DSM is taking over some of Clariant’s 3D printing portfolio

Global sciences company Royal DSM has announced an agreement with specialty chemicals company Clariant through which it will take over parts of Clariant’s 3D printing business portfolio. The strategic decision will enable DSM to offer its customers rapid product development iterations for 3D printing filaments and pellets that meet the requirements of specific applications.

The partial takeover consists of a few elements. For one, part of the Clariant 3D printing team will transition to DSM. The transaction also includes a selection of Clariant’s portfolio and pipeline of engineering-grade filament and pellet materials, as well as customer relations, expertise in powder development and a small product line for fast ramp-up of small batches.

“We are very excited about welcoming the new team members and the expertise they bring to expand our service offering,” said Hugo da Silva, Vice President Additive Manufacturing at DSM. “We share the same focus on customer needs and have complementary expertise and portfolio. Together we can fulfil market needs faster and with a broader materials toolbox, and realize further the potential of additive manufacturing to the manufacturing world.”

By integrating some of Clariant’s 3D printing activities into its own portfolio, DSM will be better positioned to serve customer needs by rapidly tweaking and evaluating high performance filaments and pellets. Materials are a crucial ingredient in the successful adoption and proliferation of additive manufacturing, and many have identified limited material diversity as a major hurdle to the technology. DSM hopes to address this challenge by developing application-specific material formulations for its clients and to meet market needs.

Essentially, with the integration of Clariant’s 3D printing assets, DSM is aiming to strengthen its engineering-grade filament, pellet and powder portfolio. Clariant’s specific expertise in rapid product development using a highly flexible, high-speed compounding setup, will prove critical in this evolution.

“After thorough strategic review, Clariant concluded that its 3D printing materials business was no longer aligned with its strategic focus,” said Richard Haldimann, Head of Sustainability Transformation at Clariant. “While we will continue to serve the 3D printing market with our high quality additives and flame retardants, we are confident that DSM is the ideal new home for parts of Clariant’s tailored 3D printing materials business to continue its successful development. I look forward to seeing them thrive.”

Earlier this year, both DSM and Clariant joined Smart International’s Materials Partner Program to validate filaments for the KODAK Portrait 3D printer.