Evonik Buys AM Materials Maker Structured Polymers

German specialty chemicals and materials firm Evonik is expanding its offerings of 3D printing-related materials with the purchase of Austin, TX-based additive manufacturing polymer powders manufacturer Structured Polymers Inc., a company press release announced Thursday. 

“The acquisition of Structured Polymers’ technology excellently compliments our existing activities with high-performance polymers for additive manufacturing,” stated Dr. Ralph Marquardt, head of Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH’s Strategy and Growth Businesses. “Thanks to our decades of expertise in polymer chemistry, this means we will expand our portfolio of customized, ready-to-use polymer materials for the highly attractive, rapidly growing 3D Printing market, thus giving us a key role in shaping development of that market.”

Through the transaction, Evonik will gain access to Structured Polymers’ patented technology and the company’s range of specialty polymer powders. Structured Polymers’ headquarters is slated to remain in Austin following the close of the sale. Evonik plans to integrate the firm into its North American organization. 

“We are very pleased to harness the power of Evonik to expand our innovative technology platform even further. In the near future, this will allow us to diversify the 3D printing materials market to a significant degree and to work with our customers on developing new business opportunities,” Structured Polymers’ chief executive officer Vikram Devarajan said in a press release. 

Structured Polymers’ technology processes polymer granulates into a fine powder with particle sizes ranging from 0.1 μmto 400 μm.

“The new technology allows us to take virtually any semi-crystalline thermoplastic, such as polybutylene terephthalate, polyether ketone, or polyamide 6, or polymer powders with specialized properties like color, conductivity, or flame protection, and produce them for common powder-based 3D printing processes,” Thomas Grosse-Puppendahl, Evonik’s head of Additive Manufacturing Innovation Growth Field, explained in a statement. “In addition, we anticipate that Structured Polymers’ technology can be scaled up easily and economically.”

In 2017, Evonik made a venture capital investment in Structured Polymers. The company was established in Austin in 2012 to develop innovative polymer powders for 3D printing. 

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