Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | March 2012A18 Global handpiece manufacturer expands North American presence For years, NSK dental handpieces have had a strong base of devoted users in the United States and Canada, attracted to the reliable, user-friendly performance and reputation for quality. A word-of- mouth advertising strategy combined with highly targeted customer relation- ships has worked well for the company. But the strategy has also meant that there are many dental professionals who still aren’t sure about what makes NSK so different in the handpiece market. That’s about to change. The dental equipment manufacturer, founded in 1930 in Japan, is raising its U.S. and Canadian profile in a big way, perhaps most tangibly to date by the May 2011 opening of its newly construct- ed North American headquarters in Il- linois. The facility includes a showroom, training facility, expanded warehouse space and a larger parts and service cen- ter. “The company made the decision [in 20120] to increase its investment in North America in 2011,” said NSK Den- tal Marketing Manager Rob Gochoel. “We’ve also added office and technical- service staff — and an internal team of representatives who will be able to work directly with a greater number of dental practices.” The company is expanding its distrib- utor relationships as well. As a whole, the efforts should enable NSK to provide information about its unique business model to most of the dental practices in North America. The company’s efforts also include an expanded dental convention presence, which began with the Greater New York Dental Meeting, so practitioners are more easily able to hold an NSK hand- piece and experience firsthand what has enabled the company to become one of the top handpiece manufacturers in the world. “We’re making the investment in an opportunity to connect with more cus- tomers,” Gochoel said. “Not only will we be able to handle customer questions and inquiries much faster, but we also will be able to further develop a sense of loyalty by developing even more per- sonal relationships with doctors.” Innovation based on input Close relationships with its customers are critical to the company, because that is what has driven its global growth for more than eight decades. “Everybody is pretty excited,” said NSK Dental President Mirco Stiehle. “We have very good feedback from the market so far. I am looking forward to working with dental professionals and learning more about what they want from us — because that’s where we’re coming from. We need to understand what we need to be doing to be successful in the United States. And that means providing prod- ucts that fit customer demands.” NSK is able to respond quickly and specifically to localized needs because it maintains complete in-house control of the manufacturing process. An example of how such a philosophy translates into real products is the NSK S-Max Pico, which has the smallest head and neck size of any handpiece on the market. NSK built it in response to requests from practices in Asian markets with higher numbers of patients with smaller-than- average mouths. Interestingly, a bonus realized by the company’s willingness to address this need is that the S-Max Pico has gone on to also receive high interest from pediatric practitioners throughout the world. “We know there are other needs out there that aren’t being met,” Gochoel said. “We want to provide options based on what customers are asking for. We love to solicit feedback through our of- fice at (888) 675-1675 and through our microsite, www.nskdental.us.” Key to the company’s ability to de- velop equipment in direct response to customer need is its commitment to controlling the entire manufacturing process. Nearly 90 percent of the 17,000- plus parts that go into the creation of its handpieces are manufactured in house. Focus on quality starts at the top In addition to supporting its market re- sponsiveness, NSK’s keep-it-in-house philosophy enables it to relentlessly control quality at every step of the de- velopment, testing and manufacturing process. “Quality is really the top priority for us,” Stiehle said, “especially for Eiichi Na- kanishi [NSK president and CEO].” Nakanishi, confirmed that statement: “Since the founding of the company,” he said, “we have adhered to very strict quality controls to make sure our prod- ucts earn dentists’ satisfaction. We have strong policies on manufacturing al- most all components in-house. Current- ly, about 90 percent of the mechanical components, including electric micro- motors and high-speed ball bearings, are manufactured in-house. No other competitors can make ball bearings and micromotors in-house like we do now. This is one of our biggest strengths and competitive advantages.” Based out of Japan, but frequently traveling the world, Na- kanishi described his core role at NSK as being able to ensure the global organiza- tion has a strong, mo- tivated team in place with a clear understanding of what it takes to delight customers. “We have the engineering excellence needed to enable dental professionals to make their dream products real,” Nakan- ishi said. “We want to listen to the voices of dentists in order to develop very use- ful and wonderful products.” Stiehle said responding to specific cus- tomer demand isn’t limited to a prod- uct‘s purpose and function. “It’s not just that we offer a product in every category of dentistry from a clini- cal point of view,” Stiehle said. “It also means offering a range of price points.” Cost sensitivity drives the company’s focus on providing one of the largest selections of coupler adapters available — to make it easier for practitioners to test-drive and ultimately purchase an NSK handpiece. “Our intent is to make it as easy as pos- sible to integrate an NSK handpiece into the practice,” Gochoel said. “By being compatible with virtually all competitor coupler systems, we eliminate the need to buy a lot of additional couplers or in- cur the expense of retrofitting all the op- eratories. It’s just one more example of a smart, customer-centric focus.” Rounding out the commitment to quality assurance, pricing options and responsiveness, is awareness that the ul- timate customer is the patient. “I am a strong believer in the need to be aware that we are a medical device company and that, with that, comes a huge responsibility not just in terms of quality, but also comfort and safety of the patient,” Stiehle said. “When I am sitting in the dentist chair, I want to make sure that I am worked on with the best product out there. That’s what is most important to us: the safety and comfort of the patient.” NSK Dental invests in support, service and distribution to serve more practices The S-Max Pico from NSK, with the world’s smallest head and neck size, owes its existence to dentists asking NSK for a better device to use with patients with smaller mouths. Now, the handpiece is also netting praise from pediatric dentists. NSK quality is achieved primarily through uncompromising process control, which enabled it to acquire ISO9001 certification in 1997. Its factory has more than 100 state-of-the-art Computerized Numerical Control machines running non-stop. Photos/Provided by NSK Dental At NSK, innovative engineering starts where the product is being used: in the dental office. In response to demand for vibration-free, accurate, stable cutting, NSK answered with Integrated Shaft Bearings (ISB), in which the shaft itself forms an inner race for holding the outer race, ensuring all three needs are met efficiently, compactly and reliably. By robert Selleck, Managing Editor Hinman BOOTH nO. 1557 INduSTRy NEWS