James Grady: Spearheads Family Lab's Shift to All-Ceramic

As a kid, James Grady never envisioned working at his father's laboratory; he wanted to "do his own thing." But then he grew up.

"It was when I was in college that I realized the opportunity I'd be passing up. How many people can graduate and get involved in an established business at the level I would be able to?" says James. So, after earning a BS in public relations from East Carolina University, he went back to school to earn another degree in dental technology so he could have the complete picture of the business.

In 2001, he joined the laboratory his father, Arey, had founded 25 years earlier. During the two to three years it took to learn the ropes, he gained perspective on some challenges he wanted to address. The biggest one: 99% of the laboratory's workload consisted of PFM restorations at a time when most of the industry had already started shifting to metal-free. Because he also wanted to streamline workflow, he knew CAD/CAM was the answer.

Initially,...