Digital manufacturing specialist Protolabs is to acquire 3D Hubs, creating what it says will be the world’s broadest digital manufacturing offering for custom parts.
Operating from manufacturing facilities across three continents, Protolabs helps customers to accelerate product development in a number of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, heavy industry and electronics.
Recent investments include a £5m expansion to its European headquarters in Telford to support growth in demand for CNC machining and injection moulding and a €15m euro investment in a new 3D printing facility in Putzbrunn, Germany
Proto Labs Inc is a global business quoted on the New York stock exchange and 3D Hubs Inc is an online manufacturing platform that provides engineers with on-demand access to a global network of approximately 240 premium manufacturing partners.
Proto Labs says the transaction will create a comprehensive digital manufacturing offer for custom parts, providing Protolabs with a network of manufacturing partners to fulfill a breadth of capabilities outside of its current envelope, as well as a broader offering of pricing and lead time options.
“The addition of 3D Hubs provides Protolabs a platform to evolve our service model to provide unprecedented manufacturing flexibility to our customers,” said Rob Bodor, Protolabs’ current VP and GM of the Americas and incoming President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our combined organisations will provide the market with an industry-leading digital manufacturing solution to serve their needs from idea to prototype to full end-use part production. Together we can fulfill nearly every custom manufacturing need across the product lifecycle.”
Founded in 2013, 3D Hubs has facilitated the production of over 6 million custom parts and products through its digital platform. 3D Hubs provides customers with instant pricing and design feedback, and orders are fulfilled through thoroughly vetted premium manufacturing partners in over 20 countries worldwide, offering vast manufacturing capacity and a broad range of manufacturing capabilities at a variety of competitive pricing levels.
“The entire 3D Hubs team is thrilled to join Protolabs and continue to revolutionise the manufacturing industry through innovation. At 3D Hubs, our goal is to empower companies to create revolutionary products through supply chain efficiency and reliability. We are confident that partnering with Protolabs will help us advance that mission,” said Bram de Zwart, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at 3D Hubs.
The initial consideration of $280m will be funded by $130m in cash and $150m in Protolabs common stock. An additional $50m of contingent consideration is payable subject to performance-based targets over two years.
“The acquisition of 3D Hubs is part of the continued evolution of Protolabs as the digital manufacturing leader, serving more and more of our customer’s needs,” said Vicki Holt, Protolabs’ Chief Executive Officer. “Protolabs’ leading in-house technology-enabled manufacturing services combined with 3D Hubs’ global network of premium manufacturing partners will yield the greatest value to our customers for years to come.”
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