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Corporate Profile: Ortho Technology Benjamin Lund, Editor, Orthotown Magazine

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Above (from left): Shirley Stanley,Vice President of International Sales; Shelly Forcke, Human Resource Manager; John Nabors, Senior Vice President of Global Sales; Paul Wilkens, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development; Mike Bracciodieta,Vice President of Operations; Cindy Bestmann, Finance Manager; and Connie Sperling, Dealer Sales Manager. Left: Ed Marill , Northeast Regional Sales Manager

Keeping customer service at the forefront, Ortho Technology continues its focus in offering high-quality products at competitive prices, all while giving back to the orthodontic community
by Benjamin Lund, Editor, Orthotown Magazine
In a specialty as deeply affected by the ongoing economic recession, orthodontic practices are now more than ever keeping a vigilant eye out for companies that can offer them outstanding value. Getting the best quality and service is key in these difficult economic times, although for many practices “value” also means taking into consideration other characteristics like quality, reliability, and efficiency, while still being able to partner with a company that has friendly and knowledgeable support.

Ortho Technology, Inc., was founded in 1991 by President & CEO Brian Leaghty, who began his orthodontic career eight years prior to pursuing his dream of starting his own company. Leaghty’s vision for Ortho Technology was to offer high-quality, affordable products to the orthodontic market primarily through direct mailings and outside sales representatives. As Leaghty traveled the country and abroad, gaining partners and developing exclusive product lines, inside sales representatives were added to grow sales and improve customer service. In the years since its inception, Ortho Technology has expanded from a family run operation to a company with more than 70 employees at its home base in Tampa, Florida. With more than 110 international distributors and concentration on expansion of its direct sales presence in the United States, Ortho Technology has matured into an innovative global company offering a wide array of orthodontic products, ranging from brackets, bands and tubes to archwires, adhesives, instruments, and everything else an orthodontist needs to stock a successful practice.

“We’ve been in business for almost 20 years, although, when compared to some of our competitors, we’re still very much an up-and-comer,” says Leaghty. “As a privately owned company, we don’t have to answer to shareholders. Our experienced and qualified management team is able to come to a consensus quickly on important matters, giving us an advantage with our global customer base.”

Unique Products with a Unique Message
Many of Ortho Technology’s exclusive and patented products were created or refined through extensive research and development. Working with leading doctors from around the world allows Ortho Technology to stay in touch with the clinical needs and treatment options practices need to stay efficient. Examples include the company’s Lotus Plus Passive Self-Ligating Bracket System, the PURE Clear Bracket System, and the Spider Screw TAD System. Ortho Technology not only offers several aesthetic bracket lines, it takes aesthetic treatment to the next level by offering an extensive selection of aesthetic archwires, ties, springs, and attachments. Exclusive products like these have helped to further differentiate Ortho Technology.

To keep practices informed of its ever-growing product lines, Ortho Technology produces a 200-plus page full-color catalog on an annual basis. The catalog showcases the company’s exclusive line of products, as well as products from companies it has partnered with like Kodak, Sunstar-Butler, GC America, Waterpik and others.

With the prevalence of companies selling orthodontic products via the Internet, it causes one to wonder why Ortho Technology still produces a paper catalog. “We still produce an annual catalog because practices want it. Customers tell us how much they enjoy our printed catalog and how the user-friendly design helps them make decisions on purchases,” says Ortho Technology’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development Paul Wilkens. Wilkens, who has been with the company for 13 years, notes that although the company has a state-of-the art online ordering system and skilled consultative sales representatives available, the company strives to cater to all orthodontists. “More and more companies are going paperless, that’s true, but many of our customers still prefer paging through our catalog and choosing what they need,” says Wilkens. “Our catalog is well-organized and displays our entire product line with detailed pictures so doctors and staff members can clearly see what they’re ordering – that’s just another small piece of what makes us unique. It also ties directly into our Web site.” In the Web site’s Quick Order Entry section orthodontists can reference their catalog and simply type in an item number and add it to their cart, saving them from having to trudge through the hierarchy of an online store. In addition to its catalog, Ortho Technology also sends out an extensive monthly direct mail flyer that focuses on promotions and highlights new and unique products introduced throughout the year. “We strive to be a one-stop shopping solution for all our customers’ product needs,” says Wilkens. To ensure that the production of its catalogs have as little impact on the environment as possible, Ortho Technology partners with a certified green printing facility, which utilizes recycled paper and eco-friendly inks, recycles all waste and contributes to a tree-planting partnership to repopulate forests.

Value, Service and Support
John Nabors, a 26-year veteran of 3M Unitek recently joined Ortho Technology as its Senior Vice President of Global Sales. “Ortho Technology is a great company, with tremendous opportunities,” says Nabors. “It started as a small orthodontic supply company with a growing international presence. Going forward, our goal is to focus on and expand a quality consultative sales force in the United States. Ortho Technology has very broad and innovative product lines offered at affordable prices. We’ve recognized that with the right type of management, processes, relationships and outside sales professionals in the United States, we are in the position to become one of the leading companies in the global orthodontic market.” Nabors says most of Ortho Technology’s customers begin working with the company because the prices of its products are “very competitive.” However, he notes, “many stay with the company because of the product value, customer service, reward programs and a personal customer experience, as well as the company’s devotion to the orthodontic community. Whereas we used to be best known for our prices, we’re now becoming known as a value-based, consultative sales organization.”

As further proof of Ortho Technology’s commitment to building customer relationships through trusted and experienced team members, the company recently hired Ed Marill as its Northeast Regional Sales Manager. Marill, formerly with GAC International, brings with him more than 20 years of orthodontic industry experience.

With more than 17 years of executive management experience within the orthodontic industry, Vice President of International Sales Shirley Stanley continues to grow the company’s international presence with new and existing distributors throughout 70 countries worldwide. Stanley says, “With international sales making up more than 40 percent of our overall sales earnings, Ortho Technology continually expands its offering of innovative products at competitive prices, which is key to building long-term international business relationships.”

Bringing it Together
For some supply companies, the desire to remain profitable in response to tight times has unfortunately led to value-diminishing results – like increases in shipping time or navigation through aggravating automatic call centers – much to the dismay of their patrons. Aside from the more than 140 years of combined orthodontic industry experience possessed by the executive management team, Ortho Technology prides itself on staffing its call center with team members who have orthodontic experience, which in some cases is extensive (in fact several staff members in Ortho Technology’s call center were chairside assistants at one time).

The call center is split into two groups – telesales and customer service. Telesales calls on new and existing practices that need to replenish inventory on a specific weekly or monthly basis. Customer service handles all customer questions and concerns and focuses primarily on relationship building and providing support.

“Hiring people with previous orthodontic experience makes it easier to establish relationships and trust with orthodontic practices,” says Nabors. “When orthodontists or their staff call us, they are speaking with someone who is trained or has worked in an orthodontic practice and knows what it’s like. You don’t have to go through some automated message where you spend valuable time pushing buttons to connect to someone. A real person always picks up the phone here.”

The call center is one of the primary channels orthodontists have used since the company’s inception in 1991. Certainly, technology has changed a great deal since then – the Internet being the most impactful – but Ortho Technology still holds true to its foundation. “Our online ordering system is probably one of the best, most sophisticated systems available in the industry, although moving forward we are developing our outside consultative sales force across the United States,” says Nabors.

Efficiency and Delivery
In addition to its knowledgeable and experienced staff, Ortho Technology prides itself in its ability to accurately process and ship orders with streamlined efficiency. You’ve no doubt felt the pressure from running out of something when you needed it most.

Vice President of Operations Mike Bracciodieta joined Ortho Technology last year from Dentsply GAC, bringing with him more than 33 years of operational experience and knowledge. “If you call and place your order by 2:30 p.m. (EST), most orders will ship that day. The service we provide to ensure quick delivery is, in my opinion, phenomenal, and it is what has helped Ortho Technology stand out from its competition and grow consistently year after year.” says Bracciodieta. One of the many ways Ortho Technology ensures quick delivery is anticipation of its customer’s needs. Time savers include already stocked, pre-welded band assemblies in many popular sizes, ready to be shipped the same day.

The company is independently assessed and certified for meeting the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization of Quality (ISO 13485:2003), and its quality control department works hard to ensure Ortho Technology’s customers consistently receive the high quality products they have come to know and trust, whether a product comes from another vendor or from Ortho Technology’s own proprietary items. “Our quality control department performs very intense inspections of all of the products we offer,” says Bracciodieta.

“Serving our customers the best we can has been, and will always be, our major focus,” says Bracciodieta. “Rather than diminish service and value to increase profitability, we have protocols in place to guarantee top-notch customer service. We’re always doing everything we can to improve what we have in place and to guarantee each customer a personalized ordering experience. That’s always on our mind. We want to partner with and support our customers. Sales and operations understand each other very well and work together toward a common goal to get our quality, innovative products swiftly and safely into the hands of our customers.”

Giving Back
The company’s commitment to the specialty extends much further than its innovative products. To show its gratitude and commitment to the orthodontic profession Ortho Technology recently pledged $100,000 to the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF), the charitable arm of the American Association of Orthodontists that provides support to orthodontic education programs and research. “We have always been and will always be deeply committed to the orthodontic industry, and we are thrilled to be able to give back to the profession that has given us so much,” says Wilkens. Ortho Technology’s OrthoRewards loyalty program also allows practices to accumulate points with each purchase that can be redeemed for charitable contributions to the AAOF, or put toward rewards like product discounts, gift certificates good for cruises, hotel stays, and much more.

“Orthodontists are a very special group of dedicated individuals and the relationships we’ve developed with them have been very satisfying to our continued organizational growth,” says Leaghty. “The profession has been very good to us and we want to show our appreciation.”

For more information about Ortho Technology, please visit www.orthotechnology.com, or call 800-999-3161.
Orthotown Magazine
October 2025
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