MakerBot announced they’ve created “MakerBot Europe”, which they say is a “major expansion”.
Indeed it could be. Evidently MakerBot Galactic acquired “certain assets” of HAFNER’S BÜRO, a major MakerBot reseller in Germany. By “assets”, we suspect that means sales channels, rights for MakerBot sales, sales space, contact lists and more than likely sales personnel.
With a push (and cash) from MakerBot, the fledgling MakerBot Europe is set to expand their presence greatly across the continent. In fact, MakerBot says their new operation will encompass: MakerBot Europe will encompass Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. There’s not much more to Europe than those countries.
It’s a little curious to us, as MakerBot Europe is apparently a sales operation. They don’t make machines. MakerBot has no similar operation in other areas, notably in the US, where their sales channels are mixed in with the original MakerBot division. They’ve certainly developed several retail stores and have strong relationships with several major retailers, including Microsoft and Home Depot. We’re wondering if these sales tactics will transfer to MakerBot Europe. Will we see MakerBots at Tesco? And in the other direction, we’re wondering if MakerBot North America will emerge to take on the sales challenge.
In any case, it sounds like a lot more MakerBots will be sold in Europe.
Via MakerBot
