Nobel Biocare to start production of Procera AllCeram in USA

® Nobel Biocare to start production of Procera AllCeram in USA ® In order to match the very strong growth in sales of Procera , a production ® unit will be set up in the USA during 1999 for the production of Procera AllCeram dental copings in ceramic material. Sales on the North-American market have expanded to account for more than 60% of the turnover for ® Procera . Currently, all production of Procera® AllCeram takes place at the plant in Stockholm. "Production in the USA will sharpen the competitive edge of Procera®. Delivery times will be cut by 24 hours and the service to customers in the USA and Canada will improve significantly. Sales on the North-American market have expanded to account for 60% of the total turnover in less than one year. By establishing production here, the opportunities for Procera® to reach out with its unique product concept to dental laboratories and thereby increase its market share in the USA will improve," says Jack Forsgren, president and CEO of Nobel Biocare. The USA is the world's largest dental market. Some 30 million dental copings are produced annually, representing 50% of the global market. Today the market is dominated by manually produced dental copings in metal. Production of Procera® AllCeram is based on a unique CAD/CAM process and takes place in a joint venture with Sandvik AB. The new unit will be situated on Sandvik's premises in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Deliveries from the unit are planned to start during the final quarter of 1999. The total investment amounts to SEK 20 million. Gothenburg, 3 February 1999 NOBEL BIOCARE AB For further information, please contact: Lars Henrikson, Vice president, Business Area Procera®, and Jack Forsgren, President and CEO, Nobel Biocare AB, phone +46 (0)31 81 88 00. Nobel Biocare is an innovative, medical devices company, whose core business comprises dental implants and dental prosthetics. The company's product ® ® systems for dental implants, Brånemark System and Steri-Oss , are world leaders and have a global market share of around 40%. ® The company's other product line, Procera , is a unique, patented CAD/CAM- based process for the industrial production of dental prosthetics. The system has been launched very successfully in North America and parts of Europe. Nobel Biocare has around 1,000 employees and, in 1997, turnover totalled SEK 1,068 million for Nobel Biocare and approximately SEK 300 million for the recently-acquired American dental implant company Steri-Oss Inc. The company's headquarters are located in Gothenburg, Sweden, while production takes place in Sweden and the USA. Nobel Biocare has its own sales companies in some 20 countries. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/03/19990701BIT00390/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/03/19990701BIT00390/bit0002.pdf