Another award as top innovator: Sirona is one of the most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany

Awarded the "Top 100" seal, Sirona Dental Systems GmbH has a remarkable history of innovation: In 1887, the former "Vereinigte Physikalisch-Mechanische Werkstätten Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall Erlangen – New York – Stuttgart" developed the first electric dental drill. Today, the company is the global market and technology leader as a supplier of dental equipment, such as CAD/CAM equipment, X-ray systems, treatment centers, instruments and hygiene devices.

The top innovator holds almost 200 international and national patents and, in Bensheim, has the world's largest development and production site of this industry: More than 1,500 employees, including 200 engineers and scientists, are employed there. "The expertise of our staff and the innovation culture in the company are crucial competitive factors for us," says Executive Vice President and Managing Director Rainer Berthan. "This is why we continually invest in our innovation management and are so happy about this important confirmation of our commitment." From 302 qualifiers, 234 companies made it to the final round. Of these, 178 received the award in three size classes.

Customer proximity as the basis for successful innovations

Sirona was particularly convincing with its innovative marketing and customer proximity: Designated a Top Innovator for the third time following 2001 and 2012, the company involves dentists and dental technicians from around the world early on in the development of new products, such as through the use of focus groups or beta testing. For the development of the new treatment center INTEGO 700, for example, the company from Bensheim recently asked dentists from 15 nations about their wishes, suggestions and any difficulties in handling the center. In the company's own "Dental Academy" in Bensheim, customers can later participate in multi-day training sessions on the use of new products. "As a global company, it is important to understand the needs of customers worldwide in order to be able to develop products that are successful around the world and ideally support our customers in their everyday work," says Michael Geil, Vice President Treatment Centers and Managing Director at the Bensheim site. Sirona is the only manufacturer in the dental industry to offer the complete range of dental products under a single brand, along with being a global partner for specialist dealers, dental practices, clinics and dental laboratories. Sirona's innovations set the standard in dental treatment and have led the way in the field of digitalized dental technology for the last 30 years.

Highly trained employees

Successful, global companies can only keep their top positions by having well-trained professionals. To attract committed and highly-qualified young professionals, Sirona offers around 30 training positions and study places per year at the Bensheim site. These include a cooperative study program in International Business as well as technical courses in the fields of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, information technology and industrial engineering, along with training courses in the fields of mechatronics, industrial mechanics and machining. About 3,300 employees work at 29 locations worldwide, around half of whom work at the production site in Bensheim. The working conditions and personnel policy at Sirona explain its ever-growing workforce. The company attaches great importance to internationality and intercultural cooperation. Employees are offered a wide range of continuing education courses: From individual training on functional and cross-site tasks to targeted international postings and career development in one of the company's subsidiaries. Sirona offers interesting employment opportunities to talented individuals who use their commitment to move the field of dentistry forward in terms of customers. This is how the company continues to strengthen its global market and innovation leadership.

Multiple awards

Top 100 is not the first seal of quality that Sirona has received as a company in 2015. Sirona has also received numerous awards this year for its excellent personnel policy, including the Top Employer Awards Germany and Austria 2015, the "Best Employer in Germany 2015" awarded by Focus, and the Top Employer Award China 2015. Moreover, numerous products from Sirona have received innovation and design awards. The digital 3D and 2D X-ray system ORTHOPHOS SL and the production machine inLab MC X5 for dental laboratories have recently been presented with the prestigious Red Dot Award for best product design in 2015.

"Top 100": the competition

Since 1993, compamedia has awarded the "Top 100" seal of approval for innovative strength and above-average innovation success to medium-sized companies. Since 2002, the scientific direction of this organization has been in the hands of Prof. Nikolaus Franke of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics. The scientist is one of the leading experts in user innovation worldwide. The science journalist and TV presenter Ranga Yogeshwar is a mentor of the "Top 100", and the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research is a project partner. As a media partner, manager magazin is involved in the corporate comparison. For more information, go to www.top100.de.

ABOUT SIRONA

Sirona is the global market and technology leader in the dental industry and has been a worldwide partner for specialty traders, dental practices, clinics, and dental laboratories for more than 130 years. Sirona develops and produces the complete spectrum of dental equipment products, including CAD/CAM systems for computer-assisted ceramic restorations (CEREC), digital imaging systems for intraoral and panoramic x-rays, as well as volume tomography (3D), treatment centers, instruments and hygiene devices. Visit www.sirona.com for more information about Sirona and its products.