Vienna, Austria/October 6, 2022 — Lithoz GmbH announced that it has acquired Germany-based CerAMing, the patent holder of the Layer-wise Slurry Disposition (LSD)-Print ceramic 3D printing process.
CerAMing is a successful spin-off of BAM (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung/ German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing), having emerged from its Startup Slingshot program. With the acquisition of CerAMing, Lithoz now has a complete “all from one source portfolio” of complementary, market-relevant processes in 3D printing for advanced ceramics, with LSD-Print technology joining the already market-dominating LCM process and the new LIS technology which was released in 2022. This strategic expansion further secures and extends Lithoz’s global market leadership as a system provider.
The processes available from Lithoz have, up until now, focused on ultra-precise resolutions and highly complex internal structures in the case of LCM, and on particularly high wall thicknesses and the largest possible volumes with complete density in the case of LIS. The acquisition of the startup CerAMing and the associated expansion of the technology portfolio to include layer-by-layer slurry disposition mean that Lithoz now cover a very broad range of applications in ceramic additive manufacturing, with LSD-Print technology covering the area between the LCM and LIS process.
Shared by all three processes are extremely high densities and outstanding material properties of the printed objects, corresponding to Lithoz’s uncompromising promise of absolute quality. Depending on the specific strength of the respective technology, even the most diverse of customer requirements can now be fulfilled from a single source.
CEO Dr. Johannes Homa, who founded Lithoz 11 years ago, assesses this step as a historic strategic milestone for the Viennese company: “With the acquisition of CerAMing, Lithoz is expanding its technology portfolio through strategic acquisition for the first time. We see this technology as another key pillar in the realization of our vision to enable geographically independent, yet fully digitally connected global serial production in the ceramics industry. We have already been able to realize this with our market-leading LCM technology, and along with LIS technology we will soon also be able to further our goals with LSD printing as complementary technologies with the same high quality and without compromising on results.”
Sebastian Walzel, co-founder of CerAMing, is very proud of his company’s new position and is excited to see how this new development will lead to progress and innovation in the world of ceramic additive manufacturing: “When we started our journey as entrepreneurs in 2019, we were particularly inspired by the success story of Lithoz. It fills us with pride that CerAMing will now become a part of this success and that the fruits of our labor will contribute to its progress.” “Spin-offs like CerAMing make an important contribution to technology transfer, which is one of the central tasks of our research,” says BAM President Prof. Dr Ulrich Panne. “There are many excellent scientists with innovative ideas at BAM. Our BAMStartup-Slingshot initiative supports them with scientific know-how and our excellent laboratory equipment on their way to entrepreneurship.”
