DT News - India - Clear aligner company uLab Systems included in list of fastest-growing US companies

Jeremy Booth, Dental Tribune International

Mon. 26 September 2022

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MEMPHIS, Tenn., US: The young orthodontic company uLab Systems has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing private enterprises in the US for 2022. The accolade adds to a sense of gathering momentum at the company at a time when competition in the clear aligner segment is heating up and when orthodontics—and dentistry as a whole—is being recognised as a growth industry at a time of economic tribulation.

The Inc. 5000 list compiles rankings of privately held US companies from all industries. The underlying criterion for inclusion is the speed of overall company growth, and as such, the list typically includes young ventures and start-ups that present opportunities for investment.

ULab Systems was the only orthodontic company to be ranked in the list for 2022 and was recognised for the staggering 832% growth rate that it recorded between 2018 and 2021. Its ranking of 764th among the 5,000 companies saw it placed within the top 20% and 12th among health product companies.

Amir Abolfathi, CEO and co-founder of uLab Systems, said in a press release: “We are proud that our goal to provide innovative products for orthodontists has enabled our rapid growth and placement on this prestigious list of companies.” Abolfathi pointed towards the company’s recent product launches of the uDesign 7 digital treatment planning software and the uAssist service, as well as towards its expansion into the Australasian market, as evidence of uLab’s commitment to the global aligner and orthodontics markets.

Scott Omelianuk, Inc. Magazine’s editor-in-chief, commented that the challenges present in the current economic environment meant that being included in the list was especially significant.

The companies included in this year’s list had a median growth rate of 230% and a total revenue of US$317.8 billion (€327.8 billion), and 694 of them were newly founded start-up enterprises.

This week, uLab Systems announced the appointment of Jeffrey Lord as senior vice president of sales for the North America region, and Abolfathi commented that Lord’s 29 years of leadership experience would help the company to gain market share in the competitive clear aligner segment.

ULab was founded in 2015, and it manufactures the uSmile clear aligner trays in Memphis and recycles over 80% of its mould materials. At the time of writing, uLab had treated more than 600,000 clear aligner cases. It recently launched uAssist, a treatment planning assistance service that it says provides clinicians with flexibility in the planning of clear aligner therapy. The company’s clear aligner system and software products are available to dental clinics in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.