Rock Hill, Caroline du sud, septembre 2014

La société 3D Systems, spécialiste de l’impression 3D, annonce avoir acquis la société LayerWise basée en Belgique le 3 septembre 2014.

LayerWise est un des premiers centres de production au niveau mondial, exclusivement dédié à l’impression 3D en métal et disposant d’unités spécialisées en applications médicales, dentaires et industrielles. Grâce à son double rôle de développeur et utilisateur de technologies, LayerWise constitue un partenaire préférentiel dans le cadre de la production de pièces en série et de prototypes plus légers, plus compacts et plus performants. Une pièce imprimée en 3D par LayerWise affiche une fonctionnalité et une fiabilité accrues par rapport à la pièce ou l’assemblage qu’elle remplace. En outre, sa fabrication nécessite moins de matière et ne génère aucun rebut. Pour les fabricants, les avantages sont les suivants : processus performant, gain d’efficacité et réduction des frais d’assemblage et d’entretien.

LayerWise a récemment contribué à la reconstruction du visage d’une victime d’un accident de moto. LayerWise a également construit le premier implant de mâchoire inférieure destiné à un patient en utilisant la technique de l’impression 3D en métal.

3D Systems est un fournisseur majeur de solutions 3D, des données à l’impression, y compris les imprimantes 3D, les matériaux d’impression et les services en cloud de fabrication de pièces à la demande destinés aussi bien aux professionnels qu’au grand public, avec notamment des matériaux plastiques, métalliques, céramiques et comestibles. L’entreprise fournit également des solutions logicielles et matérielles intégrées, y compris de numérisation, de conception et d’inspection. Ses solutions remplacent et complètent les méthodes traditionnelles, et réduisent les coûts et les délais de conception et de fabrication de nouveaux produits en imprimant des pièces physiques directement à partir de données numériques.

Voici l’intégralité du communiqué en anglais :

3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced today that it has acquired Belgium-based LayerWise, a leading provider of advanced direct metal 3D printing and manufacturing services. LayerWise delivers quick-turn, 3D-printed metal parts, manufactured on its own proprietary line of direct metal 3D printers, for aerospace, high-precision equipment and medical and dental customers. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to 3DS’ cash generation. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

« We are delighted to integrate our proprietary direct metal technology and processes into 3D Systems’ leading portfolio of products and services, » said Jonas Van Vaerenbergh, one of LayerWise’s founders. « With its culture of continuous innovation dating back to its founder Chuck Hull, the inventor of the first 3D printing technology, and its commitment to advancing direct metal 3D technology and medical device services, 3DS is the perfect fit for our company and strengthens our combined growth potential. »

Since 2008, LayerWise has designed and built its own direct metal 3D printers. Its proprietary powder-to-solid metal printers can produce functional metal parts at convincing production scale. LayerWise’s direct metal printers deliver relative part density of up to 99.98% and match conventional metals mechanical properties, at substantial unit weight reduction. These capabilities have led to rapid adoption of LayerWise manufacturing services by medical device, transportation and precision equipment customers for whom weight-reduction, strength and accuracy are paramount.

« The addition of LayerWise, with its award-winning direct metal printing technology, automated manufacturing processes at convincing scale and leading medical devices services, extends our first mover advantage in these high-growth areas substantially, to the immediate benefit of our aerospace, automotive and medical device customers, » said Avi Reichental, President and CEO, 3DS.

LayerWise will operate under the continued leadership of co-founders Jonas Van Vaerenbergh and Peter Mercelis and immediately pursue new projects in its high-end target markets, taking full advantage of the global market leadership of 3DS by leveraging the combined resources and expertise to advance the entire portfolio further and faster.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as « believes, » « belief, » « expects, » « estimates, » « intends, » « anticipates » or « plans » to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company, The factors described under the headings « Forward-Looking Statements, » « Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors, » and « Risk Factors » in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements.

Plus sur 3D Systems : www.3dsystems.com

Plus sur Layerwise : www.layserwise.com