10-25-2017: NPM Capital made a "significant investment" in Ultimaker, becoming its majority shareholder
This initiated the company’s transformation from a startup into a corporation, culminating in its merger with MakerBot
On October 25, 2017, Ultimaker—then one of the largest producers of desktop 3D printers worldwide—announced that it had signed an investment agreement with the leading European investment fund NPM Capital, which became its majority shareholder. While the investment amount was undisclosed, Ultimaker assured it was substantial, aimed at accelerating R&D and especially supporting global market expansion.
Ultimately, NPM Capital helped Ultimaker evolve into a full-fledged corporation, moving beyond its startup roots. This transformation also led to the highly publicized merger with MakerBot in 2022, creating UltiMaker.
However, in 2017, Ultimaker was still competing fiercely with MakerBot, gradually gaining ground (while MakerBot struggled buried in Stratasys’s structure). At that time, Ultimaker had headquarters in the Netherlands and the USA, with a distribution network in over 100 countries worldwide. Its flagship product was the Ultimaker 3, launched just a year earlier.
NPM Capital, founded in 1948 and part of the SHV holding group with around 60,000 employees worldwide, took a stake in the company alongside its three founders, Martijn Elserman, Erik de Bruijn, and Siert Wijnia, who became minority shareholders.
Although significant, this was not Ultimaker’s first major investment of the year. In mid-September 2016, the company had also received support from the European Investment Bank, totaling €15 million.
Finally, two important notes:
Ultimaker's growth and success wouldn’t have been possible without Jos Burger—the CEO who joined in 2014. Burger became one of the most influential figures in the AM industry, first bringing Ultimaker to the absolute top and then supporting other companies in the field.
Whether Ultimaker’s transformation from an open-source-oriented startup into a global corporation has been successful over the years is open for debate… I have my own thoughts on the matter.
Source: www.npm-capital.com