In this edition of the newsletter I would like to highlight some of the recent key activities and accomplishments for the manufacturing and supply chain function.
I will start with the Ballaigues site which was recently involved in an Operational Excellence audit conducted by associates from within the business. I am pleased to report the location was given a Gold rating which is considered the highest level. There will be a special recognition from key executives later in this year. I would like to congratulate everyone in Ballaigues for this achievement and thank you for your continued commitment to Operational Excellence.
In Johnson City the team has been focused on completing activities to achieve ISO 14001 certification. There was an audit which took place at the end of February. The team received very positive feedback regarding their readiness, and I am very confident the team will be prepared for certification in Q3. I appreciate all of the efforts, which are in addition to ensuring all other aspects of the business are operating well, associated with this initiative.
Much of the effort in Munich for the past few months has been focused on increasing and maintaining capacity to fulfill the high stainless steel file demand that started in late Q3 of 2016. With the dedication of the entire team (which required a lot of extra days and hours), this demand has been fulfilled and our backorder levels are back to normal. I would like to thank everyone involved for the continued support and commitment to satisfy our customers.
In Pistoia there has been a lot of focus on improving the quality of the IQ/CONNECT device. This comes just in time as we are launching the IQ unit in North America. The team has recently increased production in support of this expected higher demand. Thank you to the team for ensuring the highest quality products in the market and for supporting this critical launch.
I am also pleased to report that our Procurement was able to over deliver our cost savings target in Q1. In addition they were able to operationalize a scorecard for the function. This team was newly formed in 2016 and has been continually evolving. I want to acknowledge the great work by all involved for this progress!
The Advanced Technology team has been working very diligently to complete the builds for machinery which is to be supplied to the Implants SBU. The delivery is expected to occur in the coming weeks. This team has always provided excellent process technology to the Endo SBU, and there is now a much broader objective to do this on a global scale for all of Dentsply Sirona.
Thank you to all of these team members for the progress to date, and I am wishing you much success with this critical milestone.
Lastly, we have some new members of our team as a result of the recent RTD acquisition. I would like to extend my warmest welcome to the organization.
Thank you to the entire team for these great accomplishments along with a successful end to Q1. I look forward to more great things to come!