NEMATX AG Zurich, Jul 22, 2024

NEMATX Announces Strategic Investment by POLYPLASTICS to Accelerate Industrial 3D Printing of High-Performance Polymers

Industrial 3D printing company and ETH Zurich spin-off NEMATX AG has announced a strategic investment by POLYPLASTICS Co., Ltd., a global leader in the development and production of high-performance engineering plastics.

NEMATX team picture

This partnership signifies a major step forward in the field of additive manufacturing, combining POLYPLASTICS’ leading role in advanced polymer materials with NEMATX’s cutting-edge high-precision material extrusion technology. The investment aims to accelerate the development of innovative manufacturing solutions and expand the application range of 3D printed high-performance polymer parts in various industries, including electronics, semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, and medical.

Key Highlights of the Partnership:

1. Enhanced Product Development

POLYPLASTICS brings 60+ years of experience in the development and manufacture of engineering plastics to the partnership with NEMATX and will in turn leverage the fully digital manufacturing solution introduced by the Swiss startup company. The partnership will further spawn novel high performance polymer grades and tailored industrial 3D printing processes that meet the stringent quality requirements for end-use parts in highly demanding markets.

2. Technological Synergy

The alliance with POLYPLASTICS as the globally leading supplier of liquid crystal polymers (LCP) and a wide range of other engineering plastics will allow NEMATX to incorporate POLYPLASTICS’ vast experience in polymer processing into their own product development, delivering an unprecedented combination of 3D printing resolution, thermal stability as well as mechanical and chemical properties for additively manufactured products.

3. Market Expansion

The Swiss-Japanese partnership will further facilitate the global dissemination of NEMATX’ high-precision material extrusion platform NEX 01 in specialized markets. As the first company to introduce LCP 3D printing in 2020, the turnkey solution offered by NEMATX facilitates manufacturing of precision electrical and electronic components – from connector housings for printed circuit boards (PCBs) to thin-film components for printed electronic applications – as well as specialized end-use products for semiconductor, mobility or healthcare applications. The common denominator of all applications are reliable high-precision parts at quality levels of traditional manufacturing methods including injection molding or CNC milling.

4. Sustainability and Efficiency

Both companies are committed to driving sustainability in manufacturing. The investment will support the development of eco-friendly materials and efficient production processes, reducing material waste and resource consumption in industrial manufacturing operations.

Executive Statements:

“The strategic partnership with POLYPLASTICS and the DAICEL Group represents a pivotal milestone for NEMATX. We are extremely grateful to move forward into the future with such reliable and competent partners” said Raphael Heeb, CEO and Co-Founder of NematX AG. “Over the past few months, we have had the privilege of working intensively with various global teams across Asia and Europe, and it quickly became evident that, in addition to the technological excellence, the market intelligence of Polyplastics and the DAICEL Group is invaluable for the future development of NEMATX. In turn, we are confident that our innovative products and solutions will help both our companies to jointly unlock new applications and markets, and to fully benefit from the synergies we have established.”

Silvan Gantenbein, CTO and Co-Founder of NematX AG adds: “Being able to expand our long-standing supplier and material development partnership with POLYPLASTICS as a leading global supplier of high-performance plastic materials is of high significance for NEMATX. Both our R&D teams can now jointly leverage the development of next generation 3D printing materials and precisely align the manufacturing processes with our NEX 01 high-precision material extrusion platform. The results will be additively manufactured components with even higher precision and robust production processes required for industrial manufacturing.”

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