M&As;: BASF acquires 3D provider Sculpteo; MOL completes acquisition of Aurora

To continue to expand its position in the additive manufacturing sector, BASF New Business is to acquire the online 3D printing service provider Sculpteo. The acquisition of the French 3D printing specialist based in Paris and San Francisco will enable BASF 3D Printing Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF New Business, to market and establish new industrial 3D printing materials more quickly.

For around a decade already, Sculpteo has operated an online platform with integrated production for the manufacturing of prototypes, individual objects, and serial production components with a range of different additive manufacturing technologies. Customers in various industrial sectors around the world use the Sculpteo service to produce new components rapidly and reliably.

BASF will develop the existing Sculpteo 3D printing platform further into a global network. For customers and partners, BASF 3D Printing Solutions will thus be able to offer an additional channel for marketing their services and expanding their own customer bases.

"Through the acquisition of Sculpteo, we can provide customers and partners with even faster access to our innovative 3D printing solutions. In addition, our customers will benefit from an extended range of services,” explains Dr. Dietmar Bender, Managing Director BASF 3D Printing Solutions. “Together with Sculpteo, we are pursuing our goal of establishing additive manufacturing as a proven technology for industrial mass production,” says Bender.

Combining the strengths of both companies will provide Sculpteo's existing customers with access to a more extensive portfolio of 3D printing materials. Clément Moreau, CEO and Co-Founder of Sculpteo, will stay with Sculpteo as CEO.

Beyond this, the Sculpteo Design Studio and BASF’s technical experts will collaborate to be able to support customers in their 3D printing projects from the early planning phase right through to the final printed part. This will enable BASF to offer its customers end-to-end industrial 3D printing solutions.

Following satisfaction of customary transaction approvals, Hungary’s MOL Group has acquired 100% shareholding in Aurora, a German plastic compounder company. As a result of the acquisition, MOL Group says it is strengthening its position in recycled, sustainable compounding segment and in the automotive supplier industry.

MOL says it aims to widen the synergies with its current polymers product portfolio via both organic and inorganic developments, to gain expertise and high-end capabilities in both virgin-based and recycled plastic compounding. With the acquisition of Aurora, it is further expanding its product portfolio with Aurora’s engineering plastics and PP recyclate-based compounds.

Aurora, with production plants located nearby automotive manufacturing and plastics conversion clusters in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, collects the industrial plastic waste, recycles it and then upgrades the properties of the material into an enhanced plastic that suits the requirements of the customers in the car manufacturing industry. By combining MOL Group’s experience and Aurora’s know-how, the long-term objective is to accelerate further market growth, say the companies.

Subscribe to Get the Latest Updates from IMA  Please click here