Meet Our Partners: Hava 3D (France)

Hava 3D’s CEO Stanislas Clicquot joins us from France to tell us about his company’s journey from blogging to having a diverse group of 3D printing business units, and why the fast-paced industry will most certainly continue to expand at a rapid pace.

Can you tell us a fun fact about your company? 

“My fun fact is regarding the way our company is structured. Our name is Hava 3D and we’re structured around 3 main business units. The first one is called Makershop, which is actually the first and largest desktop printer online reseller in France. Then, we have a second business unit called Sotec3D dedicated to the distribution business, and our last one is Neofab, which is focused on direct sales for industrial printers. Under construction at the moment is our fourth unit dedicated to professional training, which will be publicly launched at the end of this year.”

 When, how, and why was your company founded? 

“The company was founded in 2013, and the founders actually sold the company at the end of 2019. They started by writing blogs on multiple new topics, 3D printing being one of them. They realized that there was great traction for this technology in the US, but limited coverage and knowledge about additive manufacturing in France, so they started translating technical articles and decided to launch the Makershop website. Gradually, they were able to launch other business units.”

 Where does your love for 3D printing come from?

“I’m coming from the technology world, specifically the semiconductor industry where I was working for suppliers. I was involved in selling the DLP technology to a 3D printing manufacturer in France and to another manufacturer in Spain – that’s how I discovered the benefit and the potential of additive manufacturing in multiple industries. So, I decided to get involved in this market and take over a company with a leading position in 3D printing and that’s why I chose to acquire the Hava 3D group.”

 Why did you choose to work with us at BCN3D?

“Of course, our first criteria is regarding the people who we work with within the day-to-day business, and I think that BCN3D and Hava 3D have a very similar DNA. We both have passionate and innovative people and are working in a partnership mode with a very close relationship. Obviously, on top of this BCN3D is bringing a broad product line of FDM desktop printers, with key features such as IDEX technology. These are the main reasons for us choosing to work together to develop our business in France.”

How do you see the future of 3D Printing?

“I can tell you that that’s not an easy question to answer! But I can already see a very fragmented industry. The number of 3D printing suppliers has nearly doubled since 2019. I think there were a total of 250 suppliers, and now there are 500 worldwide, so obviously, mergers and acquisitions have started and will accelerate in the future. From a technical standpoint, I see a need for increased speed for printing parts. I see a need for suppliers supporting multiple technologies and also the need from customers to get more integrated and vertical solutions to address specific needs of their markets.”

The next time you visit our offices in Barcelona, what can we get you for a drink?  

“If you don’t mind, and since I’m coming from the wine country, I’ll bring some wine bottles. However, I’ll be counting on you to select some good pata negra!”