Apr 26, 2017 | By Tess
German steel manufacturer Kloeckner & Co. has announced that it has acquired a 10 percent stake in Berlin-based 3D printer startup BigRep for less than 10 million euros. BigRep is known in the 3D printing industry for making some of the largest-scale FDM 3D printers (with a cubic meter build volume).
With Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial fair, in full swing, Germany has been a hotbed for exciting 3D printing news this week. Not only did General Electric announce that it was investing a whopping 100 million euros into a German industrial 3D printing site, but Thyssenkrupp—another German steel manufacturer—announced it would soon be inaugurating a brand new 3D printing center in its home country.
Apparently wanting to get in on the action, Duisburg-based Kloeckner has invested significantly in Berlin 3D printer manufacturer BigRep and says it will be integrating the latter’s large-scale 3D printers at its European and American facilities. The company hopes that BigRep’s large-scale 3D printing technology will help it to increase its high-value finished products.
Kloeckner reportedly became interested in BigRep after seeing the types of companies it had attracted in a previous funding round, which included automaker BMW, multinational technology corporation ABB, and aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
In addition to the 3D printing investment, Kloeckner also revealed that it beat market expectations for its first-quarter core profits largely thanks to a rise in steel prices. The company also said it is expecting a “noticeable” increase (5 to 10 percent growth) in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amoritsation (EBITDA) for the full year.
Impressively, an EBITDA of EUR 77 million (about USD 84 million) exceeded all the estimates published in a Reuters poll (which suggested EUR 74M), and Kloeckner has said it is expecting between 60 and 70 million euros this quarter.
In light of new tariffs imposed by the U.S. government, Kloeckner Chief Executive Gisbert Ruehl said that his company could very well benefit from them. "We are more likely to be positively affected by U.S. tariffs than negatively," he stated. Currently, Kloeckner imports only seven percent of the steel it distributes in the United States, where it makes 40 percent of its sales.
Ruehl also said he expects steel prices to rise by nearly two percent over the full year in Europe and about three percent in the United States.
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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10cents is also less than €10 Million. Just sayin.
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