History of S.S. White Technologies
S.S. White Technologies, Inc. started life in Philadelphia over 175 years ago as a tooth factory founded by Dr. Samuel Stockton White in 1844 with a work force of three. Samuel Stockton White was born on June 19, 1822 to William Rose White and Mary Stockton in Hulmeville, Pennsylvania. By the age of 21 he was practicing dentistry in his uncle's firm and supervising his manufacturing department. The next year, in 1844 young Samuel set up his own tooth factory in the attic of a house in downtown Philadelphia and practiced dentistry downstairs. Samuel Stockton White's little tooth factory became, over the decades, the largest dental manufacturing company in the world--with sales offices in New York, Boston and Chicago; and catalogues in Spanish, French and German.
Dr. White was a visionary and a tireless inventor with ten patents to his name. His products earned eighty medals for excellence from the great industrial institutes in the U.S. and were as esteemed in Europe as they were in the United States. He inspired creativity and initiative in his employees, such as Dr. Eli T. Starr (1834-1904) whose mechanical and inventive genius contributed most to the excellence of S.S. White Company. Dr. Starr had over a hundred patents to his name. Dr. White was also an enlightened businessman. He embraced a diverse workplace during an era in which diversity in the workplace was uncommon.
Samuel Stockton White - Founder of S.S. White Technologies
His company published "Dental Cosmos," a respected chronicle of dentistry, and assumed a major role in educating other dentists. His classmate and later the personal dentist of Napoleon III of France, Dr. Thomas Evans introduced White's innovative techniques in Europe. During the Civil War, soldiers were required to have six upper and six lower teeth to bite off the end of a powder cartridge. Dr white led the American Dental Association and met with Abraham Lincoln with a proposal to provide dental services to the Union soldiers, though nothing came of it because of logistics issues.
Milestones 1870
- In 1881 it became a stock company. Its product Flexible Shaft crossed over to industrial applications and soon became a ubiquitous presence in daily American life."
Rahul Shukla - President & CEO
The very next year, in 1988, Rahul Shukla (pictured right) purchased the company from Pennwalt and became its president and CEO. He promptly changed the name from S. S. White Industrial Division to S. S. White Technologies, Inc., transforming it from a sluggish division of a subsidiary of a corporation to an independent, innovative and youthful technology outfit. For the first time since the turn of the century, the company had a leader whose commitment to the company and expertise of Flexible Shaft was without equal. He quickly reinforced White's original motto, "to make the best goods, justice to employees, and fair dealing with patrons." Rahul Shukla introduced a new style of management. He emphasized technological innovation, arduous hard work, personalized customer service, and respect for his workforce. He also encouraged gleeful camaraderie among the employees and introduced numerous social events, cruises, picnics, and more, making work a pleasurable activity.
Under his stewardship the company now focuses on two main product lines: Flexible Shaft Technology and Orthopedic Revision Surgical Tools
For more information about our surgical instruments, please visit http://www.shuklamedical.com
True to our founder's credo, S.S. White has been continually developing new processes to make new products and finding new applications for our products. After eight years of research, our Dr. Adam Black worked out the mathematical formulas governing the performance of Flexible Shaft. Based on these formulas, our CEO Rahul Shukla developed a computer-modeling program for designing a Flexible Shaft to precise parameters. This led to the introduction of our new product lines of STEADY-FLEX® and POWER-FLEX® shafts.