Concentration in sight on the 3D printing market, where two big names announce their merger: MakerBot and Ultimaker will now become one.
Two of the big names in 3D printing will join forces to “accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing“. A positive way to present a merger which, in reality, testifies to the difficulties of a market whose growth has not been as clear as expected in recent years. A situation which has prompted MakerBot and Ultimaker to come together and announce the joint development, within a new structure, of new 3D printers, consumables and software.
This new entity will benefit from an initial investment of $62.4 million, including $15.4 million contributed directly by NPM Capital, the parent company of Ultimaker, which will hold 54.4% of the shares of the new company. . Stratasys, which owns MakerBot, will own the remaining 45.6% despite a much larger upfront stake. Its management will be entrusted to Nadav Goshen and Jürgen von Hollen, respectively CEO of MakerBot and Ultimaker, while it will be doubly installed in New York and in the Netherlands, as is currently the case for the merged companies.
This announcement is accompanied by a change of strategy for the MakerBot / Ultimaker duo, which manufactures machines widely used by individuals, in the educational environment and in “fablabs” of all sizes. The two companies say, through this new structure, they mainly want to focus on industrial 3D printing, targeting professional customers. It will be recalled that between them, these manufacturers have a very strong ecosystem in the world of 3D printing, between the very popular Cura software from Ultimaker, and Thingverse, which remains the world’s largest library of 3D models. .