Belgium-based 3-D printing company Materialise NV has announced its acquisition of E-Prototypy, Poland's leading provider of rapid prototypes and 3-D printing.
Materialise has worked on projects such as the 3-D printed Parametric Sculpture Dress by Studio XO famously worn by pop sensation Lady Gaga and the world's first 3D printed race car Areion which was completed in 2012.
Although the company has been a market leader in the Czech Republic, Bart Van Der Schueren, vice president of industrial production of Materialise pointed out that: "With the acquisition of E-Prototypy, Materialise shows its commitment to further invest in the east-European market".
E-Prototypy, which offers a wide range of 3-D printing solutions specializing in the production of laser sintered components, has been part of the Polish market since 2008 and grew to become a market leader in the region. The company has also invested in scanning and reverse engineering services in recent years.
"We see a lot of opportunities for growth in the Polish market and by joining Materialise, the E-Prototypy team looks forward to helping even more people in the region realise the benefits of the services and solutions we have to offer. As part of Materialise, our customers will be given access to even better service with a larger range of 3-D printing technologies and they can benefit from Materialise's 23 years of experience in this industry," said Grzegorz Sworobowicz, vice-CEO and co-founder of E-Prototypy.