Newsletter
MELVILLE, N.Y., USA: Henry Schein, a provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, has announced a 50 percent ownership investment in Dental Speed Graph, a direct marketing provider of dental consumable merchandise in Brazil with a robust e-commerce platform, marking Henry Schein's entrance into South America.
Headquartered in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, Dental Speed Graph is a fast-growing privately held company with 2013 sales of approximately $28 million. The company's dental business was founded in 2010 by Luciano Chaves, who will retain 50 percent ownership of Dental Speed Graph and continue as the company's managing director. Dental Speed Graph has 170 team members and serves approximately 55,000 customers.
With its investment in Dental Speed Graph, Henry Schein now has operations or affiliates in 27 countries. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"We have long sought to establish a presence in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy and the seventh largest in the world, and we are delighted to be entering the Brazilian market in partnership with Dental Speed Graph," said Stanley M. Bergman, chairman of the board and CEO of Henry Schein. "Dental Speed Graph is an entrepreneurial company with proven success in direct marketing and e-commerce. We look forward to working with all of our new colleagues at Dental Speed Graph to build on its heritage of leadership, and offer dentists in Brazil a full range of products and services for operating successful practices."
Brazil has an estimated 150,000 practicing dentists, who serve a market whose growth is being fuelled by an aging population and an expanding middle class.
"With the combined resources of Henry Schein and Dental Speed Graph, we have the opportunity to serve our customers with a broader array of products, services and integrated solutions than ever before," said Chaves. "We look forward to working together to enhance the already strong reputation that Dental Speed Graph enjoys in Brazil, expanding our market, and continuing to set the standard for excellence in customer service."
Henry Schein's dental business includes digital dental technology solutions for office-based general dental practitioners, dental specialists and dental laboratories. The company has a multifaceted sales and marketing approach to customer service with more than 2,600 dedicated field sales consultants, product specialists, telesales representatives and direct marketing programs. Henry Schein's global dental business had 2013 sales of approximately $5 billion.
