BASF establishes company to pursue business opportunities in 3D printing

BASF SE plans to establish a new Group company, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, as of September 1, 2017. This wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH will be headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, at the site of InnovationLab GmbH. It will focus on establishing and expanding the business with materials, system solutions, components and services in the field of 3D printing. The company will work closely with researchers and application engineers from BASF and external partners, such as universities and potential customers, in order to develop the right 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. Combining the customer-focused 3D printing activities in one location at a dedicated business is an important success factor,” says Volker Hammes, Managing Director at BASF New Business and future Managing Director of BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, explaining the reasons for founding the new company.

The new company’s customers will mainly be firms that want to use 3D printing for industrial production. Typical industries will include, for example, automotive, aerospace and consumer goods. In order to be able to develop and test a variety of solutions, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH will take over and expand the 3D printing application technology center in Heidelberg belonging to Deutsche Nanoschicht GmbH, a subsidiary of BASF New Business. The new company will initially employ around 30 experts, many of whom were already working for BASF in the field of 3D printing.