Danish fund becomes main investor in market leader within the digital transformation of 3D print manufacturing

The growth fund, Nordic Alpha Partners, now becomes the largest investor in German DyeMansion, a company that develops, produces and sells machines for post-production of 3D printed products. The solutions which clean, smoothen and dye the products are considered key to the industrial application of 3D printing on a large scale

Expectations are that half of the global plastic parts production in 2040 will be 3D printed. For this to become reality, it is a prerequisite that the finishing can be streamlined and integrated into the manufacturing process. This will make the production of plastic parts more efficient and sustainable because it will reduce the need for inventory and for long transport from low cost production countries, since they can be made locally. The pioneers of this transformation, including the car manufacturer BMW, have already chosen the solution that best meets these requirements – and that is DyeMansion.

DyeMansion was established in 2015 and from the company’s base in Munich and with its 66 employees, it has built up a leading position within its category and has more than 650 customers globally. Now, with a 90MDKK capital injection, where 68MDKK is coming from Nordic Alpha Partners (NAP), DyeMansion has the capital to bring a fully digitalized and industrial grade production line to market, while consolidating the company’s global fulfilment and commercial capabilities.

Global customers
Despite its young age, large corporates such as BMW, Götti, Jabil, Under Armour, have already adopted DyeMansion’s technology and the company is also cooperating with the largest manufacturers of 3D printers; HP, EOS and Stratasys to push forward the general adoption of 3D printing. They have all realised that in order to go from prototyping to manufacturing grade 3D printing, consistent replicability of surface treatment and colouring is essential. This is where DyeMansion’s 850 different certified colours and complete post-processing product portfolio is unique to the industry.

“Basically, we take over where the industrial 3D printer stops,” says DyeMansions CEO, Felix Ewald, and continues: “By covering the entire further process up to the finished plastic parts, we offer something that no other company can today, and together with NAP and their unique investment approach, we will go from being market leader to becoming the company that enables fully automated 3D print production globally.”

At Nordic Alpha Partners (NAP), expectations for the collaboration are also high. “We are very satisfied with our investment in DyeMansion. Not only because of its category leadership position, but because the company is contributing to the acceleration of the digital manufacturing transformation,” says Laurits Bach Sørensen, Partner at NAP, and continues: “Technology such as this can enable Europe to bring back manufacturing, to the benefit of wealth, jobs and sustainability.”

This position is shared by CEO of Danish AM Hub, Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen: “DyeMansion is perhaps the most promising and interesting 3D print company in Europe. They have succeeded in rethinking the post-production process of 3D printed units, which has traditionally been the Achilles heel of industrial 3D – and to see a Danish investment fund become lead investor in such a company, is truly fantastic.”

A winning model
When last year NAP invested in the globally leading company in wireless charging for industrial robots and vehicles, it was in fierce competition with several German funds. With the latest investment in DyeMansion, NAP managed to repeat the feat – even at the invitation of one of the shareholding funds.

“We are extremely pleased to have NAP on board our growth journey,” says Felix Ewald, “Their approach and Value Creation Model have clearly been decisive when we and our existing investors chose to include NAP.”

Thinking deal-sourcing like a company thinks sales expansion
The fact that NAP again secured an extremely attractive investment in one of Europe’s most competitive investment environments, is due to the fund’s different approach to identifying and converting investment topics with great potential.

“We work methodically with strategic partner channels and alliances across Northern Europe.” says Rasmus Lund, Partner in NAP, “We think deal-sourcing just like a company thinks sales development and it is this work that gives us access to a number of unique opportunities.”

In the case with DyeMansion, it was one of the other investing funds, AM Ventures, that brought NAP into the company’s B-round, which now makes the Danish fund the main shareholder. “They do this because they can see that our investment approach is able to contribute to an accelerated value development, even within their best cases,” Rasmus Lund concludes.

Facts about DyeMansion

• Founded in 2015 by CEO Felix Ewald and CTO Philipp Kramer
• Headquarters in Munich and sales office in Austin, Texas
• The company sells its products globally and to more than 650 customers
• The company has been selected among the first to receive funding from the ‘Green Deal’ awarded by the European Innovation Council (EIC)

Facts about Nordic Alpha Partners:

• Nordic Alpha Partners is a growth fund established in 2017 with a size of DKK 945M.
• Investors in the fund (Limited Partners) is a combination of Danish pension funds and private investors, including the fund’s Senior Advisors: Christian Clausen (Ex CEO Nordea) and Jim Hagemann Snabe (SAP, AP Moller – Maersk and Siemens).
• Geographical focus is Denmark as well as Germany and Sweden
• Companies in the target group are typically proven hardtech companies with a turnover of DKK 20-150 million, with a potential to lead the large global transformations by either utilizing or enabling Industry 4.0.
• The fund works far more operationally with their investments than what venture and growth funds usually do in Europe, via a self-developed “Value Creation Model”
• The fund’s life is 10 years and the fund expects to invest in approx. 15 companies

Contacts:

Laurits Bach Sørensen, Partner, Nordic Alpha Partners       Mobil: +45 25 26 10 30

Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, Direktør, Dansk AM Hub        Mobil: +45 40 99 46 91

Sabrina Gugel, Global PR & Events, DyeMansion                 Mobil: +49 151 61064724