It was poverty that forced the Zipperer brothers to leave their home in the Bohemian forest. One of the brothers sailed to Brazil with his parents and co-founded the settlement of São Bento in Blumenau/Paraná, an area populated mostly by Germans. The second brother became a horologist, producing precision mechanical parts. He founded his Munich based company C.W. Zipperer in 1869. Watches were becoming smaller so they could always be carried around and precision work was in great demand, not only in horology. Zipperer therefore soon extended his work to dentistry and thus became one of the first European manufacturers of endodontic instruments.

J. Beutelrock was a distinguished dentist with a reputable practice in Munich and he was also the son of a horologist. In 1885, he started up his "manufactory of own inventions" („Spezialfabrik für eigene Erfindungen“), focussing mainly on instruments for the "excavation" of root canals. His prestigious peer, Professor Walkhoff, court counsellor and doctor, added these excavation instruments to his own root canal treatment system.

In 1919, Alfons Ehler, manager of a steel manufacturer based in Saarland, also established a factory for dental instruments in Munich. He named his company ANTÆOS after the giant in Greek mythology "Antaeus", Æ standing for Alfons Ehlers' initials.

All three companies were manufacturing endodontic instruments at three different locations in Munich and distributing these worldwide, in competition with each other. Beutelrock, for instance, won awards as early as 1898 at trade exhibitions in Trieste, Omaha and Paris. At this point in time already, his company was represented overseas from the United States to New Zealand.

Subsequently, Beutelrock's range of instruments was continuously improved and extended: stainless steel, smaller instrument sizes, coloured plastic handles based on the Munich colour code (Zipperer) which had long since become an ISO standard, the first endodontic instruments in sterile packaging, etc.

Shortly after 1945, ANTÆOS took over its competitors BEUTELROCK, and ultimately ZIPPERER.  Only in 1972 did the three companies officially merge into the “Vereinigte Dentalwerke GmbH & Co. KG" (meaning united dental manufacturers), now referred to as VDW GmbH. All three brands have been preserved to this day.

Tradition and experience are one of the pillars of its foundation, progress and innovation are another pillar. VDW has been instrumental in the fast-paced development in endodontics during the past 15 years. A new and modern building in the south of Munich was the starting point. Thanks to considerable investments into research and development as well as close cooperation with scientists and practitioners, new concepts, innovative products and systems could be introduced, simplifying endodontic products in accordance with VDW’s motto "Endo Easy Efficient" as well as improving the efficiency and convenience of the endodontic work-flow: rotary NiTi systems, apex locators, obturation systems, ultrasound and in 2011, the innovative NiTi system RECIPROC^® for single file preparation. Thanks to GUTTAFUSION^®, with its obturators made of cross-linked gutta-percha, three-dimensional and dense root canal fillings are made easy. The production plant in Munich is state-of-the-art and continuous investments ensure high quality, prompt availability and extraordinary service. Camera surveillance systems make sure that quality remains consistent and help to prevent potential errors. VDW issues a 3 year warranty for motors manufactured in its Pistoia/Tuscany plant relying on their outstanding quality and reliability. Customer satisfaction is ensured by competent customer service.

VDW furthermore promotes training courses and programmes worldwide. A modern training centre with outstanding state-of-the-art equipment was built at VDW's headquarters in Munich. In 2013, almost 28,000 dentists attended 1,600 VDW training courses in over 80 countries. Information on the internet is continuously expanded, adding instructive as well as product-based videos and webinars.

Endo is in our blood: Thanks to consistent specialisation in endodontics, VDW has managed to achieve impressive corporate growth. Based on this, concepts are continuously developed in order to make endodontics easier and more successful.

01.04.2014