Biolase establishes direct sales in Australia and NZ

US-based Biolase Technology, manufacturers of the Waterlase and Waterlase MD dental lasers and other high tech products, opened two new wholly-owned subsidiary companies on March 1 that are now responsible for all sales and service in Australia and New Zealand.

"The Waterlase is the most popular dental laser in the world and we have a large customer base in Australia and New Zealand," said Mr Peter Rowland, Vice President and Managing Director of the newly created Biolase Australia Pty Ltd and Biolase NZ Limited. "So it makes a lot of sense to establish direct operations that will allow us to form closer relationships and offer more benefits.

"With our launch, we are reinvigorating the Waterlase brand in Australia and we're taking an energetic stance in the market. We have a lot of confidence that lasers will continue to grow in popularity as mainstream tools in dentistry and this investment ensures we can deliver the utmost in service and support as demand grows."

Mr Rowland said that the local operations would be much more closely aligned with the parent company and pricing would drop to be on par with US-prices. This will now see the original Waterlase unit retail for just A$66,000 while the new flagship Waterlase MD is listed at A$117,000. The Lasersmile soft-tissue laser and whitening system and a complete range of accessories for all systems will also be on offer at very competitive pricing.

The company has based its national headquarters in Adelaide where sales, support and warehousing facilities are in place. A smaller facility has also opened in Auckland. Seven sales and technical support staff have been employed in Australia and two in New Zealand including Mr Mark Babb, who previously managed Waterlase sales in New Zealand for former distributor DMTi. Mr Babb will run the Biolase New Zealand operations and will also be the Sales Manager for both Australia and New Zealand.

"Lasers are complex scientific instruments so we've also made a major investment in establishing a state-of-the-art service centre in Adelaide. We have a complete spare parts inventory and service technicians employed so we can offer a much faster turnaround than before."

Mr Rowland is a laser industry veteran with more than 20 years of extensive experience in building direct sales and service operations as well as distribution channel partnerships around the world. Prior to joining Biolase, he held the position of President and CEO of Ellex Medical Pty Ltd, a global manufacturer of ophthalmic laser systems headquartered in Adelaide, Australia.

"As our first direct investment in the Asia-Pacific region, this important step is a major milestone in Biolase's global development," said Robert E. Grant, President and CEO of Biolase Technology. "The establishment of our new directly owned and managed operations in Australia and New Zealand complement our other international direct operations in Europe and our global headquarters in California. Our new facility and strong sales and service teams across Australia and New Zealand will allow us to provide customers with the full technical, clinical and management resources to support our continuing growth in these key markets."