*By Conor White*
With the company's first manufacturing plant in China up and running, the chief executive of Align Technology, the maker of Invisalign orthodontics, isn't concerned about a possible trade war between the United States and China.
"By the end of the year we'll have a good, contained business in China, and be able to service our Chinese business," said Joe Hogan, the CEO of Align Technology. "So I feel great about the moves we've made there, given the talks that are going on."
Align's stock was the top performer on the S&P 500 in the last year, soaring 132 percent in 2017. The company's management has said sales could top $2 billion by 2020.
To reach that goal, the company is reaching out directly to consumers who may need its Invisalign products: clear, plastic teeth aligners taking the place of traditional metal braces.
"We have a really strong consumer business, in the sense that we advertise to consumers, and direct them toward doctors," Hogan said in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar. "So the consumer awareness part of this is a big part of this strategy also."
Consumers are increasingly aware: Invisalign shipments are up more than 30 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of this year.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/stars-align-for-invisalign).
The Federal Reserve kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a second straight time but left the door open to further rate hikes if inflation pressures should accelerate in the months ahead.
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SAG-AFTRA will meet again with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to discuss putting an end to the ongoing strike.
Italian car maker Fiat is opening an apartment building in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
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Closing arguments began in the trial of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman Fried.
AMD posted higher third-quarter earnings, CVS reported better-than-expected results and Kraft raised its full-year forecast.
Collins Dictionary has named its word of the year: A.I.
