be3D, a Czech manufacturer of 3D printers, received a strategic investment. Brno company, Y Soft, invested into the Prague start-up, they also acquired a 51% share of be3D.
The connecting of be3D to Y Soft is the result of several months of negotiations, which took place in the United States of America, where be3D has been expanding in recent months thanks to CzechAccelerator. The amount of the investment has reached $2M with the promise of an additional $900K in the event of the expected growth of the company. David Miklas, the founder of the company, remains the head of be3D.
be3D has gained offices around the world – in Japan, Australia, Singapore, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, and in many other countries, thanks to its connection with the world's leading manufacturer of print management software. be3D will receive, in addition to business support, mentoring from the specialists at Y Soft. "We have been monitoring the 3D print market over the long term and had also been considering entering this segment after 2D printing for a long time. Through integrating with be3D, 3D printers will become a strategic product for us. Which, in the short term, we can use on the international market," says Vaclav Muchna, CEO and co-founder of Y Soft.
"be3D will use the potential and experience of Y Soft in the areas of production, logistics and central purchasing. We have been creating these processes for a number of years, and by linking our companies, we are able to significantly reduce costs and streamline the entire production and logistics process," adds Marcel Fejtek, the member of the board of directors of Y Soft responsible for production and logistics.
be3D began developing 3D printers in December 2012. In the time of their existence, they have introduced three printers based on the FDM technology printing from thermoplastics. Two printers are currently on offer; they are available through distribution networks in Europe and the United States of America. "Working together with Y Soft will significantly help be3D to grow. I believe that by using Y Soft’s experience, we will succeed in globalizing our products, and significantly increasing sales. Linking production, purchasing and logistics will make the entire process, from production to sales, more efficient. Streamlining processes will bring higher margins, which will allow us to devote ourselves to the development of new products, along with the planned expansion of production," says David Miklas, CEO and founder of be3D.
It is interesting that although they are Czech companies, they established the agreement on this strategic link in the USA. be3d was part of the agency CzechInvest’s CzechAccelerator program in the USA. The owners of both companies only met for the first time at an event organized by CzechAccelerator. Y Soft entered the American market in 2009 through the acquisition of local company XpertImage, and so it has been present on this continent for a number of years. However, Y Soft and be3D remain proud Czech companies.