Orthodontic Start-Up Unveils Europe's Largest Digital Facility
Multi-million-euro digital facility to use 3D printing to reduce turnaround times thanks to partnerships with Carbon and HP
Impress has announced the opening of its new production facility, cementing the company’s position as the fastest growing, tech-first orthodontic start-up in Europe. The new facility is the largest technology-driven treatment planning and clear aligner production facilities in Europe.
Since launching in 2019, Impress’s mission has been to disrupt the orthodontic sector with a digital approach to treatment, made possible thanks to a €5 million investment secured during a seed investment round. The new facility is a milestone for the company as it can now reduce production and delivery times, control the process from start to finish, and most importantly, offer the best possible treatment quality to its patients with outstanding customer experience.
Impress has partnered with Carbon and HP to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of Multi Jet Fusion technology enabling the company to produce a more transparent aligner. The production process begins in the clinic, where the digital scan of the patient’s mouth is performed. From this scan, a simulation of the treatment is created, the files are processed to be printed in 3D and once the molds are obtained, they are thermoformed, trimmed, laser marked, and packed. All these processes are made with fully integrated hardware and software and run with full automatization.
Impress is using HP’s Jet Fusion 5200 3D printing solution to carefully tailor the dental aligners molds to individual patient’s teeth and speed up the treatment process for their customers. Using HP’s platform enables on demand mass production of custom molds and reduces waste, all while shortening lead times.
As part of the expansion, Impress plans to employ more than 1000 people within the next few years, creating much needed jobs following the pandemic.
Vladimir Lupenko, CEO & co-founder of Impress, said: “From the very beginning we saw Impress as the disruptive player in the professional orthodontic market. We are proud to say that after these last few years we are the first company to create a fully digital orthodontic chain of a new generation with our IT technology, professional medical team, and our own clinics. Now, we have made the next very important strategic step with vertical integration. In-house treatment planning and our production facility will allow us to reduce turnaround and our patients will be able to start the treatment within just 5-7 days after the first visit.
Andreas Tulaj, Vice President of European Sales at Carbon, added: “We are proud to partner with Impress to enable them to deliver high quality aligners at scale. Carbon’s remotely monitored printers, automated software workflows, rapid print speeds, and solvent-less post-processing solutions have been important innovations for aligner manufacturers. Thanks to our differentiated process, Impress can maintain focus on creating exceptional patient experiences and outcomes.”
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