The Hague, May 2016. LEJEUNE Association Management of The Hague (NL) and The 3D Printing Association (UK) have reached agreement on the transfer of the organisation.
Previously managed by its founder and membership director Ian Ferguson, the organisation’s ‘intellectual property’ will be carried forward as independent international B2B trade association under a new legal entity with its seat in The Netherlands.
On behalf of the 3D Printing Association, Membership Director Ian Ferguson comments: “The 3D Printing Association was founded to fulfil the need for a virtual platform to connect the international 3D printing community against the background of a rapidly evolving technology. Now, 3 years later, the network counts close to 100 members: individuals, SMEs and also some corporate representatives from over 20 countries world-wide. Through our newsletter and social media we reach out to a broader audience. With the growing maturity of the 3D printing eco-system, it is time to move to the next level and create a new professional, member driven association that represents the business interest of Additive Manufacturing and promotes it as a reliable, secure and compliant technology. I am confident that Lejeune Association Management, with their track record in building and maintaining international industry associations, will be able to facilitate this development.“
On behalf of Lejeune Association Management, Managing Director Jules Lejeune adds: “We are grateful to Ian Ferguson and his family for the pioneering work that they have undertaken over the past three years, and I admire the passion, energy and personal effort that Ian has put into the development of the organisation. Last year we were invited to conduct a wide-ranging on-line survey to assess the future needs and expectations of the sector and this confirmed the need for an independent association acting as the voice of the industry, and offering a networking, communication and collaboration platform to connect the B2B community in Europe. Early this year we had the pleasure to moderate the 3DPA stakeholder summit in Amsterdam to validate the outcomes of the survey, and based on the output of that meeting we are now working on a roadmap for the new association, which we expect to launch in the second half of this year.”
The new association in establishment will be present at Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 in Amsterdam (28-30 June
