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This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
A recently released report of monthly U.S. trade figures for March 2011 indicated Utah's monthly exports reached $1.5 billion. This is the highest monthly total on record for Utah and is over 30 percent higher than March last year. Utah's merchandise exports for the first quarter of this year also exceeded $4 billion — a 21 percent increase from the same quarter of last year's record-breaking year.
Did you know that Utah is home to one of the nation's largest dental products manufacturers and distributors? Ultradent, located just off the Jordan Gateway in South Jordan, is known among dentists worldwide as a standard in the industry. People all over the world are also enjoying brighter smiles, thanks to this company.
Dr. Dan Fischer founded the business over 30 years ago. A recent dental school graduate, he realized the dental materials available at the time weren't allowing him to accomplish everything he wanted to do, so he set out to create his own line of products. For example, he created a haemostatic (he-mo-stah-tic) agent designed to control bleeding. The later version of this product has become a fixture in dental offices worldwide. His teeth whitening system, Opalescence, is the leader in the global market and fueled the company's growth throughout the 80s and 90s.
You can find Ultradent products around the world. In fact, the company now has offices in countries including Germany, Italy, Japan, China and Brazil. They also recently expanded into the India and China markets. Having such a large global presence has helped the company weather the economic flexes of the last few years better than most since each market has been affected so differently.
Dr. Fischer is proud of his company's Utah roots and has made Utah an important aspect of Ultradent's branding. Many of Ultradent's international guests visit wanting to see everything from Delicate Arch to Southern Utah to our fabulous ski resorts. I'm sure this helps our thriving tourism industry that contributes over $600 million to our economy every year.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Ultradent 505 W. 10200 South South Jordan, UT 84095 1-888-230-1420 www.ultradent.com
