Planmeca announces strategic investment in E4D Technologies

Planmeca has made a strategic, non-controlling investment in E4D Technologies, with plans to incorporate that company's CAD/CAM Restorative System into its portfolio of dental imaging products and services.

According to the terms of the agreement, the two parties will co-develop new CAD/CAM solutions and bring them to market under the brand names Planmeca PlanScan-E4D Technologies and PlanMill-E4D Technologies.

E4D's current distributor Henry Schein will continue to sell the products in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with Planmeca planning expansion to more than 120 additional international markets.

Gary Severance, chief marketing officer for E4D Technologies, welcomed the plans: "Planmeca has been a market leader in extra-oral digital imaging for many years," he commented, adding the investment would comprise a "seamless integration" of the two companies' offerings.

The agreement will see Planmeca join a partnership with Henry Schein and Ivoclar Vivadent, who have been strategic equity partners in E4D Technologies since 2007.