Major 3D Printer Manufacturers to Merge

MakerBot (Brooklyn, NY) and Ultimaker (Utrecht, The Netherlands), rival manufacturers of desktop 3D printers, have agreed to merge, the companies announced.

The combined company will be led by MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen and Ultimaker CEO Jürgen von Hollen, who will act as co-CEOs. Goshen will manage operations and R&D, while von Hollen will oversee commercial functions. The company will maintain headquarters in both The Netherlands and New York.

The new entity will receive $62.4 million from existing investors, NPM Capital and Stratasys, for product development and expansion into new markets, according to a joint release.

MakerBot’s 3D printers are popular with hobbyists and educational institutions, but they also have commercial applications, SiliconAngle writes. Ultimaker competes in the same space.

“Innovation and growth are both critical to bringing desktop 3D printing from a specialty technology into mainstream business adoption,” says Jürgen von Hollen, CEO of Ultimaker. “The new company will leverage and expand its combined global footprint with sales and operations in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.”

The merger, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MakerBot was founded in 2009, then acquired by Stratasys in 2013 for $403 million.

Ultimaker was founded in 2011 and has 380 employees.