Prodways Group has announced that it has acquired the US 3D printer company Solidscape, which since May 2011 has been a subsidiary of Stratasys.
The New Hampshire, US-based Solidscape was founded in 1994 and is a manufacturer of 3D printers serving investment casting applications for highly precise metal parts, popular in the jewelry, medical, dental and industrial markets.
Originally purchased for $38M by Stratasys, in the announcement Prodways does not unveil the cost of the cash transaction, but states it expects Solidscape to generate revenue ‘greater than $10 million in 2019, of which nearly 50 per cent from sales of materials and supplies’.
Prodways suggests that its own MovingLight technology, which is already available to the jewellery market with burnout resins, and Solidscape’s proprietary technologies ‘complement one another perfectly’ and will give it a comprehensive offering in the investment casting market, from mass manufacturing to high-precision manufacturing.
“The acquisition of Solidscape dovetails with Prodways Group’s overall strategy and is a unique opportunity to bolster its machine sales business and expand its portfolio of technologies, while gaining excellent geographic coverage and teams renowned for their expertise in additive manufacturing,” said Prodways Group chairman and CEO Raphaël Gorgé.
President of Stratasys Americas Rich Garrity, added: “As Stratasys moves strategically to more focus on specific vertical markets, we believe that this acquisition is beneficial for all parties and we wish Prodways the best of luck in accelerating the growth of Solidscape and maintaining its position as a market leader in its core markets.”
