Cédric Lancieux is Technical Director for Research & Development, Quality and Production at Euroteknika, a subsidiary of the Lyra Group. He has been working with Thermi-Platin , part of the Thermi-Lyon Group, for several years.
Euroteknika designs and manufactures dental implant systems comprising implants and abutments for dental implantologists.
Implants are used to replace the roots of teeth when the patient can no longer keep his or her own properly. The company works mainly with titanium implants, as this metal osseointegrates well with bone. The abutment that emerges from the implant to support the artificial tooth is also made of titanium. Its surface is polished to be as smooth as possible to reduce tartar adhesion and bacterial colonization, preventing its migration into the bone and preserving oral tissue.
To obtain a quality abutment, it's important to have a coating with optimum adhesion and that doesn't flake off, as it's important that it remains for the entire life of the implant. It was with this in mind that Cédric turned to Thermi-Lyon.
"We needed to call on a company skilled in vacuum coating to ensure lasting quality for our products."
Cédric already knew the Thermi-Platin company, with whom he had worked during a previous career. He was therefore already convinced by their professionalism and got in touch with them again once he arrived at Euroteknika.
Indeed, when he took over as head of the company's quality and production team, the company was already working with another vacuum deposition company, but Cédric felt that their quality was insufficient. Wishing to meet Euroteknika's quality requirements, he decided to work again with the Thermi-Platin team.
"It was the quality aspect that drew me back to them. We make products that stay in patients' mouths, quality is paramount in our business and it's an aspect Thermi-Platin has amply met."
here were two reasons why Cédric chose Thermi-Platin. Firstly, their geographical proximity, which facilitates exchanges between the two companies, one based in Marignier and the other in Sallanches.
Secondly, Euroteknika's responsiveness convinced us to work with them. On first contact, Thermi-Platin's staff were immediately available and open to carrying out the requested tests. They were also able to meet Cédric's relationship expectations:
"They have three pillars for them: responsiveness, proximity and human contact: whether with Mr Mercier, site manager, or Mr Bertin, sales engineer."
Cédric and Thermi-Platin work with three types of vacuum deposits to coat their pillars and screws. They operate on a shuttle system. Thermi-Platin provides all the necessary and compulsory quality documents to ensure traceability and coating quality.
Why work with Thermi-Platin and Thermi-Lyon according to Cédric
For Cédric, the key to working with a heat treatment and vacuum deposition company is to be open to testing. You can't just stay on paper, you have to get down to the nitty-gritty. It's through trials that professionals looking for this type of service will get an idea of their service provider's expertise, and if they do trials with Thermi-Platin, Cédric is sure they'll be convinced.
What's more, Cédric explains that the dental implant market is highly competitive. There are four entities in France challenging the world leaders. For Cédric, Euroteknika's advantage lies in their responsiveness and ability to listen to the market. As a group of around a hundred people, working with Thermi-Platin, who are also of the same size, enables a better working symbiosis between the two companies. The advantage of working with structures smaller than the leaders is that decisions are taken in small groups, thus meeting their customers' needs for rapidity.
Euroteknika also exports its dental implants abroad, with this market share currently accounting for 30% of sales. Cédric hopes to continue working with Thermi-Platin because the quality of their implant coatings gives them a competitive edge that could continue to benefit them in the future.
"What Euroteknika needs is to differentiate itself in the market and the coating produced by Thermi-Platin is differentiating."
While Cédric used to bring his problems to Thermi-Platin in terms of treatment and coating needs, he now confides that the Thermi-Platin team anticipates his requests and provides answers to his problems. This proactive approach is what keeps them ahead of the competition.
