Xaar Nottingham 3D Centre
High Speed Sintering.
Stratasys has increased its stake in Xaar 3D from 15% to 45% and also has an option to acquire the remaining shares in the company in the future.
The 3D printing OEM made its original investment in Xaar 3D last July when the company was launched to package High Speed Sintering (HSS) technology into a range of commercial products. At that time, the agreement stated Stratasys had the option to increase its stake to 30% but with ‘significant progress’ being made in the subsequent 12 months, the company has accelerated its growing influence in the Xaar subsidiary and now – should Xaar plc shareholders give their approval – looks set to take full control.
High Speed Sintering has been in development for more than 15 years and has been under the watchful eye of Xaar since 2016 when lead inventor Neil Hopkinson agreed to join the team. Though the commercialisation efforts around HSS were spun out into a separate company last year, the vision has remained the same: to develop hardware that harnesses HSS to enable end-use applications in low-to-medium production volumes. With Stratasys’ growing influence, there is an even stronger belief that HSS’ potential can now be realised.
“Xaar 3D Ltd has great potential and we look forward to continue to work with Stratasys to develop its full potential in this deeper relationship,” commented Doug Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, Xaar plc. “I am pleased that this transaction will create good value for Xaar shareholders and unlocks the ability for more significant value in due course.”
“Xaar 3D has made significant progress over the past year and we see benefits to Stratasys in extending its investment in Xaar 3D’s innovative High Speed Sintering based solutions,” added Omer Krieger, EVP Products. “We look forward to continue developing the technology together with Xaar and believe the combined expertise of both parties will lead to exploitation of the technology’s promising potential. This continues our company’s strategy of complementing our own robust R&D efforts with partnerships and investments in innovative companies to develop new capabilities and products that create new value to our customers.”
