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Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

DENTAL TRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition | Jan-Feb 2013 3Shape Dental System™ A timeless solution that grows stronger rather than growing old Sign up for our next webinar Join our virtual classroom from your office! Scan the QR code to register. Or go to http://3shapedental.com/Webinar Coming Soon! new subsidiary in Singapore. Another sig- nificant contributor has been NSK’s Euro- pean office in Germany, which accounted for almost one third of the 22.2 billion yen ($278 million) in sales the company report- ed in 2011. “That is why economic conditions in our home market have little or no impact on our overall business. We really think glob- ally,” Nakanishi explains. According to the 48-year-old, who has run the company since 2000, one of the major reasons for NSK’s strong market position, even in established markets, is its dedica- tion to innovation and quality, combined with the excellent after-sales service it is able to provide to customers in almost ev- ery country except North Korea. But this hasn’t always been the case. Founded in the 1930s, the company had a rough start and operations were completely halted during World War II. Since the production of den- tal handpieces resumed in 1951, however, the company has grown extensively and now employs more than 700 people in its Japanese offices in Tochigi and Tokyo. NSK still produces most of the precision parts in-house, which, according to Na- kanishi, is one of the reasons that dentists now identify the company with high-quali- ty products. “We employ many good engi- neers and marketing people who help us to constantly improve our brand and make it more attractive to dentists,” he says. One of NSK’s recent innovations, launched at last year’s IDS in Cologne, for example, is the Ti-Max Z series, a durable premium handpiece that is claimed to have the small- est heads and necks in the industry, as well as an exceptionally low noise level and vir- tually no vibration. The Surgic Pro surgi- cal micromotor has also received much in- terest, particularly by dental implant sur- geons, and is now distributed alongside systems by major implant manufacturers. NSK asserts it pays close attention to the needs of its customers, a philosophy that has resulted in products such as the S-max pico, which was developed solely for the treatment of patients with smaller mouths, such as children. Moving into other markets is conceivable but unlikely to happen anytime soon, Na- kanishi says. Even though his company has begun to enter new areas in the last decade with the launch of instruments such as ul- trasonic scalers and polishers, its core busi- ness will remain dental handpieces and other small-motor equipment. “When it comes to handpieces, we have produced more innovations than our com- petitors,” he remarks. “Our goal is to be- come the No. 1 company worldwide in this segment.” Handpiece manufacturer NSK aims for global leadership Eiichi Nakanishi, right, in talks with DTI Publisher and CEO Tor- sten R. Oemus. (DTI/Photos Lutz Hiller) NSK still manufactures most of the precision parts in-house. By Dental Asia Pacific T OKYO, Japan: It is no secret that the years since the global financial crisis have not been very kind to companies in Japan. First, the re- cession slowed business investments sig- nificantly down, then the negative effects of last year’s tsunami and the massive de- struction it wrought almost brought the world’s third largest economy to a halt. For NSK, one of the country’s largest dental manufacturers, troubles in the home mar- ket are its least concern because the com- pany conducts most of its business else- where. According to president and CEO Ei- ichi Nakanishi, with whom Dental Tribune International recently had the opportunity to speak at the company’s headquarters in Tochigi, more than 80 per cent of the com- pany’s revenues are now generated by its operations outside of Japan. In the last three years, NSK has been per- forming particularly well in mature mar- kets such as Europe and North Ameri- ca, where it boosted its presence with the opening of its new headquarters near Chi- cago last year, despite unfavourable condi- tions such as high market saturation and the ongoing decline of the yen against the dollar. Since 2009, Nakanishi has also seen his company regaining its former market shares in Asia through centralised distribu- tion and after-sales support offered by its 12 INDUSTRY

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