Strong Relationships Help Build Drake Precision Dental Laboratory

Attend enough industry meetings and you will inevitably encounter Billy Drake, CDT, owner of Drake Precision Dental Laboratory. He'll be the one who always has an insightful comment to make, and is never afraid to be the first to speak up. He's also the one who takes every opportunity he gets to forge relationships within the community--with fellow technicians and lab owners, vendors and dentist-clients.

This ability to establish relationships is at the heart of his lab's success. In 1982, when Drake bought the lab, it consisted of nine employees in a 2,800-square-foot building. Today, the lab is located in a new, 30,000-square-foot facility, employs a staff of 112, and is gearing up to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The state-of-the-art facility is also the place where numerous relationships have begun. At the lab's annual customer-appreciation event, Day with Drake, clients as well as non-clients are invited...