We had an opportunity recently to speak with Ultimaker CEO Siert Wijnia, and discovered something very unusual.
Ultimaker is a company borne from the chaos of the open source world, where individuals passionate about a cause helped make things happen. Ultimaker genuinely understands this and wishes to continue supporting the open source movement as much as they are able to.
Wijnia tells us his company’s strategy is to “become even more open source”. Their intention is to continue and even increase working with DIY inventors to incorporate their useful designs into future Ultimaker products.
This deep relationship with their community has some unexpected benefits. For example, Wijnia told us they’ve had calls from “locals” at far away trade shows who use Ultimaker gear. These fans ask if there is anything they can do to help out at the shows – and Ultimaker accepts their help.
Wijnia said some of these community members may actually staff Ultimaker’s trade show booths, but ask Ultimaker officials, “What should I say to customers?”
Here’s the astonishing part: Wijnia simply asks them to “tell the truth”, without oversight from Ultimaker. Ultimaker is certain their customers have had good experiences with the product and their company and they expect no issues with this approach. Ultimaker has that much confidence in their product and their customers.
How much? Trust Level: 10.
