Royal DSM Acquires Portion of Clariant 3D Printing Materials

IMTS

Share this Article

Royal DSM has announced that it will be taking over portions of the 3D printing portfolio of Swiss chemical giant Clariant, representing a somewhat dramatic shift in the additive manufacturing (AM) materials market. Specifically, DSM will now have a larger collection of filament, pellet and powder products for 3D printing.

The 3D printing materials space has become a competitive one since an increasing number of established chemical companies began entering the space. Among them was Clariant, a near $6.5 billion spin-off of Sandoz, once known as the inventors of LSD but which has since become Novartis, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 2017, Clariant launched its 3D printing business and, only three years later, Clariant has determined that AM materials don’t fit within its general strategy, though it will keep a foot in the market with its additives and flame retardants.

Clariant 3D Printer Filament.

The Dutch nutrition, health and materials multinational DSM, meanwhile, has been in the additive materials business for over 25 years and has been rapidly increasing its growth in the space particularly in recent years. Its finance capital arm, DSM Ventures, has poured money into a number of projects, including material startup Adaptive3D, smart inkjet 3D printing company Inkbit, post-processing firm Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Voxel8, a startup dedicated to multimaterial 3D printing. DSM continues to expand its materials horizons, as well, focusing on such pellet-based extrusion and flame retardant filament, among others.

DSM’s glass-reinforced Arnite AM8527 PET 3D printing material. Image courtesy of Royal DSM.

Clariant is handing over several staff members, its background in powder development, a piece of its filament and pellet materials portfolio to DSM. Additionally included is a small production line for manufacturing small batches of materials, as well as some operations dedicated to 3D printing customer relations.

DSM suggests that these acquisitions will not only increase its overall product portfolio, but will allow for more agile production with “faster product tweaks based on application needs” due to both the expertise of the Clariant team that will be joining DSM and a “dedicated, highly flexible and high-speed compounding setup.”

Joris Peels, 3DPrint.com Executive Editor and SmarTech analyst, provided his insight into the news, saying, “[I loved] their rail product; the packaging was awesome, the marketing was really good; it was very slick and well done. It was smart of them to use their compounding and additives expertise to make flame retardant and other highly functional products. If the Clariant team brings its agility and speed, as well as application knowledge, to DSM it should make the [Dutch] giant nimbler.”

In particular, Peels noted how quick the Clariant team was in the market, adding that the acquisition could provide DSM with its mark in 3D printing filaments:

“Relative to other polymer companies the Clariant team really our executed and in a very rapid manner met the market with high quality compounds and filaments for specific applications. Clariants products, filaments, compounds and the selected additives are all very high grade and their products were very application focused and ahead of the curve,” Peels said. “DSM has yet to really make a mark in filaments and the Clariant teams’ agility and market knowledge could give DSM the edge that it seeks on application focused FDM filaments.”

As DSM continues to grow in the additive space, it will be competing against the likes of BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, which is also making serious moves within the space and at a rapid pace. The most notable and recent may be the purchase of 3D printing service bureau Sculpteo, as well as its large investments in Materialise and Essentium. As these transformations continue to occur in materials, we will certainly see the AM industry as a whole change shape in new and unexpected ways.

Share this Article


Recent News

Stanford Researchers 3D Print Elusive Shapeshifting Structures

Each to Their Own: Exploring Creality’s Latest Ender Trio as the Company Strengthens Its Commitment to 3D Printing Advocacy



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing Unpeeled: 3D Printing Endangered Bird Eggs, Polymer Satellite Bus, QIDI

The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) is using 3D printing to help protect the endangered fairy tern. The New Zealand variant is critically endangered with only about 40 of...

Nexa3D Welcomes 3D-Fuel Materials to Its Expanding Family

California-based Nexa3D is quickly expanding its product offerings, acquiring assets that both grow its overall additive manufacturing (AM) processes and materials. Complementing its November 2023 purchase of material extrusion firm...

Does 3D Printing Herald the Democratization of Manufacturing?

The idea of democratization, broadly defined as giving power and access to the general public, is often applied to fields experiencing major shifts. Enter 3D printing, a technology brimming with...

3DPOD Episode 188: Clare Difazio of E3D – Growing the Industry, and Growing With the Industry

Clare DiFazio’s journey into the 3D printing industry was serendipitous, yet her involvement at critical moments has significantly influenced the sector. Her position as Head of Marketing & Product Strategy...