Benjamin Tan, vice president Asia Pacific (second from left) with Ultimaker’s senior management
Leading 3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker has opened new offices in Singapore in order to meet the growing demand for Ultimaker 3D printers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Benjamin Tan, former channel director at Dassault Systèmes, has been appointed vice president for Asia Pacific at Ultimaker in Singapore.
In the last seven years, Ultimaker has become a global leader in offering professional and accessible desktop 3D printers. Jos Burger, chief executive officer at Ultimaker said, “3D printing is not only used for prototyping anymore. It is a reliable and accessible technique that is now causing the next revolution in manufacturing. This is already visible in the strong business cases from leading global companies, such as Volkswagen, Ford, Jabil, Decathlon and Bosch.
“We see a growing demand for Ultimaker 3D printers in the APAC region from similar enterprise clients and innovative SMEs. By opening office facilities in Singapore, we can better manage these demands locally, and support our well-established APAC Sales Partner Network in taking the next step in accelerating the world’s transition to local digital manufacturing. I am very happy to have Benjamin Tan on board in Singapore. His long-standing experience and impressive network in the industry makes him the right person for this role.”
Tan sees a strong potential for developing 3D printing as an industry in the region. “There is a greater understanding of additive manufacturing in Asia-Pacific. And, as per Wohlers Report, AP is poised to take a 30% share of the global 3D printing space. We will leverage our business development efforts to target AP multinationals, and work closely with them to improve the supply chain,” he said.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
