History
Alois Kaltenbach founded the company in Berlin-Steglitz in 1909 and ten years later when Richard Voigt joined the company it became Kaltenbach and Voigt, better known as KaVo. The company moved to Potsdam and then in 1946 to Biberach in Upper Schwabia where the head office has remained to date.
By 1959 the Company had grown substantially and was employing over 750 staff. On the 1 st August 1962 KaVo Dental Manufacturing Company (G.B.) Ltd, the first foreign subsidiary of KaVo was opened, in the West End of London. Ten years later, KaVo UK moved premises, to their current home at Raans Road, Amersham.
In March 2004, Danaher, a New York Stock Exchange listed company (NYSE:DHR) with its headquarters in Washington D.C./USA acquired KaVo. In 2003, the company had sales revenues of over five billion dollars per annum and has six strategic platforms: Electronic Test, Environmental, Motion, Product Identification, Mechanics Hand Tools and Medical Technology. The company is also engaged in a number of niche markets . Danaher has approximately 30,000 employees, with about 17,000 of these in the USA.
Within the Medical Technology platform Danaher wants to strengthen and develop its dental business portfolio. KaVo, which is well established in the dental market , will play a strategic role for this business in the future: KaVo with its headquarters in Biberach will form the main pillar of the Dental business along with Gendex, a leader in dental X-ray equipment, previously acquired by Danaher in February 2004.
Over the years, we at KaVo have worked hard to build a highly respected brand in the UK with a reputation for supplying high quality products. This Corporate Image has been enhanced by a focus on offering excellent customer service, for which KaVo must thank a well-established and loyal team many of whom have been with the Company for over 15 years.