You’ve likely heard the story of Patterson Dental’s humble beginnings: a small Midwestern drugstore started by two brothers in 1877 that has grown into the business we are today. If you haven’t heard the tale, let our founder, M.F. Patterson, tell you about it.
I’d like to tell you about another company with a similar story: Iowa Dental Supply (IDS) was founded in 1935 by Noche and Carl Cacciatore. Their Des Moines, Iowa business flourished and, in the 1960s, continued to grow under the management of a second generation of the family. As the dental industry changed with the times, so did IDS. By the time Mike and Rick Cacciatore were running the company, in the late 1990s and 2000s, the business had grown to provide service to customers in South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois.
As business competitors, Patterson and IDS offered not just similar products, but similar values to their customers. Their cultures and business models were alike, and both placed the highest priority on taking care of customers.
Because of the many similarities, it made good sense for Patterson and IDS to join together to do business. We acquired Iowa Dental Supply in September and, since then, our top priority has been to maintain the high level of service our customers have come to expect.
We’re also introducing the former IDS customers to a variety of new equipment and technology offerings for their practices, enhancing their ability to take care of their patients and to grow their businesses.
What might be going on unseen by the customer is how we are also taking care of the IDS family of employees. Rick Cacciatore, former IDS president and now the Patterson Dental North Central region manager, talked recently about how the employees are adjusting to working for Patterson:
“Our representatives are excited about the opportunity to bring our customers advanced technologies, like CEREC and Eaglesoft,” he said. “We also have a lot of tenured people who have worked with all three generations of our family. They made the transition to Patterson and, while it’s new and different for them, I think they recognize that our businesses do a lot of things the same way.”
To all of our customers, new and long-term, I want you to know that we are committed to continuing the Patterson and IDS traditions of customer service excellence and business integrity for generations to come. Thank you for your business!
