Things are definitely moving fast for MakerBot. While there are no plans yet for MakerBot’s 3D printers to be sold in electronic retail chains or in its own stores in Italy, the company has now chosen an official distributor, that will provide sales and after-sales service for all its machines, including the upcoming fifth generation Replicator, Z18 and Mini.
MakerBot’s new Italian distributor is called Energy Group, a company based in Bologna that is also one of Stratasys’ six official long-standing distributors. The agreement has been signed directly between the Italian company and the New York based 3D printer manufacturer, that continues to manage its own commercial partnerships even after having become a part of Stratasys.
Energy Group was present at the Eurostampi Show in Parma, where it showed the new Fifth Generation Replicator and gave me a chance to see it up close for the first time. Mirco Paltrinieri, the company’s owner and sales manager, took some time to explain the commercial strategy he intends to follow in the upcoming months to enter this new “consumer” adventure.
“All the new machines are expected to arrive within the next couple of months – he said – and we have very high expectations for a brand as strong as MakerBot in the consumer segment. We are also confident that these machines may bring more attention to our industrial level Stratasys machines: it often happens that customers try a MakerBot and, once they understand 3D printing’s potential, they decide to invest in an industrial level 3D printer for their professional or industrial activities.”
Founded in 1995, Energy Group boasts almost twenty-years of experience in all areas tied with 3D printing, from rapid prototyping, to architecture and animation. Along with Stratasys and MakerBot 3D printer ranges, Energy Group also distributes a wide range of Autodesk’s products (including AutoCAD, Inventor and 3DS Max), which perfectly positions it to face the new wave of 3D creativity both at the industrial and consumer level that is shaping up to hit Italy full force in the near future.
