Chemicals manufacturer Evonik has purchased the remaining shares in portfolio company Structured Polymers, a US-based manufacturer of polymer powders used for 3D printing, for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2012, Structured Polymers develops polymer materials that are used to produce industrial grade parts in laser sintering (LS) and selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers.
Structured Polymers will be fully integrated into Evonik’s North American business and will bolster its offering to the additive manufacturing market. Evonik had invested an undisclosed amount in the company in 2017.
The Evonik funding came after Structured Polymers had raised $1.5m in a 2014 seed round conducted through equity crowdfunding platform MicroVentures, which led a round that featured approximately 65 unnamed investors.
Ralph Marquardt, head of strategy and growth businesses for Evonik Resource Efficiency, said: “Thanks to our decades of expertise in polymer chemistry, this means we will expand our portfolio of customised, ready-to-use polymer materials for the highly attractive, rapidly growing 3D printing market, thus giving us a key role in shaping development of that market.”
Image courtesy of Structured Polymers Inc.