The reception to the acquisition of the Shapeways brand and, more recently, Thangs by the new management team has been overwhelmingly positive. As the team reconnects with its roots, we’re thrilled to provide renewed opportunities to serve the vibrant 3D printing community.
With the return of Shapeways’ core team and the addition of Thangs’ cutting-edge platform, we are creating a secure and innovative space for makers and creators to thrive. While excitement grows, some questions remain about the details behind this transformative acquisition. To address these, Jim Woodcock spoke with Marleen Vogelaar, CEO, and Jules Witte, COO, to discuss the recent developments and speak with some of the people behind the developments. In this video Marleen and Jules discuss how and why the acquisition of Shapeways and Thangs came about, exploring the what, why, who, and how of this bold move.
Rebuilding is going to take time and effort. Our first focus for Shapeways is creating stability and an ongoing supply for our customers, including those we have retained, regained as well as new clients. Many were left without a comparable alternative. Our team has worked day and night to retain and welcome back all of these relationships, delivering the high-quality parts they were accustomed to.
During the conversation Marleen explained why Thangs acquisition was always on the to-do list for the new team: “... What we have been doing for the last few months is to see ‘OK, what’s the alternative?’ because [the previous Shapeways] marketplace software was kind of dilapidated because it hadn’t been invested in since 2018. But even so there was a core of that Shapeways community that is still alive, so we were scratching our heads thinking ‘how do we serve these people in a better way?’”
The immediate work that the Shapeways team are undertaking in the coming months will be to create a ‘Print to Shapeways’ API and to create a shop environment for our former shop owners.
Watch the video to find out more about what makes Thangs the right solution moving forward, how 3D search will help users and what to expect from the combination of Shapeways and Thangs in future.