SyBridge Doubles Chicago HQ Space, Expands Carbon Partnership

SyBridge Technologies, a contract manufacturer specializing in additive manufacturing (AM) based in the Chicago suburbs, has announced plans to more than double the dedicated manufacturing space at its headquarters. One of the key elements of the expansion plan will be a major increase to the company’s nearly decade-long partnership with Carbon, the Silicon Valley company leveraging its proprietary Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) AM technology to grow AM’s deployment in serial production.

According to SyBridge, the company has printed “almost 2 million” parts on Carbon printers since the two companies started working together eight years ago, suggesting that SyBridge has the know-how necessary for quickly maximizing the value of its new AM capacity. SyBridge’s expansion strategy seems to be a direct response to renewed interest in manufacturing reshoring spurred by the emerging industrial policy of the second Trump administration.

Part of the portfolio of New York-based private equity firm Crestview Partners, SyBridge Technologies has formed from the combination of over a dozen different acquisitions since 2019. One of those acquisitions includes former 3D printing service bureau Fast Radius, which SyBridge acquired for $15.9 million in December 2022 following Fast Radius’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. SyBridge’s partnership with Carbon is a legacy of the latter’s partnership with Fast Radius.

In a press release about SyBridge Technologies’ planned expansion of its manufacturing capacity and deepening of its ties with Carbon, the CEO of SyBridge, Byron J. Paul, said, “We’re thrilled to further strengthen our relationship with Carbon as a preferred North American partner for high-volume DLS applications. This investment establishes SyBridge as the largest domestic solution for cost-effective, high-volume DLS production, enabling American companies to localize manufacturing, reduce supply chain risks, eliminate tariff exposure, and lower total production costs.”

Meanwhile, Carbon CEO Phil DeSimone noted, “SyBridge has been an invaluable partner in advancing the adoption of DLS in North America. This latest expansion reinforces its position as a leader in high-volume [AM] giving our customers globally a North American production partner that can help reduce dependence upon overseas contract manufacturers. SyBridge’s commitment to innovation and efficiency aligns perfectly with Carbon’s vision for the future of manufacturing.”

DeSimone shared “Carbon’s vision for the future of manufacturing” with me in an interview at 3DPrint.com’s Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) conference in New York in February. The deal certainly does seem to coalesce with that vision: essentially, Carbon first sells a brand on incorporating AM for a very specific advantage, and then allows the seeded demand for that advantage to do the bulk of the work involved in selling the printers.

The interesting wrinkle here is that the advantage that Carbon has sold SyBridge on is the advantage of AM, in general. In that sense, this is Carbon’s business strategy coming full circle, with the company now reaping the rewards of having survived and grown through two major eras of supply chain disruption in anticipation of an oncoming third era that looks like it might finally make things disruptive enough to truly change things.

If that’s the case, SyBridge’s expansion of its Carbon partnership is just one of the first of what will likely be many similar moves across North America and the globe. For all the many difficulties faced by companies like Fast Radius over the last several years, developments like this one demonstrate how those companies have, nonetheless, managed to make a lasting impact.