Dental Implant Packaging

Below is the un-edited press release which describes a recent project Omnica Corporation (www.omnica.com) completed for Nobel BioCare. Our role was to re-think and re-design/engineer their current implant packaging. The challenge also required that we identify an efficient and inexpensive automated manufacturing process which could be easily implemented. Our packaging solution cut Nobel Biocare's production costs by 96%.

New Packaging You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into    

When Nobel Biocare, the world's largest manufacturer of dental implants, sought to consolidate its packaging and automate the process, the solution had less to do with automation and more to do with the package itself. The objective was to consolidate the variety of packaging resulting from a recent acquisition and automate the packaging and labeling process at each manufacturing facility.

Omnica Corporation, a design and engineering firm won the bid with their unique idea. Their proposal was truly "out-of-the-box" thinking in that it really didn't address packaging automation at all but a package rationalization using a versatile material from Eastman Chemical Company -- Eastar® copolyester 6763. Combining the copolyester with a novel design gave Nobel the best use of their current system but with added efficiencies downstream.

Nobel was previously using several different opaque injection molded packages and a combination glass and titanium package. Labels were manually applied with a fold over the side so that dentists could easily identify the enclosed product from the top or side. The fold-over label was a key requirement for the new package.

Omnica's solution allowed Nobel to keep the fold-over label, while reducing the number of packages, streamlining the packaging process and automating labeling. Eastar copolyester, known for its clarity, offered the added benefit of a see-through package, which also makes it easier for dentists to identify the product.

Materials selection played a critical role in the success of the project. "Omnica selected Eastar copolyester 6763 not only because of its strength, clarity and thermoforming ease but it also formed uniformly as well as die-cut easily," said Rex Bare, president, Omnica Corporation. "It had the best mix of properties and a good consistent heat seal for the final peel."

This mix of properties is what Eastman senior market development representative Jennifer Lauderback said makes Eastar copolyester 6763 the material of choice in the rigid medical market. "This is a perfect example of how the material adds value down the supply chain. It gives designers maximum flexibility and manufacturers maximum protection for delicate products. Plus the copolyester withstands a wide variety of sterilization techniques. And for end-users, this environmentally preferred material can be cleanly incinerated, yielding no dioxins when burned."

Eastar copolyester 6763 enabled Omnica to create an innovative tray design similar to an ice cube tray by using a thermoforming process. Each sheet was thermoformed into 16 compartments into which the implant was dropped, sterilized, labeled, heat-sealed and cut into individual units. The angled end of the labeled package is formed by coining during the final die-cutting operation (when the sealed "master" package is cut into 16 individual packages). Compared to the previous single-unit packaging process, productivity increased by 16 units with this simple yet effective design! Plus, Nobel was able to use its existing heat-sealing equipment.

The process efficiencies went well beyond Nobel's initial expectations. "What happened is phenomenal," noted Scott Rheinish, Nobel Biocare engineering and project manager. "Our labor costs were significantly reduced, and packaging costs went from more than US$1.00 to less than four cents." They transformed their packaging process into a streamlined just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing process, saving hundreds of thousands in inventory and other manufacturing costs. The new package also enabled downstream process efficiencies in sterilization, quality control and shipping. And payback was literally within the first month!

Nobel's customers are quite pleased with the quality of the new package and so is the vice president of manufacturing, Mats Pettersson who summed up the project this way: "We are very happy with the process. Overall, our efficiency more than doubled." Now that's something you could really sink your teeth into.

Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Nobel Biocare is a world leader in aesthetic dental solutions and has production facilities in Sweden and the United States, manufacturing more than 800 dental implants and related products.

Based in Irvine, CA, Omnica Corporation is a product development and design firm specializing in medical and scientific products.

Eastman Chemical Company, headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.A., manufactures and markets plastics, chemicals and fibers worldwide. The company has approximately 15,800 employees in more than 30 countries and had 2002 sales of US$5.3 billion. Visit Eastman's Web site at www.eastman.com for more information about the company.

Media Contact: Cary Clubb
600327-03 (1) 423-229-1033
Email: cclubb@eastman.com

CONTACT INFORMATION

Readers' requests for additional information may be directed as follows:

Omnica Corporation
Rex Bare [the actual business contact is Ron Sully, rons@omnica.com]
Omnica Corporation
15560-D Rockfield Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92618
U.S.A. U.S.A.
Tel: (1) 949-472-0275
Fax: (1) 719-472-0276
E-mail: rexb@omnica.com

Nobel Biocare
Scott Rheinish
Nobel Biocare
22715 Savi Ranch Parkway
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
Tel: (1) 714-282-5090
Fax: (1) 714-998-9236
E-mail: scott.rheinish@nobelbiocare.com

Eastar Copolyester
Yvonne Peters
Eastman Chemical Company
P.O. Box 431
Kingsport, TN 37662-5371
U.S.A.
Tel: (1) 423-229-5400
Fax: (1) 423-229-0044
E-mail: ridmedpkg@eastman.com