Kulzer gears up for the digital age and beyond

Stellar dental brand Kulzer has completed a reorganisation and rebranding in Australia that had its genesis way back in 2013, when Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Chemicals Group bought the dental arm of its German parent, Heraeus. The transition from Heraeus Kulzer to simply Kulzer was finally completed in July this year.

"Kulzer is one of the oldest and most recognised brands in clinical and technical dentistry," said Jeff Lauretti, Kulzer's Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand. "It's a brand many dentists and technicians grew up with and we have a solid customer base in Australia and New Zealand that use our products every day.

"Even though we've been owned by Mitsui Chemicals Group for four years, we're only now returning the name to simply Kulzer, so we're using this as an opportunity to reinvigorate the brand in the local markets. As part of this, we've appointed additional dealers for our product range and we've consolidated our management team in Sydney.

"Our Business Development Manager, Keren Masterton, has relocated from Melbourne and we've employed Lindsay Forrest as General Manager of Operations. Having Lindsay on board is proving invaluable as he's worked on the dealer side of the dental industry but also spent almost 20 years driving the Morita and Kuraray brands in Australia. His experience working with Australian dealers and Japanese manufacturers is a perfect fit for his role with Kulzer.

"Having everyone in one location gives us a much more cohesive team. Before, we were all over the place. Now we're a team in one location and we're already seeing the benefits of that."

Mr Lauretti said that they're also now beginning to see the benefits of Mitsui Chemicals' investment in Kulzer in the form of new product development.

"Mitsui Chemicals has already contributed their material science expertise to the Kulzer product range and now we're starting to see brand new products across the board as well.

"At IDS in Germany this year, we launched a complete 3D printing solution, encompassing the cara Print 4.0 3D printer, Dima 3D printing materials and the HiLite Power 3D polymerization unit. We also launched a model and impression scanner, which is positioned as an entrée to digital dentistry for clinicians not wanting to invest in intraoral scanning.

"Kulzer has made some ill-fated forays in this area before in partnership with others, however, we are now investing in developing our own products and technologies which provides us with ultimate control over every aspect from R&D and manufacturing to sales and support."

Mr Lauretti, who began his career in dentistry as a dental technician, said that as part of the reorganisation, much work had been done locally in preparation for supplying and supporting the new technology-based products Kulzer is introducing.

"3D printers are becoming commonplace in dentistry, particularly in dental laboratories," he said. "So the new 3D printing solution we're launching is timely, but as a former technician, I know the importance of reliability with manufacturing solutions. So globally, Kulzer has put in place a support infrastructure that we have likewise implemented locally.

"We want to build on our tradition of supplying reliable dental manufacturing solutions that deliver as promised in the first instance and, when an issue arises, can be properly supported."

Mr Lauretti said that the new digital solutions, in conjunction with Kulzer's extensive range of clinical and laboratory products, means the company has something to offer every dental professional.

"We have a great range of products including innovations in digital dentistry, a unified focussed team, a strong dealer network and a clear mandate to take the Kulzer brand to the next level in Australia. We look forward to introducing the Kulzer brand to new generations of dentists and technicians."