Stratasys continues 3D printing acquisition spree

Stratasys has announced the purchase of assets belonging to thermoplastics producer Interfacial solutions.

3D printing firm Stratasys recently acquired Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies in order to boost digital manufacturing services by combining the privately-held companies with its RedEye business, thereby creating a separate additive manufacturing unit.

The move allowed Stratasys wider scope to expand its services business, and now the acquisition of Interfacial solutions will potentially improve the company's supply chain operations and speed up product development.

Wisconsin-based Interfacial Solutions is a provider of thermoplastics R&D and production services. The company has been a major production partner for Stratasys' FDM product lines over the past three years, and has also been involved in Stratasys' R&D concerning thermoplastic materials.

By purchasing the firm's assets, Stratasys is cutting out some of the middle-man elements of its supply chain, and this is likely to lead to improved future profit margins.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

David Reis, CEO of Stratasys said:

"Interfacial Solutions provides significant expertise in plastics and filament. We believe its knowledgeable team and experience will accelerate Stratasys' materials development efforts for all of our FDM platforms, including MakerBot.

The acquisition is expected to accomplish three objectives for Stratasys, which include strengthening our materials R&D skills and bandwidth; enabling us to become vertically integrated in material development and manufacturing; and increasing materials production space and capacity. Overall, we expect to accelerate new materials development, allowing us to introduce new products to the market faster."

This post originally appeared on ZDNet.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com