The first American-owned dental lab operating in China is overcoming negative perceptions about outsourcing to create a win-win situation for itself, its Chinese lab technicians and its customers
In the city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong Province, American Sky Dental Lab Company Ltd. is producing crowns, bridges and dentures surpassing most of the prosthetics built elsewhere in the world in the vital areas of beauty, fit and material excellence. This is the first and only American-owned dental lab in China.
Normally, an American enterprise attempting to set up shop in China must travel a nearly non-navigable labyrinth of political and bureaucratic hassle, but through fortuitous professional connections and events, American Sky was opened by Jeb Bates, president of Southern Craft Dental Laboratory Inc., a certified dental laboratory based in Gainesville, Ga.
This cutting edge role comes with a high degree of responsibility, not only for the dentists for whom he manufactures appliances and their patients, but for the three hundred plus Chinese technicians who form the central core of the team responsible for developing prosthetics of unrivaled beauty.
Many dentists are justifiably skeptical of Chinese dental labs that skimp on production and material quality in their haste to turn a profit. A surprising number of U.S. labs already outsource to China but some get burned when the companies they deal with engage in blatantly fraudulent practices such as substituting low-grade metal for gold.
American ownership, therefore, has done much to allay the skepticism of dentists who might otherwise be wary of any product literally created on the other side of the world. But American Sky prosthetics fit just as they should, with little or no fiddling required, the embrasure spaces look perfect, and there’s rarely a need for contact or occlusal adjustment.
American Sky technicians are young and eager, are paid far above the Chinese norm, and are given free housing and free insurance, reflecting Bates’ standards of being a vendor with a conscience. Their strict attention to detail provides American dentists with exceptional prosthetic devices at affordable prices.
When dealing with dental labs, turnaround time is key. Orders usually come back from American Sky faster than from U.S. labs, thanks to international carrier services, and the Chinese labs themselves, which operate on a 24/7 basis in three shifts.
For more information, contact Southern Craft Dental Laboratories Inc. in Gainesville, GA, at (770) 536-7554 or visit www.scdentallab.com.