today GNYDM 2

exhibitors22 Greater New York Dental Meeting — Nov. 26, 2012 AD By Robert Selleck, today Staff n This year’s Greater New York Den- tal Meeting marks a first anniversary for NSK Dental, which launched its expanded presence in the United States and Canada in November 2011 with a broadened distribution chan- nel and the opening of a service and support center. “Looking back, it’s been a great year for us,” said Mirco Stiehle, presi- dentofNSKDental.“Wesawverynice growth every month this year and did even better than we were expect- ing with our expanded distribution channels.” NSK products continue to be designed and built in Japan, with virtually every phase of the process taking place in house — from product concept through each step of the manufacturing process. With the opening of the service and support center just outside of Chi- cago,allproductsupportactivitiesfor North American sales are now han- dled domestically. The North Ameri- can service center was key in sup- porting NSK’s shift from an exclusive distributor relationship to working with all of the major dental-product distributors in North America. The market has been receptive to NSK’s larger presence. That wasn’t surprising given the company’s glo- bal expansion record of accomplish- ment. Yet there have been at least a cou- ple surprises that market analysis didn’t reveal ahead of time. “One big surprise for us has been the popularity of our electric hand- pieces,” Stiehle said. “The U.S. is traditionally a high-speed, air-driven market, but we have been extremely successfulwiththeelectrictoo.There seems to be a real customer need for it.” Stiehle said the NSK reputation for high quality, combined with the lighter weights, friendly ergonomics and an attractive price point have resonated with customers. The company’s Ti-Max Z series of electric handpieces, for example, offers dentists the smallest head and slimmest neck in electric attach- ments. “We see this trend continu- ing,” Stiehle said of the surprising amount of interest in the electric- motor products. “It’s obviously hit- ting an untapped demand in the marketplace.” On the air-drive side, the S-Max Pico has been another nice surprise for the company. Originally designed to help den- tists in Asian countries who were often working with patients with smaller mouths, the S-Max Pico has been widely embraced by dentists working with children. It boasts the industry’s smallest head and neck size of any handpiece, and has been one of the compa- ny’s most popular products in North America. Stiehle said dental professionals couldexpectmorenewproductsfrom NSKin2013,withnewideasalwaysin play based on feedback and requests the company receives from custom- ers. “That’s what NSK stands for. We believe in innovation — and new prod- ucts,” Stiehle said. NSK looks back on success of expansion Here at the GNYDM Visit NSK at booth No. 2036 (look for the giant handpieces) to inspect and learn more about NSK’s latest hand- piecesandseejusthowsmalltheS-Max Pico and Ti-Max Z really are. 5 NSK Dental President Mirco Stiehle in the NSK booth, No. 2036, in front of the attention-getting giant handpieces. (Photo/Robert Selleck, today Staff)