3D Printing Specialist Wohlers Associates Acquired by ASTM International

There are few groups that have been in the 3D printing industry since near its inception. Among that small collection is Wohlers Associates, an additive manufacturing (AM) expert that has been providing consulting and publishing the leading Wohlers Report for over 30 years. As such, it may be considered a prized asset in the AM space—an asset that has just been acquired by key standards organization ASTM International.

Terry Wohlers speaking at an Inside 3D Printing event in 2015.

Coinciding with the Standards Forum at Formnext 2021, ASTM International announced the purchase of Wohlers Associates. This includes the Wohlers Report publication, which has been in publication for the past 26 years, as well as intelligence briefs, specialized reports, training in design for AM, and consulting services. These assets will be blended into ASTM’s existing operations and its AM Center of Excellence (CoE). As a result, ASTM will be able to provide further resource, advisement, and business intelligence offerings.

“We are thrilled to welcome Wohlers Associates to the ASTM family,” notes Katharine Morgan, ASTM International president. “Wohlers has been a trusted source of intelligence and analysis for the AM community for more than 30 years and I am excited to see what our two trusted and credible brands can accomplish together for this industry.”

The firm will operate with the name Wohlers Associates, powered by ASTM International, out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Terry Wohlers, principal consultant and president, will become head of AM market intelligence for ASTM International, while Wohlers Associates’ Noah Mostow will be the manager of AM market intelligence and analytics for ASTM. Together, they will work under ASTM’s AM CoE.

Image courtesy of ASTM.

“I could not be more excited about joining the world-class team at ASTM International,” Wohlers said. “Through ASTM, we can now accept more projects than in the past and our advisory services team is now larger than ever. We are glad ASTM has made a commitment to publishing the report for years to come.”

ASTM has already been the leading standards body in 3D printing, beginning with its F42 Additive Manufacturing Technologies technical committee. The group began meeting in 2009, with ASTM building out standards that have branched out into numerous other committees dedicated to such areas as aerospace, metal powders, and medical devices. Purchasing Wohlers Associates, ASTM aims to expand its offerings with market intelligence and advisory services. Wohlers believes the standards organization will maintain the quality and neutrality for which his business has been known since it began 35 years ago.

Wohlers Report will be integrated into ASTM’s flagship product, Compass, an online subscription platform that includes the organization’s expert network, content, libraries of technical information and more. Wohlers Associates now represents our niche sector for a standards body that has published over 12,000 standards, as well as more than 47,000 papers, chapters, and articles, around the world.

This is but one important shakeup that is occurring throughout the AM sector, which has included Desktop Metal storming through the industry and buying ExOne and EnvisionTEC, as well as numerous SPACs and IPOs. There will surely be more to come.