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n It is no secret that the years since theglobalfinancialcrisishavenotbeen very kind to companies in Japan. First, the recession slowed business invest- ments significantly down, then the neg- ative effects of last year’s tsunami and the massive destruction it wrought al- most brought the world’s third largest economy to a halt. ForNSK,oneofthecountry’slargest dental manufacturers, troubles in the home market are its least concern be- cause the company conducts most of its business elsewhere. According to presi- dent and CEO Eiichi Nakanishi, with whom Dental Tribune International re- cently had the opportunity to speak at the company’s headquarters in Tochigi, more than 80 per cent of the company’s revenuesarenowgeneratedbyitsoper- ations outside of Japan. In the last three years, NSK has been performing partic- ularly well in mature markets such as Europe and North America, where it boosted its presence with the opening of its new headquarters near Chicago last year, despite unfavourable conditions 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 distribution and after-sales support offered by its new subsidiary in Singa- pore. Another significant con- tributor has been NSK’s Euro- pean office in Germany, which accountedforalmostonethirdof the 22.2 billion Yen ($278 mil- lion) in sales the company re- ported in 2011. “That is why eco- nomic conditions in our home market have little or no impact on our overall business. We really think globally,” Nakanishi explains. According to the 48-year-old, who has run the company since 2000, one of the major reasons for NSK’s strong mar- ket position, even in established mar- kets, is its dedication to innovation and quality, combined with the excellent after-sales service it is able to provide tocustomersinalmosteverycountryex- ceptNorthKorea.Butthishasn’talways been the case. Founded in the 1930s, thecompanyhadaroughstartandoper- ations were completely halted during World War II. Since the production of dental handpieces resumed in 1951, however,thecompanyhasgrownexten- sively and now employs more than 700 people in its Japanese offices in Tochigi and Tokyo. NSK still produces most of the pre- cision parts in-house, which, according to Nakanishi, is one of the reasons that dentists now identify the company withhigh-qualityproducts.“Weemploy many good engineers and marketing people who help us to constantly im- prove our brand and make it more at- tractive 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 pre- miumhandpiecethatisclaimedtohave the smallest heads and necks in the in- dustry, as well as an exceptionally low noise level and virtually no vibration. The Surgic Pro surgical micromotor has also received much interest, particu- larly by dental implant surgeons, and is now distributed alongside systems by major implant manufacturers. NSK asserts it pays close attention to the needs of its customers, a philoso- phy that has resulted in products such astheS-maxpico,whichwasdeveloped solelyforthetreatmentofpatientswith smaller mouths, such as children. Moving into other markets is con- ceivablebutunlikelytohappenanytime soon, Nakanishi says. Even though his company has begun to enter new areas in the last decade with the launch of in- strumentssuchasultrasonicscalersand polishers, its core business will remain dental handpieces and other small-mo- tor equipment. “When it comes to hand- pieces, we have produced more innova- tionsthanourcompetitors,”heremarks. “OurgoalistobecometheNo.1company worldwide in this segment.” 7 industry26 Show Preview IDS Cologne 2013 5 Eiichi Nakanishi, right, in talks with DTI Publisher and CEO Torsten R. Oemus. ® AD NSK aims for global leadership A visit to the company’s headquarters inTokyo 5 NSKstillmanufacturesmostoftheprecisionpartsin-house.