We invest in new labs, long-term development and do not, for example, order materials from China. Therefore, we have chosen to work with Forstec Dental as a supplier. It makes me sleep well at night!
"Forstec and Aqua Dental AB are both ISO-certified, while Aqua Dental Labs is currently undergoing certification, which means that both sides of the delivery comply with environmental requirements." says Maik Peters, CEO of Aqua Dental Labs.
Aqua Dental is a dental chain with almost 500 employees. They currently operate 14 dental clinics in Stockholm and Gothenburg, but plan to open several new clinics in the coming months. Aqua Dental Labs also has four dental laboratories with big plans for the future. The chain strives to challenge the industry in new ways. An important part of the work is the digital methods that, among other things, facilitate the workflow between dental technicians and dentists.
Today Aqua Dental Labs has four labs in Stockholm, located in Kungsholmen, Saltmätargatan, Mörby and Nacka.
"I moved to Stockholm from Germany in 2008 and liked it so much that I stayed. In 2010 I started my own business, Willa Dental in Mörby, with my former employer. A few years later, the company merged with Aqua Dental and today we are owned by the management of the company and Novax, the Axel Johnson investment company." says Maik.
Aqua Dental Labs has built a new lab on Kungsholmen during the pandemic. The company's digital development is now fully implemented and they only work digitally.
"In 2006, I made my first crown digitally, and today we send away things that need to be cast, for example. We mill and print everything ourselves, so it's still a craft! I am proud of the extremely good development we have had in recent years." says Maik. "We have gone from 6 to 26 technicians in a short time and our goal is to continue to develop our business in the future. For example, we will set up our own labs in the places where our clinics are currently located, including Gothenburg and Malmö."
Best supplier
"We buy most things from Forstec, from plastic and porcelain to advanced equipment for our labs. For example, products for the digital flow such as scanners, printers, 3D drawing programs in CAD/CAM, mills, porcelain ovens and materials for classic analog dental products. They deliver reliably and have a great deal of expertise in dentistry that we value." says Maik. And continues: "Here I work mainly with Anders Jodlovsky, who has a complete overview of the industry. We get perfect service and help with maintenance from Forstec. Everything from custom-made work tables to our new labs that they help us equip to have a well-functioning warehouse."
How has the pandemic affected you?
"In the labs, we actually haven't had much of a problem. We obviously introduced all the necessary safety measures. Then we accelerated with all the production that was still done during the months when most people stayed at home." says Maik. "There were fewer prosthetic assignments, so we found other ways of producing. We were able to receive all orders placed within our own group, while at the same time we saw that we could handle a larger flow."
"The quality of what we do is crucial. The company is driven by a rebellious vision based on our way of working, what we do today and how we can improve the flow. We don't look so much at what others are doing, but go our own way. It's great to work in a forward-thinking team like ours." Maik concludes.
A little better, a little more fun.