Prodways – French manufacturer of industrial grade 3D printers working in DLP Movinglight and SLS technologies, has announced a strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes which sees the integration of its 3DEXPERIENCE platform and investment in one of its North American partners. The French company has acquired a minority stake in the share capital of XD Innovation, while establishing the XD Innovation Europe business to focus on the development of the 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud platform within Europe.
Prodways is seeking to supplement its powder bed fusion and resin-based 3D printing products with Dassault’s design, manufacturing, simulation and lifecycle software solutions. The 3DEXPERIENCE portfolio consists of a dozen software brands including Solidworks, Catia and Simulia and Prodways believes enabling its users to control the creation, modification and simulation of 3D files will give them big advantages in the production of quality parts.
In order to expedite the benefits Dassault’s software tools will afford Prodways users, the company has invested in XD Innovation which serves customers in a range of industries throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Prodways plans to harness this know-how for its European endeavours, support XD Innovation’s own efforts in the Americas and will also see its 3D printing portfolio offered by its new partner.
Pierre-Marc Allain, CEO of XD Innovation Europe comments:
We believe in Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE strategy. This new approach to design, favouring collaboration, mobility and the extended enterprise, will eventually enable designers to use their tools differently. With ‘on-demand’ use, through monthly subscriptions, we are changing the business model. It is a strategic decision for us to build a very agile new entity in Europe, based on XD Innovation’s technical experience and the Prodways Group customer base.
Soufiane Elaamili, Chairman and CEO of XD Innovation added:
Prodways Group’s stake in the share capital of XD Innovation will allow us to accelerate our roll-out and offer our customers and our partner, Dassault Systèmes, long-term support and a global vision. We will also be extending our offer by promoting Prodways Group’s industrial 3D printing machines to our customer in North America thanks to our six locations.