CORE Industrial Partners acquires 3DXTECH (Triton 3D and Gearbox3D)
The private equity firm furthers its investment into 3D printing, after closing on AM service Fathom
CORE Industrial Partners (“CORE”), a Chicago-based private equity firm, has completed the acquisitions of 3DXTECH LLC, a leading advanced thermoplastic filament supplier. 3DXTECH also comprises the brands Triton 3D LLC, for production of Stratasys-compatible 3D printing filaments, and Gearbox3D LLC, for its internally developed line of high-temperature industrial extrusion 3D printers.
“The investments in 3DXTECH, Triton 3D and Gearbox3D align with our strategy to build an additive manufacturing platform focused on 3D printing equipment and proprietary materials,” said John May, Managing Partner of CORE, “We believe the tailwinds from the underlying additive manufacturing sector and broader Industry 4.0 trends, in concert with CORE’s experience and sector expertise, will put the Company in a strong position to capitalize on opportunities moving forward.”
Founded in 2014, 3DXTECH was the first company to understand that open source extrusion 3D printers would soon be able to process advanced thermoplastics and target this range of materials from the start. Leveraging its founders’ extensive polymer industry experience, the company combines deep materials expertise, research and development capabilities, and breadth of high-performance filaments to allow customers to optimize product design solutions. 3DXTECH serves a variety of end markets, including aerospace and defense, electronics, medical, automotive, consumer and industrials, among others.
Matt Howlett, Co-founder of the Company, commented: “On behalf of my partner Gary Foote, the employees at 3DXTECH, Triton and Gearbox, and me, we’re excited to begin this new chapter in partnership with CORE. We have demonstrated rapid growth since the Company’s founding by successfully pairing our materials expertise with our disruptive 3D printing equipment technology. With CORE’s expertise and resources in the additive manufacturing industry, we’ll be able to further accelerate our growth.”
Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 3DXTECH, Triton 3D and Gearbox3D operate from the recently expanded state-of-the-art 68,000 square foot facility with in-house capabilities, including filament extrusion, filament winding, custom formulation, research and development, 3D printer assembly and testing and 3D printing services for production and prototype quantities.
The acquisition of 3DXTECH and its proprietary platforms Triton 3D and Gearbox adds to CORE’s previous acquisition of Fathom, a leading and pioneering California-based 3D printing service provider. The Chicago-based private equity firm with more than $700 million of capital commitments investing in North American lower middle-market manufacturing, industrial technology and services businesses.
TJ Chung, Senior Partner of CORE, concluded: “The Company is recognized as an innovative, high-growth platform with a broad range of filaments and a differentiated 3D printer offering. The Company’s ‘materials first’ approach and open-source model resonate with customers and provide a compelling value proposition in the high-performance additive manufacturing equipment and materials space.”
Winston & Strawn LLP provided legal representation to CORE in the transaction. Burr & Forman LLP provided legal representation to the Company in the transaction.
