Dental Arts began its tradition of service to the dental profession on December 10, 1934 when Adolph H. Knueppel opened Dental Arts Laboratory in downtown Peoria, IL. Adolph envisioned a dental laboratory where a quality product could be combined with personalized service to better meet the needs of customers in the central Illinois area.

In 1960, Adolph was joined by his son, A. Terry Knueppel. Terry had graduated from Northwestern University in 1958 and from the same school with an MBA a year later. He too believed in the Knueppel commitment to quality dental technology. In addition, Terry brought to DAL a business plan to expand that philosophy of consistent quality prosthetics with professional, personal service to dentists beyond the Peoria area.

Adolph continued to operate Dental Arts Laboratory until it was incorporated in 1968 and then served as President until 1970. At that time, Terry stepped into the position of President. The family ownership expanded after Adolph Knueppel’s death in 1972 to include his daughter, Karen Bulkeley. In 1975, Bruce A. Colgin joined Karen and Terry in the ownership. Bruce had joined the company in 1967 as a part-time employee before his graduation from Bradley University. After graduation, he continued to work for DAL as General Manager of Technical Operations.

In 1980, Terry became Chief Executive Officer for DAL. He was succeeded as President by Bruce. At that time, R. Scott Clark was named Vice President of Sales/Marketing. Scott had joined the company in 1977 after graduating from Western Illinois University. In 2001, Karen opted out of ownership and, in 2004, Scott became a part owner.

DAL continues to serve the dental profession throughout the United States. The DAL family of laboratories has grown to include eight facilities in the following locations:

• Dental Arts of Peoria, IL
• Dental Arts of Lincolnshire, IL
• Dental Arts of Springfield, IL
• Dental Arts of Galesburg, IL
• DAL Signature Restorations in Peoria, IL
• Midwest Dental Laboratory in St. Louis, MO
• Vitacast Dental Laboratory in Aurora, IL
• 360 Dental Laboratories in Aurora, IL