History
A true Swiss story.
In the heart of Zurich, merchant Alfred Wilhelm Steen and tooth engraver Wilhelm Karl Zech founded the Steen & Zech Zahnfabrik on November 1, 1936. In only a short space of time, the company developed into one of the most renowned tooth manufacturers in Central Europe, with at times up to 300 employees contributing to its success in the post-war period. An important contributing factor was the revolutionary and high-end Swiss quality, which has since manifested itself in a large number of successful tooth lines and materials.
When Wilhelm Karl Zech sold his shares to his partner Alfred Wilhelm Steen in the 1950s, a new name had to be found for the company. Together with his wife Lucie, he created CANDULOR, derived from the Latin for shine »candor« and French for gold »or«.
In the 1960s, the PhysioSet tooth line was launched for the first time in porcelain. Four years later, the company changed its name to CANDULOR AG, which remains the company name until today.
In 1971, the company expanded its sphere of activity with the purchase of the Bodensee Dental Depot, and thus laid the foundation for today's CANDULOR Dental GmbH in Rielasingen-Worblingen. Until 1972, CANDULOR remained a family business and then became a subsidiary of the Ivoclar Group.
The 1990s began with the relocation to Wangen (ZH) following a major fire at the Zurich site. The first KunstZahnWerk competition is announced in 1999: a prestigious award to which the best dental technicians from all over the world submit their innovative solutions and which is held every two years.
The year 2000 was not only a millennium year, but also a milestone in the history of CANDULOR with the market launch of the PhysioSet TCR and Bonartic TCR tooth lines.
In the following years, new products were successively introduced or existing ones refined. During this period, material development made substantial progress, for example with the NFC material, which was improved even further in 2012 with the durable NFC+ formula. The material impresses with its excellent abrasion resistance, which is significantly higher than that of the tooth materials previously used by CANDULOR.
In 2015, CANDULOR is given a new look under the motto »Create the best«. From the packaging to the website through to new marketing tools, CANDULOR is raised to a new level of design.
The year 2016 is yet another milestone for CANDULOR. The new headquarters are relocated further to the north of Zurich. The new premises are located in Glattpark, a dynamic, newly developed neighborhood with excellent connections to Zurich Airport, public transport and the highways. The new site features a state-of-the-art dental laboratory, which is used by the SSOP for training purposes. Following the move to Glattpark, the warehouse and customer service are relocated entirely to Germany.
There were two other important innovations in 2019: firstly, the introduction of the new tooth line from the Stay Young Collection - PhysioSelect TCR. And secondly, the founding of its own educational institution, the SSOP (Swiss School of Prosthetics by Candulor). By doing so, CANDULOR set new standards in the dental sector in terms of high-quality further education. The SSOP offers holistic training programs for beginners and experts alike, instead of simple product training. An important project to preserve, expand and share valuable knowledge about prosthetics.
At the beginning of the 2020s, CANDULOR introduces the 2-in-1 polymer XPLEX, which can be used equally for cold and hot processing, depending on the preference and requirements of the dental technician.
In 2022, CANDULOR has extended the PhysioSet TCR tooth line with 18 X-molds for the North American market. A selection of 48 age-appropriate anterior tooth molds is available for the laboratory. Together with the PhysioSelect TCR tooth line, launched in 2019, CANDULOR has created one of the largest tooth line with over 68 anterior tooth molds.
2023 was a year of certifications. The SSOP was certified as an educational institution according to ISO 21001:2018 and is therefore subject to a continuous improvement process, to be able to provide participants with the best learning environment. And CANDULOR itself was recertified in accordance with the new MDR regulation.
2023 marks a slightly new approach to the brand's design. The brand was refreshed, giving CANDULOR a stylish touch and underlining the new claim »CANDULOR. HIGH END ONLY.«.
With the introduction of the tooth-colored disks – TCR Mono and TCR Multi – as well as the gingiva-colored XPLEX Base high-impact milling disks in North America in 2023, CANDULOR is expanding its product range with digitally and hybrid-machinable materials for CAD/CAM-supported fabrication.
The product range was expanded to include a new articulator, the CA 3.0 LARGE. It can be synchronized with other articulators due to an adapted height and by using the appropriate accessories.
We have understood prosthetics since 1936.
Discover our history from 1936-2016 in our CANDULOR Moments film.
