www.3ders.org

Apr 12, 2016 | By Alec

Australia’s 3D printing market is obviously blossoming. In response to a growing demand from the Australian market, the Aussie branch of global imaging and 3D printer technology reseller Konica Minolta Business Solutions has revealed that they are expanding all services that touch their 3D printing business. This expansion will lead to, among others, the opening of more warehouses, the expansion of their logistics capacity and product servicing capabilities, and has already resulted in the appointment of additional regional 3D printing sales specialists.

This expansion is being implemented in the wake of a local distribution agreement the company signed with 3D printing giants 3D Systems in May of last year. A wide range of ProJet 3D printers can now be purchased through Konica Minolta. Since then, demand for Konica Minolta services have ‘exploded’, says National Manager 3D Printing Matthew Hunter. “With the demand for, and interest in, 3D printing exploding at the moment, Konica Minolta expects to see strong growth over the coming year. Naturally, we expect to be putting even more resources into our 3D printing business as this demand occurs,” he told reporters.

This explosive demand has apparently stretched Konica Minolta’s 3D printing services to their limits and has revealed a few challenges as well. Most significantly, a lack of adequate nation-wide market support has been observed, which Konica Minolta is now seeking to address by appointing these additional regional sales specialists for their 3D printing business. The opening of extra warehouses and the nation-wide expansion of their logistics capacity and product servicing capabilities will also go a long way towards helping the market, they say.

This need for service expansion shows exactly how quickly the 3D printing market is growing and how the technology is maturing, Hunter argued. “Industries, such as manufacturing that have been using 3D printing since its introduction, have matured to a point where they are able to receive the desired output from these machines,” he said. “Other sectors looking to leverage the technology need to ensure that what is designed on a screen is equally impressive when printed in three dimensions. This can be a challenge as many 3D files do not always translate well to a 3D rendered object. Konica Minolta, along with 3D Systems, have the technical resources, workflows, and printers to help organizations overcome this challenge.”

The ProJet 360 3D printer by 3D Systems, one of the many machines sold by Konica Minolta.

But there are also some local challenges that Konica Minolta is seeking to address. Most importantly, the financial and service response systems that support local markets need to be improved – critical areas that growing organizations sometimes overlook. “What Konica Minolta brings to the [local] market is industry leading and guaranteed same-day service response nation-wide, along with rental and operating lease options, which negates the need for our customers to outlay capital expenditure,” Hunter said. “With Konica Minolta’s service, support and logistics capabilities, consumables replenishment infrastructure, and expertise, we hope to help drive the already rapid uptake of 3D printing in the local market.”

Through these service expansions, Konica Minolta is confident that they can offer perfectly suitable services to all of their clients. “Now the Australian 3D printing market will also have access to the same level of assurance the printing industry has,” Hunter said. Because of these changes, the national manager even believes that they will be able to record very strong growth over the coming year.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer Company

 

 

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