1st birthday for Bio-Infinitum

A year after the launch of Australia's first and only homegrown CAD/CAM milling system for dental prosthetics, owner and inventor Georges Sara is very thankful for the support he has received from dentists and dental technicians everywhere. That support has seen 20,000 units produced in the first 12 months for laboratories across the country and also from New Zealand.

"All I can really say is thank you," he began. "We launched a year ago today and over the last 12 months, I've been heartened by the level of support we've received from so many people around the country. Part of that has been because we're an Australian company developed out of experience and necessity from a working dental laboratory and part of that is because we have a truly exceptional product.

"From the beginning, when we started to develop the system years ago, we understood what dentists and ceramists wanted in terms of fit, quality, strength and aesthetics. We knew we would be launching into an educated market and that the WOW factor of CAD/CAM would be softening and we would need to survive and thrive on differentiating our products across the board. I believe we have achieved that to date and that has been key to our success so far."

Mr Sara said that the 20,000 units manufactured in the first year were in the form of crown copings, bridge frameworks and implant abutments. Dental technicians wanting to test the water with Zirconia can send in wax-ups for scanning and milling and as their volume increases, they can opt to purchase their own scanner. He said there were now ten scanning labs located on the east coast of Australia and in New Zealand that were submitting a steady stream of work.

Launched under the banner of Glacier Systems in July 2006 at Sydney's Telstra Stadium, Mr Sara has transitioned the business to operate under the name of Bio-Infinitum™. This move was based on a need for a more unique and identifiable brand as the system is positioned to expand globally with a license to use the technology purchased by one US company already and European negotiations underway.

Domestically, the company is moving into larger premises located at Sydney's Olympic Park and is doubling its production capabilities.

"The move to the new premises and expansion of our production capabilities is both based on demand and also the desire to separate ourselves from our roots at the back of a dental laboratory," Mr Sara said.

"The new premises will also allow us to increase our manufacturing capacity to 1500 units a day if need be and keep up our record of 24 hour or less turnaround on any milling job we receive. It's easy to forget that any CAD/CAM system only has a certain unit capacity per day and the fact that we are industrial-sized rather than a small boutique system means that as more and more labs shift away from PFMs/VMKs, we will be able to cater to that demand very efficiently and very cost-effectively.

"The new premises will also allow us to begin running extensive training and education programs to help dentists, ceramists and technicians transition their skills base to work with the new products we are offering which now include copings, veneers, inlays, onlays, bridges and implant abutments.

"Finally, we will be able to accommodate new machines to mill from Titanium and this will complete our materials offering that already includes Zirconia and fibre-reinforced plastic for longterm temporaries.

"We have developed the ideal infrastructure for dental laboratories to partner with for their CAD/CAM requirements and we're committed to supporting laboratories and their dentists at every level. We have the widest choice of products quality manufactured from the best materials available. What more could you ask for?"