Lares Celebrates 50 Years
Chico, CA - Lares Research, a company that offers leading edge dental lasers and handpieces, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company was founded in 1956 by Joe and Al Lares as a machine shop specializing in micro-precision machining and now markets technologically advanced dental products around the world.
Lares Research was originally located in San Carlos, California, where it offered its machining expertise to the growing electronics, instrument, and defense industries of the San Francisco Bay area and Silicon Valley. In the early 1970s, Lares became involved with supplying specialized components for a highspeed dental handpiece manufacturer. The company's manufacturing expertise and experience with micro-precision machining was ideally suited to the manufacturing of handpieces. Soon, Lares was manufacturing a complete highspeed dental handpiece and became the licensed manufacturer for a major dental industry firm that then distributed the handpieces through its chain of retail stores under the S.S. White brand. This gave Lares additional experience with dental product manufacturing and increased the company's understanding of the needs of the dentist.
In 1979, Lares launched its own patented highspeed handpiece. The handpiece represented a breakthrough in dental handpiece technology due to its small head size, high cutting power, and unmatched precision. It quickly established Lares as the number two manufacturer of highspeed dental handpieces in the American market.
Headed since 1985 by Craig Lares, son of one of the company founders, Lares has broadened its product line to include air abrasion cavity preparation systems and hard and soft tissue lasers, while continuing to enhance its handpiece line by adding fiber optic lighting and offering both low and high speed handpieces as well as electric handpieces. Part of this expansion was due to the acquisition of the dental division of Sunrise Technologies in 1997. The company has ISO 9000 and CE certification and is now located in Chico, California.
Today, Lares is the only laser provider to offer a laser training program recognized by the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD) and one that will earn the dentist ALD Standard Proficiency Certification. The company has a national high technology direct sales force and markets products in 50 countries. In May 2005, Lares introduced the PowerLase AT and HT all tissue lasers, which were the first dental lasers to cut faster than highspeed handpieces.
SOURCE: Lares Research