TrollDental - Celebrating an anniversary, accreditations and accolades

After working in various jobs including as a sandwich shop hand in Circular Quay whilst awaiting his Australian Dental Board accreditation, young Swedish dentist Dr Hans Ravik was finally offered a position as the Chief Dental Officer at University of New England, Armidale NSW.

Looking to bring new products to the dental market which had benefitted dentists in Scandinavia and Europe, on the first day of November 1981, Dr Ravik started trading as Trollplast Pty Ltd with the Trollplast flagship product, TrollMounts.

Since then, Trollplast has had a change of name – now TrollDental – and broadened the range of products sourced primarily from Scandinavian suppliers – 'specialising in Scandinavian Innovation' has been the focus of the company since its inception, and has had to move premises several times to accommodate the growing business and staff.

Quality and Environmental Assurance
In mid 2011, TrollDental (Australia) achieved ISO 9001 (International Quality Standard) and ISO 14001 (International Environmental Standard) certification, cementing their place as a company of superior standards with regards to processes and customer satisfaction, and demonstrating an ongoing commitment to limiting the impacts of business activities on the environment.

"Our primary motivation for undergoing ISO Certification was so that we can be the best that we possibly can be," said General Manager Rachael Rose, "as the process of undergoing ISO Certification makes you evaluate your overall processes and areas that can possibly be improved. The goal is to enable us to provide the best possible customer service.

"Of course, the fact that this will help our customers, and potential customers, to feel confident that they are dealing with a Quality Assured company is a bonus. Plus of course that we also have a demonstrated commitment to reducing our overall impact on the environment, which I believe is increasingly important to people as we all try to ‘do our bit’ for the planet."

Industry Recognition
The Inaugural ADIA Australian Dental Industry Awards night was held On 16th September at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Of the three award categories, TrollDental was nominated for two – the ADIA Dental Industry Partnership Award (which 'recognises corporate success in building cooperative partnerships with dentists and allied oral healthcare professionals that reflect the truly symbiotic relationship that exists between the dental industry and dental professions'), and the ADIA Dental Industry Leadership Award (which recognises corporate leadership embodied in the form of corporate accomplishments that reflect well on the dental industry).

"The winner of the ADIA Bite Magazine Industry Partnership Award was TrollDental for its significant and ongoing contribution to the Australian Dental Research Foundation, the Rotary Club's Operation Cleft program and the supply of refurbished dental products in Australia's indigenous and developing nations. The judges were impressed with TrollDental's long standing commitment to simply doing the right thing and providing the resources necessary to allow dentists deliver services to those most in need across the Asia-Pacific region.

Quietly and without fanfare, Hans Ravik and his team have made a contribution that has strengthened the relationship between dentists and the dental industry.

"The finalist for this (ADIA Leadership) award was TrollDental for developing pioneering approaches to custom service including mail-order business and the long-term safe storage of x-rays."

So completes the circle to the original TrollMounts, considered one of the great innovations in Australian Dentistry of recent times.

The team at TrollDental (fondly referred to collectively as 'the Troll people'), are looking forward to the next 30 years and beyond, and wish to thank their many loyal customers around the country and region for their support and patronage. TrollDental will launch a new global website late in the year and have a few exciting new products ‘in the pipeline’ for 2012 and beyond.