Xometry Buys Century-Old Thomasnet to Become Amazon of Digital Manufacturing

Digital manufacturing marketplace Xometry (NASDAQ: XMTR) has announced that it will be purchasing Thomas, a firm dedicated to product sourcing, supplier selection and digital marketing. Expected to close this week, the deal is valued at $300 million and will allow Xometry to grow its buyer and seller bases.

Thomas has an interesting history, having been established at the turn of the 20^th century as a publisher of books dedicated to products and services sourcing for manufacturers. This began as Hardware and Kindred Trades, first published in 1898, and became the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, a 34-volume, three-section buying guide containing specifications and production data for thousands of manufacturers.

Thomas evolved with the times, selling guides in print and CD-ROM form with information about local OEMs, distributors, maintenance, repair and overhaul services, and more in 19 regional editions across the U.S. Starting in the mid-1990s, it initiated it offered its products online and ultimately stopped publishing in print in 2006.

By the time that it became Thomasnet, it also offered online catalogs, CAD drawings, news, press releases and blogs. Considering this history, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a company like Xometry should want to tap into such a historical resource. The firm has an established relationship with buyers and engineers with over 1.3 million registered users, 93 percent of which are from Fortune 1000 companies, according to the company, as well as over 500,000 commercial and industrial sellers. Over 20 million sourcing sessions are begun on Thomasnet.com, creating a huge opportunity for business leads if not outright business.

“Xometry and Thomas share a common mission of championing the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, one of the largest sectors of the global economy and the foundation for innovation everywhere,” said Randy Altschuler, CEO of Xometry. “Thomas brings strong brand equity, trusted and extensive relationships, proprietary data and advanced full-funnel marketing services – assets that perfectly complement our digital marketplace. Together, we will introduce new services, cross-sell to our combined base and expand our suite of products, particularly in fintech and digital marketing.”

“Thomas has a long and proud history of bringing active buyers and sellers together on our Thomasnet.com platform and providing the data and marketing services that inform decision-making,” said Tony Uphoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas. “In joining forces with Xometry, we’re uniting our products with the power of the Xometry marketplace so we can do even more for industry together.”

Xometry had 26,187 active buyers as of Q3 2021, which is says included almost 30 of the Fortune 500 list companies. Now, with its own in-house marketing and data services, Xometry can also add fintech and digital marketing products to its suite of products. This combines with its sale of tools, a unique move for a digital manufacturing marketplace, to truly make it an all-in-one provider of goods and services. Maybe Xometry really will become the Amazon of digital manufacturing after all.

The deal will see Xometry purchase Thomas for roughly $198.5 million in cash and $101.5 million in Xometry’s Class A common stock. In 2023, Xometry expects to achieve full year profitability.