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SINGAPORE: Owing to its advanced business infrastructure and central location in the ASEAN region, Singapore has become an attractive corporate haven in recent years for dental manufacturers from around the globe. With its new regional office, the German full dental equipment provider Sirona is the latest addition to the country’s already large number of local dental businesses.
Located in the Standard Chartered Bank Building, now called 6 Battery Road after its address in Singapore’s financial district, the company’s newest subsidiary is intended to serve Sironacustomers all over the South-East Asia region. In addition, it will provide hands-on training through a fully equipped showroom, where lectures and workshops led by clinical experts from around the world will be held on a regular basis, the company said.
Executive Vice-President of Sales, Walter Petersohn, recently told Dental Tribune Asia Pacificthat the first workshops have already been scheduled for this year. “In our showroom, customers and partners can gain a personal impression of our products and see how they can be cross-linked and integrated,” he said. “We would like the training facilities to be used as much as possible and to create a platform for the professional exchange of information. Therefore, we will actively offer our facilities to dental associations and study groups of dentists.”
Sirona is not new to the region. The company and its predecessor, Siemens, have been operating through a large network of dealers in both developed and developing markets in Asia for more than 40 years. In Japan, China, South Korea and Australia, the company has also been marketing and selling equipment through its own subsidiaries in recent years.
The main reason for establishing an office in Singapore, however, is the increasing significance of the ASEAN region as a core growth market with significant potential, Petersohn explained.
“We have had particular growth in the Asia Pacific region in recent years and see even more potential for growth,” he said. “Dentists in these countries have high standards, are open to new products and are willing to invest in quality that is made in Germany. With our new office, customers from the entire region can now easily contact Sirona representatives at any time and take advantage of the personal service, training and seminars. There are many sales specialists to take care of their needs.”
According to Petersohn, the Singapore office led by Matthias Straub, General Manager, is currently served by six staff members, who are responsible for service, sales, logistics and finance. However, the facility is expected to expand quickly in the near future to offer customers Sirona’s entire product portfolio, which includes dental CAD/CAM, such as the recently introduced CEREC Omnicam intra-oral camera, treatment centres, as well as dental instruments and materials. The recently launched APOLLO DI scanner for digital impressions, for example, is intended to make digital impressions more economical than ever before. A streamlined workflow can be achieved with the company’s TENEO treatment centre, which was recently expanded with ApexLocator, a built-in endodontic treatment function. The company is also a leading expert in imaging technology with its ORTHOPHOS XG line and the new GALILEOS ComfortPLUS, which provides high-definition image quality with a larger field of view.
“We are looking forward to advancing dentistry in the region together in order to make treatments faster, better and more efficient,” Petersohn concluded. “The doors at Sirona in Singapore are always open, whether for an exchange of ideas or the use of our facilities.”
