FATHOM joins team CORE — “better together” [Image: FATHOM]

Digital manufacturing is the focus for a significant new acquisition.

California-based FATHOM has been acquired by CORE Industrial Partners and will be merging with fellow CORE acquisitionee Midwest Composite Technologies (MCT). Together, the companies’ announcement proclaims, this new entity will “form one of the largest privately held digital manufacturing service providers in North America.”

FATHOM

Studio FATHOM has long been an interesting operation. With an Oakland HQ and second Seattle facility, the company kind of does it all when it comes to advanced manufacturing — and legacy manufacturing, come to that. FATHOM offers an interesting mix of offerings, additive, subtractive, and hybrid.

The company was established in 2008, housing its first 3D printer — a PolyJet unit from Objet — in Co-Founder and Principal Michelle Mihevc’s garage — and has built up significant experience in 3D printing alongside more traditional processes. Their building up has not slowed down. This summer, the team patented their 3D print quoting service method, as one of many examples of their ongoing on-site expertise.

“Our accelerated growth over the past ten years has been a direct result of our talented employees, world-class customers and innovative technologies to provide an impactful manufacturing experience to our customers,” said Mihevc.

MCT

MCT, for its part, also offers 3D printing and other manufacturing solutions. Fabbaloo has had a long relationship with the company, and we were intrigued early this year when, following their September 2018 majority acquisition by CORE, their team saw a significant shift signalling a new growth strategy.

MCT brings its own extensive know-how to the table, with “35 years of 3D printing manufacturing engineering expertise,” per the press release. The company is based in Wisconsin, founded in 1984 — growing up, as it were, along with additive manufacturing itself. MCT has focused its 3D printing in prototyping and low-volume production, working with more than 40 systems using SLS, DMLS, PolyJet, and FDM 3D printing processes along with traditional methods like CNC machining and injection molding.

MCT + FATHOM

The two caps-lock companies are now able to leverage one another’s expertise in their new operations.

A nice graphic from FATHOM highlights the main bullet points:

FATHOM + MCT = larger operations in digital manufacturing [Image: FATHOM]

“This acquisition by CORE and coming together with MCT will provide the combined platform considerable scale and the financial resources to invest in cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure to be the most accelerated manufacturer of prototypes and production parts in North America,” said Rich Stump, Co-Founder and Principal at FATHOM.

Now three manufacturing facilities — FATHOM’s in Oakland and Seattle, MCT’s in Hartland — clocking in together at more than 180,000 square feet will see more than 80 3D printing systems across six technologies (along with more than 15 total manufacturing processes) available to turn around customers’ orders.

“The acquisition of FATHOM brings together two of the leading additive manufacturing firms in North America. Both companies offer differentiated engineering expertise, exceptional customer service and a long-tenured track record of successfully partnering with leading companies across myriad end markets to provide the best in 3D printing and modern manufacturing, from prototype to production. We are very pleased to complete this acquisition and look forward to working closely with the FATHOM team to help drive further value into the business,” said MCT CEO Ryan Martin.

The combined operations are significant indeed — and play right into the plan we saw MCT put into place starting around this time last year.

We have some strong hints as well that this will by no means be the last such expansion of operations as CORE plans to continue building up its digital manufacturing empire —check out the end of the statement here:

“The acquisition of FATHOM aligns well with our previously stated intention to build a leading Industry 4.0 additive manufacturing company,” said Matthew Puglisi, MCT Board Director and Partner at CORE. “From customer bases to technical expertise and additive manufacturing capabilities, MCT and FATHOM are highly synergistic, and we’re looking forward to further building out the platform through additional complementary acquisitions and continued organic growth.”

Via FATHOM