We’ve noticed a couple of things happening at MakerBot this past week that caught our attention: it could be a signal that new equipment is coming.
There are two things of interest. First, it’s the fascinating work of their new CEO, Jonathan Jaglom, who has embarked on a two-pronged journey in his short term at the helm of what might be the world’s most well-known desktop 3D printer company.
Jaglom has been making a series of internal changes at the company, including: streamlining their retail and wholesale operations significantly; changing out the management roles; improving service offerings; refocusing the company’s target market on professionals instead of “everyone”, and much more.
At the same time, Jaglom has taken on a very public persona. He’s taken a month-long tour of the USA, visiting with customers and prospects to learn more about them; He’s appearing regularly in the company’s blog, talking about various topics; He’s made himself available for key interviews by the media.
And, most importantly, MakerBot has refrained from introducing any new equipment in what is now quite a long time.
Our theory is that Jaglom is “fixing” the internals of MakerBot while setting up the sales organization to handle large-scale operations.
That’s something you’d do in advance of a new machine. A machine that’s expected to sell a great many units. A machine that, presumably, would have a very attractive price and features.
No such announcement, or even rumor has yet appeared regarding such a new machine.
But now, we see this:
MakerBot is offering discounts on new equipment purchases to their existing client base. Specifically, they’re discounting the giant Z18 printer by 17% and their primary model, the Replicator Fifth Gen, by almost 10%. This is typically done by manufacturers to clear out inventory in advance of new products.
New products.
We haven’t been told anything, but the coincidence of all this seems too unlikely. Therefore, please keep on the watch for a MakerBot announcement. Perhaps in September?
