Kuraray Enhances Capability to Market Dental Materials in Europe

Tag : Subsidiary Materials
Kuraray Co. Ltd. and Kuraray Medical Inc. (a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Kuraray Co. Ltd., Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,President: Sadaaki Matsuyama) announced today that they establishedtwo new marketing bases in Europe on July 1, one in the Netherlandsand the other in Italy. The move is part of a basic strategy thetwo companies are implementing for their European dental materialsbusiness in which they are building a framework for marketingdirectly to dental dealers who provide products to dentalcaregivers. The new subsidiaries are intended to significantlyenhance Kuraray’s capability to market dental materials inEurope.

(1) Dutch distributor made into wholly owned subsidiary
The new subsidiary in the Netherlands, Acacia Dental Trade &Marketing, was Kuraray Medical’s distributor for the Beneluxcountries. Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG), Kuraray’s Europeansubsidiary, acquired all Acacia shares and converted the companyinto a wholly owned subsidiary. With this, KEG will take overAcacia’s local commercial rights and bolster its capabilityto serve as a marketing base for the Kuraray Group’s dentalmaterials.

(2) Italian subsidiary established
In Italy, KEG established a new, wholly owned local subsidiary formarketing and technical service, Kuraray Dental Italia S. r. l.,which will begin operations soon. Regarding sales in the country,Kuraray Medical will terminate its agreement with its Italiandistributor and shift to direct-sales by KEG in January 2009.

Kuraray Medical’s core business is developing and marketingdental materials with focus on composite resins andhigh-performance adhesives used in dental repair. Its compositeresins are known for their robustness and natural look and feel asdental fillings. Since launching the segment’s first productin 1978, Kuraray Medical has commanded the largest share of theJapanese market for dental materials for the past 30 years (companyestimate).

Kuraray Medical is now leveraging its high level of expertise,honed in the demanding Japanese market, to drive its globalbusiness expansion. The company has established a comprehensivemarketing network with local Kuraray subsidiaries in the US(Kuraray America, Inc.) and Europe (KEG) and continues to expandits business in those markets while further building its presencein China and other Asian markets. During this three-year period(2006-2008), Kuraray Medical is on track to raise the share ofoverseas sales in its dental materials business from 52% to 63%(see table and graph).