Christopher S. Nelson 
Digital manufacturing company Prototec completed the acquisition of the 3D printing service provider ProtoCAMwhich will be merged into Midwestern Prototyping.
Midwest Prototyping was acquired by Prototek in July 2021 and has strengthened its commitment to additive manufacturing with this second acquisition. Terms of the ProtoCAM transaction were not disclosed.
As it continues to expand its additive manufacturing capabilities, Prototek has added QuickCast technology for creating investment casting patterns for the production of fast-turning metal parts to Midwest’s comprehensive 3D printing capabilities. It also provides an increase in capacity for key Midwestern 3D printing technologies, which include HP Multi Jet Fusion, Carbon DLS, Stereolithography, and Fused Filament Fabrication technologies.
Although Prototek has been merged with Midwest Prototyping, the company will continue to operate in all current locations – with 300 employees working in more than 240,000 square feet of manufacturing workspace in ten facilities – and founder Ron Belknap and his management team will continue to oversee day-to-day operations at its plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Nate Schumacher, director of strategy and integration at Midwest Prototyping, and Ed Graham, vice president of additive manufacturing at ProtoCAM, will lead the combination of business operations.
“Ron and his team at ProtoCAM are a great fit for our ongoing additives division,” commented Prototek CEO Bill Gress. “They have been an integral part of the Northeast 3D printing space for nearly 30 years and have built a business focused on meeting customer needs and producing quality parts. I am very happy to welcome ProtoCAM to the Prototek team.
“We managed to grow our business steadily for years, but I knew that to grow the business as I wanted to provide my team with more career opportunities, I needed a strategic partner,” Belknap added. “I admired Steve [Grundahl, Vice President of Additive Manufacturing, Prototek] since first meeting over 20 years ago. We are “old dogs” in this industry and share a passion for additive manufacturing and for our customers. So when Steve contacted me about joining Prototek with Midwest, I knew it was the right decision. I’m excited to see where we go from here.
Want to discuss ? Join the conversation on the Global Additive Manufacturing Community Discord.
get your FREE print subscription at TCT magazine.
