The Center of Business
Among the many attractions of Benco’s new company headquarters: a new 10,000-square-foot showroom
Sue Evans has a big responsibility. As CenterPoint experience specialist, she must ensure that dentists have an excellent buying experience while visiting Benco Dental’s brand new, 10,000-square-foot showroom, with its 25 fully functional operatories, its "Sterilization Alley" and a digital imaging suite that features a variety of 2D and 3D units.
"We offer unlimited opportunities for customers to actually ‘test drive’ the equipment and feel confident they’re making the right decision," she says. "A lot of dentists buy off literature. But to experience [new equipment] by feeling it and touching it is a whole different world."
CenterPoint is the name of Benco Dental’s recently opened, $30 million, 272,000-square-foot headquarters, Northeast distribution center and regional showroom. It is located in the CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park in Pittston, about 10 miles northeast of Wilkes-Barre, site of its former headquarters.
Benco, which services customers in 39 states and the District of Columbia, had outgrown its prior facility in Wilkes-Barre, says Benco Copywriter Matt Van Stone. Actually, make that three facilities – a warehouse, which was bursting at the seams with product; a headquarters building; and a third location for overflow stock. "We knew we needed to upgrade, and really got moving in June 2008," he says. With the help of a real estate specialist, the company chose the Pittston site, and construction began in early 2009. The grand opening ceremony, held April 7, attracted 700 people, including 400 employees and 300 guests.
Twenty-five operatories
For many customers, the key to the new facility will be the showroom. Its 25 operatories feature equipment from Summit Dental, Sirona, Midmark, Belmont Equipment, DentalEZ, Pelton & Crane, Marus and A-dec. Two orthodontics suites feature equipment from Summit and Royal Dental Group, while an oral surgery suite features the special lighting, chairs, and carts typically found in such suites.
One of the unique features of CenterPoint, says Evans, is a digital imaging suite, lined with lead walls, which features 14 2D and 3D units. Meanwhile, "Sterilization Alley" features a variety of autoclaves, washers, disinfectants, the A-dec Assistina handpiece maintenance unit, and other small-equipment options. The sterilization display also offers a variety of cabinetry layouts.
Visitors can view patient training videos from Orasphere; try out handpieces, intraoral cameras and cancer screening devices; and test the 3M Lava C.O.S. and Cadent ITero digital impressioning systems.
CenterPoint’s office design concept area offers dentists a place to consult with Benco designers, view samples and interior designs, and get a feel for the distributor’s architectural services, says Evans.
"All of our senior designers have a minimum of 10 years dental-specific experience," notes Van Stone. "They know what dentists need and the challenges they face."
The Summit Training and Education Center features modern audio-visual equipment and seating for 100 people. It will be used for training new territory reps and equipment specialists, conducting continuing education events, and coordinating webcasts.
Company affair
Having spent more than 22 years with Benco, all of it in the equipment arena, Evans was a logical choice to serve as the point person for customer visits. And while she will conduct many tours, she will call on the company’s equipment specialists, territory reps and vendor partners when needed.
"We encourage our equipment specialists and territory representatives to come with their customers," she says. "They’re the people who are in closest touch with the customers, and they know the background behind the customer’s visit."
In fact, showing customers the facility and its offerings will be a company affair, says Van Stone. Benco Continuous Improvement personnel have trained employees from many departments on hosting tours.
Warehouse, offices
In addition to the showroom, CenterPoint features a new, automated warehouse whose footprint measures 167,000 square feet. But when innovative stacking capabilities are figured in, the warehouse offers about 350,000 square feet of space, says Van Stone. It features a bar-code-driven "pick to tote" order assembly process. The warehouse will service Benco’s Northeast customers. Additional distribution centers are located in Jacksonville, Fla; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Dallas, Texas.
Meanwhile, Benco’s new corporate headquarters, located in CenterPoint, has incorporated many of the wishes expressed by the 400 employees who work there, according to Evans. The Benco Continuous Improvement department interviewed employees as the building was being designed, to determine their needs and wants for the new space. Out of that came a few things, most notably, plenty of natural lighting. The building also features a full-service cafeteria and library.
The building is so energy-efficient, adds Van Stone, that Benco has applied for LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with the U.S. Green Building Council.
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