A-dec.
Family-owned dental equipment company started by Ken and Joan Austin in 1964 and headquartered in Newberg, Oregon.
- Dental Manufacturer
- USA
- Operatory Equipment
- Infection Control
About A-dec
A-dec's about page says Ken and Joan Austin founded the company, that it is family-owned and headquartered in Newberg, Oregon, and that it employs more than 1,300 people worldwide, with 87 percent of them on the Oregon campus, where the team designs and builds the equipment. A 9 October 2024 release from Newberg says the company marked 60 years and that the Austins developed an air vacuum system, the A.V.S., in 1964. The Oregon Encyclopedia says the company was founded on 21 September 1964 in the basement of their home in Bloomfield, Colorado, and that they moved the business in February 1965 to a Quonset hut on Blaine Street in Newberg.
The encyclopedia says the 1965 Dec-Et was a small unit that put instruments within reach of a seated dentist, that the Auto-Trol handpiece control followed in 1968, that a chair-mounted sit-down unit came in 1969, and that the first A-dec dental chair, the Century 1000, was made in 1978. It says Ken Austin, an Oregon State engineering graduate, is named on dozens of patents, and that the couple named their son-in-law Scott Parrish president in 2007. Joan Austin died in 2013 and Ken Austin on 1 May 2019, according to that article. An Oregon State oral-history biography says the first product was an air-operated saliva evacuator and that the company was co-founded in 1964 after a return to Newberg. The Colorado-then-Newberg sequence is the encyclopedia's. The company pages agree on 1964, the Austins, and Newberg as home.
The about page describes chairs, delivery, lights, cabinetry, and related equipment as a system built to work together. It does not print a street address. The encyclopedia, writing about 2010, described a 40-acre campus of 15 buildings and more than 950 employees, and said dealers reached more than 100 countries. The 2024 employee figure of more than 1,300 is later than that campus description. Use the about page for current employment and the encyclopedia for the founding sequence.
A chair, a delivery system, a light, a stool, and cabinet are separate model numbers even when A-dec designs them as a set. The 1964 air vacuum system is not the current chair. Ask the dealer which package includes installation and which pieces are optional.
Key Offerings
Product and equipment lines dentists commonly associate with A-dec.
Dental chairs
The encyclopedia dates the Century 1000, called the first A-dec chair, to 1978. Current chair models are not named on the about page. Ask for the lift range and the upholstery on the quote rather than ordering the 1978 name.
Delivery systems
The Dec-Et in 1965 and the chair-mounted unit in 1969 are the encyclopedia's early delivery products, aimed at sit-down dentistry. Delivery style, handpiece positions, and assistant's instrumentation are specified per room.
Lights and stools
The about page and the encyclopedia include lights and seating among operatory equipment. A light mount has to match the chair generation. A stool is a separate line.
Cabinetry
The encyclopedia says Ken Austin designed an integrated cabinet within two years of the 1969 unit. Cabinets are casework, not the chair. Confirm whether they are built in Newberg with the rest of the package.
Who A-dec suits
A-dec suits a practice that wants a family-owned Oregon manufacturer for the chair, delivery, light, and cabinets together. Chairs are compared on the chair guide.
Delivery, lights, stools, and cabinets are on the delivery guide, the light guide, the stool guide, and the cabinet guide.
One campus, several model numbers
The about page says 87 percent of staff are on the Oregon campus and that design and production happen there. That does not make a light and a chair the same SKU.
The 1964 air vacuum system started the company. It is not a description of the current water or suction package. Read the spec sheet for the unit you are quoted.
Newberg and the dealer
The company does not print a street on the about page. Orders go through dealers. The encyclopedia's Blaine Street Quonset hut is the 1965 site, not the current campus address. Ask the dealer for the ship-from location.
Scott Parrish's 2007 presidency and the deaths of Joan in 2013 and Ken in 2019 are in the encyclopedia. The 2024 release still calls the company family-owned. The invoice should say A-dec.
Related Guides
Buying guides that mention this brand.
Questions buyers ask
Who founded A-dec?
The about page and the 2024 anniversary release say Ken and Joan Austin started the company. The Oregon Encyclopedia dates the founding to 21 September 1964 in Bloomfield, Colorado, and the move to Newberg to February 1965. The anniversary release says the first product story is the 1964 air vacuum system.
Where is A-dec now?
The about page says the company is headquartered in Newberg, Oregon, employs more than 1,300 people, and builds equipment on the Oregon campus, where 87 percent of the team is based.
What equipment does A-dec build?
The about page and the encyclopedia describe chairs, delivery systems, lights, stools, and cabinetry for the operatory. The Century 1000 chair is dated 1978 in the encyclopedia. Current model names belong on the dealer quote.
Which guides match an A-dec room?
Use the chair guide, the delivery guide, and the light guide.