Flanders excels in Europe in 3D printing

Belgium ranks sixth. Flanders is doing even better.

The 3D printing industry is booming. Worldwide, it continues a growth trend and in Belgium, too, this application of Additive Manufacturing is already well established. So well that our country ranks at an honorable 6^the place in Europe, according to Eurostat databases. "Flanders is doing even better," says Kris Binon, director of Flam3D. The network organization wants to further strengthen the Flemish and Dutch 3D printing industry and will be at the Advanced Engineering fair in Antwerp Expo on May 11 and 12.

According to research firm Smartech Publishing, the 3D printing industry grew by 24% to $9.3 billion worldwide in 2018. In 2019, the market even grew to $10.4 billion. And that trend continues. 3D printing is also booming in our country. As many as 6% of Belgian companies were already using a 3D printer in 2020, accounting for a 6^the place in Europe. That's what Eurostat's database shows. Only Denmark, Malta, Montenegro, Germany and Finland do better.

Flanders at the top

Looking more locally, Flanders appears to be an innovative outlier with a score of 7.4%. This places Flanders among the absolute world leaders and leans towards the top 3 in Europe.

Interestingly, the use of 3D printing increases in companies with a larger number of employees. Starting at 50 employees, the use of 3D printers rises from 6% to 8% at companies up to 250 employees and even to 10% at companies with more than 250 employees. "Large companies are obviously less likely to outsource their 3D printing," Kris Binon knows. "But clearly, the 'Innovators' and 'Early adopters' are already along for the ride. Now may be the time for the Early Majority to follow suit."

Flam3D

And to make 3D printing even more known to companies, Kris Binon is signing with Flam3D present at the Advanced Engineering fair. On May 11 and 12, Antwerp Expo will bring together several companies that capitalize on innovative business techniques, and 3D printing is one of them.

"We are an independent network organization that unites, represents and supports companies, research institutions, governments and interested parties. Our objective is to improve the competitive position of the Dutch and Flemish 3D industry and to form an ecosystem around 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing. In this way, we want to strengthen the advance of 3D printing."

Your appointment with the future

With the presence of Flam3D and many other companies, Advanced Engineering is the trade show of choice for anyone aware of the impact of innovation. 140 exhibitors in design, materials and electronics will be there offering specific solutions for the products of tomorrow.

There will also be more than 50 leading speakers who will give interesting keynotes including: Koen Verhaert (Verhaert Masters In Innovation), Jan Rabaey (UC Berkeley, imec), Guy Van Wijmeersch (Barco), Nicolas Deruytter (ML6), Ingrid Van de Voorde (Nokia Bell Labs) and Bart Van Der Schueren (Materialise). Flam3D is also hosting an indepth session on Thursday, May 12, on: Start-to-print.

In addition, XR Valley is providing an AR/VR zone and there will be an AI hub in which to build a strategy around artificial intelligence. In this way, the Advanced Engineering fair is a real rendezvous with the future.