1982 – How It All Began

It all started in the early 1980s in the extraordinary landscape of Taiwan. At only twenty-one years old, George Chang, the father of the two brothers who would found ProDirect, arrived in Taipei, the capital city, on foot. Born with innate artistic talent, he was quickly recognized for his ability and started apprenticing under a German master dental technician who was also a prosthodontist.

In short time, he became a valued technician, launching his career in an artisanal industry in an era when dental restorations were painstakingly crafted by hand. After five years of hard work, he became the proud owner of his own dental lab, Veden, with a total of 6 employees. He named his lab by combining two Chinese characters meaning “consistency” and “ascension,” which would also become the names of his sons.

These were the roots of his highly distinguished profession and the dawning of an ongoing family legacy of innovation and ingenuity in the dental industry.

1996 – The Big Move

After years of effort, George made Veden a renowned lab in Taiwan. Ambitious, he dreamed of growing his lab further; however, finding available technicians with the skill and commitment required to achieve his goals proved to be a challenge.

This predicament led George to a new idea that would change the dental industry in China: a clear-cut production system that segmented the manufacturing pipeline and assigned individual specialists at each stage, the aim of which was to enable more technicians to optimally contribute to the pipeline.

To turn this idea into a reality, George moved Veden’s production from Taipei to Zhuhai, China. From there, he began reaching into the global market, providing dental restorations to other labs across the globe.

2000 – Critical Success

Despite being met with skepticism in the industry, George’s production system had worked wonders. Veden soon made its mark not only in China, but worldwide—U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, and New Zealand.

With Veden’s extraordinary growth, George could invest additional resources into expanding his R&D efforts. The expansion, headquartered in a $10 million, 480,000 square foot research, development, and production facility, consisted of research labs and a training center with residential spaces to hold 2,000 employees. The result was a massive leap in manufacturing capacity and successful recruitment of talented individuals from around the world.

2013 – A New Chapter

With these profound new developments, George established his lab as a world class enterprise and achieved his dream. His accomplishments merited his early retirement; meanwhile, George’s two sons, Michael and Eric Chang, were receiving an education in the United States to pursue their own goals.

Growing up in a prestigious dental family, the two brothers knew they had to continue the family tradition of trailblazing inventive new paths. Equipped with their father’s wealth of knowledge and their own insights, the brothers realized they had to take things into their own hands.

Remaining as merely a lab behind the lab limited their father’s legacy and their vision. With innovative technologies and business practices in development, the brothers began layering the foundation of their own lab, like porcelain on a crown, to prepare for the bright future they saw approaching.

2020 – Beyond the Horizon

With the strength of family on their side, the brothers established ProDirect’s first US-based satellite lab in New Jersey, a difficult feat that George was unable to do. This new opportunity allowed the brothers to push forward their vision of building a vertically-integrated, fully self-sufficient, infinitely scalable lab. Emphasizing a bottom-up rather than top-down approach to business and investing in the right resources and services has given way to the people-first cross-disciplinary team that now drives ProDirect.

2024 – Future Expansion

ProDirect’s past strengthens its foundations for the future. Their ambition and determination are the result of nearly 40 years of family tradition and experience and will allow ProDirect to persevere through new horizons. With George’s dream as the backbone of their vision, and their partnership with the family continue George’s legacy of consistency, tenacity, integrity, and innovation.

This isn’t the end of ProDirect’s story. It’s merely only the beginning.