Polyplastics invests in NEMATX to advance 3D printing of liquid crystal polymers
Japanese engineering materials company Polyplastics Co. Ltd recently invested in Switzerland-based startup NEMATX AG, a spin-out from ETH Zurich that specializes in industrial material extrusion 3D printing. This strategic investment will enable the companies to develop and bring to market high-performance polymer grades that will expand end-use additive manufacturing applications in industries like automotive, aerospace, electronics, semiconductor, medical and more.
Polyplastics was founded in 1964 and brings to the table a wealth of experience in developing and manufacturing engineering-grade plastics, most relevantly liquid crystal polymers (LCP), which offer exceptional strength and temperature resistance. NEMATX, for its part, has developed the proprietary Nematic 3DP technology, a material extrusion process capable of processing LCPs and producing parts with mechanical properties 10 times stronger than PEEK at a resolution of 25 µm. This technology is being commercialized through the NEX 01 platform for industrial 3D printing.
Considering both companies’ interest and expertise in liquid crystal polymers, the motivation behind the investment is clear. “Being able to expand our long-standing supplier and material development partnership with Polyplastics as a leading global supplier of high-performance plastic materials is of high significance for NEMATX,” said Silvan Gantenbein, CTO and Co-Founder of NematX AG. “Both our R&D teams can now jointly leverage the development of next generation 3D printing materials and precisely align the manufacturing processes with our NEX 01 high-precision material extrusion platform. The results will be additively manufactured components with even higher precision and robust production processes required for industrial manufacturing.”
Through the investment, Polyplastics will leverage NEMATX’s 3D printing solution, while NEMATX will incorporate the Japan-based firm’s experience in LCP processing in its own product development. The partnership will also ultimately support the adoption of NEMATX’s NEX 01 platform in specialized markets around the globe, including the electrical and semiconductor industries, which can benefit from the ability to print precision components from LCPs like connector housings for PCBs and thin-film components for printed electronics.
The two companies are also aligned in terms of sustainability goals and will thus place an emphasis on the development of eco-friendly materials and improving the environmental efficiency of production processes through minimized material waste and resource consumption.
Raphael Heeb, CEO and Co-Founder of NematX AG, concluded: “The strategic partnership with Polyplastics and the DAICEL Group [owner of Polyplastics] represents a pivotal milestone for NEMATX. We are extremely grateful to move forward into the future with such reliable and competent partners. Over the past few months, we have had the privilege of working intensively with various global teams across Asia and Europe, and it quickly became evident that, in addition to the technological excellence, the market intelligence of Polyplastics and the DAICEL Group is invaluable for the future development of NEMATX. In turn, we are confident that our innovative products and solutions will help both our companies to jointly unlock new applications and markets, and to fully benefit from the synergies we have established.”
*An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that NEMATX invested in Polyplastics. It has now been amended to indicate that Polyplastics invested in NEMATX.
