Evonik acquires 3D printing materials supplier Structured Polymers

Specialty chemical firm Evonik Corp. has acquired Structured Polymers Inc., an Austin, Tex.-based technology start-up for 3D printing materials, for an undisclosed amount.

Structured Polymers will be entirely integrated into Evonik’s North American organization, while its company headquarters will remain in Austin, Tex.

In a statement, Evonik said the acquisition will provide it with access to a new patented technology that will allow the company to expand its portfolio of specialty polymer powders in the additive manufacturing market.

“The acquisition of Structured Polymers’ technology complements our existing activities with high-performance polymers for additive manufacturing,” says Dr. Ralph Marquardt, the head of Strategy and Growth Businesses for Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH. “This means we will expand our portfolio of customized, 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.”

Founded in 2013, Structured Polymers manufactures polymer materials for the additive manufacturing industry. The company says that its technology starts with a polymer granulate, which is converted to a fine powder through various process steps. “This makes it possible to produce polymer powders with controlled particle sizes ranging in diameter between 0.1 and 400 µm, while achieving excellent material properties,” the firm said.

“The new technology allows us to take virtually any semi-crystalline thermoplastic, such as polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ketone, or polyamide 6, or polymer powders with specialized properties like color, conductivity, or flame retardency, and produce them for common powder-based 3D printing processes, such as selective laser sintering, high-speed sintering, or multi-jet fusion,” said Thomas Grosse-Puppendahl, the head of the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Growth Field at Evonik. “In addition, we anticipate that Structured Polymers’ technology can be scaled up easily and economically.”

Headquartered in Parsipanny, N.J., Evonik Corp. is a subsidiary of German materials firm Evonik Industries AG.