Interview with Denis Hamant of French 3D Printing Reseller Kreos

At 3DPrint.com we’re very interested in finding out how 3D printing is actually doing. For many 3D printing materials and products, the reseller is where the rubber meets the road. Although many 3D Printing OEMs and materials companies operate and sell directly online there has been a huge shift over the past years towards resellers. Resellers have local expertise, can support a product in the local language and are familiar with the legal and cultural peculiarities of a region, city, province or country. Resellers are a force multiplier for the OEMs as well giving them global reach without the headcount. Resellers can give you service, distribution and reach in countries that you’ve never been. Resellers can also give you unique skill sets such as selling to education and government that you may not possess. An often overlooked advantage to resellers is that they materially improve your cash position by quickly buying volume and stock giving you the money to grow quicker. At the same time resellers get in between you and your customer, cost you margin and may make you lose touch with the market. If channel is healthy and doing well and there is alignment between the reseller and their OEMs then a healthy channel more or less equates to a healthy overall market for your ecosystem. Fat and happy resellers are a surefire indication that we’re doing well.

A part of the Kreos team, Dennis is on the far right.

To find out how resellers are doing we’re reaching out to a few and interviewing them. If you’re a reseller (in an out of the way place! or with an interesting story to tell) we’d love to tell your story so do reach out to me. We thought we’d start with Kreos. Kreos has been in the 3D printing business since 2007 and was started by Dennis Hamant who before this worked at another 3D printing reseller. The company sells Asiga systems line of compact professional DLP and SLA systems while also selling EnvisionTEC DLP systems, Desktop Metal and HP. They also sell Dyemansion depowdering equipment and 3D scanners. We wanted to interview Denis because Kreos is in France, a market that we hear comparatively little from and because Kreos is exclusively focussed on the fast-growing business segment and has the enviable position of being well placed to grow from a strong portfolio.

What is Kreos?

“With more than 10 years of expertise in 3D printing products, KREOS is a specialist in professional 3D printing solutions and additive manufacturing.”

What do you hope to achieve?

“We hope to democratize the additive manufacturing on the French market.”

What types of companies do you serve?

“We work in different types of industries, actually we have lot of projects with the plastic injection companies, we have also a division for the dental market and we offer a complete chain of CadCam products including 3D Scanners, Milling machines and 3D Printers.”

How did you select the printers you are now offering?

“We try to have a complete range of 3D Printers to offer our customers, our goal is to offer the best solution of the 3D market, so we are very alert to new technologies.”

What is the 3D printing market like in France?

“It takes a lot of time to develop additive manufacturing here. In comparison with other countries, thFrenchch companies are “cautious” in developing additive manufacturing.”

Are French companies using 3D printing for manufacturing?

“Yes, for example, we have equipped BIOTECH DENTAL who produce medical devices with 2 HP4200.“

Who buys your Asiga systems?

“Mainly it is used by laboratories in the dental market, we have also lot of users for the hearing aids and the jewelry industries.”

How about your Envisiontec offering?

“Envisiontec has a very good portfolio of systems and with the most advanced technology for resins, we have lot of success with their 3SP machines, which are cheaper and faster than SLA printers. They also have CDLM Printers (continuous 3D Printing). Their Bioplotter is also unique on the market for medical applications.”

Is there a lot of interest in Desktop Metal?

“There is a huge interest for Desktop Metal, the technology is really disruptive in regards to the old systems. We believe that metal 3D printing based on MIM Technology has a lot of potential.”

Who are you selling the HP systems to?

“We have equipped the major services bureaux in France AXis Hello and 3D Prod, we have also installed the HP Printers in several industrial companies.”

For you where is the growth in 3D printing?

“With small 3D Printers for the impression of medical devices or prototypes and also large systems for the production of series of parts in industry.”

What are the major roadblocks in 3D printing?

“Post-processing is the main bottleneck of the 3D printing, that could be complex and to take lot of time. We need also to increase the performance of the materials.”

What advice would you give me if I’m a company completely new to 3D printing?

“With the number of different technologies and 3D Printers, it is difficult to make a choice, this is why it’s really important to find the good partner to start in 3D Printing.”

How about if I was an industrial firm looking to manufacture using 3D printing?

“I would advise you to go step by step to control the whole process (design, manufacturing, post-processing and control).”