A $280 million acquisition of 3D Hubs by Protolabs increases the speed and quality of part production.
The number of acquisition deals in 2020 dropped dramatically due to the pandemic. However, it appears that a number of companies are beginning to resume, and even accelerate, these actions in preparation for the post-COVID world.
The first big player in the 3D-printing industry to kick start its mergers and acquisitions activity was Stratasys. It acquired Origin, a developer of a proprietary, programmable photopolymerization technology designed to enable the mass-production of parts for the dental, medical, tooling, defense, industrial and consumer goods sectors, for $100 million in December 2020.
Now, Amsterdam-based 3D Hubs has been acquired by Protolabs to create what Protolabs calls the world’s largest digital-manufacturing offering. Through this integration, both companies’ customers will have access to a broader set of manufacturing capabilities, pricing and lead-time options than previously available through either company individually. All these capabilities will be delivered through a digitally enabled e-commerce model.
“The entire 3D Hubs team is thrilled to join Protolabs and continue to revolutionize the manufacturing industry through innovation,” said Bram de Zwart, 3D Hubs co-founder and chief executive officer. “At 3D Hubs, our goal is to empower companies to create revolutionary products through supply chain efficiency and reliability. We are confident that partnering with Protolabs will help us advance that mission.”
3D Hubs brings a network of around 240 manufacturing partners to Protolabs and offers advanced manufacturing capabilities that Protolabs does not currently offer, including Fused Deposition Modeling, surface finishing for plastic and metal parts, a sheet metal fabrication service, and IP protection services. Together, the two companies will be able to combine Protolabs’ speed and quality and 3D Hubs’ ability to make more complex parts with a broader range of price points and lead times.
“The acquisition of 3D Hubs is part of the continued evolution of Protolabs as the digital manufacturing leader, serving more and more of our customer’s needs,” said Vicki Holt, Protolabs chief executive officer, who retires in March 2021. “Protolabs’ leading in-house technology-enabled manufacturing services combined with 3D Hubs’ global network of premium manufacturing partners will yield the greatest value to our customers for years to come.”
“The addition of 3D Hubs provides Protolabs a platform to evolve our service model to provide unprecedented manufacturing flexibility to our customers,” said Rob Bodor, Protolabs CEO-elect and vice president and general manager of the Americas. “Our combined organizations will provide the market an industry-leading digital manufacturing solution to serve their needs from idea to prototype to full end-use part production. Together we can fulfill nearly every custom manufacturing need across the product life cycle.”
The acquisition has been finalized for 280 million, made up of $130 million in cash and $150 million in Protolabs stock.
For the immediate future, 3D Hubs will continue to operate independently under its current name and website.