Markforged Preps for 2022: New HQ without Founder Gregory Mark

Metal and carbon 3D printing company Markforged (NYSE: MKFG) has selected the city of Waltham, Massachusetts, for its new corporate headquarters. Set to open in the fall of 2022, the site will unite Markforged employees who have been working from two different facilities in the nearby city of Watertown. The company is facing major changes in 2022; not only is it relocating its over 200 employees, but the 3D printing brand will also nearly double the size of its filament manufacturing facility, also located in Massachusetts.

Commenting on the move, company president and CEO Shai Terem said the new site will bring corporate, commercial, and engineering teams together to fuel collaboration and innovation, especially now that the company’s workforce nearly doubled in 2021. The relocation is a “natural next step,” says Terem, one that will enable them to create a “state-of-the-art space for our employees, our partners, and our customers to experience what Markforged is all about.”

Markforged team led by CEO Shai Terem and Gregory Mark at the NYSE for the company’s public debut. Image courtesy of NYSE.

However, Markforged will face this new path without its founder, Gregory Mark. According to his LinkedIn profile, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alum announced he was leaving the company on December 30, 2021, to start a new business called Mark Industries, which is currently in stealth mode.

Mark was not only Markforged’s founder, but he was also CEO and Chairman from 2013 through 2020, before stepping down to become one of the company’s board members and investor. Since its inception, the company has been on a path to reimagine how humans can build industrially. Today, Markforged’s integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing (AM) platform, the Digital Forge, is helping users worldwide create tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use parts for some of the most demanding applications.

Markforged FX20 3D printer. Image courtesy of Markforged.

On his LinkedIn profile, Mark posted this heartfelt message describing his journey at Markforged:

“After an amazing ride at Markforged, it’s time for me to build the next one. Thanks to all the people who helped get this revolutionary tech into the world. When we started this company in my dining room, the world was a different place. Engineers and designers had the choice between million-dollar metal machines that were hard to use with toxic materials and low cost desktop machines that made plastic trinkets. We invented a new category that gave the best of both worlds – easy-to-use printers with strong parts made from metal and carbon fiber. We now have parts flying on the space station, military and commercial jets, powering factories, and most importantly, enabling the creations of students. As we look to the stars and dream about what’s next, it will be these students who take us there with 3D printed metal and carbon fiber.

“When you are running a company and looking forward, you see product road maps, new technologies to develop, key customers, enabling new applications, etc. But when you look back, all you see are people. Amazing, brilliant people who moved heaven and earth to change the world. As I’ve said at many all hands, from the bottom of my heart – thank you. The secret sauce at Markforged has always been the team. Building with you has been one of the great joys of my life 🙂

“Now it’s time for the next one….”

Markforged founder Gregory Mark. Image courtesy of Markforged via Twitter.

In 2022, the inauguration of Markforged’s new location at 60 Tower Road in Waltham will nearly double its footprint to enable further growth. The new headquarters will occupy 120,000 square feet across four floors. Described as a LEED (short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified, modern workspace, the site can accommodate over 500 team members with an expansive 5,000 square foot roof deck, high windows with natural light, and an interactive product showroom expected to help create a collaborative environment for Markforged employees.

In addition, the company stated that it would be building state-of-the-art engineering facilities and laboratories for its teams to continue delivering the accelerated and innovative product roadmap around hardware, software, and consumables that make up the Digital Forge. For the task, Markforged has selected global design firm IA Interior Architects to create a headquarters that will “support its growth and reflect its strong culture.”

As Markforged looks to meet demands for its products, it will also nearly double the size of its filament manufacturing facility, located in the city of Billerica, also in the Massachusetts county of Middlesex. By adding almost 22,000 square feet, the company will drive the total footprint to 46,000 square feet; an expansion anticipated to be completed by the end of the year.

According to the vice president of operations, Matt Gannon, the new space will better position Markforged to scale consumables, processes and lay the foundation for new materials development. In addition, the expansion will be ideal for newly introduced products, like the large-format, production-ready FX20 3D printer, launched in the summer of 2021.