The year 2020 in review

 

Last year was undoubtedly one of the more challenging ones. We are grateful to our colleagues for the job well done, our customers, and the whole 3D printing community for the loyalty and trust they have placed in us. Now it’s time to look ahead with optimism to the year 2021. But before that, let’s note a couple of highlights from 2020.

Improvising, Adapting, Overcoming the global pandemic
In a time of perpetual change, we have done everything in our power to adjust to the new normal. Last year was full of difficulties and an opportunity to grow and be prepared to respond to crisis scenarios promptly. “The coronavirus crisis has made 3D printing internationally recognized, in part thanks to the printing of personal protective equipment. The perception of this technology has changed for many managers in the manufacturing industry. Recognizing this technology as an effective tool in achieving higher efficiency,” says Josef Doleček, our CEO and Founder. Our response was immediate. We have made Fillamentum filaments available to people producing essential hospital supplies by donating over one metric ton of 3D printing materials and establishing cooperation with many hobby makers and professionals eager to help internationally.

At the beginning of the year, our specialists managed to have a lecture at UPC in Spain. While attending events became increasingly difficult. We were happy to partake in many online events since it became the standard—events like VERRF 2020, many lectures for maker spaces and universities, and webinars. This situation prompted us to produce comprehensive webinars, printing guides and made us keen to appear in more online events to connect with the community of makers and professionals. “It’s a fact that this form of communication is also popular with clients and has become an integral part of our product and brand marketing, especially now that we are living in a time of constant change,” Josef Doleček, our CEO and Founder. We have also launched an EDU program with the belief that good education is the future.

New innovative solutions
We have continued extending our portfolio in both hobby and industrial materials last year, focusing on innovation. We released a considerable number of new materials.

We have recently been placed in the Best PLA Filaments and Transparent/Clear PLA Filament: Basics & Best Brands on All3DP. Reliably offering professional support at our Helpdesk to our customers is a given. Last year we also added new special services focused primarily on our professional customers, the Consultations, CAD services, and 3D printing services.



Bringing new products to our costumers
To provide a one-stop source for our customers’ 3D printing needs, we have widened our product offer by adding 3D printers, 3D pens, tools, spare parts, and upgrades.

To engage with the community of makers more, we have introduced new merchandise products. Since we love to involve fans in our products, we include them in creating the yearly sticker packs.

Expansion
To accommodate our costumers and partners’ needs, we have furthermore decided to increase our production capacities. One of our main priorities was the expansion of our global network of resellers and partners. We have been able to open a USA online store and distribution center, FillamentumUSA.com, to better cater to the USA market. Furthermore, we have added more than 20 new distributors expanding the distribution network to more regions, including Asia, South America, Australia and Oceania, Middle East, and even Africa. To strengthen our logistic position on the market, we have made a global contract with DHL.

Cooperations
We are proud that we established cooperations with reputable specialty chemicals, advanced materials, and compound companies Westlake Chemical and Arkema. We have also built a strong partnership with Universities and Institutions, the STU in Slovakia, UTB and VUT in the Czech Republic, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech in Spain, and CEITEC as part of an innovative research effort. We were able to establish collaboration with many more global corporations through numerous Case Studies. Companies such are Vetropack, Rolls Royce, Meopta, and the Czech Academy of Sciences and their Institute of Geology.

To give back to our close-knit community of makers, we regularly establish many collaborations with hobby makers, designers, YouTubers, bloggers, FabLabs, universities, and other educational institutions. It’s no surprise that we have supported more than 50 projects in the past year, from technical projects like Pneumatic Screwdriver by Vincent Groenhuis to design treasures such are Mechanical Fingers by Gary Fay made for Lady Gaga.

Looking ahead to 2021
Our ultimate goal for the upcoming year is to grow in our production capacities to accommodate our partners’ and resellers’ ever-growing network. We are determined to continue to build strong partnerships, cooperations, and collaborations with organisations, professionals in the field, and educational institutions. One of our main objectives is to offer innovative solutions for manufacturers and hobby makers alike. NonOilen®, a new generation’s bioplastic, is emerging from this effort offering green prototyping and sustainable production option.