TCT Asia Jam Packed
Stratasys draw in the crowds on the showfloor at TCT Asia.
It may not come as a surprise to learn that additive manufacturing titan Stratasys has over 100,000 systems installed worldwide across both its professional and desktop printers. What is perhaps more surprising is that 10,000 of those professional machines were sold in Asia, a region that over the last few years has really began to cultivate its place in the global 3D printing industry.
Omer Krieger, newly appointed General Manager of Stratasys Asia Pacific and Japan is responsible for accelerating the adoption of 3D printing across the region, leading a 200 strong team at 10 regional offices including four in China.
“It’s been a great period for us in the last few years,” explained Omer at TCT Asia. “I see the industry growing, great interest from customers, from government, from other markets. For us these kind of events are exciting. This is the marketplace, this is where everyone comes to get news and updates.”
Currently, the extent of investment and industry penetration is considerably smaller in Asia compared to the West. However the market in Asia is estimated to be worth a massive $1.6 billion by next year - a staggering number for a region that up until now has been considered much slower to jump in to the 3D printing game.
“The whole industry is growing very fast," Omer commented. "The vast majority of it is mainly based in North America but Asia for us is the fastest growing region for Stratasys. We see great adoption and interest from countries in Asia especially China. For us China has become the biggest market. In general Asia is maybe a bit behind but moving much faster than other countries. We see great potential and that’s why we’re investing so heavily in Asia.”
Stratasys has deepened its footprint in Asia over the last few months in strides including the introduction of a dedicated partner network to increase localised support for its manufacturing systems across the region.
“We have two main approaches,” Omer explained. “One of them is being local, as close as we can to our customers. They are the ones that drive this industry so we try to be as local as we can. We have 10 offices around Asia - offices mean we have knowledge and support closer to where things are being invented by our customers.”
Omer continued: “We are investing heavily in the manufacturing side, this is our biggest potential to change things in the industry. Today manufacturing is a small part of our business but we believe and already know from specific industries that it can become a significant one if not the biggest. When you say manufacturing and talk about Asia, there are huge opportunities.”
Today Stratasys launched the new Objet260 Dental Selection 3D Printer at TCT Asia. The latest machine in the company’s dental range is the most advanced dental 3D printer yet and has been designed to create detailed lifelike models from 3D scans in Stratasys range of dental materials. Choosing to showcase the product for the first time at the event in Shanghai, Stratasys believes it is important to deliver its product range to the Chinese market in order to boost innovation and continue to improve its vital presence across the region.
Omer added: “I think we have enough knowledge to transfer to users across Asia and make them more competitive and better at what they do.”
