At CES, Dutch 3D printer manufacturer Leapfrog 3D Printers announced that it was expanding its European distribution, after having already made significant leaps in the United States. The company is continuing to march across their native continent with yet another European partnership. Ricoh Europe will now be an official reseller of the Leapfrog 3D printing portfolio.
CEO of Leapfrog 3D Printers, Mathijs Kossen, said of the new partnership, “Ricoh Europe shares our mission of adding real value for businesses and schools by providing them with a combination of the right tools and services. Besides high quality 3D printers, we therefore also offer complete solutions that provide a customized mix of 3D printing hardware, software, print materials, and learning platforms to different user groups. I am very pleased that Ricoh will now add their state-of-the-art support and training services to this mix.”
Director of Product Marketing for Ricoh Europe, Olivier Vriesendorp, adds, “As 3D printer capabilities develop, Ricoh customers in Europe are beginning to evaluate the role that this potentially game-changing technology can play in their organisations. This partnership with Leapfrog 3D Printers combines its award-winning range of 3D printers with Ricoh’s strengths in providing comprehensive service, from IT services to consultation, installation, training and support, to help customers apply 3D printing technology in their business. Today is the first step in the development of Ricoh’s 3D printing business in Europe. As customer demand for 3D print steadily increases, we will continue to evolve our products and services to meet their needs.”
Leapfrog has already published reports on how engineers, educators, and retailers can adopt 3D printing for their own purposes. The firm believes that the new agreement fits well into their existing strategy of targeting educators and engineers, among a number of distinct markets, as Ricoh is thought, by Leapfrog, to be well established in the engineering and education markets.
More importantly, as a huge multinational, Ricoh may, in the future, be able to push Leapfrog’s portfolio into its many locations around the world. Leapfrog also fits nicely along Ricoh’s 2D printing technology and, if either company were to release a 3D scanner, that product would bring Ricoh’s digital camera line into the third dimension. Regardless, this partnership, along with previous distribution agreements, is continuing to push the Dutch manufacturer into being a formidable consumer printer force internationally.
