EOS and BEGO Announce Licence Agreement
Agreement STrengthens the position of eos in the dental market
Krailling, February 20th, 2008: EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, BEGO Medical GmbH and BEGO Bremer Goldschlägerei Wilh. Herbst GmbH & Co. KG announce that they have reached a patent licence agreement. Under the agreement, EOS receives a world-wide licence for all patents from both BEGO companies which are relevant for laser-sintering. This especially pertains to the production of dental prostheses and/or dental auxiliaries using laser-sintering.
The licensed patents include among others EP 1021997 and US 7,084,370. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial conditions of the agreement. Johann Oberhofer, COO of EOS, is very pleased about the agreement: "At a very early stage, BEGO has recognized the potential of laser-sintering for the manufacture of dental products. The company has consistently developed the application and has also secured the relevant patent rights. The agreement provides legal security for our customers. It also enables us to be a strong partner for further technical advancements as well as for the market development of dental applications."
Christoph Weiss, managing director of the BEGO group, is also full of expectations: "The long R&D activities of BEGO in the field of laser-sintering finally pay out - the unbeatable advantages of the technology in the dental area are obvious. The company EOS with its comprehensive technology know-how is a very attractive cooperation partner. We look forward to various future synergy effects not only for a joint market development but also with regards to the next advancements of the technology."
Laser-sintering produces dental bridges and crowns layer by layer directly from CAD data. The basis are powdered metal materials, in the dental industry mainly cobalt-chrome alloys. One laser-sintering system produces up to 500 dental units per day. The automated production eliminates certain laborious and expensive processes for the dental laboratory, such as casting. The technology thus increases the efficiency of the dental industry and the productivity of dental laboratories.
About EOS (www.eos.info)
EOS was founded in 1989 and is today the world leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems. Laser-sintering is the key technology for e-Manufacturing, the fast, flexible and cost-effective production of products, patterns or tools. The technology manufactures parts for every phase of the product life cycle, directly from electronic data. Laser-sintering accelerates product development and optimizes production processes. EOS completed its business year 2006/2007 with revenues of 59.7 million Euro which is an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year.
About BEGO (www.bego.com)
The Bremen-based Goldschlägerei BEGO is one of the leading dental companies world-wide. The company is managed by its owners and offers a broad range of products and services "made in Germany" with its three business units BEGO Dental, BEGO Medical and BEGO Implant Systems. Since its foundation in 1890, the company is very active in research and development. It intensively fosters co-operations with universities and master schools and holds a variety of patents.
EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems
Martina Methner
Robert-Stirling-Ring 1
D-82152 Krailling
Tel: +49 89 893 36-134
Fax: +49 89 893 36-288
Email: martina.methner@eos.info
Homepage: www.eos.info
