In-House to In-House

Innovation leader Amann Girrbach offers behind-the-scenes insights on their new manufacturing facility.

From A (as in articulator) to Z (as in zirconia): this range not only describes Amann Girrbach's product portfolio, but also the in-house production that the Austria-based company puts into its products for the manufacturing of dental prostheses. This also includes the principal activity of CNC technology—the control units of the Ceramill milling machines.

Amann Girrbach has 81,000 square feet of production area in Koblach, and, since March 2017, a modern manufacturing facility for medical products in nearby Rankweil. This also includes the production of Ceramill zirconia products, including the super-high translucent Zolid FX Multilayer and the Zolid HT+. Amann Girrbach is now one of the three largest manufacturers of zirconia, and their portfolio includes classic white, pre-shaded, and polychromatic blanks. "We not only use the highest-quality raw materials, but also incorporate many other relevant factors in our manufacturing process in addition to normatively regulated requirements, such as strength and biocompatibility. Processing properties, like abrasion behavior such as edge and sinter stability, contribute significantly to the use of zirconia as a great dental material," explains Georg Eickhoff, President of Amann Girrbach North America. In addition to the purely biological and mechanical requirements, the material development at Amann Girrbach is influenced by an application-oriented development approach. Dental materials are considered part of an overall dental-technical or dental-medical process, which must work for the technician, the dentist, and, of course, the patient. "Thanks to our high percentage of in-house manufacturing, we can create a very accurately coordinated workflow of all the participating components," explains Eickhoff. "With the new location here in Rankweil, all the prerequisites are created to further expand our know-how as a material supplier."

DENTUSTRY ONE

Amann Girrbach has responded to the growing global demand for its products and tripled its production capacity by investing in a multi-million dollar location and facility expansion. "The capacities at the headquarters in Koblach were completely limited due to the strong growth that has been happening for years. We have to guarantee reliable product availability, especially in the context of our new Ceramill DNA machines and zirconia generation," says Eickhoff. Equipped with automated logistics technology based on lean principles and a facility with over 59,000 square feet, DENTUSTRY ONE is now one of the most modern med-tech/dental production facilities worldwide. It not only houses the production of high-quality dental materials but also the production and final assembly of Amann Girrbach machines.

With the unprecedented production depth, Amann Girrbach meets its consistent in-house movement strategy in two ways. In keeping up with the slogan, "The In-House Company" not only projects its product philosophy outwards, but also practices it in the production of its own products.