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D I: Mr Richter, which product did you present to start off with? Tobias Richter: At the heart of the product portfolio is the TRI® Performance Concept, with its indepen- dent product properties Zirconia Blast Me- dia implant surface (ZBM), TRI BoneAdapt implant design, TRI Friction implant con- nection and TRI Soft Tissue concept. We are convinced that, with this, we have suc- cessfully fulfilled the fundamental modern demands made of implantology today in a holistic implant system. This technology is integrated in the product lines TRI® Vent Dental Implant System (with the diameters 3.7 / 4.1 / 4.7 mm) and TRI® Narrow Den- tal Implant System (3.3 mm). In addition, we also offer a very streamlined and inno- vative surgical kit with an intelligent drill stop system. These core systems are com- plemented with additions to the prosthetic lines (angled screw-retained abutments for all-on-four restorations) as well as navigat- ed surgery. For us, it was essential that we created the most efficient and flexible implant system possible, the “Apple of the implant indus- try” so to speak. Our implant system com- prises a total of just 180 implant compo- nents which represents a more than 50% re- duction in components compared to con- ventional systems. The key factor behind our success lies in the fact that we only have one implant connection and thus the number of components is reduced to an ab- solute minimum. This equates to a minimi- sation both of storage costs at practices and application errors when assisting. DI: How has the company developed since its foundation? TR: We now employ a total of 50 members of staff. In the direct markets we have a 30-strong sales team and, via our distributors, are already represented in 11 countries with our prod- ucts. What's more, we are currently in- volved in negotiations aimed at expand- ing our international activities further. We opened our international distribution and service centre in Freiburg on 1 April in or- der to cope with the high level of demand through efficient and centralised order pro- cessing. DI: What does the corporate structure look like? TR: We need to keep our company as streamlined and efficient as possible so as to be able to offer our partners and custom- ers the best possible value for money. This is why we decided to base our headquar- ters, with management and development The “Apple” of the implant market The Swiss company, TRI Dental Implants Int. AG, was founded in 2010. The IDS 2011 marked its first “public appearance”. So what do these three letters stand for, what similarities are there to Apple and what can the dental market expect from TRI Dental Implants? The company’s CEO, Tobias Richter, provided us with interesting answers to these and other questions. strategy for the international business, in the heart of Switzerland. The proximity to our Swiss production centres was the deci- sive factor behind this move. Our central international distribution and service centre, on the other hand, is locat- ed within the EU, in Freiburg. This enables maximum proximity to customers, speed and cost awareness. Our strictly sales ori- ented corporate structure is based on co- operation with the dedicated sales teams in the main markets of Germany and Ita- ly which are managed directly from Swit- zerland. Other international markets are handled by experienced and professional distribution partners in Europe, Asia and South America. The complete corporate structure is subject to a modern corporate planning system (ERP) which coherent- ly links process steps without the need for other interfaces – from registration of the order through accounting to delivery of the products. DI: Which renowned practitioners and clinics were involved in the development of your products? TR: We developed the Performance Con- cept and the TRI® Dental Implant System in close cooperation with a group of lead- ing experts, whereby Dr. Marius Steigmann (Institut Steigmann) was the decisive driv- ing force. When developing the implant system, the main focus was on launching a userfriendly solution onto the market. Other international experts and study part- ners of the TRI Dental Implant System in- clude Dr. Paolo Triesi (Italy), Dr. Wolff-Ul- rich Mehmke (Germany), Dr. Giulio Rasp- erini (Italy), Dr. Hom-Lay Wang (USA) as well as Dr. Alberto Rebaudi and Dr. Marco Esposito (Italy). DI: What does TRI stand for: Tobias Rich- ter Implant or, rather, “Through Research Innovative”? TR: The identical abbreviation is a pleas- ant coincidence. “TRI” actually stands for “Through Research Innovative”, a slogan which was developed by a group of leading experts with one common objective, name- ly the merging of the latest clinical findings and know-how from implant research to develop a performance-oriented and easy- to-use implantology concept. Our scientif- ic consultant, Dr. Marius Steigmann, phras- es this as follows: “The TRI project goal was to combine practical experience with the lat- est implant research to produce an enhanced performance-oriented implant concept. A concept that respects both the hard and soft tissue parameters and which also ensures maximum primary and secondary stability.” DI: You are not an unknown entity on the implant scene. How much of Tobias Rich- ter is there in TRI? TR: As a founding member, I have inevi- tably been involved in shaping the com- pany's profile. Yet at the heart of our suc- cess is the radical product philosophy of producing an extremely streamlined and, at the same time, flexible implant sys- tem which is able to satisfy the latest find- ings from implant research. In this regard, thanks must be given to the developers and pioneering opinion leaders. DI: What is the target group for your sys- tem – newcomers or experienced practi- tioners? TR: Given our size, we are currently not able to comprehensively support newcom- ers entering this market. We focus on ex- perienced implant practitioners who, in ad- dition to their current “premium” implant system, are looking for a substantial sys- tem in the low price segment in order to ac- commodate the needs of more price-con- scious patient groups. It is our experience that practitioners can indeed sense the pric- ing pressure on the market but, at present, can only find very few sustainable alterna- tive products priced at less than € 150 per implant. DI: With each year the implant market is becoming increasingly more competitive. What is the key difference between TRI and your competitors? TR: I completely agree with you that there appears to be a surplus of implant compa- nies. However, we have examined the mar- ket carefully and established that the com- panies are either positioned in the premi- um segment or in the low budget segment where the emphasis is on price. We are committed to striking a balance between these two extremes: We set great store by sustainability, quality and service and, at the same time, still offer attractive prices. This policy can be summed up as: “Peak performance at the right price”. This mix is possible thanks to our very slim corporate and costs structures. We believe we have a great chance of achieving sustainable dif- ferentiation with the right team and our Swiss roots. DI: Mr Richter, in concrete terms what do you offer your customers? TR: Our customers are able to purchase our products from well-trained sales partners whose numbers we are successively de- veloping. We can also be contacted direct- ly via our online shop and the European- wide hotline which can be called daily on 00800 3313 3313. With the opening of the new service centre in Germany, we have created the ideal framework conditions for ensuring ongoing expert support through further training. We offer online webinars in order to reduce travel costs, keep con- tent up-to-date and, nevertheless, guaran- tee that participants feel personally connected to the training offered. TRI Representatives: Meliti Medical Co. Jebel Ali ind. area no.3, PO Box 120324 DUBAI, UAE Tel. 04 880 2633, e: medical@melitidubai.com Panos PAGRATIS, Executive Directlor Medical Division 050 8866 504 Dr. Ali Haqi Ismaeel, Marketing and Sales Officer 056 2630 544 CEO Tobias Richter: “It is our goal to maintain a high level of innovation in order to remain attrac- tive to customers and differentiate ourselves from the competition in the long term.” TRI Dental Implants services Lifetime warranty Lifetime warranty on all implants purchased and a restricted lifetime warranty on all pros- thetic components. 100-day return All unopened products can be returned up to a 100 days after being purchased. Free shipping for orders in excess of € 1,000 Free shipping with standard delivery for all single orders in excess of € 1,000 24-hour express delivery 24-hour express delivery to the address of your choice within Germany as an alternative to standard delivery for € 7.50. Free expert hotline Personal telephone support provided by expe- rienced expert dental technicians on all tech- nical issues. Online orders at www.tri-implants.com 24-hour order service with optional direct pay- ment by credit card and AirMile collection. 16 DENTAL IMPLANT TRIBUNE DENTAL TRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition | Jan-Feb 2013