HP entered the 3D printing industry with a splash last year and its momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing down. In conjunction with Die & Mould China 2017, Shanghai, China, the company announced that it is expanding its 3D printing presence to the Asia-Pacific region with a series of important partnerships. The announcement mirrors similar news from HP last month about the company’s expansion in North America and Europe.
HP has found two significant partners, Shining 3DePrint and Infinite 3D Printing that will be deploying HP’s Jet Fusion 3D Printing systems in their own businesses in China. Shining 3DePrint, a service provider with over 10,000 customers globally, will be bringing HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology to over 50 locations across China, including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai. The company will also be joining HP’s reseller program and supporting HP’s new 3D Printing Reference and Experience Centers nationwide across China.
Infinite 3D Printing, one of China’s largest 3D printing solutions providers, will be deploying MJF in various centers as well, including Suzhou and Qingdao. The company has also signed on to become an HP reseller for the MJF platform.
Along with news of these new partners, HP also announced the expansion of its reseller program in the region with over a dozen new partners. In addition to Shining 3DePrint and Infinite 3D Printing, HP tapped Aurora, AM Korea, ECSS, evok3D, Eye2Eye, FormX, Huxen, Hyunwoo Data, Trustworthy, Wenpoo and 3D Pro. This will expand HP’s 40-member network beyond North America and Europe to include China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia.
HP is also adding to the partners in its materials development program—which already includes Arkema, BASF, Evonik, Henkel, and Lehmann & Voss—with the addition of Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company. Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company will work with HP to develop polyolefin-based powders for MJF. Examples of polyolefin-based plastics you may have come across in 3D printing before are polyethylene and polypropylene.
Similar to its rollout plan in North America and Europe, HP is also opening 3D Printing Reference and Experience Centers in multiple countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Suzhou, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore and Melbourne. Shining 3DePrintaims to showcase MJF technology at 50 demonstration centers across China, as well.
These announcements come on the heels of news in May that HP was establishing a reseller and distribution network in the United States, along with a number of experience centers. If MJF can be deployed in this region as well, it’s possible that HP really will quickly become a massive player in the 3D printing industry after releasing its first product only a year ago. The company already has some powerful customers, including JABIL.
“Ubiquitous connectivity and technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence, sensors and 3D printing are sparking the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And perhaps no industry, and no region, has more opportunity in front of it than the nearly $6 trillion Asia-Pacific manufacturing sector,” said Stephen Nigro, president of 3D Printing, HP Inc. “We are excited to bring the industry’s leading 3D printing technology, most robust partner community, and most innovative materials ecosystem to help this world-class manufacturing community accelerate their reinvention. Anchored by some of the most advanced companies in the world, the region’s diverse and dynamic collection of global brands, large contract manufacturers, and materials leaders is primed to play a significant role in this global industry transformation.”
The company will be showcasing its technology at different events in the Asia-Pacific region, including Die & Mould China 2017 in Shanghai from June 13-16 and Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo in Tokyo from June 21-23.
To learn more about the company’s technology, visit the MJF website.