The current investor of FDM 3D printer manufacturer Apium Additive Technologies cannot provide the funds that will allow the company to qualify its Apium P400 extrusion 3D printer for the medical market, the vertical industry it is hoping to tap into.
“We need fresh capital to enable us to take this step. This will allow us to reap the rewards of our development work over the past few months. However, our current investor is unable to provide any additional funds for this,” explains Apium’s Managing Director Lars Pfotzer. “We have therefore decided to restructure our young company in insolvency proceedings and resume the search for investors.”
The company Apium Additive Technologies sees itself as a manufacturer of machine tools. “Our patented technology is one of the few manufacturing processes on the market that is capable of processing high-performance thermoplastics in such a way that high-strength components are produced that are proven to be suitable for the manufacture of medical implants. Our customers are already successfully using our 3D printers to produce customized implant solutions according to medical specifications and on the basis of CT/MRI data, which can be implanted in patients and enable faster treatment success compared to conventional methods. At the same time, medical research institutes use our products to develop and test materials and components so that these can later be used in everyday clinical practice,” says Managing Director Pfotzer.
Founded in 2016, the start-up Apium Additive Technologies now employs 15 people and recently generated annual sales of around one million euros. “I see great potential for Apium if we can find an investor to support the young company. As a result of the high costs of development work, Apium is unable to fully exploit its potential in market development and the further improvement of its products under the current ownership structure. The ongoing preliminary insolvency proceedings offer investors the opportunity to take over the company free from inherited burdens and to lead it into the future,” says the preliminary insolvency administrator Holger Blümle from the Karlsruhe office of Germany-wide law firm Schultze & Braun, appointed by Karlsruhe Local Court.
Business operations at Apium Additive Technologies will continue without restrictions even after the insolvency application. “We aim at entering into negotiations with potential investors as soon as possible so that we can quickly release Apium from the proceedings,” says the provisional insolvency administrator Holger Blümle. He has already received initial expressions of interest.
Remember, you can post free of charge job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter : Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure to send it to contact@3dadept.com.