Looking back over the past 35 years, there have been contributions from so many people to the success of Bisco, including our loyal customers, our dedicated employees, and our strategic partners all over the world that have supported us with friendship and advice. But we also can’t forget to recognize the foundation and cornerstone of our success, our founder, and president, Dr. Byoung In Suh. Without his vision and his core values for the company, Bisco could not have achieved its accomplishments of today. In celebration of Bisco’s 35th anniversary, we would like to share a little bit of Dr. Byoung Suh’s history and personal story with all of you who have helped Bisco become who we are today.
In 1960, Byoung Suh graduated with a BS in Chemistry from Sung Kyun Kwan University in Seoul, Korea and began working for the UREA Fertilizer Plant in Chung-ju, Korea, an American-based project funded by U.S. aid with a $19.5M contract to assist South Korea’s economic development. After working for the fertilizer plant for 4 years and learning some English, Dr. Suh decided he wanted to pursue his Master’s degree in Chemistry in the United States, so he applied for but was denied a scholarship to any of the graduate programs abroad. He
did some research and decided to apply to the schools in the United States with the lowest tuition at the time, and was accepted at Cal State University, San Francisco.
With only $60 cash in his pocket, Dr. Suh flew to San Francisco where he didn’t have any idea where he would live or how he would pay for his expenses, but with fearless determination and a strong work ethic, he made his way through graduate school as a restaurant busboy and a bellhop at the Hilton, and successfully achieved his MS in Chemistry. After graduating in 1968, Dr. Suh moved to Chicago and began working for a dental company where he was introduced to the dental materials industry. He was asked to formulate an Adaptic-type restorative composite that was eventually sold to many companies throughout the dental industry. Finally in 1980, Dr. Suh decided to pursue his own product development ideas and left his job to be a consultant for a year in order to honor his non-compete agreement with his former employer.
On July 2, 1981, Bisco was founded by research chemist, Byoung In Suh (hence the name “BIS+CO”) in Lombard, Illinois, to focus on the research and development of dental resin materials. His founding concept was based on the idea that dentistry could be vastly improved if it had a product that would bond to dentin, and a product that would bond to metal. After 10 years and many long hours of research and development, Bisco launched All-Bond® and then All-Bond 2, which revolutionized dentistry with much improved dental bonding. Since the launch of All-Bond 2 in 1991, Dr. Suh has continued to develop and launch novel research-based resin materials, including Uni-Etch® w/ BAC (1991), One-Step® (1996), TheraCal LC® (2011), and All-Bond Universal® (2012).
In 1997, Bisco moved into a 91,000 square-foot facility, its current headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, which includes a 12,000 square-foot R&D laboratory, as well as all of its manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, quality, administrative and sales and marketing activities.
In 2003, Dr. Suh was honored to receive the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’s Presidential Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art and Science of Cosmetic Dentistry and in 2006, the Eugene W. Skinner Award for Innovation from the American Academy of Dental Research. He also received his Ph.D. in Dental Medicine from Tsurumi University in Yokohama, Japan in 2005. His book entitled “Principles in Adhesion Dentistry” was published in 2013.
Today, as Bisco celebrates 35 years of innovation and success, it is dedicated to
the continued development of products with the highest standards for science-based development, and a commitment to its core values of integrity, respect, and the sharing of knowledge and education for the benefit of the dental industry. These values implemented 35 years ago by Dr. Suh are still the focus of Bisco’s strategic development today, and will continue to be the foundation of Bisco and its products for many years to come.