Dentavision celebrates 15th anniversary

Dentavision, one of Australia's leading dental consumables suppliers, is celebrating its 15th year in business in 2005. Renowned for its personal approach to business, Dentavision distributes products nationally and has over 25 direct sales consultants in the New South Wales, Victorian, Queensland and Western Australian markets.

"We are very proud of the evolution of Dentavision over the first 15 years of operations," said Mr David Macnaughtan, Managing Director of Dentavision. "We have continued to remain in a position of great relevance to the market because we are able to adapt to the needs of our customers very rapidly. We are particularly proud of the fact that we can offer the dental profession the opportunity of purchasing from an Australian owned company.

"Early in our existence, we identified serious flaws within the dental market in Australia. In particular, we saw that quality service was being neglected and we set about offering a caring supply company where the customers' needs were and still are of paramount importance."

Dentavision distributes the majority of well-known brands of dental products from manufacturers including 3M ESPE, Kerr, Ivoclar Vivadent, Kodak, Kimberly Clark, Ansell, Monoject, Essential Dental Systems, Germiphene Corporation, Healthsonic, Dyna, Excel, Pulpdent, Aseptico, Prima Dental Group, Diatech, Trimunt, FKG, Zizine, Coltene/Whaledent, Browne, Alan & Co., Voco, Hakusui and many more.

In recent years, Dentavision has expanded its range of leading brands to include exclusive lines such as the Tokuyama range of restoratives and the Germiphene range of infection control products. This, in turn, has seen Dentavision's sales force supported by the addition of dedicated Clinical Consultants and Product Specialists to provide additional service and support to the market.

Dentavision originally opened its doors in Victoria Avenue, Castle Hill in 1990 and following rapid expansion during the first two years of business, a move to larger premises and their current location in Anella Avenue came in 1993. In 2003, due to the company's continued growth, they doubled their office and warehouse space by taking over the adjoining premises.

The original directors and owners - Bob Young, David Macnaughtan, Phil Brown and Ray Smith - remain today. Bob Young retired from his long held position of Managing Director in July 2004 but continues as an active Director and works part-time managing overseas agencies and regulatory affairs.

Mr Macnaughtan took over the role of Managing Director and with his drive and enthusiasm has continued to grow and strengthen Dentavision's business.

In 1995, Theo Van Den Broek left Kerr Australia where he held the position of Operations Manager/Financial Controller to become Finance Director and part owner of Dentavision. With over 40 years of accounting experience, he has played a major role in the controlled expansion of the business.

Phil Brown and Ray Smith have extensive experience in the industry. Both have been calling on dentists for well over 30 years a piece.

"We employ a very down to earth, hands on approach to running the business," Mr Macnaughtan continued, "so much so that Bob, Phil, Ray and I still choose to continue calling on our own clients every week. This ensures we are always aware of clients' needs and are able to respond quickly to changing dental trends."

Mr Macnaughtan said that to achieve and sustain a concept of total quality service, only the best staff have been employed. "Knowledge and experience alone are not enough to secure a position with Dentavision and our staff are also required to exhibit great motivation. They need to commit to ongoing training and development and most importantly, have an appreciation of the company's philosophy! That is, excellence in customer service!

"Our strong sales team has been forged and developed over the years, with the most successful sales people having the ability to form, sustain and enjoy close relationships with our clients. Many of the sales force who have been with the company since its inception are still key members of the current sales team.

"Dentavision has strived to improve many areas of service to our clients, believing that it is very important to keep our clients informed at all times. For example, clients are informed of any backorders and advised of an expected delivery date, even though Dentavision still has a 92% order fill rate. Orders are shipped the same day with a personalised slip signed by the person who invoiced, picked and packed each order. This makes all staff accountable and leads to a greater degree of care. In addition, 50 clients are telephoned every day to seek feedback on all aspects of the sale and delivery.

"The strategy is always to offer quality service at competitive prices and seek the latest innovation in dental technology. This, together with the flexibility of strong, hands-on management, enhances our customers' experience and expectations, and has led to Dentavision being the fastest growing dental company in Australia.

"We are currently one of the largest retail consumables sales companies with hundred of orders being despatched daily. We anticipate continued and sustained growth over the coming years and look forward to growing our business further, continuing staff development and enjoying success whilst exceeding our customers' expectations."