Dimension takes plastic out of the landfill and into 3-D printing

Chicago — The people behind Dimension Polymers LLC want to build a successful business and make a difference all at the same time.

Gerald Galazin brings a background in recycled plastics and Mark Sherman brings a background in commodities and finance to the fledgling Chicago company that's developed a recycled-based plastic filament for 3-D printers.

They both see a business opportunity as 3-D printers are expected to explode in popularity in the years to come.

“We realize there's going to be a huge amount of waste going into the 3-D printing industry very shortly,” Galazin said. “We wanted to create a closed-loop system.”

So Dimension Polymers sources recycled plastics, including material rescued from landfills, as the basis for its line of ABS filament sold in 750-gram spools that are 95-percent recycled content. The other 5 percent involves additives that give the recycled-based product the proper characteristics for use in 3-D printers.

“Our goal is to bring to market a suite of 3-D printing materials that are made from recycled material. Right now, we just have the pilot product. We'd like to bring a suite of products and give that offering to the market because there is a demand for it,” Sherman said.

“It's a challenging process just because 3-D printing materials, they require a lot of precision in the manufacturing process,” he added.

Dimension Polymers offers an alternative from the industry standard virgin resin filament, Galazin said.

The 3-D printing business is expected to use 250 million pounds of plastic per year by 2020 as its popularity continues to grow, and 10 to 30 percent of that total will end up being waste. Galazin said.

By offering recycled-content filament and an outlet to recycle waste plastic, Dimension Polymers hopes to lessen the impact the industry ultimately will have on the environment.

“We anticipate an explosion of growth with the use of the technology. Seeing how these machines operate and the consumption that's involved with the way 3-D printing works, at least at this time, it's a huge environmental footprint associated with the adoption of this technology,” Sherman said.

Galazin has a business degree, so starting his own company is not really that surprising. He also is father to a young son, Nicolas, and he even sees the potential in the business to someday have him involved.

“I wanted to start a business. I just didn't know what. And I found this opportunity and a light bulb came on,” he said. “This is what I've got to do. I've got to make my impact. How can I make my impact on the world before I leave and maybe pass it on to my son?”

This is not a full-fledged business just yet, as Galazin still works a full-time job to support his family. But it's not your crazy uncle fiddling around in the basement either.

Sherman said Dimension Polymers, which offers ABS filament in two different diameters and one color — black — needs to expand its recycled-based offerings over time. That includes creating different colors and also pushing into the use of polylactic acid, which also is used to make filament.

Dimension Polymers, founded just last year, is at a point where it is self-sustaining, but pouring all profits back into the business to help fuel growth.

“We're not taking any profit out of it,” Galazin said. “We put the money right back into our material to make more.

“We sell one and we turn it into two and we sell two and we turn it into four and so forth,” he said. “Every company starts in that stage. If you take money out of it too quickly, too soon, you are going to kill the business and we don't want to do that.”

That plastic is processed and compounded in Chicago through a contract with another company that Galazin said he can't name. Those pellets are then sent to the West Coast where they are extruded into filament line and packaged onto reels that are then ready for sale.

“We source our plastic from a lot of different places. We get it from landfills, we get it from recycling centers. People have plastic they want to send to us,” Galazin said.

The company, earlier this year, conducted a Kickstarter campaign that raised a little more than $20,000. Folks chipping in a little received a trinket. Folks chipping in a little more were able to be one of the first to sample the product. One donor, a work cooperative program, even took advantage of a “meet the founders” trip option and flew two students to Chicago from California to spend the day and learn about the company and 3-D printing.

Galazin viewed the Kickstarter campaign as a way to help, well, kick start the company. “To get people interested and involved in what we're doing. Show off the product. It worked. We raised the money to basically cover our expenses at that point. Overall, we probably barely broke even or even lost a little bit on the whole thing,” he said.

“The point,” he added, was to create a group of “people out there who were interested in our product and wanted to be a part of what we are doing.”

Galazin was working as director of quality at MRC Polymers Inc., a Chicago-based plastic recycler, when he and Sherman joined together to create Dimension Polymers.

He also realized he had to leave that job in order to build the new business and avoid any potential conflict of interest. These days he still works in product quality, but for an abrasives company, while working to build Dimension Polymers.

“It was a little bittersweet because I was leaving. But at the same time, I wanted to pursue this and I felt I couldn't do that and still give 100 percent to them without them having a share in what I was doing,” he explained.

Trying to build Dimension Polymers on the side while still working at MRC Polymers would have just been too difficult.

“Am I going to be the next billionaire?” Galazin asked. “Probably not. But I think Mark and I will really have given everything we can to put our mark on the industry and provide that green alternative to people who want it. Just having said that, I think we've already accomplished something.”