For dental laboratories and dentists, digital positioning represents an important step in securing their competitive position and providing optimum patient care. Now, with core 3D and Dental Direct having just joined forces, they have even better support available. Under the motto "close to you", both companies plan to jointly develop pioneering digital solutions close to the customer in future. 

Strategic partnership combined with the core3D stake Internationally at Dental Direkt GmbH, this step not only underpins the market position of the two still independent companies – it also offers dental laboratories and dentists powerful synergies for successfully chiselling out their future digital success. 

"With our grass roots philosophy and values, we clearly stand out from industrial competitors in the sector and want this to remain so despite this dynamic corporate development," states Gerhard de Boer. For the Dental Direkt GmbH (Spenge, Germany) founder and Managing Director, this made maintaining the flexibility and independence of his family-run business extremely important when choosing a strategic partner. 

As an owner-managed group of companies, core3D pursues similar values and relies on quick decision-making, an enthusiasm for digital progress and a strong emotional relationship with its employees and its own operation. The result is an entrepreneurial success story on four continents, which will now be continued in tandem with Dental Direkt. 

"In the current environment, I am convinced that modern dental companies need a strong link to provide customers with innovative value," explains Sebastian Cornelissen, Managing Director, core3D international (Maartensdijk, The Netherlands). "Laboratories and dental practices need workable digital solutions and workflows that continuously enhance dental quality and economic efficiency. Together with Dental Direct, we want to provide our customers with solutions to this challenge. That is our clear aspiration." 

Enormous efforts in development and skills in all areas of CAD/CAM technology and materials are needed for solutions to be able to take that one decisive step forward. This makes the alliance consistent and logical. The result will be a unification of the core competencies of Core3D, one of the world's leading CAD/CAM laboratory groups, and the material expertise of Dental Direct, Europe's largest manufacturer of zirconium oxide. This multiplies the opportunities for material and technology development in the internationally positioned group of companies. 

The tie-up between the two companies will now facilitate the provision of material concepts and optimised production solutions for in-house or outsourced production. The transfer of services and knowledge to the user forms the linchpin for existing and new customers using the opportunities the innovative technology provides to their advantage. "With our joint IDS motto of "close to you", we want to underline precisely this direct and personal aspect of our work," state Gerhard de Boer and Sebastian Cornelissen. Milling centres and training academies in Canada, the USA, Australia, Benelux, the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain and Japan make the services of core3D available locally. The representative office in Germany is now acting under the umbrella of Dental Direkt GmbH and is looking forward to making first-class international expertise available to local users. 

At the participating operations, 900 employees are available to implement the joint concept. Material production, development and distribution lie in the hands of East Westphalia-based Dental Direkt GmbH. In 2016, 85 tonnes of zirconium oxide powder were processed into milling blanks in the open production facilities at Dental Direct and distributed in more than 60 countries. Last year, more than 3.5 million zircon elements were produced from Dental Direkt ceramics.