAMand 3-D X-ray imaging. In order to exploit the potential for innovation we rely on the new Center of Innova- tion, where developers from all the various depart- ments can work under one roof and exchange ideas. However,theresultantproductswouldbeimpossible without our distribution partners. Our innovations are the outcome of their trust and belief in Sirona’s capabilities.” All the divisional development departments are now housed in the Sirona Center of Innovation. The foyer provides the venue for a temporary exhibi- tionthatguidesvisitorsthroughthedevelopmentof Sirona’s latest technologies and products. Over the pastsixyears,SironahasinvestedmorethanUS$250 million in R&D—equivalent to between 6 and 7 % of sales revenues. The company employs more than 230 engineers and scientists in the field of research and development._ Sirona Dental Systems GmbH Fabrikstraße 31 64625 Bensheim Germany contact@sirona.de www.sirona.com CAD/CAM_contact Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Innovation Days at Sirona