Shining 3D's EMEA office in Stuttgart takes company step closer to 24/7 global sales support

Shining expect to follow up the opening of its Stuttgart office with a similar base in San Francisco.

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Operating from the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, for the last 13 years has been Shining 3D. A consistently ambitious company, Shining hasn’t let the sheer scale of its goal consume it. One step at a time, the company has sought to establish itself as, first a significant player in the Chinese 3D technology market, and as recent performance has proven, the leader. But there’s a whole world out there. And rest assured, Shining has that in its sights too.

The opening of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) office in Stuttgart, Germany is the first step in the company’s aim to achieve a global profile. Stuttgart, a hub of industry and manufacturing, was championed by Oscar Meza, Shining 3D’s Vice President of Global Sales since September 2016. Before his arrival, Dusseldorf seemed the most likely destination for Shining 3D’s first overseas office. But citing Stuttgart’s industrial repute and close proximity to France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, Meza was adamant the Baden-Wurttemberg capital was the prime location.                         

Shining 3D’s EMEA office, to be directed by Sunny Wong, a Shining employee since 2004, represents the value the company has for its customers. At the grand opening, in the nearby ARCOTEL Camino Hotel, the commitment to delivering a proficient support service to the users of Shining technology was clear.

“The geographic location is perfect for us to reach most of our resellers in Europe and of course it’s a prime location for companies in our industrial market and consumer end products as well,” Meza told TCT. “The idea is to be closer to our resellers and our common users so we can provide a more expedited response in terms of resell support and post-sales support to our existing and incoming customers.”

A 280-square metre office, the EMEA base will ensure Shining 3D is providing support to two thirds of the globe, 16 hours a day. In 2018, a North American office for the same purpose, with the same level of commitment, will open, probably in San Francisco. If it’s as identical to the German office as Shining suggest, it will include a showroom, training room, and demo room. It will house Shining technology, and that developed by two of its three main subsidiaries: Industrial 3D printer manufacturer, E-Plus 3D, and 3D Scanning and metrology company, Beijing TenYoun. It will also have experts onsite, ready to assist end-users.

Next, and it’ll be ‘very very soon’ according to Li Tao, Shining 3D’s CEO, will be a manufacturing base in Germany, and later the United States. The impending expansion of Shining 3D comes after five years of increased growth. In 2012, the company employed 149 people. On April 21st 2017, the day of the EMEA office’s grand opening, that figure had risen to 625. By the end of the year, Shining expect to have exceeded 700 employees. Of the current workforce, 40% operate from Shining’s HQ, with 41% in the tech-based subsidiaries and the remaining 19% in Shining’s third main subsidiary, e-Print 3D, a rapid manufacturing service network which recently partnered with HP. But the most telling figures to come out of Li Tao’s financial breakdown of the company, were those demonstrating Shining’s commitment to research and development. Boasting a 60% year-on-year growth, Shining put 20% of its revenue back in to R&D for 2017, with a pledge to keep increasing this amount every year. Additionally, the company has nearly half of its manpower operating on R&D.

“The amount of resources we put back into R&D is very important,” Meza assesses. “With previous experience, I’ve worked with two of our biggest competitors. I have never seen any other company in this area of business putting so much [of its] resources back into R&D. That’s something that makes a very clear and strong distinction between Shining 3D and the rest.”

Shining weren’t just talking the talk. In addition to the leading Shining personnel and partners in Stuttgart, was a spread of Shining technology – two devices being launched that day. Following the EinScan-Pro+’s introduction at CES in January, the company marked this occasion by introducing the EinScan-SE and EinScan-SP desktop 3D scanners, under the EinScan-S series.

Both models of the EinScan-S line, developed off the back of an online questionnaire gauging customer purchase motivation, are multi-functional. They feature auto and fixed scan modes, and can scan items small to large with enhanced efficiency. Notably, the EinScan-S scanners are not only compatible with Shining 3D printers but also a host of other machines currently on the market. Though Shining is brimming with pride with regards to its vast range of 3D technology, it believes strongly in open architecture and feels forcing customers into buying a Shining printer just to match the scanner to be counter-productive.

These additions to that range of tech, the SE (E for Elite) and SP (P for Platinum), cater for desktop printers and more professional solutions, respectively. Shining recommends the SE - which supersedes the EinScan-S - for novices, educators, and those interested in reverse engineering, animation, data sharing, virtual reality and augmented reality. The SP, meanwhile, gives designers access to faster, more accurate, and more reliable scans. With dimensions of 215 mm x 210 mm x 570 mm, the SE is retailing at $1,199, while the SP, 245mm x 210mm x 600m, is available at $2,299.

Since the EMEA office’s grand opening, Shining has followed up with another scanning system, the RobotScan E0505, launched from the CONTROL exhibition in Stuttgart. The company’s fifth product launch of the year already, it highlights the company’s fruitful productivity, its commitment to delivering technologies to its wide customer base, and that the heavy investment in research and development is paying off. Ever since Shining’s foundation in 2004, it has held ambitions to be top of the pile, in China, and around the world. It seems there was a clear pathway to get there: Show willing to maximise the company’s scope in a variety of technologies, make the business profitable, re-invest in R&D, and always strive to be better.

“We are confident that we are the best in China because we have achieved the top sales and revenue in the China market for four years, constantly,” Tao told TCT. “Last year, our financial record showed that the difference between our revenue and the second [best Chinese] company is bigger than ever before, and on the technology side we have many innovation centres which are built together with local governments to help the users use our technology. We are not just a machine manufacturer. We are also a company that applies this technology in the practical world.”

Meza follows up: “And everything that distinct us from the rest of the pack in China in terms of our own domestic competitors is the fact that we cover the whole spectrum of 3D technology, from 3D scanning all the way to printing technology. That sets us apart. Our biggest challenge is improving our own work. We know that we’re leading the pack, we just have to get better.”

From consumer 3D printers, to scanners, to industrial metal solutions, Shining’s sheer range of 3D technologies now seems unparalleled. Does Shining think its array of technology will serve it just as well against global competitors?

“Absolutely,” Meza concludes convincingly. “The thing that I have learned in my years of experience is that people like to have the least possible number of suppliers for the products that they use.”

Having its customers at the forefront of its mind is an approach that has got Shining where it is today, operating inside two continents, and will perhaps get it where it wants to be tomorrow, on top of the world.

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