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ePaper created 2015-02-10, 15:02:41 | version 1.33.01
As one of the few manufac- turers of dental implants, UK company Neoss has not oper- ated in Asia before. With a re- cent financial support package of £1.5 million from Yorkshire Bank, the company intends to develop new business in coun- tries like Japan, China and Taiwan. Dental Tribune Asia Pacific had the opportunity to speak with Chief Financial OfficerGuyLeaverabouttheup- coming market entry and what makes Neoss stand out from its numerous competitors there. DT Asia Pacific: Mr Leaver, how is this investment package helping you with your market entry into Asia? The investment package will support our product launch in Asia initially. Currently, we are going through regulatory ap- proval processes in Japan, China and Taiwan. It is difficult to say exactly when, but our expecta- tion is that this year, probably in the second half, we will actually start to make initial sales. While we expect the growth to be sig- nificant, we need the facility for our cash flow in the beginning, as there will a certain amount of money going out before money actually comes in. What are your initial ex- pectations for the region? Sincewedonothaveanysales inthesecountriesatthemoment, operating in Asia is completely new to us. We obviously have projections and want to see this business grow consistently over time into something substantial. Initially, we will focus on our dental implant system, as this is the product segment we are expecting approval for this year. In the future, we will expand to our full product range, including newproductsweareintroducing that could also potentially target thesemarkets.Itisnotanimplant but works in conjunction with implants and is going to address the same customer base. We will be launching it at the Interna- tional Dental Show in Cologne and and other shows and con- gresses around the world in the upcoming months. Will you sell directly in Asia or through distributors? We have already signed up with business partners in these markets. In Japan, for example, we have an experienced distrib- utor who has personal contact with a number of leading clini- cians in the country who we un- derstand are interested in using our implant system. It always helps to have this kind of en- dorsement. We are also working with a major distributor in China and will see how that evolves. Potentially, we will put a person in charge of China, but this will depend on how successful we are. If we feel there are more op- portunities,wecanalwaystweak the model. There is also an ex- perienced distributor we will be partnering with in Taiwan who haspreviouslydistributedacom- petitor’s product. Generally, we try to choose peoplewhounderstand whatour product is all about, are familiar with the market and know what works in that marketplace. ForWesternmanufacturers, the market environment in Asia can be tough. Where do you see the challenges for your company there? As with many of these mar- kets,businessinAsiaisprimarily relationship based, so you need tobecomeinvolvedwiththeright people and institutions. This is particularly important in China, where there are a growing num- ber of small private dental prac- tices offering dental care in addi- tion to the large government-run hospitals. We aim to take advan- tage of this development by choosing the right contacts for this marketplace. Where do you want to posi- tion yourself in the market? Wewanttopositionourselves in the same way as we do in most markets by delivering a product that is the best there is. We strongly believe that we have a good package. Our company was founded by a clinician and an en- gineer, so our focus is on deliver- ing exceptionalclinicalperform- ance and product quality. There is no point in introducing a prod- uctthatisnotasgoodassomeone else’s. Our product has to be that good or even better. We always want customers to understand that they are getting a value product. We do not sell cheaporoffermassivediscounts. It is a good quality product at good pricing. In terms of cus- tomer service, we aim for ex- ceptional logistics and support. Take Europe, for example, it is pretty much next-day delivery, so if you buy something from us in Germany, it will probably be there at noon the following day. Few of our international com- petitors can achieve the same. Thank you very much for the interview. DT (DTI/PhotoJcomp) Guy Leaver DENTALTRIBUNE Asia Pacific Edition No. 1+2/2015 Business 9 AD “Operating in Asia is completely new to us” An interview with Neoss Chief Financial Officer Guy Leaver, UK DTAP0115_09_Leaver 09.02.15 10:57 Seite 1 DTAP0115_09_Leaver 09.02.1510:57 Seite 1