MADE IN USA
Do dental products made in the USA still have an edge?
Quality and price may be two of the most universal languages spoken by sales reps and their customers. And, as many experts point out, where a product is made should not supersede how well it is made. That said, American-made products are generally known to follow specifications that meet the needs of domestic dentists, according to some manufacturers. So, in spite of the generally higher price tag they carry, made-in-USA products do fit the bill for many dentists. But, will they do so forever?
First Impressions surveyed a handful of vendors to get their take on America’s stake. Here is what they had to say.
Hank Constantine, marketing director AEDs, Zoll Medical Corporation, Chemlsford, Mass.
"I think the general feeling among dentists is, it doesn’t matter as much where a product comes from as long as it’s a high quality product," says Constantine. Although Zoll manages the design and assembly of its AEDs domestically, the company does rely on some overseas components. "Even when you keep production under your own roof, you still have to be concerned about the quality of components. We need to know about any changes [on the part of] our suppliers. We don’t want to lose control of the quality of any component."
Overall, the quality of foreign-made components is improving, he continues. But, it can be difficult for offshore manufacturers to meet FDA standards and guidelines with regard to medical devices, he adds. "With regard to medical devices, there is a tremendous risk involved," he points out. "We must be absolutely certain our product is high quality, and [we have] less control over overseas production."
That said, Constantine speculates that European component manufacturers may very well penetrate the U.S. market in the next 10 years. "In Europe, many component manufacturers have not yet moved beyond the European market," he says. "I’m just speculating, but in the next 10 years, the quantity of overseas components in our products may increase.
"We also have seen a Korean AED product begin to emerge," he continues. "It is not currently up to American standards, but that very well could happen. The FDA already has cleared [this product] for sale in the United States. As globalization continues, we should see more Asian countries developing better quality products." In turn, more international products will probably emerge in the U.S. market, he adds. And while dentists and doctors will inevitably wait to see how reliable such products are before they purchase them, non-medical buyers (e.g., retailers and banks) may be more likely to shop on price.
Randy Drumm, director of domestic sales, Aseptico Inc., Woodinville, Wash.
"I have heard that the quality of Chinese products is improving," says Drumm. But, he adds, not all Chinese components have reached the level of U.S. specs. "We’ve had to turn to U.S. manufacturers for some of these components."
Another concern when working with overseas manufacturers is that the company may go bankrupt and dissolve. In the case of rubber gloves, it is relatively easy to find a new glove manufacturer to work with, says Drumm. "But, if the overseas manufacturer makes a specific mold we need, and the company disappears, the mold also disappears. About 10 years ago, a Chinese company closed and returned our mold to us. But, no U.S. manufacturer would touch it because it wasn’t up to U.S. specs. The U.S. molders couldn’t use it on their machines. But, that was a while ago, and things may have changed in China since then."
Still, even as the quality of overseas products continues to improve, there are still shipping times and freight costs to contend with, he continues. Sometimes an item may be in transit for as long as six weeks, he points out. Worse yet, it may be on back order, forcing Aseptico to pay additional shipping charges to expedite the order. Time differences and language barriers pose additional issues, he says. "We do essentially everything [via] email, which helps with the time difference," says Drumm. "And, when we use the phone, it sometimes can be difficult to get an individual who speaks English."
That said, "I think the quality of Chinese products will continue to improve, and it will become more and more difficult to compete with their products in the future," he says. "At the same time, as the Chinese economy improves, employers there will have to pay their employees more and this, in turn, will impact our costs." Add to that the ever-fluctuating price of oil/shipping, and overseas manufacturers may have to find creative ways to maintain their price points, he notes.
Brant Miles, worldwide director of marketing, and Ron Doan, director of technical marketing, SS White Burs Inc., Lakewood, N.J.
Dentists are usually willing to pay more for higher quality products, and U.S.-made products generally follow high-level specs and must pass quality assurance testing, according to Miles and Doan, who spend much of their time marketing their company’s U.S.-manufactured burs overseas. "We sell our burs in 66 countries," says Miles. And, in spite of the relatively high cost of their product compared to other such products made overseas, they boast a large percentage of sales in China. "The [Chinese] market is filled with many low-cost products, yet we own most of the market share there," says Doan.
Perhaps that is due to the stigma sometimes associated with low-priced products, they say. "There often is a quality issue associated with low-cost products," notes Miles. "With regard to carbide burs, we are one of the few companies that makes all of what we sell. We highlight this when price is a concern. Also, we are an older dental company, and longevity often is associated with quality products and success," he continues. Especially as a new middle class emerges in countries such as India, China and Russia, more people can afford better-made products.
And, while there sometimes is a price to be paid when less expensive products don’t hold up as well as their pricier counterparts, "we are a global economy, and many people feel they should purchase an overseas-made product if it is good quality at a good price," says Doan.
"It’s a personal decision," says Miles.
Lori Paulson, vice president, marketing and dental programs, National Distribution and Contracting Inc., Nashville, Tenn.
"We are a global economy and, as such, we are long past the days of thinking of ourselves as an island," says Paulson. So, the American dental market has had to make room for many German, French and Asian products. However, the United States traditionally has had the upper hand with regard to new technology and innovative products, she points out.
"If dentists are true healthcare providers, then the type of product, and the quality of the product, should be more important to them than where the product is produced," Paulson says. Sometimes, though, shopping overseas presents some quality issues. "The quality of overseas products is improving as the United States now has more quality control in place," she says. Still, consumers must beware of size and other variations in products from one country to the next. "We see sizing differences in masks," says Paulson. "Asians’ faces are smaller, so the masks produced there sometimes have ear loops that aren’t long enough for American [dentists and their staff]."
In the future, Paulson says that quality and price will not be the only factors driving domestic and overseas markets. "I think we will see some green initiatives come into play," she says. "If the government offers a stimulus package to small businesses, enabling them to upgrade their machinery for, say, plastic production, I [anticipate] we will see more products manufactured locally. And, manufacturers won’t have to worry about lead times, transit costs and overseas quality control." Indeed, the toll of shipping products around the world has become a big concern for environmentalists, she points out. "We see the larger toll on the environment, even when shipping fruits and vegetables across the world," she says. "Younger people today think about this."
Eric Shirley, vice president and general manager, Midmark Corp., Versailles, Ohio
"It’s about how a product is designed, not where it’s made," says Shirley. "Does the product support the way the dentist practices? For instance, the quality of care and advances in aesthetic procedures drive the market here more than in Western Europe or Asia. In Western Europe, dentists deal with more managed care issues, and it’s [sometimes] a benefit for them to get as many patients as possible in and out of the chair.
"In the United States, patients want more aesthetic and restorative procedures, so they tend to be in the chair for longer periods of time," he continues. "So, we design products and chairs with a focus on ergonomics and patient comfort. In Asia, patients aren’t in the chair nearly as long, and dentists there don’t compete in the same way for new patients.
Dentists are like other consumers in that they look to buy the best quality products at the best possible price, notes Shirley. "Where a product is built isn’t as important [to dentists] as its quality and knowing that the manufacturer knows its stuff.
"Dentists don’t have a responsibility to purchase American-made products," he continues. "They have a responsibility to buy what’s best for them and their patients." And, manufacturers have a responsibility to maintain a good relationship with their distributor partners, he adds. That said, it’s sometimes easier for manufacturers to convey the value of products to distributors when they are domestically made and follow U.S. specs, he adds.
Andy Whitehead, vice president of marketing, Crosstex, Hauppauge, N.Y.
"I think dentists look for a balance between quality and price," says Whitehead. And while some consumers may support products made in America, it takes more than that to complete a sale, he points out. "At the end of the day, if a product [demonstrates] quality, uniqueness and consistency, and there is value added, that is what sways a sale," he says.
Nor do products stand on price alone, Whitehead continues. "Selling quality products [calls for] incredible service," he says. "We invest a lot of time educating our distributor reps on this. And, while the reps must go out there and sell products, manufacturers must provide consistently high quality products and stand behind the quality of them. Our distributor reps must have confidence in our products."
When swine flu emerged last spring, Crosstex received calls for products "because dentists respect the quality of American-made products," says Whitehead. But manufacturers must always consider how [they] can make their products better and make it easier for distributor reps to sell them." Do dentists have a responsibility to support U.S. products? Certainly, he says. "But, manufacturers have a responsibility to make that decision an easier one, by educating distributor reps on unique selling points and the consistent quality of the products."
"No manufacturer should expect distributor reps to sell its products just because," he continues. "We need to educate our reps on the quality and unique selling points of our products. At the end of the day, it’s the manufacturer’s obligation to produce consistently high-quality products and communicate this value to our reps. If we only give our distributor reps price alone, then that’s all they can sell on."
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