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November 08, 2017 01:00 AM

Column: A case of surprising similarities

Bruce Meyer
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    Bruce Meyer

    Recently, I spent time at both my dentist's office and the Hose Manufacturers Conference that our publication put on. You'd probably think the two wouldn't have anything in common, but you'd be surprised.

    At the conference, ContiTech executive Andreas Gerstenberger gave a keynote on such themes as embracing new business models. He told attendees to take advantage of disruptive technologies, utilize digitalization and view change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

    A five-speaker panel also outlined how to devise a turnkey solution for a new hose line.

    Now when I visited my dentist, he told me I needed a crown. I'd had one put in years ago, and it wasn't pleasant. The process included several visits over a number of weeks. They took a mold of your mouth, they put in a temporary crown, and waited for the lab to make a permanent one.

    But at least for my dentist, that represented the old business model. This time he told me they could take care of it that night. I was surprised, and more than a bit intrigued.

    That's where the similarity to the hose conference comes in.

    Looking for disruptive technology? How about a machine that creates the crown right in the office.

    How about digitalization? Instead of taking a mold of my mouth, the staff used a device that took digital videos of the inside of my mouth and transferred that to the equipment that produced the crown.

    Embracing change as an opportunity? My dentist took this technology as a chance to change his business model by handling the whole process in-house.

    Turnkey solution? The office manager even came right to my chair to arrange 12-month same as cash financing through a credit partner.

    I was out of there in two hours. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new technology makes as high a quality product as the old business model did.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

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