Record number of Australians at IDS

A record number of Australian companies participated at this year's International Dental Show, IDS 2019, in Cologne Germany. Eleven companies including Asiga, Balgary Pty Ltd, Caredent, Dr Mark's HyGenie, Hogies Australia, Honour International Trading, Myofunctional Research Co, Osteon Medical, Ozdent Dental Products Australia, Piksters Erskine Oral Care and SDI Limited were on show to the world of dentistry for the 5-day event.

"The IDS was a totally fabulous event for SDI to showcase our research and innovation to the global dental industry," said SDI Limited's CEO, Samantha Cheetham. "We were proud to launch the new SDI look and showcase our very smart images, packaging and brochures. We are an innovative company selling to over 100 countries and it is important we constantly invest in the SDI brand.

"We launched several new products focusing on our key strategic priority product categories of glass ionomers, composites and tooth whitening at IDS. One product is a new adhesive system, Zipbond, which our research team have been working on for several years. They have developed a special monomer which assists in providing very reliable bond strengths to dentine and enamel. Another is Aura Easy Flow composite, which has special simplified shading and is designed to maximise clinical success. To complement the glass ionomer and composite ranges, we have the new Polishing system specially made for our materials. We were delighted to show our new low activation Riva capsules - very little activation force is required making it super easy for the dental team to activate. We also launched a new very smart black applicator for Riva.

"For Pola, we have a special brush tip that is attached to the Pola Office Plus tip which ensures easy placement of the gel onto the tooth. Our beautiful new packaging which is more environmentally friendly will come soon too.

"We use the IDS as an opportunity to meet with our customers - both distributors and dentists - in a more social setting. We all work hard but we have fun. We also bring in our global sales, research and marketing teams together to meet and discuss strategy, ideas and the new products we're working on. By the end of the week, most people are exhausted!"

"IDS is always very productive for us," said MRC CEO Dr Chris Farrell. "And this year's was one of the busiest we've had for some time. This is the only event where we get to see the majority of our dealers in one place. We have a well-established and extensive dealer network throughout Europe and South East Asia and IDS is a one stop shop for seeing everyone.

"For us, IDS is no longer about looking for new dealers; it's about refreshing our relationships with our existing network and introducing our new product range.

"At IDS 2019, we launched the update to the MYOSA appliance range and also introduced the MYOTALEA, the Myofunctional Tongue And Lip Exercise Appliance. MYOTALEA are active myofunctional appliances and this complete new range addresses a very topical area, which is improving the strength of the pharyngeal wall to strengthen airway muscles."

Piksters and Erskine Oral Care have exhibited at every IDS since 2001 and this year was no different. "IDS is always a great event for us," said CEO Dr Craig Erskine-Smith. "We made some good new strategic alliances in Europe this time and made good contacts with another dozen dealers throughout Europe, including some big players.

"There were a lot of Australian companies here this year, but exhibiting at IDS is not a lay down mazaire. Exporting Australian products globally is a tough business and a big step up from selling domestically.

"Your margins are far lower working with distributors and then you have to deal with freight costs, holding stock in foreign warehouses, regulatory approvals, travel costs, different time zones and languages. It's a complete other world that you have to dedicate a lot of resources to.

"For us, it's now a part of what we do as a business, but if I knew what I know now and the barriers you need to overcome, we may have taken a different tack."

Dr Erskine-Smith said a clear upside of exhibiting at IDS was that it's a two-way street. You never know who will come by your stand looking for distribution of unique products in Australia or offering some other type of opportunity.

Osteon Medical, a high-tech dental milling centre in Melbourne running 7 DMG mills, were another first time Australian exhibitor and echoed that view.

"The experience as an exhibitor at IDS is completely different to being a visitor in mor ways than you can imagine," said CEO Michael Tuckman. "The opportunities and outcomes are far greater when you have that skin in the game.

"Another advantage of being at IDS is that you quickly find out where you fit in the dental world. Before we came, I didn't realise that there were very few companies in Europe that could provide the same service as we do. So that was a really interesting outcome and validates our drive to expand internationally.

"We came to IDS thanks in part to a small grant from the ADIA that helped cover the costs and it has been a great experience. We're in the process of negotiating some large distribution deals in Europe and Asia for our custom-made prosthetics. We already export into Asia and came to IDS with a view to doing more of that and finding companies we can work with to scan locally and then send the work to us to manufacture.

"We've already received some individual cases from dentists sending us work from Europe and based on the time difference, we can effectively offer a 48-hour delivery service to anywhere in Europe. It really opens up a lot of opportunities."

First-time exhibitors, Dr Mark's HyGenie®, used IDS to garner interest in their new range of appliance cleaning products. "IDS is an extraordinary event," said Steve Plakotaris, CEO and Managing Director of Dr Mark's HyGenie. "Exhibiting at the biggest dental showcase in the world was a dream come true for Dr Mark's. It was a pretty expensive exercise for us, even with the great support we received from the ADIA, so we did everything we could to present the brand and product range effectively and if the results are anything to go by, we made the effort and investment count. I have just over 80 qualified and interested contacts for distribution from all over the world, meaning we came away from IDS with more opportunity for collaboration and distribution than we could possibly capitalise on at this early stage. Though we are going to give it a pretty good nudge!"

CareDent was another first time exhibitor at IDS. Sales Manager, Imran Khan, said: "We were overwhelmed with the amount of interest shown in our product range. The interest was from local dental professionals as well as the many international delegates attending the show. One of our main objectives was to expand our distribution into new markets and we certainly made a significant number of new contacts who will no doubt help us in achieving our expansion goals. We very quickly ran out of business cards and catalogues but with over 160,000 delegates, that's not really surprising. The flow of people to the stand was constant which made for very long but rewarding days.

"It just goes to show that when you have quality products, they stand the test of time. For example, one of the big attractions was our CareDent Starlite toothbrush that has been available in Australia since 2013. The Starlite is now in its 6th year and people still love it here and overseas.

"As an Australian company, presenting our brand on the other side of the world was certainly a great opportunity. Whilst it's an expensive exercise compared to a trade show in Australia, the benefits are certainly there for exhibitors like us and we will no doubt be there again in 2021. It was definitely worth the 30 hours of travel required to get to Cologne from Sydney."

Australian eyewear manufacturer, Hogies Australia, is another IDS regular. "The advantage of IDS is that everyone I deal with is all in one place," said owner Jason Hogan. "We sell Hogies frames, loupes and safety glasses to around 20 countries and we're always looking to expand that base, which is where IDS comes into its own.

"This year's event was extremely successful and it is clearly the best event in the world for finding distributors and finding new products. We'll definitely be back again in 2021."