Birmingham, UK – September 28, 2017. Fried Vancraen, founder and CEO of Materialise (Nasdaq:MTLS), has been inducted to the newly established TCT Hall of Fame.
The names of the inaugural five global 3D printing pioneers to enter the Hall of Fame were announced last night at the TCT Awards in Birmingham, UK.
Selected by public vote and an expert panel at TCT, a specialist global publishing, events and AM advocacy group focused on Additive Manufacturing, the five inductees represent “pioneers and innovators who have made significant contributions to the 3D technologies space”.
Commenting on the recognition, Fried said: “First of all, I want to congratulate my fellow inductees: Adrian, Chuck, Hans, and Scott. They have made fantastic contributions to the development and creative deployment of additive manufacturing. Thanks to Materialise’s backbone positioning, we have been able to work with each of them through partnerships, co-creations and many fruitful collaborations. The most important thing I’ve learnt in my 27 years in this industry is that, if we want to use 3D printing to truly change the world for the better, we can never go it alone. Which is why the five people honored last night should be seen not as outstanding individuals, but as representatives of a great community that has achieved great things together.”
Fried founded Materialise in 1990, with a mission to use the then nascent 3D printing technology to drive product development that results in a better and healthier world.
Right from the outset, Fried saw three main challenges – making better software, creating a quality 3D-printing service, and realizing the potential for medical applications.
Throughout the following decades, Materialise has been working to overcome all these challenges, always there to move the industry forward, always there to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Strong partnerships and collaborations, as well as an uncompromising ambition to create 3D printing applications that are meaningful have remained at the core of Materialise’s business ever since.
In addition to Fried’s induction to the Hall of Fame, Materialise has also won the coveted Industrial Product Application 2017 award for its co-creation work with Philips Lighting on the reinvention of tools for its light bulb production lines. The first two results of the collaboration, a bracket and a vacuum suction gripper, are saving Philips €89,000 per year, as well as reducing lead times for the tools from weeks to days.
The full list of inductees
- Adrian Bowyer, founder of The Reprap Project
- Chuck Hull, inventor of the Stereolithography process
- Hans Langer, founder of EOS and serial entrepreneur
- Scott Crump, inventor of Fused Deposition Modelling
- Fried Vancraen, founder and CEO of Materialise
About Materialise
Materialise incorporates more than 27 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which together form the backbone of 3D printing technologies. Materialise’s open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in Belgium, with branches worldwide, Materialise combines the largest group of software developers in the industry with one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the world. For additional information, please visit: www.materialise.com.
Source: Materialise
