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Corporate Profile: VOCO America Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

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by Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

German-based VOCO America stays competitive with its wide array of improved-upon dental products while working on chemistry with its client dentists.

In the big scheme of things, if you take a look at the American dental market, VOCO America, Inc., is merely a baby, but it didn’t take too long for this company to start walking. With support from its privately owned parent company VOCO GmbH Dental Materials in Cuxhaven, Germany, VOCO America has made fast and consistent gains since 2001 through products like Futurabond DC, Profluorid Varnish and Grandio. Dentaltown Magazine recently interviewed Leif Ebert, president of VOCO America and VOCO Canada, to learn more about the company, its German heritage and its contribution to the future of dental products.

Leif, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and about your responsibilities as president of VOCO America, Inc.?
Ebert: I am 38 years young, married and the proud dad of our two-year old daughter. After I obtained my MBA, I joined a consulting company in Hamburg, Germany. We helped start-up companies figure out their finances and we wrote business plans that helped them receive money from state, federal or European funds. In 1997, I joined VOCO’s marketing department as a product manager and two years later I became director of international marketing. At that time VOCO was already active in more than 100 countries, but had not yet entered the U.S. marketplace. When the company made plans to change this, I was eager for them to give me the opportunity. There was some initial hesitation in the beginning to give such a responsibility to a young guy like me, but they did it and I am sure they are happy today having made this move. I grew up next to an American Army base and had a lot of American friends. As a teenager I was familiar with the American culture and lifestyle, which helped me to adapt our company strategies to the needs of our U.S. customers.

As the President of VOCO America and VOCO Canada I oversee all fields of our operation and supervise our 60 employees in North America. Since my day-to-day routine consists of lots of paperwork and working with lawyers, accountants, insurance companies, etc., it is easy to lose touch with the customers. To battle this, you will find me from time to time at trade shows and visiting local dentists. I try to do what our sales consultants do to understand the needs of our customers.

Tell me about the history of VOCO. What’s the company’s business philosophy?
Ebert: Privately owned VOCO GmbH Dental Materials, a worldwide active developer and manufacturer of advanced dental materials, is in its 29th year of service to dentists and dental technicians. What began in 1981 with a handful of products and a very small staff, has developed into a worldwide active operation of approximately 500 employees and more than 150 different dental materials; 60 of them are currently marketed in the U.S. We limited the number of products for the U.S. market in order to introduce only products that are better or different from currently available products.

Today, we’re among the frontrunners in innovation and we’ve made waves with the internationally acclaimed development of highly biocompatible Ormocer-based restorative systems, nano hybrid composites like Grandio and Grandio Flow or a new generation of self-etch bonding systems (Futurabond). We have the advantage that we are privately owned and can do what is right for our customers and our business. We do not have to act for short-time success in order to make shareholders happy. Our strategy is very simple: listen to the customers and give them products that meet or exceed their expectations.

Why and when did VOCO decide to branch out into the American market?
Ebert: Many dentists have seen VOCO materials in different parts of the world. They thought our products were unique and realized the product penetration outside their own country. At almost every trade show we were asked, “How can I get these materials in the U.S.?” We entered Canada in 1997 and the United States in 2001 to finally begin fulfilling these needs. We waited quite a while to gain the financial strength that it takes to start on a highly professional level in North America. My experience is that many European companies underestimate the size and the needs of the country and therefore cannot keep up with the requirements. You need at least 20 representatives to start with to provide half decent coverage and service to your customers. Today, we have 47 consultants in the U.S. and eight in Canada and we will continue expanding our network within the next years.

VOCO’s motto is “Creative in research.” Exactly what does that mean and what key innovations has VOCO’s research brought to the dental profession?
Ebert: a strong background in pharmaceuticals, Manfred Plaumann set out to develop VOCO into a prime manufacturer of modern dental materials. At the same time, the company was re-organized to provide quality control and assurance according to the strict guidelines of the German Pharmaceutical Act, which exceeds the demands of the manufacturing of medical device guidelines by far. Thus, focus was put on research and own development from the very start. Other than most other major companies VOCO is proud to develop and manufacture all of its chemistry-based products on its own. “Creative in research” means that VOCO is committed to follow the latest trends in dentistry by utilizing the lasted available technology to provide superior products that meets and exceeds the expectations of our customers.

Can you tell me about what goes into research and development of a product at VOCO?
Ebert: It all starts with a product idea that we often receive from our customers. This idea will be taken from our chemists to a clinician panel to get more input of what features practitioners would expect from the new product. After our chemists have finished the development of a product, it undergoes toxicological tests at a partner university to ensure that the product is harmless for its indicated use. Afterwards we send it to universities around the world for biomaterial testing to confirm our internal tests. Before the product goes to market we will send the product back to our clinician panel for testing. Our panel includes more than 100 dentists from around the world, including leading universities. Only if their feedback is positive will it go to market. A lot of times they give us change requests that give our products the edge over other products.

You’re now calling yourselves “The Dentalists.” What is a Dentalist?
Ebert: Our new slogan, “The Dentalists” expresses VOCO’s exclusive specialization in dentistry. As dental material specialists, we only concentrate on this field of activity and maintain close cooperation with dentists and more than 150 universities and research establishments across the globe.

The slogan “The Dentalists” is a commitment to all of our employees. Intensive product training of our dental consultants is key and an ongoing process. Our representatives act like consultants to the clinicians rather than sales people. We are providing solutions to clinical problems. Our consultants understand the needs of clinicians and dentistry in whole. We do not have a problem recommending another company’s product if it helps to solve a clinical problem.

How are new technologies impacting the way you develop and produce your products?
Ebert: At VOCO we are proud to use state-of-the-art technology. There are a lot of developments that make it easier to manufacture products or give us new opportunities to increase product quality. Most of our manufacturing is totally automated, which allows us to manufacture on demand. That means we can start manufacturing the same day that we receive an order from our distribution partner. This ensures that our customers receive the freshest product possible. On the other hand, new developments like the nano technology allowed us to achieve a product quality that had never been possible before. The first nano hybrid, Grandio, was developed based on this technology. It allowed us to increase the filler degree from 77 percent to 87 percent, which gave the composite a much higher wear resistance and reduced the shrinkage by up to 50 percent. Grandio was the first material of its kind and we are proud that it has been copied by other manufacturers. For VOCO, it is important to stay on top of new developments at all times in order to keep our competitive advantage.

How would one of your customers describe VOCO?
Ebert: One time a dentist told me, “VOCO has Mercedes products at Volkswagen prices.” I like this statement a lot. You might be able to find more affordable products, but you will have a hard time finding better products.

Is everything developed and manufactured in Cuxhaven, Germany?
Ebert: Yes, we develop and manufacture 100 percent of our chemistry-based products on our own in Cuxhaven, Germany. We actually manufacture other brands for other companies and dental distributors. The only thing we’ve outsourced is the manufacture of our electric devices, like our curing lights. Other companies are manufacturing them exclusively to our specifications.

How are your products distributed?
Ebert: Worldwide, we distribute only through our partner network of dental distributors. In the U.S. it is through Patterson Dental and in Canada it is Henry Schein, Sinclair and K-Dental as well as some smaller distributors. We carefully pick our partners to make sure that they are committed to product knowledge as well as distribution know-how. We have to make sure that our customers receive the product in 24-to-48 hours.

In your opinion, what is the most important product VOCO produces?
Ebert: This is difficult to answer, because we believe in all of our products. Probably the most innovative products, next to Grandio, are Grandio Flow and Futurabond DC. Grandio Flow sets a new standard for flowable composites. It has a higher filler degree (80 percent) than most universal composites and performs more like a universal composite than a flowable. Just recently Dr. John Burgess of the University of Alabama, found in a two-year clinical trial that Grandio Flow shows, in Class II restorations, no significant differences in performance compared to a universal composite. This is a breakthrough and goes against a common opinion that flowable material is weaker than universals. The second innovation is Futurabond DC, a dual-cured self-etch adhesive. The advantage for the clinician is its versatility. Unlike other self-etch adhesives it can be used also with dual- or self-cured resin cements and core build up composites. This allows the clinicians to reduce the amount of different adhesives for different procedures to just one, which makes the training of staff members easier and reduces inventory.

How do you see dentistry changing in the future?
Ebert: The biggest change is probably in technology. CAD/CAM and Digital X-rays are just the start. Digital impression and CBCT technologies are just a few more innovations that will make some headway in the future. While it is important to stay on top of technology it is also important to stay on top of the innovations of chemistry-based materials. Composites, bonding agents and resin cements are changing as well and getting better and better. The performance of a 10-year-old composite and a modern composite is not comparable. I know that there are a lot of clinicians out there who subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy. But isn’t there a reason we buy new cars after a while? Why not stay also on top with our day-to-day chemistry-based products?

On the other hand it is also important to fulfill the needs of our customer on the packaging and application design. For example we just designed a new syringe (NDT) for flowable composites and sealants that solves the problem of runny and dripping material. For our dual-cured self-etch adhesive Futurabond DC we developed a single-dose delivery system that keeps the two components separate. All the clinician has to do is squeeze it before the application in order to mix the materials. This easy-to-use system overcomes the problem of solvent evaporation of bottles and gives the clinician the freshest possible chemistry for every patient every time.

What’s the five-year plan for VOCO?
Ebert: We have been very successful worldwide with our philosophy of doing business. We will continue to develop state-of-the-art products that fit the needs of our customers. The bigger change that you will see in North America is that our presence will increase. Even in these slow economic times we’ve increased our number of dental consultants to improve our service to the customer. We understand that clinicians want to see and try a material before they commit to it. It is very critical that we make sure that we continue to assist the customers after the sale with any questions and requests they have.

Can you give us a little sneak peek into any new developments or products VOCO is working
on right now?
Ebert: VOCO’s strong focus on research has earned the company the status of project leader of several German government co-sponsored research projects, the latest being, biocompatible materials for restoration and prosthodontics based on monomer-free nano-composites. You will see the first products out of these research projects within a few years.

In the next month we have two new innovative products. Amaris Gingiva is a gingiva-colored composite system that can functionally and aesthetically restore the gum line and is in many cases a good alternative to expensive and time-consuming gum surgery.

The second product is Profluorid L, a five percent sodium fluoride liquid varnish with calcium fluoride. This product was especially developed to be used before, during and after bleaching procedures without interfering with the whitening procedure.

For more information on VOCO America, Inc., please visit www.vocoamerica.com.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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