Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

DENTAL TRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition | Jan-Feb 2013 By Dental Tribune International W ALS-SIEZENHEIM, Austria: Dental technology manufac- turer Sirona Dental Systems opened its new headquarters in Wals-Siezenheim near Salzburg in Aus- tria this week. The new facility, which also boasts a nearby street bearing the compa- ny’s name, will offer expanded capacity for 120 employees working in administra- tion, financing, human resources, market- ing and sales. Much of the company’s production will still be based in Benzheim in Germany, where the company originated as a subsidiary of industry giant Siemens over 50 years ago. CEO Jost Fischer said that the opening of a new, larger headquarters was necessary to keep pace with the growth of the company. “We have invested over US$250 million in the last six years to keep ahead of the mar- ket and to offer customers the most innova- tive products,” he commented. Sirona moved from Germany to Austria in 2007 and has since quadrupled its staff, ac- cording to Fischer. Worldwide, the compa- ny now employs 3,000 people in 29 subsid- iaries and achieves global revenues of over €700 million annually. Sirona has operated as an independent en- tity in the market for over 15 years. Since 2004 and 2006, US-based Schick Technolo- gies and the Danish specialist in dental hy- giene products Nitram Dental have also be- longed to the Sirona Group. In addition to its dental CAD/CAM system CEREC, it has established itself as a leading developer of high-tech dental equipment, including in- struments, as well as a number of imag- ing and digital treatment solutions. Recent- ly, the company unveiled a new intra-oral camera during its 27-and-a-half-year anni- versary celebration in Las Vegas, among other new products. Sirona moves headquarters in Austria Jost Fischer (right) and staff celebrating the opening on Monday. (DTI/Photo courtesy of Sirona Dental Systems/Austria)S ince 1980; when Pr. W. M r- mann (University of Zurich) and M. Brandestini invented the first chairside CADCAM unit (CEREC) and come out with the prototype then the CEREC 1 in 1985 the dream just continued getting better. From the questions: Can we make a Chair-side CADCAM res- toration? How durable will it be? How aes- thetic can it be? Is it economically feasible? Are dentists ready for this technology? ... Came other questions later on as the Dental World accepted this technology with opened arms. All through the 80’s, 90’s and the beginning of the 21st Century, researchers continued their hard work and attempts to improve, coupled with the advancing Software and Hardware Technology, as well as the re- markable improvements in the Science of Materials whether Dental Ceramics or Res- in Cements. So what exactly was done to make the dream better? Intra-oral Scanners got more and more pre- cise, accurate and easy to use Softwares became much more sophisticat- ed yet more user friendly than ever. Milling accuracy reached a remarkable lev- el. With these 3 factors in mind (and years of research work showing an extraordi- nary success rate), we can now take mul- tiple intra-oral scans of the prepared teeth, opposing dentition and even the bite reg- istration to form a True-colour 3D virtual model, without the use of a reflecting medi- um (Spraying powder or painting liquids). Use these models to design every little de- tail of our restorations (whether inlays, on- lays, Veneers, Crowns, Bridges, attach- ments, bars, abutments or whether import- ing these images to 3D Cone beam C.T. for Implant planning), and then mill our res- torations (in-house Surgical guides) with great ease; making our patients visits eas- ier and less time consuming while the Den- tists enjoy an impression-free, bite registra- tion-free and Temporaries-free work flow. This is CEREC AC OmniCam, the latest generation of Chair-side CADCAM sys- tems from Sirona. Dr. AbdelAziz Yehia Sirona Middle East - Business Development Manager CADCAM Making the dream better... By Dental Tribune International B ENSHEIM, Germany/NEW YORK, USA: Sirona, global pro- vider of dental products, has ap- pointed a new CEO. As from 20 February 2013, Jeffrey T. Slovin will suc- ceed Jost Fischer, who has held the position for 11 years. Fifty-eight-year-old Fischer will be retiring, giving up his position as both CEO and chairman of the board. Sirona also announced that Dr Thomas Jet- ter, a current member of Sirona’s board of directors, will assume the role of non-ex- ecutive chairman of the board upon Fisch- er’s retirement. Effective immediately, as part of the succession plan, Rainer Berthan has been promoted to executive vice-pres- ident responsible for the company’s busi- ness segments. “Jeffrey Slovin is the ideal candidate to succeed me as Sirona’s CEO,” Fischer com- mented. “He has the necessary experience and stellar reputation within the dental community to take Sirona into the future. Before joining Sirona in 2006, Jeff was CEO of publicly traded Schick Technologies, Inc. where he built a reputation as an inno- vator and operator, and delivered signifi- cant shareholder value. Since joining Siro- na, he has consistently demonstrated excel- lent judgement and played a major role in improving our operations, targeting our re- search and development efforts and lead- ing growth initiatives.” Fischer continued: “This appointment is part of a leadership succession process that was methodically developed over the past several years in preparation for this very day. Jeff has the full support of myself and the board. During my 11 years as CEO of Sirona, we have built Sirona from a primar- ily German company to a truly global lead- er in dental technology. Sirona is well posi- tioned for the future, with a powerful sales and service infrastructure, a strong man- agement team, and an outstanding product portfolio. I am excited to watch as Jeff takes Sirona to new heights.” “Thomas Jetter was the private equity part- ner responsible for the investment in Siro- na after its spin-off from Siemens, from 1997 to 2004. His relationship with the oth- er board members, his global experience and long history with Sirona should make the transition seamless,” Fischer added. Slovin, 48, has served as Sirona’s president since September 2010 and prior to that as executive vice-president and chief operat- ing officer of its US operations. Before that, Slovin was CEO of Schick Technologies, a leading dental technology company that was acquired by Sirona in 2006. Slovin is currently a member of the Board of Fellows Sirona appoints new CEO of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and a member of the Young Presidents’ Or- ganization. He holds an MBA from Har- vard Business School. Jetter, 55, has served as a director since April 2010 and is currently a member of the Nominating and Corporate Gover- nance Committee of Sirona’s board of di- rectors. From April 1995 to March 2008, Jet- ter was a partner at Permira, where he ini- tiated and managed investments in a vari- ety of medical technology, industrial, and chemical companies and helped expand the firm’s global reach to include areas such as the US, Brazil and China. Prior to that, Jet- ter gained extensive experience at McKin- sey in Germany and Brazil. He holds a PhD degree in Economics and Banking, and an MBA from Saarland University in Saar- br cken, Germany. Berthan, 48, joined the company as a vice- president in September 2012. Prior to join- ing Sirona, Berthan served at Demag Cranes, a publicly listed company, as ex- ecutive vice-president. From 2004 to 2008, Berthan was President of Weidmuller in China, a leading German company in the industrial automation business. Prior to these roles, he held various senior manage- ment positions at leading companies. Ber- than holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Munich University of Applied Sci- ences, Germany. Jeffrey T. Slovin will be the new CEO of Sirona. (Photo courtesy of Sirona) Jost Fischer has served as Chief Executive Officer of Sirona since April 2002 and has served as Chair- man of the Board of Directors since June 2006" 9INDUSTRY

Overview