Stratasys’ New Division, MakerBot APJ, Will Help Company Better Reach Asian Consumers

MakerBot and Stratasys AP Ltd, a subsidiary of the MakerBot parent company, Stratasys Ltd., have announced a plan they say will strengthen the MakerBot market presence in the Asia Pacific region.  This initiative creates a new MakerBot Asia Pacific & Japan – or MakerBot APJ – division aimed at capturing the growth potential for desktop 3D printers and scanners in that region.

While Stratasys already boasts a strong presence in the region, MakerBot APJ will piggyback on that Stratasys infrastructure to boost local operations and expand the availability of the MakerBot product line further.  According to the announcement, MakerBot APJ will provide continued support for the existing MakerBot network of distributors and resellers in the Asia Pacific markets.

Jonathan Jaglom, the CEO of MakerBot, says the strategic alignment between Stratasys and MakerBot should provide significant scale and capabilities to both company’s 3D printing solutions businesses.

“Asia is an important market for desktop 3D printing with great opportunities in verticals that are a strategic priority for MakerBot such as education, engineering and design,” Jaglom says. “Stratasys has the local expertise, infrastructure and customer relationships that we believe will help us expand our presence in the region.”

Shiry Saar

Jaglom says the initiative is yet another step in their efforts to leverage the synergies with Stratasys to grow MakerBot internationally and accelerate the adoption of desktop 3D printing in world markets.

Stratasys currently has 10 regional offices which serve customers in the Asia Pacific region. Those offices include an Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, and a group of operations in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Busan, Singapore and Bangalore. The Stratasys offices will offer support to MakerBot operations with marketing, sales and customer support expertise.

This new MakerBot APJ division will be led by Shiry Saar. Saar has been named General Manager of MakerBot APJ and will be based in Hong Kong. Saar had previously served in several management roles at Stratasys.

“MakerBot and Stratasys both cater to the education and professional verticals, and I believe that our collaboration will allow us to better serve these customers with a comprehensive product portfolio,” Saar says. “I look forward to working closely with Stratasys’ local teams to extend MakerBot’s leading role in the desktop 3D printing industry to the Asia Pacific region.”

Omer Krieger, the General Manager of Stratasys Asia Pacific, says a strong strategic alignment between Stratasys and MakerBot is expected to add “significant scale and capabilities to our 3D printing solutions business.”

MakerBot, founded in 2009, offers a comprehensive “3D ecosystem” that empowers engineers, consumers, designers and educators. The MakerBot 3D Ecosystem combines hardware, software, apps and materials. The company’s offerings also include Thingiverse, the world’s largest online community for 3D printing.

Since taking over MakerBot, Stratasys has moved to streamline and consolidate operations at the consumer-focused division, using economies of scale to hopefully capture a larger market share. What do you think of this latest plan to solidify MakerBot operations in the Asian Pacific markets? Let us know in the the MakerBot APJ forum thread on 3DPB.com.

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MakerBot and Stratasys AP Ltd, a subsidiary of Stratasys Ltd., say they now have a plan in place to strengthen MakerBot’s market presence in the Asia Pacific markets. The formation of MakerBot Asia Pacific & Japan is aimed at capturing the growth potential for desktop 3D printers and scanners in that region. MakerBot APJ will take advantage of Stratasys infrastructure to boost local operations and expand the availability of the MakerBot product line in Asia. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/71950/makerbot-apj/

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