Stratasys Ltd. has rushed its 3-D printers into three major retailers just in time for the holidays.
In the past week, the company scored deals to sell on Amazon.com, in Staples office supply stores and in 27 additional Home Depot stores, including two in the Twin Cities.
The agreements are a coup for Eden Prairie-based Stratasys, which until recently only sold its consumer line of 3-D printers online and via three East Coast stores.
Stratasys for years was best known for making large 3-D commercial printers and doing contract manufacturing work for large commercial and industrial customers. Last year, it pushed into the consumer market with the purchase of MakerBot, a New York-based maker of smaller 3-D printers that start around $1,000.
In the latest expansion of that business, Stratasys on Monday announced that it will sell select MakerBot 3-D printers and scanners in 50 Staples stores in 18 states.
That comes after it last week expanded its MakerBot distribution in Home Depot. Stratasys started with 12 Home Depot stores in July and will now be in nearly 40, including stores in Eden Prairie and Plymouth.
Also last week, Stratasys said its professional Stratasys Mojo 3-D printer will be available on the nation's largest online retailer, Amazon. The Mojo is aimed at business owners, engineers and teachers who want to inexpensively develop prototypes or small product batches.
"Amazon.com has become a pioneer for 3-D printing and we are excited for our Mojo to be a part of its online store," said Gilad Gans, president of Stratasys North America. "Having our professional desktop 3-D printer on Amazon.com expands our exposure into a new marketplace [where] we weren't previously present."
Retail experts say that the desktop models of many 3-D printers could appeal to holiday shoppers this season since the technology lends itself to engineers, tinkerers and creative types.
The 3-D technology uses computer design software and plastic-dispensing printers to create shapes, arts. The melted plastic is repeatedly deposited in tiny layers to precisely form a shape. The technology is a huge timesaving device for companies and engineers needing to rapidly create, test and alter prototypes.
Along with printers, Stratasys makes 3-D scanners, which can scan objects, create digital design files and then duplicate their shape on a 3-D printer.
Last December, the company opened two "hands-on" MakerBot retail stores in Greenwich, Conn., and Boston, where consumers could buy products or simply use the store's machines to make their own projects.
Stratasys CEO David Reis told investors in August that 2014 revenue should grow 30 percent, excluding input from two key acquisitions made last summer.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
