110 jobs in £4m boost for Sheffield 3D print specialist

A Sheffield tech firm is set to create up to 110 jobs after receiving £4m funding to sell its automatic smoothing machine worldwide.
Joseph Crabtree, and Luis Folgar, EVP Americas in the new AMT facility in Austin, Texas.Joseph Crabtree, and Luis Folgar, EVP Americas in the new AMT facility in Austin, Texas.
Joseph Crabtree, and Luis Folgar, EVP Americas in the new AMT facility in Austin, Texas.

Additive Manufacturing Technologies will open factories in Texas and Taiwan and add up to 30 jobs in Sheffield where it employs about 20 in headquarters and an R&D centre on Letsby Avenue off the Parkway. The firm also has a factory in Hungary and employs 45 globally.

AMT, which is just two years old, makes a machine that chemically smooths the rough edges off 3D printed parts. The PostPro3D weighs 1.2 tonnes, is half the size of a small car and sells for about £100,000.

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Interest in AMT has rocketed as the sector has soared. Most printed parts have a rough finish and require hand polishing, which can be 60 per cent of the cost of the part.

PostPro3D machines at AMT in Sheffield.PostPro3D machines at AMT in Sheffield.
PostPro3D machines at AMT in Sheffield.

Now three giant firms have taken a stake in the company, to accelerate sales and deliver a commercial version of its technology.

DSM is a chemicals and materials firm based in Holland and Foresight is a £1bn venture capital company based in London which works with Williams’ Formula One engineering division.

AMT chief executive Joseph Crabtree, aged 36, said the firm’s success was due to the hard work of the team.

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He added: “Making a decision to start a company is daunting, especially as new firms get no support. It’s a big risk but the rewards can be big and this investment is a testament to the hard work of the team.

“It’s another important step in accelerating AMT's vision of an integrated digital manufacturing system that will deliver end-to-end solutions.”

The firm received an early boost in 2017 thanks to a £420,000 grant from Innovate UK.

Andrew Bloxam, senior investment manager of Foresight, said: “AMT has been quietly executing at an incredible pace since launching two years ago and is now delivering exceptional products that solve real-world industrial additive manufacturing needs. Joseph and his team are focused on continued product innovation and we believe the best is yet to come for AMT and its customers.”

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Pieter Wolters, managing director of DSM Venturing, said: “AMT is revolutionising the world of post processing of 3D printed parts, thus enabling additive manufacturing to become a competitive alternative for industrial scale production.

“We are excited about including AMT in our additive manufacturing investment portfolio and supporting the company in accelerating its growth.”

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