Jan.23, 2014
It is confirmed: Polish 3D printer manufacturer Zortrax has sold 5,000 units of its flagship M200 3D printer to Dell – one of the world's largest computer manufacturers. The 5,000 3D printers are headed to Dell's offices in central and eastern Asia. The contract is ready for signature and the last organizational details are being finalized (the so-called "little things and shit"). The first tranche of the order is set to be completed in the first quarter of this year.
Zortrax CEO Rafał Tomasiak told Techcruch how the deal evolved:
"Dell kept in touch with us when we were still in the middle of our Kickstarter campaign. We weren't in a position to make them a reasonable business offer at that time, since our production volume was very limited... At that point in time the production was very tedious, every single printer was quality checked and tested by us. Business negotiations with Dell were stalled at some point and we focused on shipping the printers to our Kickstarter backers. Now the situation is much different, we are prepared for large quantity orders."
Zortrax is based in Olsztyn, Poland and has been a stand out in the home 3D printing market since their successful Kickstarter campaign launched last May. The company planned production of their 3D printers in Poland; but, after many interviews with factories, the high production costs, poor availability of components, and bureaucratic obstacles, Zortrax was forced to look for other solutions. For example, their logistics and production are currently handled by a separate company in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, their presence in Poland and their importance in the 3D printing market in there remain strong. Zortrax employs several people and plans to create new jobs in Olsztyn. Meanwhile, with Dell's milestone order, the Zortrax's significance is also increasing internationally.
But, what will Dell be doing with 5,000 printers? Tomasiak also expressed some surprise at the size of the order – followed by understanding:
"Frankly speaking, we were surprised that any company, even a company like Dell, wants to place such an order! But after a while we realized how many printers we use in our own office… For a designer who prints a large number of prototypes it is much more useful to use 10 smaller printers on one desk, which operate simultaneously, rather than one with a larger build volume."
Big congratulations are in order for the people at Zortrax – who already have many satisfied Kickstarter supporters behind them. We look forward to seeing what is next for this company.
Thanks to Lon and centrumdruku3d for the tip.
Posted in 3D Printers
Maybe you also like:
- 3D Systems announced full-color CubeJet & CeraJet 3D ceramic printer
- 3D printing gets sweeter with 3D Systems' ChefJet & full-color ChefJet Pro 3D printers
- MakerBot unveils three new 3D printers, new apps and an online store at CES 2014
- Giant Euclid 3D printing Robot
- 3D Systems revealed the third generation sub $1,000 Cube 3 3D printer
- 3D Systems announces new sub $5,000 CubePro 3D Printer
- Robo 3D Printer unboxing, first print, fixes & tips to get great prints
- Weistek to demo two desktop 3D printers at CES 2014
- South Africa's 3D printed chocolate factory
maker bot got a deal too but they were second pick lol
Lon Varscsak wrote at 1/25/2014 8:37:19 AM:
I got mine today...I'll get to setup and play tomorrow!
A.J. wrote at 1/24/2014 2:18:12 PM:
Fantastic to see that a startup company like Zortrax can get deals like this. And especially pleasing to know see that the greedy folks at 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC and Stratasys gets passed behind.
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
