Having added new vendors and seen growth in education and modelling use, distributor puts resources into planned growth Having recently added several new vendors in the area, Ingram Micro has created a dedicated 3D printing and scanning division in Europe, led by Rudolf Ehrmanntraut, senior manager, 3D Printing and Scanning, Europe. He will set up a European Competence Centre and drive the company’s continued expansion in this space, it says.
This announcement follows the initial success that Ingram Micro has enjoyed in the 3D printing space in Europe. Ingram Micro’s portfolio now consists of products from OEMs including 3D Systems, Leapfrog (below) and German RepRap.
“We have seen a frenzy of activity in the 3D printing and scanning space in Europe, with our resellers making it clear that they are looking to enter or expand in this fast-growing market,” said Rudolf Ehrmanntraut, senior manager 3D printing and scanning, Europe. “Our focus lies on providing our partners with deeper know-how in order to enable data preparation and creation of their own objects. I look forward to being a long term partner to them in this area.” A European Competence Centre will offer training, support and pre-sales support for its resellers across Europe.
3D printing is far from having a mass market appeal to the channel, but Rudolf Ehrmanntraut tells IT Europa that while the majority of non-specialist resellers are still in the process of looking into 3D printing in more detail, certain IT resellers who not long ago were in this investigation phase and resellers with CAD/CAM knowledge are increasingly purchasing from the distributor. “The number continues to grow. This however, is still a small proportion of our 77,000 plus resellers in Europe.”
“We have been observing the evolution of this technology and the market around 3D printing for some time and we are convinced that for our customers, new business opportunities are out there for the taking.” said Ernesto Schmutter, vice president Germany of Ingram Micro’s Technology Solutions division. “After having successfully introduced and established our specialty solutions such as physical security, digital signage and others, we are pleased to support our reseller community once more with innovative solutions and technical competence.”