Massachusetts 3D printer company Formlabs launches Milwaukee office, its first location in the Midwest
Karl Ebert
A Massachusetts 3D printing company has opened a sales and service office in the Third Ward that is expected to grow to 150 employees in the next three years.
Formlabs, launched in 2011, has grown to become the largest maker of benchtop 3D printers. Its printers are used by businesses that include manufacturers, health care systems, entertainment companies and others who use the printers for prototyping parts and concepts, rapid manufacturing and other applications.
In addition to its headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts, Formlabs has offices in North Carolina, Berlin, Paris and Budapest. It employs about 800 people.
Luke Winston, the company's chief business officer, said a Milwaukee office wasn't foremost in the company's mind when it began a nationwide search for a location that would put it closer to customers in the Midwest and beyond.
"Honestly, Milwaukee wasn't even at the top of that list originally," Winston said. "But after visiting it the first time and learning about it being the original 'machine shop of the world,' of having this awesome set of companies that make things and also having a bunch of schools like Milwaukee School of Engineering ... it just seemed like an awesome place that connects well with our mission."
Attracted by Milwaukee talent pool
In Milwaukee, he said, the company believes it has found more than a customer-friendly location — it has landed in a place where there's a growing pool of technical, engineering sales and marketing employees not just from MSOE, where the company has already hosted events, but also students coming out of Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The floor and a half of open concept office space with a rooftop deck that the company found on the top floors of 220 E. Buffalo St. also made a difference, he said.
"We have this really industrial kind of old industrial space in Boston that's been turned into our office and it's been kind of cool to see that in the Third Ward," he said. "I like that whole area and I'm very excited about the office. I think I'm slightly jealous of it as well. It's a really, really sweet build-out that I think combines both old industrial with modern."
The space, a glass and steel addition that fronts North Water Street, was built in 2017 for Digital Measures, a higher-education software company that left after it was acquired by New York-based Watermark.
RELATED:Milwaukee education software company Digital Measures acquired by Watermark
About 20 people have been working in the 20,000-square-foot space since early August.
3D printing starts with a prototype
3D printing is a subset of what's known as additive manufacturing. The basic principle is to build an object, say a prototype for a new climbing helmet, by printing layer after layer of material to build the helmet from the base up.
Creating prototypes for new products has been the industry's bread and butter since its inception. That at one time required large, complicated machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Formlabs, as a leading manufacturer of professional benchtop printers and printing material, sees itself as a "disruptor" focused on making 3D printing affordable, easy to use and widely accessible, Winston said.
The company's printers start at under $4,000. More than 100,000 have been sold to date, according to a news release.
Founded by a handful of MIT grads, Formlabs introduced its first professional-grade desktop printer in 2012 and brought it to market with a Kickstarter campaign that raised almost $3 million. Since then it has rolled out larger and more specialized printers, including one that prints permanent dental crowns and dentures.
The printers can be used individually or in "print farms," banks of printers that can crank out large numbers of parts or products.
Novel and cutting-edge uses include:
- When COVID-19 test swabs were in short supply at the height of the pandemic, hospitals and health systems, government agencies, and a medical device manufacturer worked with the company to print millions of swabs.
- New Balance uses Formlabs printers to make a springy insole cushion using a new material developed by Formlabs for a line of running shoes.
- Hasbro and Formlabs recently announced a partnership to create Hasbro's "Selfie Series" of customizable action figures that allow customers to put their own faces on 3D models of superheroes.
- Gilette is partnering with Formlabs to produce custom-designed razor handles.
The company last year raised $150 million in Series E funding led by SoftBank, bringing Formabs' valuation to $2 billion. Series E funding is often a precursor to becoming a publicly traded company.
State funds helping with move
Formlabs is receiving state assistance in setting up the Milwaukee office in the form of up to $675,000 in state income tax credits. The credits are tied to the company bringing its Wisconsin workforce to more than 100 people within three years.
“This is a perfect match: Wisconsin is recognized around the world as a leader in advanced manufacturing and technological innovation, and Formlabs is recognized as the leader in 3D printing,” said Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Deputy Secretary Sam Rikkers.
Jeff Fleming, spokesman for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said Formlabs' decision to open a Milwaukee office taps into the "Milwaukee tradition" of manufacturing innovation, while also pointing to the city's success in positioning itself to attract next-generation tech companies.
"This is precisely that kind of economic development, economic commitment that Milwaukee needs to go forward," Fleming said
Contact Karl Ebert at kebert@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @karlwebert.