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About Us
The History of Ash Instruments
Claudius Ash
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DENTSPLY Ash Instruments is a manufacturing division of DENTSPLY International. DENTSPLY International is the largest manufacturer of dental prosthetics and consumable dental products in the world and has factories in Europe, the Americas and Asia as well as sales distribution facilities scattered throughout the globe. DENTSPLY Ash Instruments specialises in the manufacture of high-quality dental hand instruments (including rubber dam products and dental burs).
The Ash Instruments part in the DENTSPLY story began in 1820 when Claudius Ash, a man from a family of silversmiths and goldsmiths in London (UK) began making denture parts to order with his four sons. The business originally operated from premises in 9 Broad Street (now Broadwick Street), part of London's Soho district close to the famous names of Regent Street and Carnaby Street. By 1854, records show that the business had expanded to 8-9 Broad Street, and was employing 42 workers.During the mid 19th Century, the family business (known as Claudius Ash and Sons Ltd) prospered and the company began manufacturing and supplying a wide range of materials, including porcelain teeth, rubber and waxes, as well as early versions of the burs and hand instruments Ash Instruments is known for today. By the turn of the 20th Century, the company was supplying products to over 30 countries.
In 1924, the company expanded and merged with a Swiss company, DeTrey Ltd, to form the Amalgamated Dental Company Ltd. The company continued to grow until it was sold in 1976, when the major manufacturing businesses became part of the US-based DENTSPLY family, and the name DENTSPLY Ash Instruments was born (along with DENTSPLY DeTrey, based in Konstanz, Germany).
Today, DENTSPLY Ash Instruments supplies its high quality product range to countries across the world via the global DENTSPLY network of companies and their dental dealer partners.
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Milestones:
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2 March 1792
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Claudius Ash born in Bethnal Green, London
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1820
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| Claudius Ash formed the world's first dental company |
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1854
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In September, a Cholera epidemic hits Broad Street where Claudius Ash & Sons Ltd were based
Claudius Ash dies on 3rd November |
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1867
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| Ash opens Paris (France) and Berlin (Germany) branches |
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1886
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| Ash opens New York (USA) office |
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1908 - 1910
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| Ash opens offices in Toronto (Canada), Brussels (Belgium), Madrid (Spain), Moscow and St Petersburg (Russia), and Rome and Milan (Italy) |
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1921
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| The company now has 30 branches and 6 factories |
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1924
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| DeTrey and Claudius Ash merge to form The Amalgamated Dental Company |
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1941
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| Company premises in Swallow Street, Piccadilly (London, UK) bombed during the Blitz in World War II |
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1967
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| The Amalgamated Dental Company is renamed AD International |
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1976
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| The Ash Instruments part of the AD International business becomes part of the DENTSPLY group |
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1986
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| Ceramicolor hand instrument range launched |
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2001
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| Flexichange hand instrument range launched |
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2003
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| Refinement hand instruments launched to serve the trend toward minimally invasive dentistry |
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2005
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| ZNR, Zirconium nitride-coated restorative instruments launched |
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The 1854 Cholera Epidemic
The 1854 Cholera epidemic in Soho claimed 500 lives in around 10 days. Six deaths were recorded at the Claudius Ash & Sons premises. Physician, Jon Snow, identified the source of the outbreak to be centred on a public water pump in Broad Street, mere metres from the Ash premises. At the time, little was understood about hygiene and disease transmission, but Snow's conviction was such that he had the handle to the Broad Street water pump removed, after which the outbreak soon ended.
The BBC has more details on the epidemic at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/snow_john.shtml
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Alloy recovered from Kyarra wreck
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A bottle of Claudius Ash and Sons Dental Alloy, dating from the First World War, bearing the address of the Claudius Ash and Sons New York office. This bottle was discovered in 2006 by diver Harry Lewis on the wreck of the 415ft long Kyarra, which sank on 26th May 1918. The Kyarra had been due to dock at Devonport in Plymouth to return war wounded Australian soldiers to Sydney, but it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat just off Swanage on the South Coast of the UK, and sank with the loss of 6 crew. |
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