BASF SE plan to establish a new group company, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, as of Sept. 1 to advance its 3D printing ambitions.
This wholly owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH will be headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, at the site of InnovationLab GmbH.
The new business will focus on establishing and expanding the business with materials, system solutions, components and services in the field of 3D printing.
In a July 28 statement, Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF said the new company will work closely with researchers and application engineers from BASF and external partners, such as universities and potential customers, in order to develop solutions “for a wide array of requirements.”
“The field of 3D printing for industrial applications is highly dynamic and still emerging. This means there is a need for agile, startup-like structures with interdisciplinary teams and quick decision-making processes,” said Volker Hammes, managing director at BASF New Business and future managing director of BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH.
The new business' customers will mainly be firms that want to use 3D printing for industrial production, including automotive, aerospace and consumer goods industries.
The business will also take over and expand the 3D printing application technology center in Heidelberg, which currently belongs to Nanoschicht GmbH, a BASF New Business subsidiary.
BASF New Business is in charge of finding out long-term trends and innovative topics in industry and investigating their growth potential for BASF.