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ePaper created 2014-07-29, 09:08:59 | version 1.30.01
interview I ice excellence. These key differentiators make it nec- essarytouseaseparatebrandstrategytoaddresscus- tomerswhoarewillingtoacceptlowerstandardsand whowanttopaylessforimplants.Thevaluesegment isgrowingexponentiallyanddevelopinganewbrand from scratch would simply take too much time and too many resources, which is the reason we chose to invest in other established companies. _Bothcompanieshavesaidthattheywillcontinue to operate separately. Still, do you expect any syner- giestoarisefromthispartnership? Itisimportanttokeepbothbusinessescompletely separate to ensure that customers do not think that Straumann is MegaGen and vice versa. The only syn- ergies we see are in supporting the value brand com- paniestoenterselectivemarkets,andinsharingback- office functions, like infrastructure, information technology or accounting. Everything else is handled by each company independently. Straumann prod- ucts are certainly produced in Straumann facilities and this will continue to be the case in the future. _Is there the risk that you might be creating more competitionforyourselfwiththisinvestment? Wewouldnothavetakenthisstepifthemarketsit- uationhadnotrequiredit.Thetrendtowardsproducts inthemedium-pricerangehasacceleratedandthere is already strong competition, even without Mega- Gen.Wearenotaddingmorecompetition;rather,we arecompetingwherewecouldnotcompeteasStrau- mann. _Whatpositionisyourcompanygenerallyaiming forintheAsiaPacificregion? We aspire to market leadership in the region. We arenotthereyet,partlybecauseourRoxolidimplants with the SLActive surface are not yet available in the larger markets. We recently received approval for SLActive Tissue Level implants in Japan and the sales figuresdemonstratetheextentofthepotentialofour innovative technologies. Achieving a leading position in Asia will certainly have a positive influence on our global position. _Whatrequirementswillhavetobefulfilledforyou toexercisetheoptiontoconvertandacquireamajor- itystakeinMegaGenin2016? We are keeping a close eye on the company’s de- velopment. MegaGen is a relatively new enterprise. It is growing dynamically and has many ambitions that still have to be realised. We also want to see how the market develops and the extent to which MegaGen can penetrate certain areas. The company’s valuation is another item on our radar.Ifourexpectationsaremet,wecanconvertthe bonds into shares in 2016 or require repayment with interest. That is the flexibility that this option allows us. _Should you decide to convert the bonds into stock, another large international implant conglom- eratewouldbecreated.Isitonlypossibletosurvivein thelongrunasalargemarketplayer? Theimplantmarketisstillveryfragmentedandthe marketshareoflargercorporationsisactuallydeclin- ing. There are hundreds and hundreds of smaller providers, often founded by dental clinicians, which come and go because they do not have the capability to expand internationally. Few companies succeed in making this jump and remaining in the market for a longer period. Unlike in some industries, scale in the dental im- plant industry does not have inherent returns. What weareseeingisaconsolidationinalargercontext,as manydistributorshavestartedtoincludeimplantsin their portfolios with the aim of becoming one-stop shops. This development needs careful scrutiny be- cause implants involve other factors that only we as specialists can deliver._ Thank you very much for the interview. I 41implants2_2014