Dentsply Australia provides flood relief

The whole of Australia has been shocked by the sheer devastation that has been caused by the recent floods in Queensland and Northern New South Wales and, more recently, in country Victoria. On behalf of all of the staff at Dentsply Australia, we extend our sympathies and condolences to everyone who has suffered extreme loss, inconvenience and grievance over these last few horrific weeks.

As a business, we have implemented a number of internal initiatives to support the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal.

A clear message from the after-effects of the floods has been the realisation that it may take weeks, months and, in some cases, years for communities to recover from the disaster and for the commercial world to resume normal business. We are equally aware that there appears to be a high degree of confusion surrounding many of the insurance policies associated with flood damage.

Following on direct conversations with those clients most impacted, Dentsply will replace FOC all items that have been purchased directly from us over a 6 month period. We hope that this gesture will contribute in some way to the rebuilding of their businesses.

In an additional attempt to assist our affected clients to return to normality as soon as possible, we would like to offer a flat 25% discount off RRP (ex PM) for all items requiring replacement - regardless of the insurance status of each affected client - through until 31st March 2011. Furthermore, Dentsply would like to offer support in the form of an additional 60 days extended payment terms on both existing outstanding balances and purchases made to the end of February. Our accounts receivable team will be calling clients with practices in the affected areas over the coming days to discuss how we can help. Most importantly, we are keen to assist our most severely impacted clients without delay and we encourage those who feel that their circumstances are especially critical, to contact your Territory Manager or our National Client Service Manager to discuss options. However, should you wish to discuss any difficulties you are having with payment, please call our Accounts Receivable Team.

We wish everybody well in this enormous recovery phase and look forward to assisting in any way possible.