Taking the crown; regional manufacturer is world number one

Prima Dental Group, the world’s largest carbide bur (drill) manufacturer, is enjoying heady success. This has been illustrated most recently by the company being honoured with a coveted King’s Award for Enterprise 2024 for International Trade. But this road to glory hasn’t been without its challenges. Here, Dan Hodgson, Chief Commercial Officer, reflects on how the world-leading designer and manufacturer of precision dental and medical instruments has ridden the storm and set sail for success – most notably thanks to its export strategy.

AN EYE FOR EXPORT

As a manufacturer and engineer in such a niche market, our growth is based entirely on developing export and international trade. Today, more than 90% of our £37.6m turnover is generated from international trade and we expect this to increase to more than £50m by the end of 2025.

Although we are the long-established UK market leader, and benefit from preferred supplier status with large British healthcare providers, the UK domestic market has limited opportunities for us. That’s why our focus has been around growing our market share in mature markets, including the USA, Europe and Middle East as well as developing countries like India, Brazil and China. Our strategy is grounded in a deep understanding of these markets, delivering tailored product ranges for our customers.

As an organisation we were the pioneer in private label manufacturing in dental burs back in 2000, growing to become the world’s largest supplier of private label in our sector today. This has enabled us to achieve significant growth through wholesale and retail trade, by supplying products under major retailer labels while still achieving notable recognition with our own Prima Dental branded products.

NAVIGATING UNPRECEDENTED TIMES

Looking back on the last five years provides particular validation to what we’ve achieved. A commitment to our mission – the pursuit of better – has ensured we retain an optimistic, and ambitious outlook, backed up by a diligent and driven workforce, and I believe ensures we continue to drive our business forward.

But no one saw COVID-19 coming. The pandemic had a massive impact on the dental industry as a whole and our business felt that impact too, with global sales reduced by 29% during the first year of the pandemic. Fortunately, we adapted quickly, faster than our competition, helping our recovery and putting us back on track with our growth agenda.

DEMANDS OF SUPPLY

Challenges over supply chains, in terms of raw material supplies, unstable market volumes and pricing are still a cause for concern for many manufacturers.

To help mitigate risk, at Prima, we have strengthened our supply chain, the team have implemented a robust inventory strategy to ensure we can adapt to supply variations. This includes both reducing reliance on global supply chains (with a focus on local where feasible), as well building relationships with multiple suppliers to help minimise disruption.

On the back of rising energy costs and in line with our commitment to improving our impact on the environment, we installed solar panels at our headquarters in Gloucester earlier this year and anticipate a 10% reduction in electricity consumption. And we’ve also made adaptations to our compressed air system, saving energy and some £68K a year.

TACKLING TRADE

The complex regulatory environment (post Brexit) is a tricky one to navigate and can certainly impact on export success. At Prima we invested significantly over the past three years within our regulatory compliance team to help guide us through these regulations and tariffs. We are also a member of the BDIA, our Dental trade association, to ensure we’re kept up to date with the latest changes in our sector.

Currency fluctuations can affect pricing strategies and profit margins. We keep abreast of exchange variations so that we can review and adjust our pricing strategies accordingly – to ensure we remain competitive and profitable.

EXPANDING HORIZONS

Having tackled the challenges over the last few years, we are now optimistically looking ahead to the future.

Our ambitious growth targets are fuelled by the fact that we, as a company, are uniquely placed to capitalise on growing world demand for precision dental products from an increasing and ageing global population. The rise in middle classes in developing countries like India, Brazil and China also supports this demand, with more money to spend on medical and dental health, which in turn is leading to an increase in the number of dental professionals and cosmetic practitioners.

We have more than 1,000 distributor and trade customers around the world and focus on maintaining long-term relationships and winning repeat business, working in partnership with our customers to help them grow and become more profitable. When it comes to implementation, the introduction of localised sales teams has boosted the understanding of markets further. This, along with thorough market research, has ensured that we can meet the needs of our customers, easily spot trends and identify opportunities.

We’ve also made significant investment in the latest precision machinery made in Switzerland, which incorporates robotic automation. This, coupled with its manufacturing techniques, ensures productivity, quality and consistency.

And, with our focus on research and development, the business is spearheading exciting new technologies. This has been recognised with us being allowed patents in the UK and USA for our unique milling tools used for dental restorations.

So, plenty to be proud of. And while we don’t underestimate the challenges that may lie ahead, we remain positive in our capabilities and excited by the opportunities that are in store.
Never complacent, we remain in pursuit of better.

To find out more, visit the website www.primadental.com