Formlabs Announces Distribution Partnerships in Five New Countries

3D printer manufacturer Formlabs is announcing five new international distribution partnerships to sell and service their line of advanced 3D printers. With what Formlabs is calling a growing demand for their technology, they have teamed up with several new 3D printer retailers and 3D printing service centers in several key international regions, including Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey. The new partnerships expand on Formlabs’ already significant worldwide distribution network and puts their technology into the hands of more businesses and schools than previously possible.

Ever since Formlabs released one of first desktop stereolithography 3D printers they have created an entire new market in the 3D printing industry for the light-curing resin technology. Previous to the Form 1, stereolithography was a little-used 3D printing process reserved primarily for high-end service bureaus and industrial manufacturers. But the Somerville, Massachusetts-based company’s development of a lower-cost version of the technology made Formlabs virtually an overnight success. After launching their successful crowdfunding campaign, the Form 1 was quickly released, and the demand has only grown since.

Now only three years later, hot on the heels of the successful launch of their new Form 2 desktop stereolithography 3D printer, in order to keep up with worldwide demand, Formlabs just announced distribution partnerships in five new countries. Formlabs’ new list of resale partners include Israel’s Systematics, South Africa’s Build Volume, South Korea’s 3Developer, Sweden’s Creative Tools and Turkey’s 3bFAB. All five companies are already leading 3D printing technology providers with extensive experience in both selling and servicing customers within their existing local distribution networks.

“Today’s partnerships mark another exciting chapter in Formlabs’ rapid growth. Together with our partners, Formlabs will continue expanding distribution and service to new markets, growing our already existing footprints in Asia and Europe, and furthering our mission of bringing affordable, powerful desktop 3D printing to users around the globe,” said Formlabs Sales and Operations Lead Luke Winston.

The Form 2 is Formlabs’ most advanced model of their stereolithography 3D printer and is primarily aimed at engineers, artists and designers. The company was founded back in 2012 by a team of engineers and designers who met at the MIT Media Lab and Center for Bits and Atoms, where they were researching ways to make light-curing resin 3D printing technology affordable to a wider audience. In addition to designing their groundbreaking high-resolution 3D printing hardware, Formlabs has also developed their own suite of robust 3D printing software and a line of advanced resin materials with a wide variety of uses and applications.

Today’s new partnership announcements extend Formlabs’ distribution reach to five continents, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. This includes countries like Australia, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and United Kingdom. Not only does this bring their technology to a wider circle of potential customers, but drastically reduces international shipping charges that often make certain desktop 3D printers too expensive to invest  in.

What are your thoughts on these new partnerships?  Discuss in the Formlabs forum thread on 3DPB.com.