Czech 3D printer manufacturer be3D, whose DeeGreen printer Eddie here at 3DPrint.com tested out last month, hasn’t slowed down in their growth strategy. The company has been expanding its global presence over the last several months and shows no signs of stopping.
Today, be3D announced a new major investor. Y Soft has invested $2 million, with an additional $900,000 upon growth expected for the company. Y Soft acquired a 51% share of be3D in the investment agreement.
This major move was the culmination of months of US-based negotiations. Both be3D and Y Soft are Czech-based companies, but met due to US ties. While Y Soft has been active in the US market since 2009, be3d — itself established in 2013 — entered the US just this year. The CzechAccelerator program in the US brought the owners of these two companies together, and from there their business has dovetailed.
The companies’ ultimate aims are wider reaching, though; through this alliance, be3D has new access to offices in, among other countries, Australia, Japan, Singapore, the US, and the United Arab Emirates. Y Soft will also end its business acumen to be3D’s growth path, contributing business support and mentoring.
“Working together with Y Soft will significantly help be3D to grow. I believe that by using Y Soft’s experience, we will succeed in globalizing our products, and significantly increasing sales. Linking production, purchasing and logistics will make the entire process, from production to sales, more efficient. Streamlining processes will bring higher margins, which will allow us to devote ourselves to the development of new products, along with the planned expansion of production,” said be3D’s founder and CEO David Miklas.
be3D has, since beginning 3D printer development in December 2012, rolled out three FDM-based printers, the DeeOrange, DeeGreen, and DeeRed. The latter two are currently available, with the DeeGreen (an update of the DeeOrange) optimized for home use with automated print bed calibration and the DeeRed a professional model intended for larger, more complex projects.
be3D’s DeeGreen 3D printer
The partnership will have a major impact on both companies. Y Soft is looking forward to integrating 3D printing technology with its business strategy.
“We have been monitoring the 3D print market over the long term and had also been considering entering this segment after 2D printing for a long time. Through integrating with be3D, 3D printers will become a strategic product for us. Which, in the short term, we can use on the international market,” said Vaclav Muchna, CEO and co-founder of Y Soft.
Y Soft’s logo, 3D printed by be3D
Investing in, mentoring, and supporting the business of be3D speaks to Y Soft’s strategy going forward.
“be3D will use the potential and experience of Y Soft in the areas of production, logistics and central purchasing. We have been creating these processes for a number of years, and by linking our companies, we are able to significantly reduce costs and streamline the entire production and logistics process,” said Marcel Fejtek, the member of the board of directors of Y Soft responsible for production and logistics.
Discuss this investment and business strategy in the be3D forum thread on 3DPB.com.
