Acquisition of INITIAL

Paris, March 26th 2015, 7 :00 am

Prodways, subsidiary of Groupe Gorgé, announces two major acquisitions to establish itself as a leading player in 3D printing

Groupe Gorgé announces the acquisition of INITIAL, the leading independent French manufacturer of parts through 3D printing, and of NORGE Systems, an English start-up specialized in the design of selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers. These two acquisitions mark a significant step forward in the strategy implemented by Groupe since entering the 3D printing market two years ago. The group intends to rapidly establish itself as a leader and to become the third-largest player in the world to offer a range of multi-technological services and all 3D printing services to its customers. Groupe Gorgé has already completed several major milestones since acquiring Prodways Group in 2013. The achievements of this company’s teams, headed by Philippe Laude and whose business activity increased fifty-fold in little over a year, gave global visibility to MOVINGLight technology®, which offers much greater precision and productivity in terms of 3D printing. Thanks to these two strategic acquisitions, Groupe Gorgé’s strategy – backed by Prodways Group – will be rolled out horizontally through the addition of new 3D printing technologies, and vertically through the development or acquisition of entities manufacturing parts through 3D printing. Such entities may offer general services or be specialised in applications. Raphael Gorgé, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Gorgé, made the following statement: “The operational, technical and business success of Prodways’ teams have helped our Group to gain greater perspective of a market with huge potential. We aim to rapidly establish ourselves as a leading global player capable of providing 3D printing solutions covering all available technologies, from polymer printing to metal printing. The acquisitions of INITIAL and NORGE Systems representa major step forward in our development and we are proud to welcome their teams – renowned in the 3D printing industry for their exceptional expertise – within our group.”

Acquisition of INITIAL

INITIAL is the leading independent French manufacturer of parts through 3D printing. The company possesses all the technologies (resins, plastic and metal), in addition to a design office and a 3D digitization service enabling the design or redesign of parts for all business sectors. Thermoplastic injection capabilities mean the company can also produce small-quantity products. INITIAL has a portfolio of more than 1,200 customers, employs 65 employees and achieved revenue of €8.6 million in 2014, with EBITDA of more than 20%. It works in various sectors, such as the aerospace, biomedical and luxury industries. The joining of forces marks INITIAL management’s support for the project, backed by Prodways Group, to become a global player offering a range of multi-technological services and all 3D printing services. The acquisition will enable INITIAL to accelerate its development with greater resources and to further expand its ambition. In particular, it will have the opportunity to establish itself on key long-term markets with major customers that may wish to entrust the company with the mass production of parts. The managing executives will remain at the head of the company to introduce this new development phase. Thanks to INITIAL, Prodways Group can improve its knowledge of customer requirements and offer them a full package of services ranging from the manufacturing of a simple prototype part to the design of a comprehensive 3D printing studio, possibly operated by its own teams. This alliance will also enable Prodways Group to offer back-up solutions to its customers, which are essential in an industrial environment.

Integration of NORGE Systems’ expertise

NORGE Systems is an English start-up whose founders developed a range of additive manufacturing machines (3D printing) using selective laser sintering (SLS). The founders of NORGE Systems and the Prodways teams have been working together at Les Mureaux for several months to optimise these machines and to start marketing them. This acquisition marks an important step forward in the development of Prodways Group, which has achieved its goal of becoming the third-largest player to offer multi-technological 3D printing services. The first SLS machine should be operational in the first half of the year, and marketed before the end of the year. Group Management will provide new revenue targets for the 3D printing business when publishing its annual results on 2 April 2015. Press release